LoRG 4

Helen watched him messing everything up with relish

With a sharp twist RandidlyÆs front wrist shifted and his hand exploded with thick flakes of dried blood His hand flashed with a glint of copper as the genuine limb managed to escape its restrictive confines From that initial fracture thin yet deep fissures stretched outward to weaken the imprisonment of his forearm Small bits of crusty blood exploded from his other hand Then a seismic anomaly began to form around his torso

CRaaCCkk

Randidly rolled his shoulders and his hunchback maroon torso exploded HelenÆs hand moved lighting quick up to cover her mouth but that couldnÆt prevent her face and the exposed skin of her arms from being covered in a spray of blood dust In fact the thrown debris caused the rather small room to be choked with floating particles vastly lowering visibility

Once his shoulders were moving the dusty hand came up and gripped at the dried gunk across his torso In huge handfuls Randidly tore his way out of his gargoyle skin The pieces came away flaky and disintegrating the material seeming to be much more hollow and porous than appeared from the outside

Randidly rolled his shoulders again and then slammed his still immobilized metal left hand against his chest smashing away the crusted material Then he truly got to work his hands blurring into veritable envoys of annihilation as he cleared off his person The crouched hulking giant was steadily trimmed down to the typical Randidly frame When most of his joints were cleared he began to more carefully pull away large plates from his face and neck A few seconds later he sucked in a deep breath through his now unimpeded mouth

Well shit Randidly finally said which initiated a long spree of coughing He spat an indeterminate kind of particulate onto the grown and then grimaced I feel disgusting And I think this shit is all through my hair Heh is my hair longer

Helen shrugged I canÆt see much about your hair through all that gunk on you but I have good news and bad news Which do you want first

Dangerous news Suddenly there was a heaviness to the air and Randidly looked at Helen with sharp eyes Her mouth twitched and she shook her head hurriedly to ease the mood The dangerous edge in RandidlyÆs expression disappeared and he pondered for a few seconds alright IÆll take the non dangerous good news first

We each have a private bathroom Helen announced and gestured to a door across the room I donÆt know how they manage it with the local temperature but they have working showerheads Not as sophisticated as Expira but definitely better than dunking yourself in a barrel like on Tellus

And the bad news Randidly was working on his waist now clearing out the enormous pile of gunk that covered his lower back and down his thighs

Helen steeled her gaze and spoke with a look of the utmost pity This is the home of the Frost Matriarch There is no hot water

Ha Randidly snorted Then he shook his head Almost immediately Helen felt a change in the temperature of the room Randidly was pumping out heat more effectively than a furnace even as he grinned over at her Annoying but I think I can manage

Fucking bullshit side effect of all the physical training you do Helen thought sourly as Randidly turned away and waddled awkwardly toward the bathroom with his legs still partially encumbered At the moment it looked like he was carrying a suitcase sized plaster tumor on his lower back As soon as he had gone Helen spared only a single glance for the reddish mound of dirt and debris that Randidly had made on the ground before she turned on her heel and marched back to her own quarters Until he finished cleaning himself up Helen planned on meditating on her image

She sat on the ground and quickly got into the right mindset but then was quickly distracted by a steady stream of steam flowing from beneath the door of her own bathroom into her resting quarters The two bathrooms were sandwiched between her and RandidlyÆs quarters so the commotion that he was making leaked over into her area Which was double frustrating not only because of the distraction it caused to her training but also because of her own agonizing experience with cleaning herself Yet here Randidly was somehow managing to turn the whole wing of the Frost MatriarchÆs compound into a sauna

With a throbbing vein in her forehead Helen closed her eyes and ignored the rising temperature and humidity Luckily it didnÆt seem like Randidly struggled to clean himself off five minutes later there was a knock at her door But what she hadnÆt expected was how awkward Randidly sounded when he cleared his throat behind the door

Ah mm there have been a few changes to my body due to the Grim Chimera So

He trailed off still hidden by the door between Eyes sparkling at RandidlyÆs obvious vulnerability Helen leapt to her feet and walked quickly toward the door Her lips were constantly twitching as she settled her hand on the doorknob so Helen did her best to school her expression Changes To his body Heh used the Grim Chimera too much and suddenly you look like a monster Serves you right Tsk tsk kekekeke I shouldnÆt say this but will a beautiful woman like Vualla really settle for some ghastly skeleton Ah apologies Neveah

Despite her wandering thoughts Helen opened the door to her room with high expectations When she saw the truth of Randidly however she was immediately frozen into blank shock

The first thing she noticed about him was his hair he wasnÆt kidding about it having grown during his previous struggles RandidlyÆs hair hung thick and heavy rolling over his shoulders and cascading down to around his waist At the moment it was still wet so it clung tightly to his body The color remained black but when it caught the light in the right way there were threads of emerald running through it

In addition HelenÆs suspicion that RandidlyÆs face had become ghastly was completely false If anything ahem Randidly had become slightly more appealing in an aesthetic sense The emerald color of his eyes looked especially bright at the moment and his cheekbones and jaw seemed more well defined than they had been previously Framed by his dark hair

Helen blinked and looked at RandidlyÆs body more closely His skin it hasnÆt really darkened but where he used to be somewhat tan now he looks more metallic closer to a bronze It isnÆt as easy to see his veins through the skin any longer but

Randidly reached up and pushed back his gushing hair which had been falling down his chest so she could see his bone structure a little bit better What Helen saw in the lines of RandidlyÆs ribs was more in line with him becoming a monster She studied Randidly more closely and then had to suck in a breath He still looked to be the same size as he had been previously but whereas before he was covered in lean muscle he was now emaciated

Rather than him atrophying or being forced to consume his muscles for energy it seemed that his bones had grown and now dwarfed his muscles His frame had grown larger

But then again it was more than that The shape of his skeleton had changed in subtle ways The bones of his shoulders and forearms had thickened and stretched hemming in his flesh from expanding It was like a few pieces of natural armor had been inserted into his body

Definitely some changes Helen finally said But she could only shrug at the expression on RandidlyÆs face But do you think these small things really matter

RandidlyÆs expression was dark He sighed You havenÆt seen the worst part

From around RandidlyÆs side became a tentative flicker An enormous thick as HelenÆs fist at the base two meter long forest green covered in fur tail flitted from side to side in front of HelenÆs eyes As her jaw dropped RandidlyÆs expression crumpled

Ahem Helen patted her chest and stared at the naturally graceful movements of RandidlyÆs new tail as it undulated behind him Can I touch it

Eventually Randidly shooed the suddenly enthusiastic Helen away and returned to his room to gloomily envision a future where all of his pants had to be adjusted to allow for a tail Randidly sat down on the ground and his extremely long hair pooled around him The only disturbance was the near constant subconscious movements of his tail that shifted the curtain of hair back and forth

Randidly grimaced and considered whipping out Acri immediately to chop most of his hair off but decided that this experience with the Grim Chimera probably was enough when it came to self adjustments to his looks He could enlist someone elseÆs help to have another person to blame if something went wrong

Randidly adjusted his position with a frown on his face having a tail made sitting cross legged more difficult than he had expected

On the one hand he cursed the Grim Chimera for playing fast and loose with his body This irritation was made worse by his mental state His mind was still somewhat tired from serving as the buffer in the Nether Ritual but when he came to he forced himself to awaken fully and make sure there werenÆt any latent dangers to the on going situation Luckily Helen had allowed the Frost Matriarch to carry the two of them away

The Pinnacle Seekers were just as self interested as other factions but at least they were relatively straightforward in their demands and they paid their debts If saving Claudette on a whim earned Randidly a few days of protection it was definitely worth it

Randidly also knew that he couldnÆt be too mad at the Grim Chimera for growing him an actual tail to match his image Part of the adjustments made by the Grim Chimera was changing a bunch of the major joints in his body to add more flexibility In addition RandidlyÆs bones had been grown and strengthened resulting in a heavy forward lean in a skeleton that was almost double its prior weight Randidly could tell from his few fumbling attempts at movement that the tail was a necessary evil to balance that weight out

He could just count himself lucky that there wasnÆt currently a tiny tail growing at the base of his neck Just to make sure he reached up to rub the back of his neck and then sighed

Then RandidlyÆs eyes flashed as he focused his mind on business He had gained a lot from surviving this time He had earned almost a hundred PP while he had been unconscious all in Skills relating to his physical abilities Plus there definitely had been a breakthrough in his Nether Core the energy he could now produce was dense and silky to his senses

So his mind moved to the future and he began to arrange his priorities

Soon he would talk to Helen and arrange a meeting with Seeker Thunder Wing to discuss his newly acquired Fatepiece He would also need to find a large area nearby where he could familiarize himself with how this body moved

Randidly closed his eyes and simply breathed savoring the sensation of wholeness he felt That at least was a side effect of the new body for which he was utterly thankful

Chapter 1657

Congratulations Your Skill the Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil has grown to 324

Humming to himself Randidly cracked his knuckles and stood After another two days of allowing his Nether Core and images to nurture his frayed the last dregs of exhaustion had been cleared away His emerald eyes were clear and sharp

Randidly Ghosthound was back to his peak state

But that thought caused him to grimace and shake his head Well theoretically peak state If I were to be attacked right now

Twisting around Randidly considered his newly acquired tail Just like an aloof cat the tail flicked back and forth without paying any mind to RandidlyÆs observation Compared to the size of his body the tail was rather oversized At two meters in length there was enough length of tail to wrap the fluffy and strangely alien extension of himself three times around his waist and still have some to spare

There was an unexpected benefit the fur of his new tail was extremely soft Randidly found it rather relaxing to sit and run his fingers along the tail while he thought Plus the tail was rather elastic in its shape and size The same muscles that allowed him to manipulate it were extremely malleable Once Randidly put his whole attention to it he gradually learned to adjust the minute muscles along the tailÆs length so that it could contract and stretch to a more manageable size

The process wasnÆt exactly quick but the current Randidly had a monstrously high Fidelity of the Ascendant Moirae Even acclimating to a new limb couldnÆt slow him down for long

Once successful he differentiated between two forms of the tail the condensed one and the battle mode While the tail was condensed it shortened to a little over a meter and squeezed itself to a much more manageable thickness That tail allowed Randidly to basically walk and talk as he did before with his dense tail wrapped tightly around his stomach His balance was still slightly off kilter but his powerful musculature could compensate at everyday speeds

The battle mode stretched the tail to its full two meter length and had all of the fur bristling making it seem like he had a lithe green club whipping back and forth behind his body Randidly even spent some time experimenting with his image physicalizations and was rather impressed with the result When he manifested the Grim Chimera the thick and formerly soft hair along his tail hardened and merged together to form dark green cartilage plates along the length of the swollen tail calling to RandidlyÆs mind the image of a mecha dinosaur

Then he would release it and the tail would meekly reassume its mild mannered alter ego of a massive catÆs tail While fully extended Randidly also became rather proficient at picking up glasses and drinking from them with solely his tail

Occasionally he was overzealous and crushed the unlucky cup but that was simply the price of progress

The real problem was the balance changes that the extended tail brought to his person fighting right now would definitely be a haphazard affair His altered bone structure made him lean forward aggressively so his center of gravity had shifted The change allowed Randidly to focus more of his energy on explosive dodges and attacks rather than blocks but some of his prior habits would need to be retrained before he held much confidence in his fighting capabilities

Equally important to Randidly as restoring his fighting capability was the Grim Chimera image itself which was on the cusp of an evolution The bright and tinkling bits of images that the Grim Chimera had absorbed had merged together into a dense nucleus and now only needed to be activated with the proper focus

However when Randidly examined that nucleus his emotional senses had noticed something unfortunate Because much of the impetus for this evolution occurred during that vicious Struggle against the shockwave of ElhumeÆs attack the emotional notes within the evolution were entirely dark desperate and vicious Quite like VuallaÆs image during the worst of the Xyrt BrigadeÆs training methods all the soft and cautious portions of the Grim Chimera had vanished What remained was pure utility

A brutal beautiful utility that was an efficient solution in certain situations But the resulting image would be a single purpose tool

For the same reasons that he had helped Vualla heal from those changes Randidly intended to pause the evolution for a couple of weeks and rectify this emotional imbalance He even had a few ideas about how to handle this situation it was finally time to pay his debts to the Nemesai and others that he promised to protect their home planets Without the Engraving Guild tracker he could be much freer in his movements without worrying about ambushes from Velio Dunn Hopefully those positive actions would mollify some of the starkness of the Grim Chimera

Plus I promised that Nether Gatekeeper that I would help its kind within the Shaft bah thatÆs a bit more complicated with everyone still ruffled about the conflict with the Nether King And I wonder how that being is doing on the Path to the Pinnacle The Frost Matriarch seemed to hint that traversing that Path directly could take a year or two Randidly reached and scratched his head Then he shook himself his now shorter hair bouncing around and then settling back into place around his jaw

Helen had agreed to cut his hair but recommended that he leave some of the length Apparently it framed his face good enough to look atÆ Feeling rather helpless about HelenÆs frequent longing glances at his tail Randidly had simply allowed her to do as she wanted in order to return to his solitude as quickly as possible

And by solitude Randidly had thrown himself after that haircut into the process of learning to keep his tail under wraps

A knock at the door shook Randidly from his musing He cracked his shoulders and raised his voice Yes

ItÆs Seeker Thunder Wing The voice announced Then as though this was explanation enough the Pinnacle Seeker pushed open the door and walked into RandidlyÆs chambers carrying several dusty tomes in his arms

RandidlyÆs mouth twitched as he saw the reverence with which he treated those texts You history fanatic why didnÆt you just store those within an interspatial device

Ah IÆm glad to see you recovered Seeker Thunder Wing said politely but Randidly rolled his eyes the other man didnÆt even look at him as he was saying just produced a table and began to gently lay out the various tomes he had dragged along with him Since there are no problems we can immediately study the Hierarchy of Burden truly it is a wonder of the universe that you obtained it as a Fate But after seeing your efforts in defending against Elhume I believe I understand Your physical body is incredibly powerful perhaps even reaching the standard of the Second Cohort But ahem ahem small talk aside some explanations are in order

Seeing that Seeker Thunder WingÆs face was becoming increasingly lively Randidly didnÆt even say anything he simply allowed the man to continue to bubble with excitement His only contribution to the rising tide of momentum was conjuring his layered pyramid Fatepiece and the black stylus that went along with it Randidly set both on the table while he continued to listen

As I stated previously the Hierarchies were created in order to handle all of the ambient drag attracted by powerful images and concentrated Aether before the Nexus became a closed system Seeker Thunder Wing opened one of his large books and flicked quickly through the pages Specifically the Hierarchy of Burden was created to handle the problem of destroyed space the lingering wounds had to be addressed so image users wouldnÆt tear a hole in the universe and throw themselves into the void every time they attacked

Seeker Thunder Wing pointed at RandidlyÆs Fatepiece Each layer of this device corresponds to a different force that needs to be removed or massaged in order to heal space The usage is rather simple you use the black stylus to inscribe your consent to bear the Burden one layer at a time When you are able to completely handle the burden as determined by the Hierarchy you can proceed on to the next layer In addition you need not bear all the layers yourself In fact I would recommend you didnÆt Even with your powerful body it would be nearly impossible Accord to the records the different steps interact in complex ways when applied to one individual The full Hierarchy of Burden was considered a sadistic and ineffective means of torture insofar as the prisoner was universally rendered unable to speak in the aftermath

Randidly nodded slowly at that He still wasnÆt great at relying on allies but his journey to this point had definitively demonstrated that a single individualÆs power was limited even at the top of the Nexus So I can make use of my subordinates huh

Exactly The Seeker snapped his fingers and grinned wolfishly His expression combined with his tight leather vest to make Seeker Thunder Wing look nothing like the source of historical knowledge that he currently was He was just an aging punk singer But obviously those substitute individuals will also need to be able to earn the approval of the Hierarchy before you can proceed to a different layer Now letÆs talk about the different forces of the drag

Seeker Thunder Wing pointed to the top of the pyramid which was red This layer is the electromagnetic forces Having space pressed up against destroyed space results in a powerful boundary of inverse energy being pressed up against space discharge is created naturally by the proximity According to the records enduring this layer is like being continually struck with bolts of galactic lightning

The next force is light radiation A tear in space rapidly absorbs a dangerous amount of light The Pinnacle Seeker pointed to the translucent layer below the red one It goes on to say that this absorption here is stickyÆ somehow But Records relating to this layer are more confusing Some variations of the word heat are used to describe the sensation the bearer will receive but the notes were made before the universal translation apparatus was installed in the Nexus Therefore meaning can be a bit more ambiguous So I would approach this layer cautiously

Then Seeker Thunder Wing pointed to the middle layer the sapphire layer This layer is much more straightforward This force is entropy Those holes in space suck away energy so quickly that a normal flesh being will be dried and frozen before they even realize whatÆs happening You can expect the same for yourself with hopefully less deadly results

The fourth layer is rather straightforward here you prevent spatial collapse Your body will be required to endure physical force Quite like the way you handled ElhumeÆs attack Seeker Thunder WingÆs finger dropped to the ivory layer near the bottom

Then he finally pointed at the silver base Again this layer is relatively mysterious Here you handle spatial anomaliesÆ But whereas there were a few bits of description for the light radiation layer this one was completely blank Apparently the original historians believed that the term spatial anomalies would be enough or they wanted to prevent the casual reader from being able to use the Hierarchy No matter what source I checked they were universally bereft of explanation

Randidly rubbed his chin as he looked at the layered pyramid It gleamed in the low light filtering through the window from the tundra outside Can you choose the layers in whatever order you wish to do them

Seeker Thunder Wing shook his head Unfortunately not You need to start from the base and work your way upward Something about the way the forces interact to create the drag ItÆs like peeling an onion you need to get some forces out of the way before you can safely address others

That made Randidly raise his eyebrows So I need to start with the mysterious spatial anomaliesÆ

Seeker Thunder Wing laughed Ha No I thought you knew He reached over to the table and grabbed RandidlyÆs Fatepiece Then he picked it up and set it back down so it was balanced on the tip of the pyramid The Fate Piece remained there perfectly balanced You start from the bottom And the size of each layer is a rough approximation of how difficult it will be each time to earn the approval of the Hierarchy

Chapter 1658

After they finished discussing the particulars of the Hierarchy of BurdenÆs usage and before Randidly allowed Seeker Thunder Wing to make several sketches of his Fatepiece he shifted the topics I actually have another issue to ask you about Do you know if itÆs possible to buy planets from the Nexus

Hmm Seeker Thunder Wing dragged his eyes away from the Hierarchy of Burden and looked at Randidly Then he chuckled Based on the expression on your face you are overthinking this Buying a planet Ha Remember the Nexus only begrudgingly distributes energy to most planets If you take a few off their hands theyÆd be delighted

Even if those planets have produced active Nemesai that are helping with the most recent Cohort Randidly persisted

