LoRG 4

ThatÆs my armor Randidly thought fondly

SulfurÆs substance exploded in a whooshing rush of energy RandidlyÆs eyebrows shot upward With the exterior breaking a gush of the liquid essence of Sulfur sprayed downward For a brief moment Randidly thought all of SulfurÆs vital innards were going to be dumped on the stone ground like the goop from a shattered egg However even as the liquid fell it stretched and arced in specific lines soon settling into a solid form The essence spun in perfect lines to generate its new shape

An arm was created glittering and gunmetal grey in the stark sunlight Pure black lines ran in loops around the knuckles and wrist

Randidly gasped as a buzzing jolt traveled through his shoulder joint and integrated the new limb with the rest of his body Then the entire thing tingled as his senses connected with the surface He raised the heavy grey arm in wonder The fingers were large pretty comparable to the size of a regular hand with a metal gauntlet across it albeit an exquisitely crafted one The wrist was thick and armored with powerful and elastic substances shifting beneath the armored surface allowing the metallic limb near perfect movement

His eyes immediately locked onto the sharp dagger like protrusions that grew along the edge of the forearm each a few inches apart down from the rest As the tingling sensation spread along it concentrated around those three locations They seemed to glitter slightly revealing small motes of crimson within the metal of these extensions A notification popped up in front of Randidly

Congratulations Due to immense empathy between you and your Soulseed a Unique connection has been established Your Soulseed Sulfur has agreed to share a portion of its abilities with you

Calculating Warning due to the interaction between individuals the resulting ability will gain Skill Levels at a slightly inferior pace to the Skill of a singular individual

Your new left arm has been classified as equipment by the System

Sulfur the GhosthoundÆs Aide Lvl 100 A Soulseed that has completely dedicated itself to its creator Using a vast amount of accumulated potential it has grown into a left arm of Randidly Ghosthound and found a Great Path for itself Due to its intelligence the arm can continue to improve and evolve All Stats +50 The Mysterious Ascent VIII Armament of the Ghosthound VII Domain Remnant VII

The Mysterious Ascent VIII Due to first being a Soulseed and slowly morphing into equipment Sulfur has broken past an inherent limit of equipment It has obtained the initial stages of a Great Path Details are hidden from the user they are only available to Sulfur

Armament of the Ghosthound VII A powerful equipment that merges several divergent elements to create a new and unique effect Influenced heavily by Nether In addition the Armament is perfectly synchronized with the userÆs body Can only be used by Randidly Ghosthound All Stats will be treated as if their Rarity were boosted by one leading to increased effectiveness

Domain Remnant VII Due to a deep yearning in Sulfur a nostalgic Domain has been created Due to sympathy user will have access to that Domain as well Aspects of Sulfur have been incorporated into the Domain

His fingers tightened on the Fatepiece He looked down at his new arm LetÆs go show her how much weÆve improved

A ringing chime sounded out from the Fatepiece and his consciousness slipped into the inner world With an explosive sigh Randidly found himself in the massive crater on the Fifth Cohort Rally Station before that last spar against Helen She was already raising her spear ready to attack but Randidly raised his hand Wait

Tsk you better not be trying to weasel way out of this spar Helen eyed Randidly warily tossing her braid back over her shoulder But even if she spoke harshly she still lowered her spear

If he really didnÆt have his heart in it she wouldnÆt force him to fight Because that was the sort of friend she had always been to him

For several seconds Randidly just stared at her He had obviously spent a lot of time grieving Helen which made him believe that he would be able to handle this But immediately he felt himself trembling as he looked at her

She practically burned in his vision With the context of her absence aiding his awareness the significance of her existence to Randidly Ghosthound was nearly blinding He felt tears forming in the corners of his eyes and sucked in a shaky breath

Of course Helen greeted this display with a grumble Something wrong Why are you looking at me like that

nothing Randidly said slowly as he steeled himself then he raised his new left arm and clenched a fist The effect of boosting the Rarities of his Stats was hard to get a read on but Randidly definitely enjoyed being free of the physical restriction from the mountain His images all started to billow out as well impressing themselves on the space outside of his body But I want your help with something a bit special