Again Seeker Thunder Wing chuckled But this time his expression twisted into something much more sinister Do you think that matters at all And between you the Head Drill Sergeant in an emergency draft and a minuscule and replaceable Nemesai which do you think the Nexus would rather keep happy Even worse in the end the Nexus would gratefully break its promise regarding energy and use you as an excuse The under clerk in charge of that sector would give his stamp of approval without thinking twice

If there is one thing that the Nexus doesnÆt lack it is worlds with intelligent life There are many twisted individuals that relieve their stress by going into some of the stored Dungeons ones currently unattached to a new Cohort and just slaughter every unfortunate being they find No one bothers to investigate such genocides when they are discovered they just select another Dungeon to use ThatÆs the sort of place the Nexus is

To that Randidly had no answer But it was a powerful reminder of why he struggled so hard to gain power enough to protect Expira

Seeker Thunder Wing eventually left with a glowing expression of euphoria at handling such an integral piece of Nexus history and Randidly retrieved his Fatepiece For now he intended to wait before he activated the red electromagnetic layer Figuring out how to fight effectively with his new balance was more important especially considering that he had to duel against Seeker Dusk Jackal in five days

But just as he was readying himself to seek out one of the Frost MatriarchÆs assistants a familiar feeling rose in his chest the heavy machinery of the Eidolon Crucible was activating A gleeful smile covered RandidlyÆs face Heh IÆve had five years of refinement and youÆve only had four or so months go by This should be fun

RandidlyÆs vision turned blurry and he floated down into a dreamlike state The unfortunate and awkward state of his body was completely abandoned here as just a manifested will Randidly was near unstoppable

Congratulations Your Skill Reign of the Eidolon Crucible has grown to Level 280

Influence +9

Congratulations Your Skill Reign of the Eidolon Crucible has grown to Level 281

Congratulations Your Skill Reign of the Eidolon Crucible has grown to Level 311

Influence +13

When Randidly awoke from the experience he swore viciously and raised his hands to press against his throbbing temples What the hell was that

For the first time since he had obtained the Eidolon Crucible Skill Randidly Ghosthound had almost lost to the people of Kharon in a battle of wills Even now his mind was murky and exhausted from the extended battle And this happened with the benefit of his new obscenely dense Nether Core Something had clearly happened on Expira With but a thought Randidly slipped into his Alpha Cosmos

RandidlyÆs current interactions with Expira were unfortunately complex Since affixing his Nether Core to the deepest portion of the Kharon Academy Labyrinth Expira had become protected from the eyes of the System by becoming part of his bubble The details of the arrangement were confusing to Randidly but essentially he and the Alpha Cosmos could swap positions as the bubble around Expira So when Randidly was out in the Nexus the only way for a foreign force to travel to Expira was through his body Even he couldnÆt use his PhilosopherÆs Key to directly portal to Expira any longer When he was within the Alpha Cosmos the Alpha Cosmos became the bubble and theoretically something could then make it to Expira

But only if that outside force managed to make it to the Alpha Cosmos

For RandidlyÆs purposes it just meant that the only way to get to Expira now was to go into the Alpha Cosmos first and then use his PhilosopherÆs Key However no sooner had Randidly appeared inside the Alpha Cosmos than he sensed LucretiaÆs awareness lock onto him He was standing next to a gurgling stream and a second later LucretiaÆs ghostly manifestation wandered out of a nearby treeline and made a beeline toward him

The long time presence in RandidlyÆs Soulskill and the former Karma Witch of Tellus studied Randidly critically for several seconds and then smiled Look at you fully grown and self contained Thank god you are alright itÆs been so long since IÆve heard from you When the temporal distortions arrived and the influence of the Pantheon expanded without any word from you we feared well Considering your history of making insidious enemies

Randidly couldnÆt help but chuckle but then his expression quickly shifted back to one of the utmost severity What do you mean the PantheonÆs influence expanded And temporal distortions

Lucretia tilted her head to the side and her lilac hair swung for a brief moment across her face You didnÆt know about this Well I suppose I shouldnÆt be surprised Even I only realized the core of Nether energy on Expira was responsible for both after several years of studying the phenomenon I believe that energy node is weaving Expira and your Alpha Cosmos closely together

Wait wait wait Randidly held up a hand Lucretia nodded and fell silent allowing Randidly to turn his focus inward toward his Nether Core It truly was his core only a thought away When Randidly expanded his focus just from the churning Nether Core and its growing significance and to the wider situation around it he started to have an inkling about what Lucretia was talking about

Through those archways that appeared between Expira and the Alpha Cosmos Randidly s Nether had created thick woven bands of Nether that had subtly bonded the two worlds within the greater bubble of RandidlyÆs energy

Influence +14

Randidly opened his eyes These temporal distortions did they affect Expira or just the Alpha Cosmos

Both Lucretia answered shortly As far as I can tell the temporal distortions were done to keep the Nether and Aether in your body in balance while you were improving very quickly So time was sped up in these two worlds to keep up with your physical shift since both were part of your person anyway All in all it has been about five years since youÆve been in the Alpha Cosmos And at that time you were only in here briefly to drop off that Nether Prophet thatÆs galavanting with the Frost Dragons So another five years before that since youÆve been here and spoken to any one of us About a month or two after you dropped after the Nether Gatekeeper is when the Pantheon gained control of Expira as well although theyÆve been very cautious about the changes they make to the established Class System

Randidly blinked several times The first chunk of time for the Alpha Cosmos experienced was just me in the Shaft Then after it was connected to Expira what caused the time dilation the second time When my stats jumped upward Or was LucretiaÆs guess right and it was when my body was balancing Aether and Nether

Could me tearing apart portions of my flesh and regrowing it have some sort of symbolic significance Or was it the Grim Chimera somehow affecting these worlds when it remade my body against under ElhumeÆs shockwave

Randidly pursed his lips Two questions How much time has passed for Expira then And also has there been any disastrous weather occurrences Dangerous monsters running loose Damnit has Expira experienced its first Calamity then

Lucretia shook her head Apparently there was a problem with the Calamity you should talk to Alta about that But Expira has gone through the second five year stretch with us As for dangerous weather phenomenon around a year ago there was a disastrous earthquake that affected both worlds Thousands died in some places the ground just split open and devoured any buildings unfortunate enough to have been built there But luckily the worst affected areas in both cases were sparsely populated Also around that time a new breed of monster appeared on not just Expira and the Alpha Cosmos but all of the connected planets

Five years well that at least explains why the Eidolon Crucible was such a struggle Randidly reflected With the same five years of growth just because there are so fucking many of them I donÆt have much of a margin for error

But the fallout from Elhume happened a year ago for them This doesnÆt really clarify the mechanism for the time dilation when I do decide to evolve the Grim Chimera will that cause a few years to go by

Lucretia continued speaking appearing to not noticing RandidlyÆs distracted thoughts These new monsters are Level 99 and generally keep to themselves They stake out hunting grounds and donÆt make much trouble unless they are challenged They come in all shapes in sizes depending on the local monster populations but there is one unifying feature their names have ChimeraÆ added to the end

Lucretia favored Randidly with a sardonic smile Your ExpiraÆs Zone 11 popularized the common term for these Chimeras although I believe most people in the Alpha Cosmos and other worlds attached through Danger Zones say it without truly understanding it They are called end game contentÆ

Reaching up with his cool metal fingers Randidly pinched the bridge of his nose So this is the equivalent of me growing a tail huh Grim Chimera

They chatted about the specifics of the deadly earthquake which caused RandidlyÆs heart to squeeze with guilt then Randidly nodded and pulled out his Philosopher’s Key to seek out Alta As he did so he froze due to his perturbed mood during the conversation his forest green tail had unraveled itself from his waist and began flicking fitfully back and forth LucretiaÆs gaze had locked onto the tail and her eyes sparkled

Randidly coughed and opened a portal intently controlling the tail to wrap itself around his waist once more

He found Alta quickly Her gaze on him had changed to more resigned and serious most of the furious heat that had been AltaÆs trademark during her life had steadily dimmed over ten years as a minor god Randidly supposed Unlike Lucretia Alta wasnÆt quite so investigatory in her pursuits

We donÆt really know why the problem occurred Alta shrugged When your Nether Core appeared in Expira it cut off the overlay System completely but also weirdly blocked portions of the base System Lucretia says its because a portion of the main System utilizes Nether as its medium and your Core now supersedes that So the Calamity didnÆt come and the Nexus Ways no longer work And also huh

Alta blinked Her brow furrowed Ah Randidly do you have a tail now

RandidlyÆs mouth twitched His traitorous tail had sneakily unraveled itself once again and even expanded to its full length while he had been listening to Alta speak He decided that it would be petty to deny it at this point so Randidly nodded jerkily like his neck was rusted stiff

To his shock Alta’s lips twitched into an expression quite reminiscent of a smile Then she coughed into her hand “How interesting “

Chapter 1659

The Frost Matriarch was about to respond to her precious discipleÆs snarky remark when the heavy figured frost giant had to pause and look out the open archways at the tundra Her massive mouth closed and twitched This young man certainly knows how to try an old womanÆs patience

A monstrous wave of snow blasted from the distant spot where Randidly Ghosthound was currently training tearing a vast gap into the polar ice cap beneath their feet and unleashed a surface level wave that rushed toward the Frost MatriarchÆs base Sighing inwardly she flicked her hand A wall of ice rose swiftly out of the ground and functioned as a surf break to keep this phenomenon from lapping up onto her very doorstep

The defensive structure rose quickly soon blocking the phenomenon completely from the Frost MatriarchÆs vision But to her surprise the admittedly hastily erected wall buckled and shattered when RandidlyÆs snow tidal wave slammed into it The whole thing collapsed in a flour y explosion of snow and ice winds howling in every direction as the force dispersed Discretely the Frost Matriarch tapped her massive foot against the ground and sent a pulse of chill through the floor to the base of the glacier on which her base was situated

Her image rushed toward chilling the tear that the young man had created with his blow And with that image she added a hint of Perception

And she was glad that she did the Ghosthound had used enough force to generate several hairline cracks in the massive image core that she had left at the base to maintain the whole flotilla Obviously her image was robust enough to withstand attacks from other images but it was rather irksome that this young man had managed to bludgeon it physically into submission over the past few hours

Not that his training was truly a disturbance And it wasnÆt difficult to heal the damage he created just that the constant noise and vibrations were a little obnoxious Plus it rankled her pride that it took an active image from her to suppress his physical force Just leaving an imprint within the deepest depths of the ice wasnÆt enough

Still she could begrudgingly admit that this situation wasnÆt exactly surprising If the Frost Matriarch could leave an image imprint as strong as the one her Willpower could wield she would be only a hair away from the Pinnacle She would have stepped into the realm of the Speculum

A new plume of shattered ice and snow billowed upward But at least this time the shockwave wasnÆt aimed in their direction It simply filled the sky with a glittering kaleidoscope of ice

Seems like heÆs having fun Claudette Beigon chuckled and leaned back in her chair

The Frost Matriarch allowed a sour expression to briefly warp her face Then she shrugged and smiled You were right A casual request from Randidly Ghosthound isnÆt a simple thing at all The sort of force that heÆs generating with just his body and a little bit of a middling image is probably enough to destroy a continent With time he will grow strong

Have you noticed the sounds of cracking ice are getting louder too Claudette teased as she gestured out through the archways At this rate we are going to sink into the sea after a few more hours

The Frost Matriarch could only chortle at that When the Ghosthound had asked for some space to practice using his altered body she hadnÆt thought anything of the request Now two days later she was inwardly very thankful that there were only three days left until Seeker Dusk Jackal would come seeking a duel

Then the devastation this humanoid left in his wake would be someone else’s problem Hopefully the Dusk Jackal would beat some sense into him

The Frost Matriarch pressed her hands together and readjusted her mindset studying the slight tilt of ClaudetteÆs face and her immaculately polished armor he is beyond impressive surely with surprising a surprising depth of capabilities But an image refinement should not be undertaken casually and more than even your own accomplishments the capability of the Sculptor is paramount Considering that his achievements in images are only a bit above your own I cannot support this decision of yours

But itÆs still my decision isnÆt it Claudette smiled sweetly and batted her eyelashes But there was a definite fragility to the current cheer that Claudette displayed

The Frost Matriarch examined her student very carefully and then snorted IÆm not one of your suitors mooning after you Claudette your charm is worthless here And havenÆt I been the one enduring the ire of your father by arguing that you are ready for your first image refinement Should the outcome fall below expectations I will be blamed Your choice it may be but you must acknowledge the consequences

So petty Claudette wrinkled her nose and clicked her tongue But while the young woman acted out the small facial tantrum the Frost Matriarch just continued to stare at her pupil A rumble came again from the GhosthoundÆs practice sending delicate ripples through the tea on the table between the two women

They hadnÆt touched their cups in quite some time

As the Frost Matriarch knew that she would Claudette soon relented her play acting and revealed a strained expression Her pupil looked tired I believe IÆve run out of time Father has achieved his third Mille In six months he will be throwing a grand party to flaunt that accomplishment before the entirety of the Nexus At the time the protections he has extended to me will expire To earn an extra boost toward the Pinnacle Claudette waved her hand vaguely at her body She licked her lips he is willing to pay any price

The Frost Matriarch couldnÆt decide what sort of expression to show her pupil Inwardly she sighed Very few individuals in the Nexus had achieved even a single Mille so to have reached the point of possessing three Both the ambitions and the resolve of Senior Beigon ran very deep

The Frost Matriarch raised her gaze and gestured again to create another ice wall to block the reverberations from the GhosthoundÆs training Then she turned back to the discussion with a sense of urgency You fear that none of the more established Sculptors will agree to assist with your image refinement either because they risk offending your father or because they wish to dominate you themselves so you gamble This I can understand But it would still be better to choose someone with a more powerful image to be your Sculptor

Claudette still with that empty expression on her face shrugged Is it not you who told me that image potency and Sculpting talent are not correlated There are many powerful Pinnacle Seekers who would be a disaster in an image refinement Would you allow Seeker Dusk Jackal to go mucking around in my head

But all of the truly revered Sculptors possess powerful images The Frost Matriarch countered

Which is why itÆs a gamble Claudette agreed Then some of her cheer crept back into the expression Honestly the thought of using him hadnÆt even occurred to me but you know the strangest thing happened yesterday That viper Neshamah sent me a message Very discretely tucked inside other distracting tidbits she was inquiring about the current location of Randidly Ghosthound and whether I could facilitate communication between the two of them How queer yes That this man caught the eyes of the Rex Family

The Frost Matriarch coughed lightly Well we cannot deny that his body shape seems efficient in action All beings have needs Perhaps you have misinterpreted the nature of Neshamah RexÆs interest

Claudette simply rolled her eyes she didnÆt dignify that comment with a response

A few seconds later Claudette grinned again but now the expression was genuine Besides that strangeness is a double edged sword Who knows He might even refuse to help

Arrgghh

Helen stumbled backward and Randidly lowered his spear breathing out two thin streams of steam from his nose The remnant particles of HelenÆs shattered new Domain drifted toward the ground and disintegrated in the next moment The shuddering ice beneath their feet gradually calmed down after they ceased their violent movements

Helen managed to regain her balance and opened her mouth to snap off something waspish at Randidly but blanched as she did so She turned away from him and vomited out her breakfast very visibly on the white ground Small chunks slid with rather grotesque permanence across the slippery surface

Randidly rolled his shoulders trying to appear empathetic to her plight while also relishing his newly acquired comfort in his body Behind him his elongated tail flicked back and forth tasting the surrounding air currents His bare feet on the ice felt grounded and powerful

After realizing both Expira and the Alpha Cosmos had experienced time dilation Randidly had spent a few hours investigating the phenomenon He talked to both Wendy and Tatiana both discretely but honestly the worlds were managing well enough without his interference Relieved Randidly went back and contacted the whole of the Alpha Cosmos Pantheon

Compared to the time dilation he was more concerned about the delay and shift in the Calamity Randidly almost wanted to call the whole thing off to try and prevent any more loss of life but had taken the time to sample the emotions and images of Expira Even after only five years he could feel soft spots of complacency beginning to emerge even in his personally crafted Kharon

With a heavy heart Randidly decided to allow the Pantheon to proceed as they saw fit he washed his hands of the matter and returned to his own concerns Right now that meant getting used to his body

Helen finally managed to control her stomach and twisted around to gaze hatefully at him You fucking did that on purpose

Well obviously Randidly couldnÆt resist a chuckle ArenÆt we sparring Why would I just let you empower your Domain

You Helen hissed She was clenching her fists so tightly on her spear shaft that her arms were trembling and her shoulders heaved Her eyes were slightly red rimmed as she struggled to find the words to express her dissatisfaction

Randidly smiled blandly It had taken him a few hours to get used to fighting with the tail but apparently the Grim Chimera had adjusted his instincts when it had made the physical changes to his person contrary to his assumptions the adjustment process was entirely natural After he felt confident he accepted HelenÆs demands to spar as a way to raise the stakes of his acclimation

Randidly fought without using any images or Skills but it still quickly became more about training Helen than testing his own limits And from experience Randidly knew that the best way to encourage her to develop was to crush her over and over again That lit the enviable kind of stubborn fire in HelenÆs chest that Randidly had seen in few people other than himself

Grr Helen snarled at his unapologetic expression but then visibly controlled herself and sucked in a deep breath When she spoke again it was through gritted teeth Well one more time then

Randidly shook his head IÆd like to but you should take some time to recover first I need to go see about stealing away a planet

Chapter 1660

While on Expira Randidly had contacted all the Nemesai and obtained all the pertinent information regarding their home planets With the proper identification Randidly had sent a message to Octavius Shrike to confirm that the whateverÆ attitude described by the Frost Matriarch was truly the NexusÆ stance After having to act at such a precise time to rid himself of the Engraving GuildÆs tracer he was quite leery of attracting any more undue attention

Boring studious a stickler for rules inflexible Octavius had actually laughed at RandidlyÆs question So with the last remnants of doubts vanquished Randidly used his PhilosopherÆs Key to travel to the Sixth Cohort and located the homeworld of the Obsidian Duke and the Jade Prince

This would be his first target

For a while he simply floated at the edges of the planetÆs atmosphere and observed the planet From just a casual glance Randidly could tell how horrifyingly thin the Aether across the world was no wonder it was such a struggle for powerful individuals to develop on these forgotten planets Randidly could also sense the Aether structures around the planet and how theyÆd been slowly fraying without constant reinforcement Rather than a planet Randidly felt like he was looking at a discarded childÆs toy

Just how the Nexus does business huh

Despite the sour note noticing those structures sharpened RandidlyÆs gaze if he could steal away those structures along with the planet he would probably gain quite a lot of insight into the way the Nexus worked

But first Randidly took a deep breath His gaze went slightly unfocused He had come to this planet with an ulterior motive after all He really wanted to use the process of incorporating these planets into a network with Expira to balance out the chillingly singular Grim Chimera evolution that currently gurgled in his chest Obviously the evolution wouldnÆt just shift by him taking kind actions or feeling empathy but Randidly believed that he could use the Grim Chimera as the main lever of the operation and have some impact

Of course that leaves me with the prospect of figuring out the right sort of Nether Ritual to use in this case and then have the Grim Chimera be the executor of that operation Randidly offered a wry smile to the atmosphere waiting below He had some ideas but it would not be a simple thing

Still Randidly would rather get this started prior to the duel against Seeker Dusk Jackal so he could monitor how the Grim Chimera responded to the changes in activity He needed to know for sure how fickle the aim of the evolution he held was Then relying on the information from the Frost Matriarch that the Dusk Jackal wouldnÆt force the duel to be one to the death Randidly would survive the experience and take his initial results from this expedition and his insights after the duel into the shaft

His potential would need more time under deadly threat to accumulate to the point of facilitating explosive growth in time dilation but the time would at least let him figure out the methodology to steal away a planet

Clapping his flesh and metal hand together a few times to rouse himself Randidly began to work His Nether Core hummed to life The ultimate goal was to weave a pocket around this world that would connect it intimately to his Nether Core and Alpha Cosmos Then the planets he had promised to protect would be screened from the System and he could support them in the same manner that he was influencing his home planet

ThereÆs a big caveat to this process though Randidly reflected soberly as he paused in his examination of the world below Theoretically these pockets mean that most forces maybe short of Elhume and the Nether King canÆt get to the planets except through me But it should be possible to damage me remotely by attacking these workings My body can endure the force but IÆm more worried about exposing my Nether Core trauma

In the end IÆll probably need to think about taking things a step further Randidly tapped a pointer finger against his chin The pockets should be pulled directly into my Soulskill So it finally resembles something closer to an actual Cosmos

Forcing those thoughts to the side Randidly began to experiment with flows of Nether Thick strands spun out from his Nether Core to flow between his fingers The trick was to weave thick enough significance around both himself the already entangled Expira and the new planet However getting the Nether tethers to hold the Nether Ritual in place around the new planet required a very deft touch

Randidly had the seed of significance he needed for such an act because he was moving due to an agreement to protect the planet In addition Nether responded positively to his gradual movements as wove lines of significance out from himself into the world The act of connection provided a bit of extra oomph to his working

However the difficulty was doing this all through the image of the Grim Chimera

After confirming that his base theories had merit Randidly raised both of his hands with the air of a magician underneath the unblinking eye of a hot spotlight The skin of his lower torso turned ethereal while heavy slate grey armor grew across his shoulders and left arm His legs were lined with sharp ridges and exact angles of the same material His now physical lower tail thickened into an undulating train of spikes and segmented metal while a spectral upper tail flickered into existence at the base of his neck

His heart began to pound and in addition to blood it pumped thick flows of Nether through his veins His Nether CoreÆs energy came through the image physicalizations of the Grim Chimera

Randidly grimaced after a few seconds Even though the evolution hadnÆt yet been completed just activating the image revealed the hollow and sharp edged core that the Grim Chimera now possessed A chilling certainty spread through him as the image influence him and the world below seemed extremely distant A certainty that Randidly could crush the entire planet with a single fist flickered to life as he looked downward at the distant surface

Then Randidly shook himself and didnÆt dwell on the sudden impulse to destroy He began to move his hands using the weapon like appendages to create an envelope of protective Nether to assist this unfortunate planet Compared to the other images the Grim Chimera was nowhere near as nurturing as Yggdrasil nor did it possess the overwhelming celestial levels of yearning of the Stillborn Phoenix

But the Grim Chimera had learned to grow in any environment it had already incorporated Nether deeply into its identity The image might lean toward violence now but assimilation and adaptions were the true spirit of the beast Those traits were dim now but Randidly knew that enough dedication would bring them back to the surface

So he worked until he had woven an entire barrier of Nether in front of him The result was decidedly unimpressive

Randidly wasnÆt surprised that his first attempt was rather poor The pocket was barely large enough to cover a building and collapsed at the slightest eddy of Aether It was a failure on multiple fronts But it was only the first attempt

With the next ten attempts Randidly addressed the problem of collapse all his efforts would be useless if random Aether could disturb the working And the problem wasnÆt even antagonistic Aether any passing image user would release an aura that could steadily destabilize the pocket Randidly suspected that even the energy starved individuals on the planetÆs surface would eventually tear flaws into this sort of shoddy workmanship just by going about their daily lives

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 431

The rather clumsy blades that the Grim Chimera had for fingers were still a problem but repetition eased some of the jerkiness to the movements In terms of addressing the instability Randidly drew inspiration from the tightly layer spatial walls that Commandant Wick had created to diffuse the power of the Nether King But in this case Randidly used the same methods to create some separability to the Nether Ritual so it could endure and recover from the influence of Aether

Randidly breathed in deeply and made another attempt

Congratulations Your Skill Precise Nether Ritual has grown to Level 267

Congratulations Your Skill Precise Nether Ritual has grown to Level 268

Randidly examined the resulting pocket of Nether and could only chuckle he still had a long way to go The principle was right but the execution was still lacking He finally put those razor sharp fingers of the Grim Chimera to good use and diced what he had created to pieces Then he rolled his shoulders snorted out a breath and returned to the process of creation His Nether Core began to spin just a little bit faster

He started again He finished again When it wasnÆt perfect Randidly destroyed and rebuilt the Nether pocket Over and over as the two days until the duel ticked away

In subtle ways that he didnÆt even notice until they accumulated his movements became more smooth The vicious edges of his hands werenÆt softened but they definitely didnÆt move in such unimaginative ways any longer The flow of Nether out of his body and into a Nether Ritual gradually gained familiarity The brittle ruts that his image had created in which it had intended to stay were gradually weakened and broken down A glimmer of life flashed in the eyes of the Grim Chimera as it continued to carefully sculpt Nether

Congratulations Your Skill Precise Nether Ritual has grown to Level 269

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 432

Congratulations Your Skill Precise Nether Ritual has grown to Level 287

After making a workable seal that would isolate the world Randidly had to turn to the main problem how to scale up the envelope to surround a whole world Unfortunately his first few experiments rapidly ran into a new problem he didnÆt have enough high quality Nether to work for a time period long enough to create what he wanted Randidly frowned and allowed the Grim Chimera to fade away this was a more serious issue without an easy solution

He could stockpile Nether beforehand but it would be a rather slow process That could likely be addressed by going into the shaft and consulting with the Nether Gatekeepers but that wouldnÆt help him with the mental energy required to arrange everything

In a way Randidly was starting to understand why the Nether King made use of those inexplicably forming bits of energy and using complex patterns to move them You needed to figure out how to generate the patterns to begin with but once the thing was in motion all you needed to do was manipulate it

Randidly shook his head IÆm a bit away from managing something like that though guess IÆll just have to do it the old fashioned way

Checking the time Randidly didnÆt attempt to weave an envelope again he simply stood at the edge of this planetÆs atmosphere and looked down at the surface He could see their small villages with their even smaller envies and fears He could see the young women and men of the planet starving for Aether doing their best to train their bodies efficiently while not being a burden on their families He could see the chokehold that the Nexus had placed on the planet making it almost impossible to ever escape from their predicament

With a sharp gaze Randidly turned away and opened a portal back to the Frost MatriarchÆs hideout He fucking needed a shower right now before the duel

And after that he could really use the duel Randidly Ghosthound was not in a good mood

Chapter 1661

Randidly tilted his head to the side and regarded the armored woman in front of him You are going to be my guide to Seeker Dusk JackalÆs base

Claudette nodded and favored him with a wide grin She truly had exquisite bone structure Of course I wouldnÆt miss this rare chance to observe you fighting IÆm quite interested to see how you can combine your powerful physical body and your capability with Nether into your image during battle Just in terms of breadth of tactics it is an arsenal worthy of study

The blonde haired woman seemed genuine enough so Randidly ultimately nodded and turned away He was strangely paranoid about connections to the Engraving Guild when she mentioned his ability to use Nether but he reassured himself that she was the Frost MatriarchÆs disciple and had seen him stave off the shockwave of Elhume Anyway most of his bad mood was due to the state of the planet he visited Even after dunking himself in ice cold water he couldnÆt get rid of that strange itch to destroy something

Hard to say if it is the Grim ChimeraÆs lingering destructive impulses or just the Nexus thatÆs under my skin right now RandidlyÆs eyes flashed as he waved a hand and gathered the few personal items he had left laying around the room back into his interspatial ring He traveled quite lightly But right now I donÆt want to keep hiding myself I canÆt bring myself to care too much about taking this arrogant shits by surprise Hopefully what they said about the Pinnacle Seekers not working with the orthodox factions is at least partially true

Pah I think itÆs time to run a bit wild

Then letÆs go Randidly said lightly Claudette nodded and led the way through the passages of the Frost MatriarchÆs base Helen would want to watch the fight too but she was currently training within the Alpha Cosmos So it was enough for Randidly to send her a message and follow after Claudette Beigon

Helen could be hand delivered to the battlefield via the Philosopher’s Key

As they walked Randidly mentally went through the different activation procedures for his Hierarchy of Burden In a way he relished the chance to activate the Fatepiece This would add a whole new dimension to his physical training He now understood his new physical limits a little better but how did that match up against those warriors in the original version of the Nexus

In the central area of the Frost MatriarchÆs base was a wide teleportation formation modelled after the NexusÆ grand astroid constructs But Randidly was interested to notice that there were quite a few differences in the actual Aether mechanisms that made this formation work it looked like the Frost Matriarch had made some personal modifications to the base formula He was equally fascinated that she had the know how and by the particular adjustments that he could learn from

Claudette led the way taking several quick looks at Randidly as they settled into place The two of them stood on the platform and Randidly tilted his head to the side annoyed by her despite himself When he spoke his voice was cold Is there something you nood

Claudette who had been favoring Randidly with sidelong glances even before they had entered into the teleporter room blinked Then she looked at him with a slightly heavier gaze as the portal beneath their feet began to activate

Randidly sighed and shook his head His loosened the muscles of his neck and the annoyance dissipated sorry about that IÆm not in the best mood

To his surprise Claudette laughed No itÆs actually quite alright In a way itÆs a relief YouÆve been so stoic and focused since you woke up from your cocoon constantly training and seeking to improve despite the fact that you almost died Knowing that you have a very short tempered and flawed side to you makes you seem more real And truth be told I did have something I wanted to ask of you

Claudette opened her mouth to say something just as the teleporter activated The runes flared to life beneath their feet The space around them wrenched and threw their two bodies across the Nexus They landed with a lurch much more roughly than Randidly had experienced in any other teleporter The arrival was so abrupt that his tail subconsciously snapped out from his back and he bent his knees to absorb the force Claudette stumbled and put a hand on his metal arm to prevent herself from falling over

The teleporter beneath them buzzed and thunkÆd audibly like an old lawnmower that wondered if this would be the day its engine shook itself to pieces

Randidly had the strange suspicion that Claudette hadnÆt really lost her balance but was just reaching out purposefully to create an excuse to touch him The realization made him frown slightly but he didnÆt know how to feel about it That occurrence and his inability to categorize it satisfactorily became one more strand of agitation coiling around his heart

Randidly took a step away from Claudette and glanced around They were now standing on a rather sandy hill above what appeared to be a dried riverbed The teleporter was clearly in a state of disrepair There wasnÆt another soul in sight So What was it you were going to say

Ah Claudette blinked From the long pause it was clear she was making some sort of mental adjustment Just how well do you know Neshamah Rex She reached out to me wanting to contact you I wasnÆt sure whether you knew each other

Claudette gestured and started walking down into the riverbed and Randidly followed while he considered that information Did the same mechanism that prevented Neshamah from appearing in his encountered individuals list and and letting him send a message also work in reverse Randidly hadnÆt sensed her presence in the final isolated space but Neshamah seemed like someone who had reliable sources of information in quite a few places That she had heard word of RandidlyÆs usage of Nether wasnÆt a surprise

I told you Neshamah A ghost of a smile flickered to life across his face DidnÆt I promise you a surprise

Influence +17

Just an acquaintance Randidly finally said with his eyes straight forward Perhaps before he was exposed to Nether King he would be more interested in arranging a meeting with Neshamah but now Randidly was rather content He had a lot more experiments to do before he exhausted all the inspiration he had from seeing the intricate way the Nether King could guide energy Plus RandidlyÆs accumulation of Influence had been steadily rising he just recently broke past 10 000 Influence which meant that he would likely earn some extra Weight when he attempted to advance his Nether Core

His investigations of Expira and the Alpha Cosmos while he searched for the source of the time dilations also revealed that his growing Influence was accumulated through the support of the population in those worlds Randidly stood in the sky of the Alpha Cosmos and could feel ethereal threads flowing up from those that thought of him being inexorably pulled into his Nether Core With that in mind Randidly anticipated that the speed at which he could gather Influence would sky rocket once he had a workable method of incorporating the NemesaiÆs planets into the Alpha Comos

And I never thought I would admit this but this is only possible due to the proselytizing actions of those fanatical Frost Dragons Randidly winced Who knew that Nether would respond so positively to religion

Claudette seemed to accept RandidlyÆs noncommittal answer because they walked in easy silence for five minutes as they proceeded along the dried riverbed into a canyon At the bottom they found Seeker Dusk Jackal standing with his arms akimbo and watching them approach The whole situation was eerily silence not even the wind dared gossip as the duo approached

The Jackal headed Pinnacle Seeker licked his lips and looked Randidly up and down The air around them was hot and still Have you made your preparations

Claudette raised a hand to cover her small smile while Randidly sent another message to Helen and opened a portal to the Alpha Cosmos Helen walked out cracked her neck and then moved off to the side to observe from a safe distance Randidly rolled his shoulders and produced Acri and Sulfur allowing the two living pieces of equipment to stretch and engage in their own preparations

Then with that seed of bitterness from looking at the Obsidian DukeÆs planet slowly germinating in his heart Randidly grinned vicious toward his opponent His hand tightened on AcriÆs shaft IÆm ready

The rules are simple The Dusk Jackal bellowed his voice bouncing off the sloping walls of the river basin around them The force of his voice smacked against the stillness of the air and left it shattered and broken at his feet The walls of the canyon loomed above them like bored sentinels here to prevent a fearful captive from running away from his fate Since you can be considered one of the younger generation we cannot stake our lives and honor on such a minor agreement Instead there will be a time limit should you survive six hours it will be considered your victory

RandidlyÆs mouth twitched but he didnÆt say anything

The Dusk Jackal settled his muscular body into a crouch The perfect bulges and lines of his physique reminded Randidly in mind of a formula one race car The beastman flexed his hands outward and hatchets appeared in both of them The light within the basin began to become filmy and glittering as though everything was sifted through a filter The richness of color began to fade leaving in its place variant metallic hues We begin on your move Seeker Ghosthound

Seeker Ghosthound huh Randidly was briefly distracted from his rising desire for battle by that mode of naming Do you not know that I was employed by Military High Command or are you telling me that such a thing doesnÆt matter Not so long as I seek to reach the Pinnacle

Ha somehow hearing that is such a relief

The Dusk Jackal continued to stand still the coloration of his image bleeding outward Randidly shook himself and marshaled his own abilities He lowered Acri and allowed his Grim Chimera tail to extend itself fully behind him His skin began to hum as blood accelerated through his veins His heartbeat was even and strong

His body shifted as the image physicalizations of the Grim Chimera manifested across his flesh Some notes of the other two images were part of him as well his left eye darkened and his veins turned golden but this fight was another test for the Grim Chimera And for RandidlyÆs new physical power

Randidly adjusted Acri again and pointed the weapon toward the Dusk JackalÆs chest Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes

The Dusk JackalÆs image flared up as Randidly accelerated forward and the light around him became almost blinding He crossed his two hatchets and stayed in his crouched position to meet RandidlyÆs attack directly The corner of RandidlyÆs mouth quirked upward HeÆs probably not going to make this mistake twice

But Randidly was the one whose eyes widened when the two clashed A huge fissure spread outward from the contact point shattering the basin but the Dusk Jackal remained standing in his original position He had completely endured RandidlyÆs physical attack by suppressing the force with the breadth of his image

As RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed in surprise the Dusk Jackal spun forward whipping his hatchets in vicious arcs RandidlyÆs feet blurred as he stepped quickly around the blades and thrust his spear from a new direction

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Impunity has grown to Level 400

The light around the Dusk Jackal intensified and both sidesÆ blows slid past the target They spun away adjusting their footing and preparing for another pass at one another But to RandidlyÆs surprise two shallow cuts emerged on his chest He had dodged the physical weapons but not the image

The Dusk Jackal was trembling at this point Drool oozed out through his yellowed teeth flowing out of his mouth in thick and ropey clumps He visibly attempted to lick away that drool and grinned over at Randidly Hehehe Now that IÆve drawn blood your fate is sealed you fool Now IÆll show you the true meaning of bloodlust

Instantly the intensity of the metallic light changed RandidlyÆs spine tingled as he realized that a rust coloration was seeping up out of his small cuts and gradually darkening the surroundings With a howl the Dusk Jackal bounded forward

A second later RandidlyÆs Uncommon Metabolism kicked in and the wounds closed luckily the shifts in the Dusk JackalÆs image stopped But the beastman was completely lost in the thrill now as he unleashed a flurry of attacks

Randidly spun Acri as his blood quickened even further Steam began to flow out of his nose as he breathed Alright then time to test the limits of this new body

With a quick step Randidly ducked under the blows ignoring the small cuts that the image still inflicted on his back Then he hopped lightly up into the air and did a half somersault while turning bringing his tail whipping straight up into the air For a brief fraction of time the heavily armored appendage pierced directly upward like a solemn obelisk

Congratulations Your Skill Cosmic Necessity has grown to Level 303

Then the powerful tail came smashing down taking the Dusk Jackal by the surprise and hitting the Pinnacle Seeker with enough power to forcefully embed him into the ground

unfortunately in the next second the Dusk Jackal leapt out of the hole with a gleeful cackle Randidly pressed his lips into a thin line

Chapter 1662

Exactly six hours later the Dusk Jackal pulled up a hatchet mid attack and smacked his lips in disappointment Ahoom Well I suppose thatÆs that Unless you wish to continue the duel for another six hours

A small movement shifted several large stones and sent them toppling Randidly leveraged himself out of the rubble pile with Acri and spat out a mouthful of blood and spittle His shoulders heaved as he tried to catch his breath His body was covered by over a score of different wounds some of which were deep enough to reveal the dull glint of his bones Blood seeped outward and stained the broken stones beneath his feet

I believe stopping now is appropriate Randidly coughed while trying to sound mild With an exaggerated sigh the Dusk Jackal nodded and turned away allowing Randidly to lean against Acri and hobble over toward the position where Helen was standing His physical body was rapidly mending his wounds but the sense of total exhaustion wouldnÆt pass easily

Randidly sat down on a bit of sundered stone next to Helen who was very visibly enjoying his torment She needed to use both hands across her face as a barricade in order to hide her shit eating grin RandidlyÆs lips twitched Even as his near limp tail rolled fitfully across the ground behind him he looked over at her Satisfied