Hm Helen raised an eyebrow

Hiding his sorrow in his heart Randidly flashed an almost malicious smile at Helen IÆve been watching your Domain And honestly it seems super useful So IÆve made my own version Why donÆt we check how well it compares to the original

HelenÆs nostrils flared outward You fucking did what

Randidly stretched out his arm and the three fangs happily buzzed out into the air They cut wide troughs through the air currents leaving ample natural energy in their wake Then those ripples were gathered into a tide that spun around him The influence Randidly possessed slowly stretched into a maelstrom HelenÆs scowl deepened and she raised her spear once more The air around her darkened and four undulating wicker arrowheads formed around

Are you trying to piss me off on purpose Helen muttered right before she accelerated forward her Domain spreading out to oppress RandidlyÆs

Congratulations Your Skill (Domain) The Resonant Fangs of Extinction has grown to Level 303

No But if I say anything else IÆm going to start crying again Randidly whispered in his heart Then he mobilized his Skills and images to meet her directly A black wicker and smoky arrow had tore forward aiming for RandidlyÆs chest A fang slid down to meet it

Chapter 1816

Congratulations Your Skill Cutting Tide of Amenonuhoko has grown to Level 555

Congratulations Your Skill (Domain) The Resonant Fangs of Extinction has grown to Level 349

The two fighters bounced backward both of their feet carving small ditches in the dirt ground as they steadily dispersed the force from their collision Due to the restrictions he placed on himself Randidly ended up losing out in the final clash but both of them knew that his improvement speed meant that wouldnÆt be the case for long His three fangs were smoking as they returned and reattached themselves to his left arm

He raised his head and looked at the panting Helen feeling quite a bit chagrined A sizzling black mark remained on his chest from where HelenÆs attack had landed A good reminder not to rely too much on the impact reduction ability of the fangs They will knock away all the force for a single strike yes but powerful images pretty constantly reinforce attacks So in truth it only provides a momentary stall in an assault

Although if I do ever run into someone else who uses the image physicalization method I have a pretty hard counter to them

Bah fighting you is so aggravating Helen muttered Then she aimed another glare at Randidly Alright you made a shitty copy of my Domain It even has some interesting parts that I have no doubt will grow fucking strong The foundation is solid Happy now

Randidly shook his head helplessly No not really But I do want to say thank you I would never well Sulfur and I would never have been able to accomplish this is not for you So anything that I manage has your hand on it You will always be a part of me I hope you know that

Of course Helen snorted You arenÆt alone in this you know Besides why are you being so emotional You donÆt need to pour so much of yourself into protecting us We manage quite well without your fussing

RandidlyÆs smile grew strained HelenÆs eyes narrowed with suspicion and for a second and he understood that she might realize something So he pulled himself out of the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night The sunlight waiting for him on the mountain was blinding He blinked several times while letting out a hissing breath between his teeth

He allowed himself a few minutes of melancholy musings staring out over the shifting mists Then he patted his legs and straightened

Stayed in there longer than I thought Almost time to move forward Randidly said to himself He raised his new arm and flexed the fingers Then he nodded Alright Alright LetÆs get to the summit For all the people that have helped me get here

The group moved quickly through the dark underbelly of the Nexus All of them possessed plenty of methods to move extremely fast so they ghosted through locations so quickly that even if a group was warned of their coming they would miss them The Patron of the Sun led the way blazing forward with Velio Dunn right on his heels In the middle was the Patron of Blades and the Patron of Blooms who craned their necks during the journey like they wanted nothing more than a vacation after being stuck in the Sanctum for so long

They didnÆt comment on the sights but a few of the Aether pipelines they passed earned meaningful glances from them

Edraine and the Patron of the Abyss brought of the rear of the column her because her instincts were tingling with the hint of danger and the amorphous body of the quiet Patron because it seemed to be a loner It seemed profoundly less interested in the surroundings and only moved with the group due to a hidden reason

They had a single exchange right after they left the Nexus Ways and started to travel quickly through space The Patron of the Abyss paused in its movements and examined her You use your body efficiently Sublime

That was that The rest of the journey was almost completely silent

However soon the Patron of the Sun raised a hand and the rest of them slowed behind him They floated at the edge of an asteroid belt far from any other celestial bodies The trace from the Patron of Feathers is emerging from up there but His words trailed off Edraine didnÆt need him to continue She felt her lip curling up from the ominous darkness in front of him