KarmaÆs a bitch Helen revealed her wide grin But the way Seeker Dusk Jackal manipulates light with his image was rather inspiring I could definitely stand to learn a few tricks from him

Randidly sighed and closed his eyes Every part of him ached As it turned out Seeker Dusk JackalÆs image was a pretty effective counter against him The Pinnacle SeekerÆs image was designed to improve his speed power and reaction time as his bloodlust gradually accumulated RandidlyÆs physical body was definitely powerful but this ancient Pinnacle Seeker could even the playing field by steadily inflicting wounds on his body

For Seeker Dusk Jackal his body wreathed in the light of dusk was the entirety of his image

The longer the duel had lasted the more the Dusk Jackal spent time throwing back his head and laughing uproarious while constantly muttering blood blood Æ Very quickly RandidlyÆs plans to use the duel as a chance to work off some of his stress had to be shelved his understanding of his new body was pushed to the limits as the Pinnacle Seeker came after him with increasingly powerful attacks

The first two hours were actually pretty enjoyable but then the rust colored stains within the shifted lighting reached some sort of watershed moment The Dusk JackalÆs movements accelerated and that amorphous projection his hatchets could use to inflict wounds grew At that time Randidly was forced to activate all three of his images in combination to deal with the bloodthirsty offensive Otherwise he might really have been beaten to death

And as it was he had to rely on his incredibly powerful body to screen the worst of the Dusk JackalÆs blows

But of course not even three images merged into one were enough to rival the current wave of bloodthirst that the Dusk Jackal was riding Perhaps at the start Randidly would have had an advantage but he hadnÆt expected this change Two hours of taking the opponent lightly two hours of desperately using most of his capability to slow his opponentÆs accumulation of speed and power finishing with two hours where Randidly dropped all pretense of fighting directly and relied on his powerful new legs and tail to dodge and delay the Dusk Jackal as long as possible

Randidly hadnÆt activated his Nether Core and Weight in order to empower his abilities during the fight but even then he didnÆt believe that the Dusk Jackal had played all of his cards either They had competed solely on images and physical power and Randidly had been steadily overmatched He had to repeatedly push the limits of his mental energy to keep up with the storm like flurry of hatchets

Which left Randidly running only on fumes Currently his mindÆs constant hum had slowed to total silence he would need quite a bit of time to recover

Approximately five minutes later Randidly snapped back to wakefulness Seeker Dusk Jackal was guffawing nearby chatting with Claudette The manÆs jackal eyes were shining with obvious good cheer The beastman looked as though he had just participated in a rejuvenating spa day not spent several hours hacking off chunks of RandidlyÆs flesh

And of course Helen was still crouching next to Randidly and snickering with gleeful schadenfreude

Randidly pressed his eyes closed again ThereÆs still a large gap between me and the truly powerful in the Nexus my ability to survive against ElhumeÆs attack is due to somewhat special circumstances But at the very least I now possess some ability to persist even if IÆm attacked by someone like Velio Dunn

Plus Now finally Randidly allowed himself a slow smile I earned plenty of Skill Levels during the past six hours There is nothing like getting beaten up to generate some extra PP hum maybe I should go through my available Paths and see if there is anything that will help me weave these Nether envelopes

Humming to himself Randidly stood His limbs trembled a bit but that was all due to mental exhaustion a few minutes was enough for his powerful body to heal his wounds completely Grateful for the Dusk Jackal for arranging the duel the way it was Randidly forced himself to walk over toward the Pinnacle Seeker and Claudette

Immediately the Dusk Jackal noticed RandidlyÆs movements and made a beeline for him with a beaming smile on his face The only problem was the fact that he had the head of a jackal so the happy expression was ruined by the yellow teeth and the tongue lolling out the side of his mouth Seeker Ghosthound You are welcome anytime Most fighters even Pinnacle Seekers attempt to protect themselves from my image But you to meet it directly for so long you mm there truly is nothing like the sensation of blades cutting into flesh

The smile Randidly returned was brittle If I could have avoided just absorbing your blows with my body donÆt you think I would have

But all in all his impression of the Dusk Jackal was rather positive The beastman lived up to the image of a bloodthirsty being who possessed the head of a jackal but the particular chivalry of Pinnacle Seekers did a lot mollify that impression

The Dusk Jackal swaggered over and slapped Randidly several times on the back earning a grimace from him each time Let me tell you none of my disciples have your sort of fire in their chest Too many have died under similar circumstances Haah truly to be overwhelmingly powerful is a heavy burden

RandidlyÆs twitching intensified Okay maybe heÆs just a happy idiot

Very quickly Randidly said a few more polite things to the Pinnacle Seeker and then extricated himself claiming that he needed some time to rest Or rather than claiming such a thing Randidly was just honest that he was completely drained after the six hour duel Seeker Dusk Jackal lost some of his cheer at that admission but still allowed Randidly to go after extracting a promise that Randidly would return for another spar after sharpening his images

Helen returned to his Alpha Cosmos finally ridding Randidly of the leering grin that had been floating behind him and delighting in his misery So he walked alone with Claudette back to the portal rubbing the bridge of his nose to head off a developing headache

Randidly Claudette finally said drawing Randidly out of his exhaustion I was slightly dishonest earlier Yes Neshamah Rex reached out asking about you but that wasnÆt what I wanted to talk to you about IÆm just well It is rare that I need to ask another for help So this is somewhat awkward for me

Randidly frowned at Claudette The blonde woman bit her lip truly looking much more vulnerable than he had ever seen her in the past

After hesitating for a few seconds Claudette spoke again Do you know anything about image refinement

Randidly considered that I believe that is a term that IÆve heard before ThatÆs where you hire an outside force to go into your image and help improve it right When I arrived at the Nexus it was one of the jobs that was mentioned to me But I donÆt really know anything about it Why

IÆd like you to be the one to help refine my image Claudette said with a serious expression Then she bowed at the waist Please

Randidly took a few more steps before he realized that Claudette didnÆt intend on moving until she received an answer from him The corner of his mouth turned downward right now after he was thoroughly beaten for six hours straight this was certainly not the method most likely to win sympathy from him But he forced his breath out through his teeth and rubbed the back of his neck IÆll think about it

Truly Thank you Claudette straightened with a beaming smile Shrugging Randidly turned away and resumed his walk to the teleporter But rather than going with Claudette back to the Frost MatriarchÆs home base he asked her to thank the Frost Matriarch for her hospitality and used his PhilosopherÆs Key to open a portal back to EdraineÆs base in the Nexus

To RandidlyÆs surprise Claudette didnÆt attempt to stop him she simply nodded and allowed him to leave without bringing up her request for his help with an image refinement again For that she earned back some lost points

Back in the base of the cabal to bring down Elhume Randidly could finally release a breath He spoke briefly to Edraine who confirmed that there was nothing pressing occurring at the moment then retired to a side room to rest When he awoke a few hours later with his mental energy restored Randidly sought out Octavius Shrike and asked him about image refinement

The process is rather straightforward even if it is incredibly labor intensive The Overseer said sticking his horn upward with a self righteous air Certain Aether devices are used to expand the scale of an image it transforms a small image to one that exists on the scale of a world Then the Sculptor heads into that image world and seeks out areas that appear shabbier than the rest or are comparatively weak and unrefined and either destroys or adjusts the problem areas Scaled up like that most of an imageÆs flaws become obvious Why Do you already want another job Many will be willing to assist in your Sculptor training considering your success as the Head Drill Sergeant I hear your Squad has performed admirably in the pursuit of the Nether

Randidly shook his head and the excitement in OcatviusÆs face turned into disappointment Then Randidly asked IÆm just curious But isnÆt the process somewhat invasive Having a foreign intelligence moving through your image donÆt they have to power to deeply damage your image foundations

Octavius nodded with a solemn expression ItÆs a risk But this is the Nexus Everyone craves more power Many are willing to accept the risks as they make their bid for dominance

Chapter 1663

Randidly cracked his neck and left EdraineÆs base with a belly full of purpose The operation to pursue the abandoned Nether forces continued to drag on in the Fifth Cohort This combined with the fact that much of the actual Nexus leadership was frantically trying to track the movements of the Nether King through the Path to the Pinnacle meant that the final tally of accomplishment of his recruitment drive hadnÆt been done yet But Octavius Shrike was very hopeful that his reward would be forthcoming

In essence Randidly finally had some free time to spend improving himself the threat of an ambush from Velio Dunn was always present but he wasnÆt struggling to keep up with events any longer

The other reason that Randidly needed to leave was that Octavius Shrike was practically drooling at the prospect that RandidlyÆs elite squad would earn him the Nexus Citizenship coins they wanted for their plan Hearing him mutter incessantly had a quite negative effect on RandidlyÆs meditation

Randidly reached up and rubbed his hands together as he walked out of that isolated neighborhood and stepped into the shaft If there was one downside to this break itÆs that Vualla is still being deployed in the Fifth Cohort But hopefully she will have some time off after the rogue Nether Troops are mopped up maybe we can take a vacation together

Randidly leaned forward and began to fall steadily downward pulled by the significance at the base of the shaft His feelings were complex as he thought about taking a vacation His past experiences had taught him that sometimes one needed to take a mental and physical break his body might feel like it was in its peak state now but there were usually hidden problems caused by long periods of tension

But still After seeing both the palm of Elhume and the workings of the Nether King Randidly had witnessed the power of the best of the best Some part of himself couldnÆt stand the thought of taking a break He still had so much more to learn

Randidly shook his head as the stale air of the shaft whooshed past But either way Seeing Vualla would be nice

He continued to accelerate downward adjusting the angle of his body to gracefully swim through the crisscrossing cables that filled the shaft In his chest the Stillborn Phoenix happily expanded and began to suck in the ambient emotions that drifted upward After holding itself back for so long it could finally reach widely and consume

But before Randidly proceeded too deeply beyond the boundary that even ordinary individuals were willing to approach his eyes sharpened and his metal arm snapped out to grab one of the long cables he was passing The metallic material flexed and stretched absorbing the force of his descent Right before it snapped back up Randidly released the cable and alighted upon another a few meters below

He stood straight and tall on the swinging cable and crossed his arms Ahead of him in the shaft a Nether Ritual glowed A near invisible membrane stretched across the entire interior of the shaft Just as Randidly began studying the runes intently three individuals wearing familiar cowls floated out from a cleverly hidden porthole along the wall

Greetings Mr Ghosthound The humanoidÆs teeth were yellow and he radiated oily Nether His face was hairless and pale I was hoping to find you here Truly an honor Do you have a few minutes to converse

Randidly instantly activated Ruin is Inevitable Yet This Too Shall Pass The violence leaning Grim Chimera grinned in anticipation He subconsciously reached out through his network of Randidlys in parallel lives His skin tingled as he carefully observed as a few of those Randidlys attacked immediately without even attempting to talk with these three untrustworthy individuals It was enough for Randidly that they stunk of Nether and wore the outfit he associated with the Engraving Guild

After all the times the Swacc Family had tried to capture or kill him

Congratulations Your Skill Ruin is Inevitable Yet This Too Shall Pass has grown to Level 306

Congratulations Your Skill Ruin is Inevitable Yet This Too Shall Pass has grown to Level 321

One particular Randidly was worried about the lurking presence of Velio Dunn and went all out from the jump he kept nothing back All three images physicalized around him and his body blazed with the spectral flames of Weight Waves of dense Nether blasted outward and restricted the movements that these representatives could take as he accelerated forward

Another Randidly whipped out Acri and began to gather natural energy with Ripple of Amenonuhoko with several deceptively fast thrusts A third just squatted and exploded off the swinging cable like a rocket turning his body into a natural bullet to test the limits of these three

The first Randidly slaughtered these representatives of the Engraving Guild in only three seconds They seemed genuinely shocked by his decisive offensive and couldnÆt respond in time to the combined might of his images The other two aggressive Randidlys also killed these three although those fights took somewhat longer as he hadnÆt been so overbearing

Congratulations Your Skill Ruin is Inevitable Yet This Too Shall Pass has grown to Level 322

Mr Ghosthound The yellow toothed humanoid said again bringing Randidly back to the present

Randidly flexed his hands and calmed his beating heart What a strange feeling to have so many memories of cutting these three to pieces And after I struck in those parallel lives nothing happened There was no hidden ambush It truly seems like they truly are here to talk

Randidly kept a stern expression on his face as he addressed them however How did you find me here

If he hadnÆt completely rid himself of the bit of tracking Aether he was lucky to still be alive

The three Engraving Guild representatives exchanged glances Finally the middle one with yellow teeth cleared his throat Well I suppose itÆs not a secret Other groups have been dispatched to places where it was believed you might go too The Leadership of the Engraving Guild is very interested in meeting with you Mr Ghosthound We definitely want to resolve your misunderstanding with the Swacc Family As for this particular location some may not be able to sense it but the Engraving Guild discovered traces of raw emotions with your scent on them originating from the shaft Just in case a team has been stationed here to contact you

RandidlyÆs expression soured further Mostly he was annoyed at the greedy significance in the depths of this place that prevented him from just using his Philosopher’s Key to teleport to the bottom so he was forced to walk into trapÆ But it was also useful to know that there were some others who were skilled enough with emotions to sense the touch of the Stillborn Phoenix

The central figure spoke hurriedly Please hear me out The Engraving Guild holds a great deal of respect for your ability to manipulate Nether it is very rare that we see someone so young and talented as yourself And although IÆm sure youÆve heard some explanations of the costs of joining our Nether Lattice let me assure you that Neshamah RexÆs methods to form a Nether Core have powerful drawbacks that you wonÆt notice until it is too late And if you agree to become part of the Nether Lattice there are ways to move such a talented youngster quickly up the hierarchy

Randidly pressed his lips together to hide a smile These two schools of creating false Nether Cores really have it out for each other And both seem to assume that I received information on how to create a Nether Core from the other one for now thatÆs probably for the best

Seeing that Randidly continued to listen a flash of gleeful triumph emerged in the humanoidÆs eyes He began to speak quickly unwilling to miss this moment that he perceived as a victory Let me make our case If you request for a transfer from Military High Command to the Engraving Guild we can help you avoid any undue scrutiny as a result of your envy inducing recent accomplishments In addition the Engraving Guild has compiled the most extensive library of Nether Rituals in existence even if you donÆt choose to become a member of the Nether Lattice you will still have access to the rich history of weapons that the Nether Horde has used to threaten the Nexus Your future accomplishments will be limitless

By the end of his pitch the yellow toothed humanoid had his mouth wide open in the approximation of a grin he seemed to be having sympathy delusions about RandidlyÆs potential Looking at the discolored toothy lining around the orifice Randidly just felt a strange sense of disgust He cleared his throat likely IÆll think about your offer But currently I plan on spending some time training Now if youÆll excuse me gentlemen

While the humanoid was speaking Randidly wasnÆt idle he had been carefully studying the Nether Ritual that the group had erected below him With a single thought he tugged at the edge of one particular Nether flow and the whole thing fell to pieces

Randidly stepped off the cable and drifted serenely downward leaving the three cowled humanoids goggling at his accomplishment But as he suspected he had only traveled about twenty meters when the leader shouted after him W wait Mr Ghosthound Be sure you think about it You have more enemies than you know We can protect you

You could learn a lot about sales pitches from Claudette Randidly thought without bothering to respond to the representatives from the Engraving Guild This group had stated that they would be handling the Swacc Family but did that mean that the Swacc Family was totally willing to set aside its suspicions regarding him or that other factions in the Engraving Guild were taking the lead by contacting him

But they probably arenÆt wrong I do have a lot of enemies

Randidly allowed himself to continue falling for quite a long time He went deeper and deeper into the shaft the ambient Nether in the air steadily climbing around him He broke past the thick 50% rind that parted almost unwillingly before him letting Randidly down into that familiar area where the pull of the significance below became truly irresistible However with his own Nether Core Randidly basically ignored this gravityÆ and continued proceeding deeper He shot past the thick band that was densely populated by the porcelain guardians before they could lock onto his position

It was only when he was floating above the familiar forms of Nether Gatekeepers that Randidly slowed and stabilized himself He took a deep breath looking around almost in wonder at the surroundings The depths of the shaft were dark and misty Thick gushing blasts of corrosive emotion eddied and flowed chaotically in the space causing small twinkles of light that one could only see out of the corner of oneÆs eyes A complex web was strung between certain groups amongst the Nether Beings likely helping them support each other

He spun slowly in the air The walls were extremely distant as the shaft widened the deeper one went But Randidly could see that the bone walls down here were dark and ancient Without the restrictions of his Visage of Obsession Randidly actually possessed his senses to appreciate the strangeness of the environment

Randidly looked again down toward the meditating Nether Gatekeepers who studiously ignored him in order to prevent their own descent into darkness He wondered how much time they had experienced him while he had left the shaft and come back He didnÆt recognize any of them but he hadnÆt studied them closely Now he wished he had

IÆll get to them later ThereÆs a lot for me to do down here But first Randidly flipped his hand and produced the Hierarchy of Burden in one hand and the small black stylus in the other It was time to test Seeker Thunder WingÆs information

Chapter 1664

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Hierarchy of Burden has grown to Level 2

Randidly released a slow breath as he felt his Fatepiece establishing a sympathetic link between the crimson bottom of the inverted pyramid and his body He was sitting with his legs crossed beneath him imitating the meditating Nether Gatekeeper population Small tremors ran through his arms and legs intermittently and his tail was almost constantly sweeping back and forth but absorbing the dangerous drag of the Hierarchy was more manageable than he had thought

The feeling was unfamiliar but not uncomfortable

Randidly carefully raised his hand and moved each of his fingers in turn watching his digits tremble and stutter even with his extremely high Fidelity of the Ascendant Moirae Maybe itÆs due to my high Stats but rather than pain the real issue is the random muscle contractions

Learning to handle this will greatly increase my physical control

Crimson bolts of snaking electricity occasionally sparked to life across his body They exploded from nothing sprinted across some of his surrounding flesh then faded as they ran out of animating force Every one of his cells seemed to be charged with the energy flowing through him steadily nurturing these brief births His musculature was steadily adapting to the energyÆs presence but the rather random manifestations were difficult to account for

RandidlyÆs focus shifted back to his Fatpiece and he felt himself proceed deeper into the electromagnetic layer The sympathetic connection strengthened Instantly the sensation of buzzing across his body intensified and he could only bare his teeth to the dark Nether rich air of the shaft

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Hierarchy of Burden has grown to Level 3

With the increase in intensity Randidly could feel the electric discharge flowing through his body as though it was alive The random electric serpents were birthed more quickly sometimes even in grand batches as though someone had kicked over a basket full of the bastards

Gradually RandidlyÆs legs spread beneath them and his limbs extended and twitched Behind him his tail was alternatively shivering and madly sweeping back and forth in the darkness The soft hair of the tail was sticking straight outward The electricity seemed alive swimming down to small and forgotten muscles in RandidlyÆs body and forcefully tightening them to a painful degree

No sooner had Randidly used his Willpower to consciously relax an area and keep his powerful body from tearing itself to pieces than the electricity moved on going to another part of his body One second his tongue was trying to twist itself so forcefully that it would rip out its moorings in his mouth and the next the hidden muscles in the arch of his foot were squeezing themselves into oblivion

Randidly growled Goddamnit in this case my powerful body is more of an issue this electricity can turn my own force against me

So Randidly began to engage in an extended war in his own body for dominion At the same time his Nether Core continued to slowly spin in his chest and produce extremely dense Nether This Nether was taken by a small portion of RandidlyÆs attention and stored away in his Soulspace Randidly Ghosthound was in no rush he intended to stay down here for a few months and gather the tools he would need to empower himself

Do your worse Randidly said to the empty air He tried to smile but his face was cramping up too much to allow the expression

Influence +11

Tatiana stood at the wide windows of the newly renovated Kharon Town Hall and looked out at the lively square below Shiny stainless steel food carts sat atop intricate mechanical treads lined the edge of the space forming a mechanic wall that sizzled and smelled of meat and tangy sauces Brass automatons manned these popular stands their blank faces carefully designed to appear human enough without looking too human

The groups of civil servants and students of Kharon Academy who werenÆt currently on campus didnÆt truly mingle with each other but coexisted around the beautiful central fountain The afternoon rush was definitely the busiest of the day when all unoccupied workers seemed to make a new excuse to come see the entirety automated square driven either by a fanatical devotion to the steampunk mystique or because they felt great pride over the much lauded clockwork of Kharon

Tatiana tapped the window frame with her finger wishing she had thought to keep the surrounding buildings lower when the sun was directly overhead the square was extremely hot made even worse by the machines and friers that dominated the landscape The stiff air was begging for a breeze

Not that the students minded the circumstances the heat just drove them to discard their shoes and socks and stick their feet directly into the fountain Some waded deeper romping joyously under the choreographed sprays of water that repeated themselves every thirty minutes The civil servants were more reserved but some of the younger ones moved the edge of the fountain and dipped their fingers in the water

Tatiana glanced sideways at her secretary Make a note to call the Environmental Office and examine the feasibility of installing temperature controls in the square

The brass automaton nodded obediently making several marks on the page in front of it

Tatiana turned back to the window She had a human secretary too but since the day that the refineries of Kharon had figured out the method to tap into the SystemÆs universal translation software bypassing the need for complex Engravings to make the clockwork understand orders basically everyone who could afford the raw materials had a personal brass automaton made

This trend had continued to the point that Kharon was lousy with them thousands hibernated in vast stacks in some of the internal warehouses of Kharon their metal edges glittering in the darkness When confirmation had come that the Calamity would indeed still be happening and was only eight months away Tatiana had given the order to keep Kharon had been operating at full capacity arming its clockwork legion

Even if the only role they eventually served was in protecting and evacuating civilians Tatiana firmly believed it would be worth it

Once more TatianaÆs gaze drifted down to the square The area was thronged with people now but in a few hours that gushing wave of humanity would slow to a trickle and then completely vanish Before dinner the entire square would be converted the clockwork attendants and the tank like food stands rolling toward the hatch that would open in the ground where they would rest and recharge by connecting to the vast furnace of KharonÆs engine until the morning

At night this place would be transformed into a swanky salsa club and tapas bar Small secured floated platforms with tables of varying sizes would drift around the courtyard while a live band played on a hidden stage that would be revealed when the fountain dried Tatiana smiled wryly It was exactly the sort of place to which she or one of her girls would have accompanied politicians before everything changed and now she owned it

After saying a small prayer for her previous self Tatiana looked up beyond the encircling buildings and toward the sky There hundreds of streamlined and Engraved flying motorbikes whizzed through the air following the direction of the moss spirits And beyond the constantly shifting flow of thoroughfares in the sky were almost a score of floating islands trailing after Kharon like a comfortable entourage of civilization

Five years after Randidly had ascended to the Nexus about as much of KharonÆs area drifted through the sky as walked on the GhosthoundÆs original metal legs As some of the specialized industries had moved off of the original Wandering City and onto a drifting island of their own there was a higher and higher demand for reliable and convenient transportation between the various sectors Which in turn led to increasingly complex vehicles being engraved with the floating runes and a strong reliance on the moss spirits as the unconscious nervous system of the whole operation

Now those brilliant emerald bits of energy rushed forward in grand waves paving transient highways of light in the sky that opened a path to the whooping roaring flood of youths blazing through the sky on their hoverbikes More modest and bulbous constructions designed for families or transportation followed after not seeking that spike of adrenaline with the collective consciousness of the moss spirits abruptly guided their path through the sky downward at a sharp angle They followed the bending of the ribbonous road at a much more controlled pace

The final result was a series of metal wagon trains weaving across and around each other through the sky riding carpets of emerald light

There was a knock at the door Madam Mayor Councilman Whittacker is here to see you

Take him to the library Tatiana said distantly to the aide IÆll be over shortly

Then Tatiana reached up and pulled the window shut instantly silencing the ambient laughter from the square below She closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift down into her own Soulspace Several Skills called out to her but she ignored them all heading deeper and deeper into her own person until she arrived at the vibrant pyre that formed the center of her being

Standing before that Skill Tatiana drank deeply of the spirit that Randidly Ghosthound had cultivated for Kharon Resolve gradually formed in her chest But along with that resolve came a surprising realization one that brought her such joy she laughed aloud immediately pulling her back to the physical realm

Shaking her head slightly at this CouncilmanÆs foolishness Tatiana walked out of her office and down toward the library

If the first few years adventuring and growing with Randidly Ghosthound on the then unnamed Expira were all about adapting and reinventing yourself then the past four years were about establishing the same old influential institutions under the guise of continued reinvention Corporations were established forming extremely tight bonds with certain Orders The governments of the Zones treated each other amicably on the surface while each dispatching teams into the unexplored borderlands to locate valuable resources It was a cold war of Skills and Levels with just as much mounting tension as a prelude to a nuclear winter

Councilman Whittacker a gruff and muscular man with greying hair stuffed into an expensive three piece suit had steadily become the agent of such an age within Kharon Tatiana didnÆt truly even need to spy on him to find out the man was extremely forthright about his ties to corporate interests

The man rose from the overstuffed chair as soon as she entered beaming at her Madam Mayor thank you for agreeing to postpone our meeting How have you been

Tatiana smiled slightly and waved her hand No need for the pleasantries Thomas LetÆs get down to business You know why I wanted to meet more money needs to be poured into Guardian Visas Program if we want Kharon to continue growing At the rate attendance at Kharon Academy is rising we will soon have to start turning away the parents of our students Now that the Zones and Orders are establishing their own institutions of learning its important that we avoid hamstringing ourselves

The best students are coming because we have the best teachers but also because we donÆt have anything like the Citizenship process of the Zones Tatiana said We are sucking all of the undiscovered talents out of the Zones by giving these kids the chance to help their parents by coming here I want that to continue

You know my stance Tatiana The Councilman shook his head sorrowfully IÆd like to help but the rules governing KharonÆs Council are very clear weÆve already chosen a long term project to invest in and a short term one to overhaul My hands are tied

The law reads that the Council must undertake one overhaul It does not say only one Tatiana said as she eased herself into a chair opposite the Councilman She wondered idly how long he would play at the dance of semantics before showing his hand

Thomas Whittaker reached up and rubbed the back of his neck Such a thing is difficult ItÆs never been done in the past I feel uncomfortable being the first Chairperson to expand the power of the Council like this Perhaps your office can

We both know youÆd use any attempt by me to address the issue against me Tatiana responded patiently Kharon Academy is technically categorized as an industryÆ and therefore its programs are beyond my power And as Chairperson of the Council you are the only one who can introduce new projects after the initial voting period has passed A month and a half from now the term will have been going on for three weeks we will lose some students that I think could benefit greatly from learning here So please think of the families of these children we accept into the Academy and help me Or if you insist on being a piece of shit think of the money we make from them

The Councilman wrinkled his nose like he was smelling something unpleasant Your tongue is still as off putting as ever Tatiana And I wish you wouldnÆt always assume others share your black and white perspective on complex legal issues Not everyone believes we should so easily accept foreign groups into Kharon just because of a clever child

Tatiana did her best impression of a dead fish as she waited for the follow up that she knew was coming She wondered if her eyes looked like they were bulging

On cue the Councilman paused as though something had just occurred to him But you know perhaps we can help each other out I am willing to suggest this problem to the Council but you must help me with something I have always found it counter intuitive that Randidly Ghosthound places such emphasis on freedom and yet as far as I can tell no limits have been placed on KharonÆs mayoral term And I suspect the long years of leading this city have left you with little time to consider more womanly pursuits Tatiana Truly a tragedy considering your beauty If the law can be changed

Let me ask you a question Thomas Tatiana interrupted him rather than allowing him to strengthen his argument that he should have his throat slit and dumped behind a pile of hibernating brass automatons Why did you have to postpone our meeting from yesterday morning to today

Huh Heh fishing for gossip Tatiana The Councilman wrinkled his nose again I assure you my character is unimpeachable Nothing untoward

Humor me Tatiana said bluntly Why did you have to postpone

For the first time during their meeting the Councilman seemed genuinely bewildered He was the perfect politician but he lived in a small world Unexpected occurrences easily revealed how pretty and staged the platitudes he repeated about corporate virtue were Ahem Well if you must know like many others in various capacities the descent of the Eidolon Crucible left me feeling slightly under the weather

Tatiana smiled sweetly In total 18% of KharonÆs population reported noticeable side effects from the encounter with the GhosthoundÆs image 3% experienced severe mental fatigue Curiously not a single student of Kharon Academy reported any problems Some even felt invigorated by the experience Did you ever stop to wonder why some people suffered and others did not

Something glittered in the CouncilmanÆs eyes Are are you suggesting that you can control and target

You are such a fool Tatiana sighed and stood But I think we are done here News arrived today that makes me believe that cooperation between us will not be necessary I will not be offering you political favors for doing your fucking job Thomas And I would recommend you spend some time considering how well you are truly serving the spirit of this city because as long as I remain I will not allow the small minded in this place to use the letter of the law to butcher its noble spirit

And with that Tatiana walked out of the library

Chapter 1665

Long hours of tension left RandidlyÆs veins bulging in a grotesque manner across his arms and neck His teeth were pressed tightly shut a single twitch from painful grinding His powerful muscles were practically wood at this point tightening around his bones and binding him into a single splayed position

This cannot continue

Congratulations Your Skill Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 370

It was Randidly admitted to himself with quite a bit of deserve self exasperation impossible to forcefully overcome the electromagnetic manifestations of his Fatepiece with muscular strength Or rather there wasnÆt really any point to resisting the energy directly the Hierarchy of Demand needed an outlet for the universal drag not someone who could withstand that energy while maintaining his normal life

This wasnÆt a weight he needed to lift but more of a river that he needed to allow to flow over him

With that in mind Randidly gradually released an aggrieved sigh and quieted the growling Grim Chimera in his chest A nebula of swirling negative emotions had steadily gathered around him over the past several days as he gritted his teeth and threw every muscle in his body against the electrifying serpents but now he directed the Stillborn Phoenix to devour all of that pooling strife and struggle

Instead of straining Randidly just breathed The natural and mundane movements of a body gradually asserted themselves His thrashing body continued to twitch and twist but the violence of the movements steadily fell as he restrained himself Soon he floated in the misty void while being afflicted by the occasional twitch but surrendering to the muscle spasms robbed his body of its tension and therefore the painful side effects

Still it does fucking feels like a surrender Randidly thought with a sardonic smile Then he shook his head at his own aggression Honestly there was no need to rush to complete this Fatepiece There were several levels before Randidly even got to the next layer of the damn thing Taking his time was for the best

Besides the current layer basically just improved RandidlyÆs understanding and control over his own muscles and skeleton The annoying serpents of electricity did an annoyingly thorough job of pointing out the areas in his body that were constructed subtly different than they had been when he was wholly human He had obviously investigated himself somewhat after being remade by the Grim Chimera but when he noticed human looking areas Randidly had admittedly assumed that the functions and tendons of those areas would be the same

As Randidly continued to breathe his bulging veins thankfully receded to within his flesh

In a way the Fatepiece currently benefited Randidly most by showing him just what sort of being he now was But this sort of understanding wasnÆt something that could be rushed Randidly decided to relax in the face of electricity and turn his focus to other things

Still that didnÆt mean that Randidly would simply rest upon this modest success He closed his eyes and traveled to that growing sympathy between himself and the Hierarchy of Burden He readied himself and then increased the strength of the connection

Influence +15

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Hierarchy of Burden has grown to Level 4

Randidly spread his arms in the shaft moving slowly so as to minimize any spastic tremors due to the constant stream of electricity swimming through his flesh The first few moments were always the hardest when increasing the Level of this Fatepiece The abrupt presence of the empowered forces always ended up being more disruptive than the enduring forces themselves The newly invigorated pythons of crimson electricity twined up and down his arms and legs lashing out with their tongues and tails to trigger his major muscle groups

Which meant that for a few minutes Randidly once more twitched like a mutt being devoured by an army of fleas

But inevitably RandidlyÆs body adjusted His powerful flesh accepted the unpredictable impulses of the Hierarchy Gradually he could relax And once Randidly had enough spare attention to deal with other things he focused elsewhere and allowed his body to adjust subconsciously His attention could shift to the heavy lining of Nether that was now contained in his Soulspace

Obviously using up this Nether now meant that Randidly would need to spend more time accumulating before he could attempt to weave a Nether Ritual around a whole world but he was quite impressed by the amount of Nether he had gathered over the past several days It was becoming increasingly clear that his Influence was at least partially responsible for the volume of Nether that he could create just like his Weight governed how dense he could make that Nether And with the rate that RandidlyÆs Influence continued to rise due to Expira and the Alpha Cosmos he wasnÆt worried about gathering enough energy for the Nether Ritual any longer

The only problem was whether he possessed the requisite Skill to control a Nether Ritual of this magnitude

Before he began practicing Randidly did his best to gather up all of the information and inspiration he had gathered from watching the Nether King and condense it down into a letter He sent this letter into the Alpha Cosmos to Wendy who would pass it through the portal archways and give it to Neveah Now that Expira was intimately and mysteriously connected with his body communication was possible despite the all consuming mass of significance below

Which also means that I didnÆt have to waste several months refusing to back down in the face of this electricity

Randidly was definitely the more skilled between the two of them when it came to working with Nether but Neveah was still extremely talented when it came to understanding Aether With how much time she spent studying the legacy of Yystrix she would undoubtedly have some insight of her own

Then Randidly raised his hands not bothering with the intermittent trembling His senses began to gather Nether at the ready His Willpower stirred Then when he had the right vision for what he wanted he began to weave a massive envelope with thick cords of Nether

Congratulations Your Skill Left Hand of the Nether Oracle has grown to Level 310

Congratulations Your Skill Precise Nether Ritual has grown to Level 288

RandidlyÆs eyes glittered in the dark shaft as Nether began to flow in intricate patterns in front of him The working gradually expanded taking advantage of the vast emptiness in the surrounding space However the size of the tight weave of Nether only made the flaws more obvious

Right now the Grim Chimera was the architect of the Nether Ritual once more feeling somewhat out of place as the being of necessity shaped the working But Randidly didnÆt flinch from this uncomfortable sensation just like with the electricity running rampant through his limbs he learned to relax and accept this awkwardness as part of the Grim Chimera His claws tore apart the failed working gathered up flows of Nether he could recycle then began again

The Grim Chimera never claimed it would be excellent at the start But it sure as hell would quickly improve

More than relying on the Grim ChimeraÆs base nature Randidly had his own vision of how this would develop As the phantasm of the Chimera manifested and began to work with the Nether Randidly was throwing all the Willpower he could spare at an entirely new idea that the Grim ChimeraÆs current project was to build itself a home

Home Randidly sighed We know donÆt we Grim Chimera how it feels to have to leave a place And we know what it is like to come back to an old place and find it unrecognizably changed Or rather find that we have shifted beyond our understanding invalidating the spot which was once sufficient for us on this planet

But now now we have the chance to truly make ourselves a home To start the process of protecting others with the strength we have accumulated That I think is the sort of survival that weÆve been waiting for

That is a meaningful act To offer sanctuary to those who need it To begin to pay back the long debt of the mistakes weÆve made

Within RandidlyÆs Soulspace those brilliant sparks in the belly of the Grim Chimera began to flicker

So sick

Almost unwillingly twelve year old DelilahÆs hand stretched outward toward the beauty in front of her It was the only part of her that could still move Her shoulders remained hunched in a half crouch so desperate to hold onto this moment that she wouldnÆt even move in case a shift would spook time into jumping forward

Cassandra looked around with an expression that would have made Delilah annoyed a few seconds earlier but right now the rhapsodic beat of her heart dismissed such trivialities This is it It well it definitely looks expensive And very nice But can we go now Staying here seems like SUCH a bad idea

All three of the teenagers (a group into which Delilah shamelessly added herself) were doing their best to remain relatively inconspicuous in a dimly lit warehouse Around them were dozens of other objects large and small either covered in tarps or kept in glass cases The roof was high overhead making everything around them seem small and then forcing the humans into the realm of puny All of these items were incredibly valuable intending to be held for sale at the first even Kharon University Auction

Mint the oldest of the three shrugged at pretty CassandraÆs words and raised the tarp to cover the object once more But Delilah pinned him to the ground with a burning eyed stare before looking once more at the object with worship in her gaze DonÆt you fucking dare Not yet Shit they seriously just have this sort of beauty sitting in a warehouse

Her fingers tingling Delilah took a step forward The DreamChaser 2000 Honey Yellow edition the newest skybike by famed designer bad boy and asylum seeker Elijah Frank leaned almost casually against its kickstand Its aura of badassness was palpable Even in the half light of the warehouse its specialty paint popped in DelilahÆs eyes The smooth chrome lines of its pipes flanked the sleek body screaming that this perfect vehicle needed to be liberated from this stuffy location and taken out into the sky

Is this what falling in love feels like An entranced Delilah wondered All it would take was a few short term runes to bypass the key ignition and forcefully start the engine Then she could

Commonn Cassandra groaned in a half whisper They might expel us from Kharon Academy if we get caught Pleassee

DelilahÆs eyes sharpened but she didnÆt have any easy solutions at this point The only reason Cassandra was here at all was that Mint had an enormous crush on her After learning that MintÆs dad was transporting the lots for Kharon AcademyÆs auction Delilah was determined to enter into MintÆs social radar and reach this bike even if just for a moment Unfortunately she lacked the requisite allure to make any headway alone To the seventeen year old Mint Delilah might as well not even exist

A practical woman Delilah refused to let MintÆs lack of insight stop her from touch such a salacious bit of chrome She then spent several days skipping her classes and following Mint watching the places where he would glance when women had passed her by

Honestly she neednÆt have bothered The torque of teenage MintÆs neck was predictably determined by the size of the boobs that jiggled past him despite any mundane fabrics that might stand in his way So Delilah had dragged out her bustiest friend the fifteen year old do gooder Cassandra hung around near MintÆs know locations skipped even more class spread word to MintÆs friends that Cassandra enjoyed exploring different sky islands and basically just waited

The plan practically assembled itself

Ultimately she decided to ignore Cassandra With a growing smile on her face Delilah pressed her hand again the sleek exterior of the Dreamchaser Somehow it still felt warm Everything she had gone through was worth

All three of the teenagers froze and hunched a little lower in the dimly lit warehouse

Was that Cassandra began looking at Delilah in horror but luckily Mint reacted quickly enough and shushed her

Cllaanngg

The three exchanged glances They were not alone in a warehouse that definitely wasnÆt open to the public Either MintÆs father was doing some last minute shifting or another interloper had infiltrated the warehouse

Chapter 1666

In the darkness of the warehouse the three teenagers exchanged another tension filled glance Cassandra opened her mouth to say something but Delilah flicked out her hand and made a muffled snap with her fingers Then her hands blurred into the lightning fast hand signals that were required learning for all attendees of Kharon Academy Listening Skills are common DonÆt speak

Cassandra blinked several times bit her lip then moved her hands in painfully slow imitation of DelilahÆs adroit display LetÆs retreat

However MintÆs eyes hardened into a determined set And when he moved his hands it was clear that he took the lessons much more seriously than Cassandra We need to at least investigate to report to my dad that someone else was present here when they shouldnÆt be Follow me

Delilah followed after the older teenager his suddenly flinty expression causing her to suspect that he planned to apply to an Order after graduating from Kharon Academy In those kinds of situations being a part of a rather famous incident would do a lot to earn him recognition

Or perhaps he even wouldnÆt apply to other places but wait for one of the sought after and mysterious recruitment letters of the Order Ducis to be slipped under his door From her observation of Mint she had learned that he had chosen the Defect of Weakness just like Delilah herself And while she hadnÆt seen him practicing much during the observation period he didnÆt make a sound as he crept forward between the tall piles of materials in the warehouse

His fundamentals were impressively sound

Clang Clang

The strange noises at the other end of the warehouse continued acting as a constant beacon that guided the three through the maze of tarp covered objects Mint led the way stopping at the right moments to peer ahead of the group and keeping the silhouette of his body covered by the various items stored in the warehouse for the future auction Delilah followed behind her eyes glowing with trap and heat detection Skills to make sure there werenÆt any surprises ahead of them

Cassandra after her nervous hesitation fell in quite adroitly behind Delilah She was just as silent as Mint in her movements and twice as agile In her heart Delilah inwardly apologized to Cassandra The busty teenager had chosen the Defect of Apathy to address in her stay at Kharon Academy which was often considered by the combat focused groups to be the joke Defect But although each of CassandraÆs steps looked like she was dancing it was a dance of silence and subterfuge

Should I try a dance class Delilah wondered But then an image of her small and slight form standing on a dance floor opposite the tall and dryly smiling Annon and Delilah stopped dead in horror Why the hell had she pictured herself that lump of wood Annon

Delilah had stopped so suddenly that Cassandra had to execute a graceful pirouette to the side to avoid stumbling into her Even more galling was that the obviously nervous Cassandra attempted to put on a brave face and patted Delilah on the back In those jerky slow hand signs she communicated DonÆt be scared We are together

Delilah chided herself for being a fool and hurried forward banishing any thought of Annon from her head

Mint had slowed his advance as they approached a particularly large object gesturing for them to do the same They huddled behind a massive pile of glittering metal ingots likely a new type of alloy churned out by KharonÆs industrious furnaces All three crowded together CassandraÆs chest pressing against DelilahÆs back and arm as they peered around the corner

Clang Clang Clang

Completely ignorant of the watchers the mysterious figure continued to work about ten meters from their current position To both their benefit and detriment between their cover and the figure was a partially obscured object that could only be an Earthfire Sculpture from the Deep Rift Danger Zone Despite being covered by a tarp the inner fire of that rare material glowed with enough lumens to release a halo of radiance that slipped out from the bottom lip of the covering

The yellow orange light provided a little more visibility in this corner of the warehouse but it was also difficult to make out details of the dark figure while peering past this light source Even with DelilahÆs vision Skill she was unable to make out anything concrete The figure was fiddling with something past a light of stacked crates wielding some shadowy implement that intermittently produced those clangs

Cassandra pressed more tightly up against DelilahÆs back stretching out her hand so Mint could see as she moved her fingers in her typical stiff jointed effort I CanÆt See Anything

Shaking her head in irritation Delilah stretched her hand forward too Those boxes do you see the symbol

Darksteel Image Kill Suits out of Zone 1 Mint responded just as quickly But I cannot tell what

Something changed in the air The hairs on DelilahÆs arm began to tingle Then things began to accelerate

Without appearing to move with any urgency the figure twisted and glanced over its shoulder The next instant DelilahÆs training kicked in she didnÆt even see the figure fling the object before her fingers splayed outward and she conjured a Hex Barrier Shield only a few inches in front of MintÆs face Delilah had spent altogether too much time training under that witch Lucretia to be caught by surprise ever That horrid woman delighted in ambushing Delilah at the strangest moments birthing in the girl a constant sense of vigilance toward her surroundings

However in the following moment as recognition arrived Delilah felt somewhat foolish as the glowing blue shield of hexagons appeared in front of her The object that trembled slightly sticking against the front of her shield was a thrown playing card The laughing face of a joker leered at her through the barrier mocking her effort

Just as DelilahÆs expression darkened she was abruptly vindicated in her decisive measures

Congratulations Your Skill Hex Barrier Shield has grown to Level 169

Congratulations Your Skill Hex Barrier Shield has grown to Level 170

Congratulations Your Skill Hex Barrier Shield has grown to Level 171

The force of the explosion from the playing card cracked her shield and sent the trio tumbling backward but Mint had reacted rather quickly after Delilah had deployed her Skill and manifested a barrier of his own In combination the two of them were able to diffuse most of the blast and were only knocked backward in a sprawling pile of limbs

Alarms began to sound as the warehouse security system reacted to the explosion and Mint scrambled to his feet with a guilty expression on his face He held his hands up vaguely as though proving he wasnÆt carrying a weapon Ah s s sorry for my hand

Meanwhile beneath an impatient Delilah Cassandra was blushing furiously But her mouth slowly curled into a shy smile IÆm just glad I could cushion everyone

Delilah shook her head at the weird diversion of these two and pushed off CassandraÆs stomach to hop to her feet She peered around the corner and mobilized her Wind Manipulation Skill suppressing all the pieces of torn tarp and splintered palettes that filled the air in the wake of the explosion But the mysterious figure who had thrown the playing card had vanished Delilah took a few steps forward and activated her tracking Skills but she couldnÆt find any trace of the figure

Even worse during that brief explosion the figure had somehow managed to find the time to switch around the different palettes in the area and disguise the source of the noise The Image Killer suits had been spread out and several other auction lots had been shifted to near where the figure had been standing Delilah frowned and took another step forward but the floodlights of the Warehouse switched on and she heard the march of feet rushing into the area

The police in this city are too damn quick DelilahÆs frown deepened

Cassandra shivered and crossed her arms I hope we donÆt get in trouble Why did that person attack us like that

Maybe we stopped sort of terrorist Mint said slowly I mean that was definitely malicious right And and if he was so aggressive Then he blinked at looked at Delilah Hey that was a really quick shield You probably saved us all Thanks for coming along

Of course I saved you but Suddenly Delilah straightened All at once her true goal in tagging along struck her with physical force the chance to touch the Dreamchaser

Just as she was turning around to hurry back toward the skybike the familiar form of the Kharon emergency response forces arrived covered in sleek armor and carrying combat batons The leader scanned them quickly and dismissed them as not a threat speaking to his subordinate as he marched past Split them up and take their statements And send a report to special operations

The officers moved quickly to their tasks taking Delilah Mint and Cassandra away and splitting them up as they walked between the soon to be auctioned items under the harsh white illumination of the floodlights Delilah went peacefully although she cast several longing glances over her shoulder toward the far end of the warehouse as she was ushered outside Once out of the building the trio was split up and taken into different bulky police transports and brought back to the police headquarters

CanÆt even feel the wind on your face in these bimbocrates Delilah banged her head against the side of the metal transport with an aggrieved expression Both the pilot and the accompanying officer upfront ignored her antics

Being quite familiar with the police headquarters due to an earlier project Delilah glanced around without much interest when they arrived and allowed a police offer to guide her to an interview room Inwardly she was kicking herself for allowing some stupid noise to distract her from fulfilling the dream to actually touch a skybike made by Elijah Frank After this incident they definitely would up the security in the warehouse Breaking in again would be that much more difficult

And even though DelilahÆs parents were relatively famous and well off there was no way they would give her enough money to actually purchase the bike at auction Her mother would laugh her out of the room

Without even asking Delilah any questions the police officer left her in the room and locked the door The corner of DelilahÆs mouth quirked up but she just as quickly schooled her expression and folded her hands in front of her She aimed to seem somewhere between bewildered at the circumstances and contrite Ha seems like they recognize me But even though we were caught trespassing the bigger issue is the other figure I donÆt think we will even get in much trouble

Hah but that bastard might try and blame this on me huh

Minutes crept past allowing Delilah to solidify her story and prepare herself for the confrontation that she knew was coming And as she predicted after thirty minutes a familiar figure opened the door and took two heavy steps into the interview room

Commissioner Arrietti was carrying several manila folders as surveyed the interior of the tiny room Metal chair metal table small girl on the second metal chair two way glass on the far wall he seemed to be mentally tallying everything Then he didnÆt even spare her a glance as he sat down in the metal chair opposite Delilah instead preferring to lay out his folders with exacting precision in silence

Delilah kept her hands folded and waited There was a ritual to this They both knew the rules

And in a tiny corner of her heart Delilah admitted to herself she loved how this man considered her a serious enough threat to the city that he always made time to come talk to her personally even if her crimes were minor

Only when the folders were in place did the Commissioner raise his mild gaze Delilah I really wish we would stop meeting like this

Delilah picked a bit of dirt from under her fingernails and flung it casually to the side Oh I agree ItÆs quite annoying to be brought in for question so many times in a row when IÆm simply an innocent bystander I almost wonder if you know what a coincidence is

Chapter 1667

Their familiar call and response made instantly the tension in the room spiked upward

An innocent bystander Pah Delilah had the impression that Commissioner Arrietti intended to spit in disbelief at her words but then suddenly realized he was in a police room and forcefully suppressed the impulse She saw him swallow and couldnÆt resist giggling to know that she had forced him to swallow his own spit

Trembling slightly the Commissioner raised one of the folders and waved it in front of DelilahÆs face Speaking of our history do you still have nothing to say about this particular open case where a mysterious assailant installed renegade temporary runes on KharonÆs new police headquarters sky island and had the piece of land fly off and ground itself in a swamp And since the malicious vandalism wasnÆt discovered until the next morning the first floor had flooded with mud

DoesnÆt sound familiar Delilah kept her expression even

Or this Commissioner Arrietti picked another file up at random The shaking of his shoulders had intensified as he scanned the name and identification number of the file and recognition flashed in his eyes Four years ago when the student body of Kharon Academy had voted to create a new mascot and somehow someone broke into the supposedly secure Academy voting boxes and stuffed them with the suggestion that my own face drawn by some hack of a caricature artist into a leering grin should be the school mascot

IsnÆt the break in just speculation Delilah asked I heard that they could find no evidence of tampering

The number of votes for my face as Kharon Academy mascot exceeded the number of enrolled students by a factor of ten Commissioner Arrieti bellowed and slammed the file back down on the metal table

Delilah bowed slightly to him Wow I had no idea you were so popular

The Commissioner pressed his lips together and picked up another folder This one was the thickest of the folders on the table and he held it reverently with both hands And this this travesty where some impetuous little girl used a very complex illusion Skill to replace the bowling pins in my first frame with live chickens

Delilah clucked sympathetically I canÆt believe you would throw a bowling ball empowered by an image at helpless chickens I heard the whole Interzone Bowling League Championship had to be delayed to clean up the mess Oh did killing them all count as a strike

You Commissioner Arrietti pounded his fists against the metal table

But this show of force didnÆt even cause Delilah to bat an eye She actually quite liked how easy this man was to goad She leaned back in her chair and puffed up like a contented toad But Commissioner arenÆt you too easily engaging in speculation DidnÆt you fail to find any evidence linking me to these completely normal circumstances Perhaps they were all just accidents

I might have lacked evidence before but this time in this case of destroyed property and trespassing here you were caught red handed within a restricted area Commissioner Arrietti poked the table with a thick finger Do you truly expect me to believe you were unrelated to the destruction that occurred within the warehouse

Some friends and I were going for a walk when we discovered a mysterious figure who was up to no good Delilah remained in her reclining position We followed them into the warehouse out of our strong sense of civil responsibility ShouldnÆt you be thanking me for uncovering this I quite like the idea of a gold medal

Are you sure Commissioner Arrietti growled That there isnÆt anything you want to tell me Anything you want to talk about

Quite certain thank you Delilah lapped up the attention like a kitten next to a saucer of milk My friends and I were disturbed by a mysterious interloper who definitely was filled with ill will Who knows what would have happened if we didnÆt happen across them by chance

For several long seconds the two looked at each other Then Commissioner Arrietti began to neatly stack his folders on top of one another until a manila pillar sat between them Humph Your suggestion is preposterous An infiltrator here in the heart of Kharon No not very likely You probably just accidentally set things off and are unwilling to admit it but you are lucky YouÆve been bailed out

You donÆt believe Delilah started furiously but she paused as her mind acknowledged the end of his sentence Her eyes brightened Bailed out Are my parents here

No but some fool paid your bail all the same Commissioner Arrietti glowered at her for several seconds then waved his hand So what are you waiting around here for You are free to go

Feeling that something was off with this dismissal some line of their special ritual crossed Delilah stood slowly from the metal chair She had assumed she would be interviewed for much much longer as she had been the previous times But as she stood there the Commissioner just watched her with a frown Did he truly mean to allow her to leave

DidnÆt he care

Delilah wandered out of the room wondering why her insides felt so squishy But when she saw the figure waiting for her in the police bullpen DelilahÆs eyes brightened Aunty Vye

Vye Trailbreaker one of the most famous members of the Order Ducis due to her constant expiration of the Wildlands of Expira swept Delilah up into a hug that spun her through the air Hullo little one I hear youÆve been getting yourself into some trouble so IÆm here to watch you for a bit until your parents make it back from challenging that Chimera

Instantly DelilahÆs expression turned sour as she looked up at this woman toward whom she possessed such respect I donÆt need a babysitter

After training in the GhosthoundÆs Alpha Cosmos for almost a year Delilah had returned to Expira and decided it was time to see the world She wheedled her parents for several months always whining and nagging that she was a growing woman who needed to have her horizons expanded Her mother Annie had been extremely dismissive of such claims but Delilah could tell that her father Dozer was slowly being persuaded

Finally it was announced that Delilah would be able to accompany Vye on her latest exploratory expedition The following year had been the best one of DelilahÆs entire life

Even the hubbub of the police station couldnÆt wipe away the smile on DelilahÆs face Vye returned a clipboard to one of the police officers and then led Delilah away out of the building and out under the open sky DonÆt you need a babysitter Why do you always stumble into the most dangerous situations It was only when I traveled with you that I was swallowed whole by an earth dragon

Delilah grinned at the memory but then her expression twisted again Go tell that idiot Commissioner that He seems to think that we caused that explosion I bet he doesnÆt even plan on investigating the incident

Vye led Delilah over to a cherry red skybike that instantly had the girl drooling With a casual grace the older woman straddled the vehicle and started the engine The metal hummed pleasantly to life as the runes activated Then Vye gestured for Delilah to climb behind her Do you really think that the Commissioner wouldnÆt investigate Girl you are smarter than that

Delilah blinked as the engine began to roar beneath her What But he said

Let me ask you this what would have happened if he admitted that you might have encountered a terrorist Vye opened up the throttle and led the bike up into the sky They floated up off the concrete giving more perspective on their surroundings The tall lump of the police compound sat before them but as they continued to rise until Delilah could see the edge of the sky island and the wide expanse of blue around them Casually Vye turned and guided them toward the edge of this skyislandÆs space

As soon as they reached the edge emerald moss spirits spun upward from the intricate machine below to form an elegant road up through the sky Vye detached a small box from her waist and opened it A powerful moss spirit flitted out and pulsed with authority Instantly DelilahÆs eyes widened This was a Key Spirit which was only given out to important members of Kharon and the Order Ducis which would grant them priority access to create sky roads

Below them Delilah could see Kharon sitting at rest Around them at various heights and sizes about twenty massive sky islands guided silently forward The moss spirits paved a dense web of emerald roads between these sky islands forming a blinding net But as soon as that Key Spirit pulsed the web below trembled

Those elastic emerald roads pulled backward opening a direct path down to the city of Kharon And riding an emerald wave Vye quickly began to build up speed as she shot downward

Oh wow Delilah blinked and gripped her arms around VyeÆs waist torn between the womanÆs question and the euphoric feeling of acceleration as they cut underneath slower moving skybikes and ugly metal bugs They continued sharply downward too sharply to head toward Kharon until Vye pulled sharply upward on the bike and they began to rip along the top of a low ridge

Vye laughed a bit at DelilahÆs stunned silence and continued to speak If Commissioner Arrietti had said this had become a serious investigation what would you have done Demanded that you be a part of it even though you are a twelve year old girl with no experience or training to speak of And then he would have told you not to get involved and you wouldnÆt have listened And then Commissioner Arrietti would have had the headache of trying to keep you from putting yourself stupidly in danger

As though to punctuate her speech Vye twisted the accelerator on her sky bike and they jumped forward one granite hillside to another The moss spirits whooped with glee and spun around them in a brilliant gleaming tunnel Even with her face pressed against VyeÆs shoulder the wind was incredibly powerful They circled widely around the expanse of Kharon giving Delilah a gorgeous view of the at rest Kharon surrounded by its orbiting bits of land

The thick emerald veins that ran upward from the resting Kharon made her think briefly of the image of Randidly GhosthoundÆs Yggdrasil

Delilah blinked several times and focused on what Vye was saying So you

She could hear the smile in VyeÆs voice In this case IÆm the aspirin

COME

FIND

ME

Randidly hissed and started out of his meditation shaken to his core by the powerful reverberation of the vision that he had seen when he had finished the Glimpse of the Shallah Path His heart was pounding and he raised his hand to press against his chest as though feeling the contractions would ease them He drifted like that in the misty interior of the shaft for several minutes

When he began to calm down and that overwhelming voice began to fade he raised his fingers and rubbed his temples His Nether Core spun fiercely bristling at the interference I knew the source of the voice was dangerous but I sorta thought it would be like my first brush with Elhume content to impact me and then too busy with its own matters to interfere further

RandidlyÆs gaze toward downward Perhaps it sensed my presence in the shaft then Well nothing I can do about that now but does that truly mean that the source of the voice is Pine

For several seconds Randidly furrowed his brows and scanned the dark depths below him for any sign of a threat The Nether Gatekeepers below continued to sit and meditate unaware of the mental blast Randidly had just experienced A part of him wanted to leave the shaft immediately but the combination of plentiful ambient emotions dense Nether time dilation and his promise to the Nether Gatekeeper to come help its kind were rather persuasive arguments to stay

Randidly released a breath and organized his thoughts On the positive side of this reminder there was no new urgency to that familiar phrase when it had shaken Randidly out of his recovery meditation It was simply a reminder similar to a domineering alarm clock Because if the message truly originated from the bottom of the shaft the sender probably had already experienced an eternity since it had contacted Randidly the first time through the Path completion vision

More than a coincidence this might just be that being sensing RandidlyÆs proximity

Even still Randidly decided not to listen to the voice just yet He wanted to take advantage of his time in the shaft to make some more preparations to grow in the future But he did resolve himself not to forget he had attracted such an entity’s attention again

Influence +16

Humming to himself Randidly did not return to his manipulation of Nether nor restart his acclimation to the Hierarchy of Burden which he had stopped while he was trying to take a true rest Instead Randidly cracked his neck and manifested Yggdrasil around himself Gradually under the prodding of his Willpower an increasingly realistic scene filled the surroundings

Congratulations Your Skill Conviction of the Celestial Cataclysm has grown to Level 404

Randidly heard the rustling of YggdrasilÆs leaves felt the warm rays of sunlight filtering down through the canopy and leaned back to press his head against the pitted bark of the world tree He breathed out through his nose and opened his eyes finding himself sitting in the base of his first image

He had been inspired by CharlotteÆs request and the information he had received from Octavius Shrike regarding image refinement He didnÆt have a Sculptor but Randidly used the enormous space provided to him by the shaft to blow up his image and planned to walk amongst it and search for weaknesses

Randidly hopped to his feet and cracked his knuckles He grinned around relishing the realistic sensations The soil beneath his feet felt warm and thick Around him were several low ferns that had evolved to grow in the shade of Yggdrasil A colorful bird sat on top of one of those ferns staring unnervingly at him

Randidly chuckled Alright time to get to work

Chapter 1668

Randidly spent almost an entire day within Yggdrasil carefully going over the minute details of his image He had already made preparations for this process unknowingly when he had begun making a push to spread his image out to include an environment The ambiance of Yggdrasil had been steadily developing He had generated a whole ecosystem around the world tree and now he could walk through it sharpening the details and the realism of the birds plants and predators

Congratulations Your Skill Conviction of the Celestial Cataclysm has grown to Level 419

The shifting shadows from the wide branches of the world tree the powerful natural archways in spots where YggdrasilÆs roots broke up through the surface and the serene glades where rainwater pooled beneath the world tree Randidly wandered through all these places and observed his own image Occasionally he would stop focusing his efforts to sharpen the details into a more cohesive whole

He moved slowly savoring the feeling of the warm and moist ground beneath his feet as much as he was spending time working Sometimes he would leave strange idiosyncrasies and instead just adjusted the colors of the environment He delighted in the immersion and indulged that feeling Because his own emotions toward his images mattered Especially for the nurturing Yggdrasil Randidly released waves of happy contentment into the surroundings that steadily influenced the image

The colors grew brighter The flowers spread their petals wider The distant sky was warm and wholesome

Gradually Randidly could feel the image shifting in tiny ways The distant adjustment of pieces brought something more profound into alignment There would be no grand transformation from this sort of work but Randidly reinforced his foundation and deepened his understanding of himself by taking his time with this task

The next time he attempted to combine all three of his images it would be that much simpler to keep them in balance The base of Yggdrasil had widened

Congratulations Your Skill the Inscrutable Mien of Genesis has grown to Level 343

But eventually Randidly felt a headache growing even his powerful mind was nearing exhaustion Likely the fact that he could continue so long was already a marvel to the average Nexus citizen No wonder they utilized supplemental Aether mechanisms to ease the difficulty of the process

Randidly could only smile wryly and sigh exiting the image projection The warmth of the sun and the ground vanished Randidly had returned to floating in the empty shaft The aura of positive emotions he had accumulated began to dissipate

Several of the Nether Gatekeepers below him were surreptitiously peaking up toward Randidly likely disturbed by the image projection But Randidly ignored them for now and rubbed the bridge of his nose IÆm actually surprised how solid Yggdrasil suddenly feels now that sort of minute refinement definitely makes the image combination process more manageable But damn if even IÆm exhausted from that effort with my Intelligence Wisdom Focus and Fidelity of the Ascendant Moirae all above 1000

These fucking so called Sculptors are masochists

Randidly huffed out a breath and shook himself Then he produced his Hierarchy of Burden and moved to the 2nd level of the electromagnetic drag Instantly his body began to twitch and tremble But after a few minutes those side effects diminished RandidlyÆs body was somewhat used to this amount of electricity

Then he produced Acri and began practicing Ripple of Amenonuhoko with the Fatepiece active He wasnÆt trying to be exceptionally controlled but simply practiced corralling all of that potent natural energy while his body was less than cooperative

Honestly the combination was horrible Randidly could barely display a fraction of the true power of the spearmanship while he was enduring the FatepieceÆs sympathetic bond The electromagnetic discharge was almost a direct counter to the extremely fastidious requirements of Ripple He hemorrhaged his carefully gathered natural energy with every out of alignment thrust

But Acri was pleased just to be able to train and the struggle filled practice was still quite useful Gradually Randidly learned the ins and outs of his muscular system and how to take advantage of actions that didnÆt require as much fine control At the very least he could still display an acceptable percentage of his usual power

This training wouldnÆt improve the graceful pinnacle of what Ripple of Amenonuhoko could accomplish but his baseline understanding of the Skill improved Just witnessing himself accidentally dispersing his natural energy with a poorly timed twitch was a useful experience Repeated failure could define the exact limits of success in a way that repeated accomplishments could not

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Impunity has grown to Level 401

Randidly couldnÆt help but roll his eyes at the Skill Level notification Ha even after three hours of training I didnÆt manage to earn even a single Skill Level for Ripple of Amenonuhoko Even if IÆm becoming more familiar with it the System clearly takes a dim view of this sort of Sisyphean practice

So Randidly shook himself again deactivated the Fatepiece stored away Acri and expanded his Willpower to create an image projection once more

He initially recreated the Grim Chimera with the intent to work more on the environment around it but hesitated after he observed the familiar figure in front of him In terms of environment Randidly wanted to create a home for the Grim Chimera To make that as concrete as possible he wanted to have a strong certain understand to use as the base

Randidly showed his teeth to the streamlined violence of the Grim ChimeraÆs form which probably means that I should start gathering more planets into the Alpha Cosmos before I refine the Grim Chimera that real home will become its backdrop

Also since they exist I should investigate these Chimeras that are popping up

For now Randidly set those thoughts to the side Instead he shifted his focus to his final image the Stillborn Phoenix

If anything the shaft darkened as he manifested his third and greediest image The small amount of ambient light began to swirl and spin like sink water above a drain An implacable and absolute darkness manifested in front of Randidly surrounded by a swirling nebula of melting light and emotions that couldnÆt escape the grip of the egg of depression

The image itself was a study of absence The most domineering core was simply nothing Only by viewing the steady stream of other matter being devoured could Randidly see the shape of his image

Randidly was slightly surprised to notice that the image was definitely growing He could feel the tugs of the image on his body as he stood before the image Apparently the emotional diet was spurring expansion

A short crackle of electricity sparked out in the draining nebula as a batch of violent emotions flared up in an attempt to escape their fate But those struggles proved useless the Stillborn Phoenix greedily sucked in the emotionÆs struggles and then continued to reel the emotion itself into its maw

Randidly stared at the feasting image for several seconds quite at a loss over how to proceed The Stillborn PhoenixÆs area of influence steadily grew gathering more and more ambient Nether and emotion into a swirling vortex Randidly carefully began adjusting the details of its manifestation in the world He roughed up the edges and injected overwhelming feelings of need into the Stillborn PhoenixÆs depths

But RandidlyÆs face quickly settled into a frown Lightning cracked again as another batch of emotions tried to resist the Stillborn PhoenixÆs pull and failed Randidly was struggling with what to do next when the lighting sparked for a third time

Then Randidly blinked A few seconds later a wide grin spread across his face

I knew when I made the image of the Stillborn Phoenix that it would be the most obtuse of my images Randidly said to the empty space Especially because there was a fatal flaw at the core of the image I was creating something I couldnÆt see because it couldnÆt exist but was somehow manifesting anyway Which left me with the problem of figuring out the proper way to evidence an overwhelming existence that shouldnÆt be

Randidly flicked his wrist and produced his Hierarchy of Burden His emerald eyes began to glow as he looked at his Fatepiece but isnÆt that what an image is Something that shouldnÆt exist but does And now I possess an answer key I have an ancient tool to absorb the deadly drag created by a powerful image It will take some time but as long as I proceed through this Fatepiece and reproduce the details in the image

The core of the Stillborn Phoenix will steadily become more concrete

Randidly looked up sharply His senses flowed out to his image and he began making minute adjustments The center of the Stillborn Phoenix was the concept of an egg within a black hole But it was immeasurable depth laying across substance Randidly adjusted the energy field in the surroundings so that the positiveÆ substance started reacting to the negativeÆ absence of the image

Bolts of black lightning flickered briefly around the edges of the event horizon but the sound was devoured by the Stillborn Phoenix So suddenly it seemed like the Egg of Depression was spreading out disjointed and sharp black tentacles to try and seize the surrounding space

As Randidly continued to adjust his image the sense of rejection from reality grew The silent black lightning grew more intense The influence of the Stillborn Phoenix grew more powerful Randidly licked his lips and continued to work

Sam sat cross legged on the dirt floor rubbing the back of his neck After several months of meticulous resource gathering several weeks of preparations and three days of work his latest project was finished In the fading evening light a cloak of brilliant golden feathers glittered as it lay across a mundane wooden coat rack

Sam sat and watched his creation with rapturous attention In the distance he could hear the sound of an intermittent splash and the persistent rustle of the wind In the sky the sun slowly sank toward the horizon

At dusk all the light seemed to vanish from the cloak The dark feathers hung heavily on the cloak no longer able to hide the mass of their existence with golden light Sam knew from his experience in the last week that the final product would be incredibly heavy each feather was as long as his forearm and heavier than an adult man In total the cloak weighed as much as an industrial dump truck

To the current humanity that was still within acceptable limits But Sam knew that this product would have a limited appeal at KharonÆs Auction Still he attempted to fulfill his vision if only to break past the limit of VII

When the sun had completely sunk below the horizon the feathers lightened again But this time they glowed luminously silver Sam allowed himself a flinty smile He stood and pressed his hand against a feather testing its sharp edge and bringing up its attributes

But what he saw filled him with disappointment Another failure huh

Chapter 1669

Sam spared a glance for the details of the equipment

Cloak of the Stratta Hawk Level 99 A powerful cloak created from the body of an adult Statta Hawk Per the hunting habits of the Stratta Hawk the feathers glow golden in the day and silver at night to disguise themselves Worked by a master craftsman into the soft pelt of a Bloom Stag the final result is a comfortable garment that possesses immense defensive potential Attackers will often find they inflict as much damage on themselves as upon the wearer when dealing with the feathersÆ sharp edges Health +2000 Perception and Reaction +100

Decisive Strike VI Duality of Light VI Vestments of a Predator VII

Sam didnÆt bother to look at the details of the attributes He just felt disappointment in himself as he made minute adjustments to the cloak so it would hang more naturally across the wooden stand and then turned to return home for dinner He had believed he was close to breaking through the VII barrier but it seemed he still came up a little short

What exactly was he missing

Due to the Health bonus alone Sam knew that many people would salivate at the prospect of obtaining his equipment Combining that with the flashy gold and silver coloration during the day and at night respectively the bonus Stats and the Attributes that seemed to lean toward ambush meant that Sam would definitely make a killing on this product

Which was a cold comfort compared to his failure to accomplish the goal he had set out for himself As he walked alone through the shadowy paths from his workstation in the mountains he reflected on his process

He had been ecstatic for the chance to work with the materials of the Stratta Hawk hoping that these ingredients would be the key to breaking past this soft limit And it was only a recently discovered monster it currently was the only being without a Class to be known to have seriously injured a Chimera

The Stratta Hawk only lived for a year or two but they were particular creatures When they were extremely young they rode waves of warm air upward into the atmosphere until they settled into the stratosphere There they would glide and fast growing larger and heavier until they had locked onto their chosen prey Then they would stalk their target for up to a year learning their habits

The birdÆs feathers had evolved to glow so that the Stratta Hawk could fly directly between its target and either the sun or moon making it almost impossible to spot a Stratta Hawk when it wasnÆt attempting to disguise itself with a waning moon This coloration combined with the height at which the hawks were flying meant that they were impossible to spot

There just werenÆt very many Skills that had such a far effective range

The Stratta Hawks were instinctual creatures but they were also smart Because of their life cycles they needed to select extremely powerful and energy dense prey The more powerful their prey the more the hawks would bide their time allowing their bodies to continue growing heavier

Because when they finally decided to strike they wouldnÆt have a second chance the adult Stratta Hawks possessed bodies that were too heavy to be carried to the heavens by the air currents They could only dive

If they failed to kill their target as what happened when the Stratta Hawk had targeted the Chimera they were somewhat helpless and ungainly on the ground Their legs were extremely powerful but their stay in the sky had made wide wings almost too heavy for them to spread out

But if they succeeded in their endeavor and killed their prey they wouldnÆt eat themselves Instead a unique biological trait would activate the Stratta Hawk didnÆt require a mate to lay eggs Depending on how large the prey was they could produce several offspring on command After their children were born the adult would serve them the rich and powerful flesh of their target Then the young are taken to an area for them to ascend to the sky so the life cycle could continue

Watching their children rise up into the sky the adult Stratta Hawk would starve and die satisfied Their dedication to their offspring was honestly inspiring

Perhaps I missed a part of their habits that I could have worked into the creation Sam muttered to himself I donÆt know what the hawks do while they are waiting in the sky and how can they continue growing after just that first meal Damn

Splash

Sam paused lifting his head to look at the quaking waves spreading across the small lake below him He was currently standing on a bluff to the East of the lake whereas the family home was on a similar bluff on the North of the lake Sam watched as a figure skurried out of the lake and began hurrying up the slope below him

When the small figure neared Sam raised his hand Explain

SamÆs son Sunan currently eight years old executed a sharp salute as he skidding to a stop Training

Then Sunan lowered his hand hurried past to round the bluff He accelerated as he reached the top launching himself off the peak and flying through the air in a flurry of limbs With the speed he had built up the boy flew well The height of the bluff meant that he successfully flew far enough horizontally to crash into the middle of the lake

SPLASH

A pillar of water exploded into the air Some of SamÆs sourness began to fade and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth Heh If I was a kid in a body with such high mass to force ratios I probably couldnÆt resist jumping off tall things too

Like clockwork the small soaked figure of Sunan hopped out of the lake and hurried up the bluff to do it again Sam raised his hand again when his son passed Training to be what

A horse Like Hank Howard has Or like AlanaÆs dragon Or KayleÆs Paolo Sunan said proudly Then he made to hurry past again but Sam snagged his sonÆs shoulder

His mouth continued to spasm You want to be a mount

Sunan had short hair and dark eyes he had inherited from Regina He nodded seriously to SamÆs question Everyone wants to be the Rider But wonÆt that mean there are more Riders than Mounts Mom says I should think about how my skills make me employeeble I gotta train now while no one else realizes how cool being a Mount is

Employable Sam corrected absently Then he picked his son up around his waist and carried him back toward the house And I think your mother also says you need to eat dinner regularly

Mom says we need to eat dinner regularly Sunan countered from SamÆs armpit

Sam rolled his eyes and carried his son back to the house When they walked into the house and wiped their shoes on the carpet Regina appeared in the entrance to the kitchen and looked them up and down She saw how soaked Sunan was and how Sam was dusty and covered in dried sweat She didnÆt say anything just looked at them

Sam cleared his throat awkwardly Ahem I was hoping that we could push back dinner a little more so Sunan and I could wash up

Well since you requested it Regina clicked her tongue and turned away Under his arm Sunan giggled and began to squirm

Sam let the boy down and his son bounded quickly up the stairs to the bathroom Sam reached up again to rub his sore neck and went to the downstairs bathroom He turned on the shower and quickly rinsed himself off Then he went into his bedroom and obtained a clean cotton shirt and jeans

Sam was somewhat surprised when he returned to the kitchen and found that Sunan was already there staring greedily at the plum pork and sweet potatoes on his plate Sensing SamÆs quirked eyebrow Sunan spoke in his trademark serious tone A Mount must be very quick in all things

After rubbing his sonÆs head affectionately Sam sat down at the table and dinner began Regina regarded the two men coolly at the beginning of the meal but as Sam prodded their son to explain his newfound training regimen Regina soon had to bring a hand up to her mouth to hide a smile

When the meal was finished Sam picked up the plates and carried them to the sink to wash them Regina moved to help and spoke over her shoulder Sunan make sure you pack up clothes tonight We are heading to Kharon tomorrow for the auction

Their son shook his head I canÆt make it It will interfere in my training

The two parents exchanged a look Sam shook his head and returned to scrubbing plates Do you remember Kharon ItÆs called the Wandering City In a way Kharon might be the greatest Mount in the world

Sunan considered this okay IÆll come But we cannot play around too much okay

I promise Sam replied solemnly Regina snorted

Early the next morning the trio gathered up and bundled themselves into one of SamÆs homemade hovercrafts When the EngravingÆs activated the sleek matte black machine lifted off the ground and then blasted through the air Secondary runes deployed projecting a barrier in front of them that dealt with the wind resistance In the next instant the vehicle accelerated forward piercing through the sound barrier and shooting off into the distance

For this auction Kharon had settled itself South of the original Zones nearer to the equator than any established territory With SamÆs powerful vehicle they only spent about four hours shooting through the sky before they approached KharonÆs resting place

Already Kharon had unfolded its mechanical fair and created a festival like atmosphere on the ground near where the city settled Portable food stalls and stages were in abundance But SamÆs eyes swept through the broader surroundings Small portable dwellings dotted to the tops of the surrounding hills evidence that the rich and affluent of the various Zones and Orders had already arrived and staked their claim on the premium areas

Sam didnÆt bother with bringing a portable residence the family would be staying in Kharon proper as TatianaÆs guest So he brought his vehicle down in the massive sprawl of other hover vehicles that had emerged to the west of Kharon squeezing between a flying speedboat and what looked like a heavily armored tank

Look at all of these mounts Sunan was practically bouncing as he hopped down out of the vehicle and examined the surroundings

Regina clicked her tongue and dragged the boy after them as they wound their way out of the impromptu parking lot and to the base of Kharon There Sam intended to lead his family directly up into Kharon but he paused slightly when he saw a group of protestors standing to the side of one of the largest ramps up into Kharon

The angry group held up signs that said quite a few innocuous phrases but the most common one was Whole and Human

Who are those people Sunan asked

Sam pressed his lips together Regina patted SunanÆs back No one worth mentioning honey

Chapter 1670

Randidly released a hissing breath through his teeth as the red lightning sparking across his flesh intensified If a normal human was afflicted with a similar level of radiation he didnÆt doubt that they would be roasted from the inside out

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Hierarchy of Burden has reached Level 5

The prior increases in the drag Randidly experienced had mostly been increases in the severity of the electrical spikes But this Level was different after Randidly activated it he experienced a constant barrage of electrical current through his body Every moment felt like a spike He could feel the air around his body ionizing as so much electricity moved through his flesh and polarized his skin

Randidly had the sneaking suspicion that if he were to touch someone else he would experience a quite unpleasant static shock The electrical discharge might be enough to kill someone below Level 60

But the new permanence of the spasms was secondary the real problem was that RandidlyÆs strategy of relaxing his body was no longer sufficient to endure these forces If Randidly were truly just to let himself go and relax the constant electrical prodding would very quickly have him contracting every muscle in his body as hard as he possibly could The interval between these electrical pulses had given him time to recover in the past

No effort on RandidlyÆs part would result in him ending up in a truly agonizing fetal position with every muscle in his body doing its best to squeeze itself into oblivion But luckily the past week of familiarizing himself with the Fatepiece had been relatively effective His mastery of his body wasnÆt perfect but his efforts with Ripple of Amenonuhoko taught him much out more subtle forms of resistance against the electricity

Randidly spread his trembling arms and legs keeping them from curling inward His emerald eyes were bright in the darkness If my prior strategy was acceptance I now need something closer to temperance to endure this Hierarchy and this is only one fourth of the way through the first layer

Well this was never supposed to be a short term project

Congratulations Your Skill Stigma of the Stillborn Phoenix has grown to Level 334

The crimson electricity was pernicious and ubiquitous within his body From the starting discomfort these more recent waves of energy lapped closer and closer toward being objectively painful even for Randidly But he didnÆt flinch It was only by exposing himself to forces like this that he would grow

Once Randidly stabilized his physical state he spent a bit more of his time carefully observing the way the electricity physically manifested He watched the visual distortions and sniffed catching the tang of ozone in the surrounding air Then while he still remained under the FatepieceÆs influence Randidly began to steadily refine the manifestation of his Stillborn Phoenix image Dark emotions swirled more deeply around him thickening the very air

Randidly couldnÆt help but crack a smile This method of image refinement is definitely effective itÆs only been a week but this sort of ominous aura

But Randidly soon dismissed those thoughts the less he thought about how much he had been improving down here without any other demands on his attention would just distract him from training He decreased the sympathy between himself and the Fatepiece so that the electricity wasnÆt so distracting and dismissed the Stillborn Phoenix Then Randidly raised his hands and the image physicalizations of the Grim Chimera appeared around him

Nether spun around his fingers With remarkable grace the Grim Chimera began to weave a massive envelope of Nether in the air Below him Randidly could sense the nearest Nether Gatekeepers looking up curiously at his actions he wasnÆt sure whether it was the accomplishment or the speed of his improvement with Nether that surprised it

After an hour of weaving Randidly finished this project and finished the Ritual The weave flashed and solidified All in all Randidly had created an envelope large enough to balloon outward and fill the entirety of the shaft Based on the sensation of creating it this wasnÆt RandidlyÆs limit either The current envelope was about the size of an extremely large city but he should be able to push himself to make an envelope ten times that size

However his current concern wasnÆt size It was structural integrity

Once the envelope was established outside of himself Randidly created probes and drills of both Aether and Nether to test the resiliency of the barrier His earlier failures to penetrate it only lit the fires of his competitive spirit Ten minutes later Randidly grinned in satisfaction His efforts could warp the edge of the envelope but he would truly need to expend himself in order to break through the outer barrier

And most of the defensive strength was a result of the woven significance between himself his Nether Core and the protected planet In essence the current envelope he created without anything of note inside was the weakest the defenses would be When the significance of a planet was added to the mix Randidly didnÆt need to worry about someone casually inflicting a wound on his barrier

Of course considering how many enemies Randidly Ghosthound had the casual tragedies were the least of his worries But it was a start

As the sharp fingers and the intense brow of the Grim Chimera faded Randidly closed his eyes and savored the feeling of his image In the stomach of the Grim Chimera Randidly could still feel the seeds of an evolution waiting to germinate They glimmered like the palpitations of distant stars But he allowed himself a satisfied smile when he felt how the feeling around these seeds was slowly beginning to change The repeated actions the Grim Chimera took to createÆ were having the desired effect

Randidly opened his eyes again and flexed his fingers But after a week of constant training he paused Hmm IÆve been training rather tirelessly for this week It might be time for a small break Besides I have wanted to go and inspect my Nether Core directly to see how things are developing

Then again he had only been training for a week

RandidlyÆs stomach rumbled earning a chuckle from him As soon as he thought about Kharon he thought about real food for the first time in quite a while and his body made its opinion known Randidly shrugged even if it hadnÆt been very much time at all since he started training having no distractions meant that he was improving quickly Plus the time dilation meant that this diversion down to Expira would probably only be a minute or two in the Nexus

So Randidly sent a message to Tatiana telling her that he would be returning for a couple of days soon Then his mouth twisted into a wolfish smile If he was about to take a break for a while Randidly intended to make sure he was thoroughly exhausted before he did so So he found that connection between himself and the Hierarchy of Burden and strengthened it He reached his prior limit and charged directly past it

His shoulders began to tremble His skin was tingling To forcefully withstand the contractions of his muscles Randidly activated his Yggdrasil image His hair turned emerald and his veins began to release a luminous golden light Those precious veins pulsed with power flexing themselves to keep his body from curling inward under the grip of the electromagnetic current

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Hierarchy of Burden has grown to Level 6

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Hierarchy of Burden has grown to Level 7

RandidlyÆs whole body was trembling He stood transfixed with his mouth slightly open and bolts of crimson electricity leapt from one side of his mouth to the other His eyes were blank and unfocused concerned primarily with the constant war being waged across his flesh as electrical impulses became so constant that they were indistinguishable from his neurological orders

YggdrasilÆs reliable form manifested above him in the shaft The rutted bark the rustling leaves the looping runes that detailed the secrets of the universe the image flared with righteous light and suppressed the electricity running rampant across RandidlyÆs person

Perhaps the Yggdrasil of a few weeks ago would have bulked before the suppression of these natural electrical phenomena but several times this past week Randidly had taken long walks through his own image Each time he had firmed up his foundations strengthening the core feelings of the World Tree Now there was a precious warmth to even the environment around Yggdrasil And this brilliant sense of peace growth and acceptance became a weapon to fight against the rising tide of physical chaos running through him

RandidlyÆs shoulders never stopped heaving but his face gradually eased from a grimace into a stern look of focus His eyes were blazing as his golden veins fought to earn him a point of balance Temperance huh

Randidly aggressively pushed himself even further

Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Hierarchy of Burden has grown to Level 8

ss This taste of a more violent brand of lighting smashed against his carefully achieved balance like a sledgehammer RandidlyÆs brilliant golden veins twitched and struggled against the power of his own body His obscenely high Stats became the weapon of the electricity against him Gradually Randidly curled inward like a shrimp despite his best efforts

Congratulations Your Skill the Golden Roots of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 350

Congratulations Your Skill the Stigma of the Stillborn Phoenix has grown to Level 335

When he had exhausted his mental energy by pitting his image against his body Randidly banished the sympathetic connection between himself and the Hierarchy of Burden The electricity vanished Instantly his body began to tingle Randidly smiled sweetly and released a relieved breath

This was his favorite part the sensation of relaxation that followed pushing his limits with the Hierarchy

Then he reached up and rubbed the back of his neck His tail flicked back and forth behind him until he forced the limb to curl innocuously around his waist Alright back to Kharon Five years huh LetÆs see how things have changed without me

Chapter 1671

When Randidly arrived in her office Tatiana hurdled over her desk like a teenager and ran up to throw her arms around him Randidly blinked several times as she impacted him then reached around TatianaÆs slender body to return her hug a few seconds later The raw excitement that she radiated was contagious Her skin was warm and her hair smelled like vanilla and coconuts

RandidlyÆs expression softened Of all the people that followed him Tatiana was definitely the one for whom he had the greatest demands and also to whom he provided the least direction She was given first a company and then a city to run generating enough materials to support all of the abrupt requests that Randidly Ghosthound made of her And time and time again she had succeeded

Randidly owed her much for her loyalty and capability

Now seeing Tatiana after all this time feeling the slight tremor in her thin arms as she hugged him he felt a powerful sense of guilt Perhaps because of small adjustments that the Grim Chimera implemented when he was remade hugging Tatiana made Randidly acutely aware in the differences of their size

Randidly stood fully a head taller than her His forearms were as thick as her upper arms The scale of their two beings was different Her image was a tiny candle before the bonfire of his Soulspace It suddenly seemed inappropriate to have thrown so much responsibility onto a woman with such thin wrists

But when Tatiana broke the hug and pushed Randidly backward to examine him more closely her eyes were filled with steely resolve and mirth Randidly felt profoundly foolish for underestimating her just based on their relative size

TatianaÆs lips quirked Randidly I never thought IÆd see the day Are you going for a pretty boy look Your hair is hanging down to your jaw

Randidly winced and shook his head wryly which only set his hair to swishing across his face ItÆs what I get for letting Helen cut my hair as she saw fit I think this is revenge for refusing to spar

Honestly It suits you But HelenÆs tastes always did run a bit toward androgyny Tatiana returned to her desk and stood over a tea set Want something to drink Oh wait you want food right Heh I should have known IÆll have something from the canteen sent up

Randidly nodded gratefully and glanced around the office The layout was the same but Tatiana had clearly been busy in the past several years The quality of the items in the office were leagues above their past versions The heavy wooden desk was covered with intricate carvings of trees and deer The far wall was covered in a massive map of what could only be Expira with a small metal tack that could only be Kharon hovering near the equator The curtains that covered the windows were thick and luxurious Golden letter openers gleaming sable pens and a sophisticated computer terminal were precisely placed in a cluster on TatianaÆÆs desk giving it an air of engine like precision

Tatiana typed something quickly into a keypad and then continued to speak to Randidly I bet you have your own reasons for coming but a few things first Kharon is about to host its first Kharon Academy Auction ItÆs a big deal so there are about a hundred thousand extra people clustered around the city right now to celebrate So if you want to remain anonymous you might have to put a little bit more effort into it than just not announcing that you are the Ghosthound Please also donÆt just walk around with some shady cloak covering your face Oh and also

Tatiana looked at Randidly directly and her lips twitched you are releasing pretty heavy waves of pressure right now Physical and mental My instincts are thoroughly convinced that you could easily annihilate me Maybe IÆm used to it but you should try and rein that in a bit before you wander around Is there anything in particular you will need while you are here

Randidly scratched his chin and tilted his head to the side Then he grinned finally realizing what was off about TatianaÆs attitude youÆve always helped me but you donÆt usually behave so nicely when I come barging in asking for things DonÆt think you are the only one with insight fess up what is it What do you need

Tatiana rolled her eyes at him I must have certainly been obvious if you could notice but Money

Randidly frowned but a tapping at the window interrupted his train of thought Tatiana peered over at the glass but then laughed Ha Well letÆs get this out of the way shall we

Tatiana walked over to the window and opened it allowing a veritable flood of moss spirits to cram themselves into the room and spiral excitedly around Randidly A miniature whirlwind formed around him growing in power and influence Randidly stood and laughed in the middle of the enthusiastic moss spirits as more and more rushed in through the opening feeling their kind spirits and ambient energy

More so than even spending long hours of meditating to clear his mind being bathed in the pure energy of the moss spirits left Randidly cleansed and refreshed Since they shared a similar origin with him their rejuvenating capabilities were extremely effective on his mental exhaustion He likely would have continued to enjoy the experience had he not noticed TatianaÆs growing exasperation as this artificial windstorm began to rustle the neat piles of paper that covered her desk

Alright alright IÆll come to visit your core and play later Randidly said still chuckling I understand you all are in charge of connecting the different sky islands Very impressive Keep up the good work

The moss spirits spun together and fared with radiant pride but just as quickly they seemed to realize this display could be considered a dereliction of their duty With the same alacrity as the moss spirits had invaded in through the window they blasted out again and flowed back throughout the complex net of floating islands around Kharon

RandidlyÆs mouth twitched as he turned back to Tatiana He reached within himself and centered his perception in his Soulspace With an effort of will Randidly withdrew some subconscious image physicalizations back within the depths of his person A few seconds later his aura was indistinguishable from a normal person albeit a normal person with a tail tied tightly around his waist Is this better

You seem practically mundane Tatiana grinned as she gathered up some of her papers that had fluttered to the ground When she had them all she tapped the bottoms lightly to straighten the stack and set them back into their proper places And you are right I do need something from you money

Randidly was initially very enthusiastic about helping Tatiana but his expression turned somewhat awkward at her request Ahem Well as you know IÆm currently in a translation between jobs so

Tatiana grinned at him No I didnÆt expect you to empty out your wallet for me I need Expira money not Nexus bucks or whatever And you are the type that barely notices the role of money in your life anyway But you have assets here the controlling stake in Kharon which has been accumulating capital for you for the past five years It is a significant amount of money I just need your permission to use a portion of it to make an anonymous donation toward KharonÆs Guardian Visas program

There was a knock on the door and Tatiana bid them to come in Six steaming trays of food were wheeled in my metal beings with featureless faces After arranging the tray trolleys in a semi circle the brass beings bowed and then left Randidly looked at Tatiana and raised his eyebrows

Automatons Kharon makes them Neveah figured out how to tap into the SystemÆs translation functions so they naturally understand orders Tatiana said Then she pointed at the food I assume pleasure before business

Tell me about the visa program while I eat Randidly responded as he lifted the lid off of the first tray The fragrant spices of a shrimp jambalaya wafted up toward him Immediately his expression brightened and he snatched up a fork beginning to eat directly from the party sized dish

But after a few bites he paused Do the automatons cook the food too

Generally Is that a problem Tatiana asked

Randidly chewed thoughtfully for several seconds no But you can definitely tell There isnÆt any life in the food The taste is just fine

Despite the fact that the food was simply serviceable RandidlyÆs powerful new Grim Chimera body hadnÆt been full in its entire existence So the six trays of food became sacrifices to please his cells In the meantime Tatiana explained the Guardian Visas and how the initial program was forcibly expanded way beyond its original scope due to the rapid growth of the Kharon Academy

That earned a pause in RandidlyÆs feast long enough for him to grin he liked to hear that the Kharon Academy was doing well Not that he truly needed to be told as the spirit of Kharon was mostly anchored in Kharon Academy at the point The student and teachers were its loudest proponents But to hear that the foremost institution of learning on Expira was his Academy built to teach the young to challenge the unknown and seek redress in our worldÆs greatest flaws filled him with a feeling of satisfaction that Randidly had rarely experienced before

But with the good came the bad As Tatiana continued to explain the problem with KharonÆs Council RandidlyÆs expression sank KharonÆs development in five years wasnÆt all good There were significant portions of KharonÆs population that were happy with their current position and somewhat unwilling to continually head to Danger Zones to blaze a path for the rest of Expira

As they aged and escaped the chaotic arrival of the System some people wanted to rest and enjoy the benefits to which they believed they were entitled

Randidly pressed his lips together Nothing remains the same forever But giving people the opportunity to choose how they want to live is part of the reason that I need to grow even stronger This seems like the sort of problem that should be left up to Kharon to solve

After she finished her explanation Randidly tilted his head and looked at Tatiana Will the money youÆve set aside for me be enough to cover the program

Tatiana nodded Oh for sure Compared to how much money is in your name this amount isnÆt even noticeable

That caused Randidly to pause Wait IÆm rich

Randidly how could you not be Tatiana retorted with another eye roll Do you know how success KharonÆs industries are

Randidly tapped his cheek and considered this news How rich

Scrooge caves filled with golden coins rich Tatiana said wryly So rich that if you walk around Kharon and find something that you want to buy youÆd probably be informed that you already owned it

Randidly pointed at the six empty trays of food Then I want another six trays of food But have them made by chefs with high Cooking Skill Level this time

Chapter 1672

Tatiana had other meetings in her schedule so she left Randidly alone to finish his six new handmade trays of food He did this enthusiastically privately glad to no longer had an audible as he attempted to sate his hunger A yellow curry was especially compelling and Randidly devoured it with relish each bite contained the extra emotional component that he had become so sensitive to as he improved his images

A fraction of the perfect food that the chef wished to create was embedded in the concrete reality of the dish Just with that insubstantial mysterious bonus the food was at least a hundred times better than the machine made canteen food Those image fragments quickly broke down but they also provided minute amounts of nourishment to his other images

Even if the machine made food had the advantages of cost and convenience he was somewhat unwilling to compromise on this

Randidly tapped his finger against the table as he ate His expression was thoughtful as he turned the problem over in his head ItÆs a matter of image correct It would be difficult for me to create an image regarding food that is powerful enough to endure for a long time but if I experiment with Engravings and see if I can create consciousness for the brass automatons

After looking into TatianaÆs drawers Randidly found an expensive looking pen He then took some of the napkins that had been included when he ordered out and began making some rough notations on consciousness through Engraving With his experience with the Living Engraving and projects like KharonÆs main engine it definitely wasnÆt too difficult to sketch out the core runes that would bring life to the brass automatons

What was more difficult was the source of the soulÆ for these beings With the moss spirits Randidly had used life energy as the guiding force behind their personality Their core of moss meant that they clung to Kharon and continued to assist in the cityÆs growth and development RandidlyÆs eyes sharpened and his strokes on the paper became more stark and geometric The style of his Engraving changed as he chased after the correct feeling

Hard working and loyal Diligent and detail oriented Stern and focused RandidlyÆs eyes were blazing as he continued to follow this thread toward its conclusion

Congratulations Your Skill Architecture of the Primordial Ways has grown to Level 425

Randidly grimaced at the result and tossed his current napkin to the side He grabbed three others and drew ink Engravings across them with lightning fast speeds trusting in his instincts After he finished he regarded each iteration solemnly Ultimately he could only sigh none captured the feeling that he was chasing

A soul was not an easy thing

Pressing his eyes closed Randidly allowed his Grim Intuition to spread across the City Hall building He methodically scanned building by building until he located the efficient movements of the brass automatons He found them in the canteen and in the tighter side passages reserved only for employees where they cleaned and shifted supplies so the human civil servants didnÆt need to waste their time on such activities

Randidly even found the space below the building where they must rest while inactive The claustrophobic room was certainly not hospitable but it did give Randidly a bit more understanding of these beings

After rubbing his fingers together Randidly selected a new napkin Metal was their material and metal was their soul Shaped perhaps but strong and filled with the firm satisfaction of accomplishing a job This Engraving Randidly wrote slowly careful to shape the central rune so it was just so