Whatever had happened to the Patron of Feathers was still ongoing

A strange power obstructed them from seeing more Part of it was a powerful image born of dark feathers a vast emptiness and patient death However there was another part that felt unnatural even beyond some of the sick and sadistic images Edraine had encountered in the Nexus Like some strange force lurked at the core perverting the natural order of the universe and obscuring the senses

Is she dead The Patron of Blossoms asked

The Patron of the Sun Shook his head Impossible She perhaps might be wounded or sealed in a different manner We will need to unravel this in order to obtain the energy we need

Velio Dunn surged forward and clenched his fists IÆm willing to head for alone to check out this strange force

And we believed that we could change the Nexus Edraine felt a tingle of dread in her heart By stealing the sealed body of this being

That was when she noticed that a change came from the darkness that supposedly was the Patron of Feathers The Patron of BladeÆs powerful Finale had split open the shroud that blocked her revealing a desiccated and fleshless body Bones and feathers that was all that remained of the Patron of Feathers Her skin was parchment stretched over uneven stone A breath of wind would fold her Any reverberations reaching her would reduce her to dust Only the slightest hint of life remained in her body

Yet Edraine found her gaze pulled by the small bone charm that the Patron of Feathers cradled The small item rolled lazily through the space above the PatronÆs palm Even from this distance Edraine could sense that this small object was the source of the wrongness she had sensed earlier It was also probably the item that reduced a Patron to such a horrifying state

And likely due to the Patron of BladeÆs attack the slightest crack snaked its way out from the edges of the bone charm It had been damaged

That small noise changed the whole battlefield because it dragged ElhumeÆs attention away You wretches Do you know

The Patron of the Sun managed to escape around the first punch finally gasping and trying to stem a flow of blood from his side The Patron of Blades directly sliced the Second Punch in half but didnÆt advance the glinting blade lights around him had dimmed a lot even in that brief conflict

Meanwhile the Patron of Blooms raised her hands with a flourish The garden around her swelled and bloomed petals unfolding and roots worming their way through space Restrict

The Patron of the Abyss coordinated perfectly with her swooping down toward ElhumeÆs face as he turned The absence spread out and tried to strangle him But Elhume just raised his hands

The Third Fist Boundless

Keh Edraine spat out a breath as an immense force bent her over Her spine shattered and her consciousness was scrambled for several seconds Whatever attack that Elhume had unleashed had hit all of them

No it had impacted everything in the surrounding area Her swimming gaze wasnÆt able to locate even the slightest hint of the asteroid belt

By the time she had stabilized herself most of the shredded bits of plant matter that tumbled through space had disintegrated The Patron of the Abyss had once more been knocked away and the Patron of the Sun sported another deep wound on his side

However everyoneÆs attention now fixated on a new figure

He was bruised and bleeding clearly as pushed beyond the limits as Edraine had been But Velio Dunn had somehow made it to within the opening the Patron of Blades created in the wings guarding that horrifying bone charm He hefted his sword the edge glowing with a slight light that bore the faintest hint of the power these Patrons wielded

He was after all a man who had made an attempt at the Pinnacle

Elhume Velio Dunn bellowed His eyes were red with madness You You and your greed This is all because of you You want this item Ha If you donÆt retreat immediately IÆll destroy it Even if I die as long as I spite you

Elhume didnÆt even seem to hear Velio The expression on his blurry face had turned into a frown but he still moved into a punching stance His attack slid forward with that dreadful perfection The Fourth Fist

Fine Velio howled as he cut down toward the bone charm Have it your way

Timeless

As Edraine watched ElhumeÆs attack shot forward Velio cut down but then his attack paused When that fist reached the halfway point between Elhume and him his sword began to creep back upward as though everything was being rewound He looked down in horror at his arm and sword Even from the distance she could see VelioÆs grip on the weapon trembling This is impossible

The punch obliterated his chest cavity His head tumbled through space through a cloud of blended viscera disbelief and unwillingness etched onto his features Velio Dunn died with his weapon held above his head without ever having been able to unleash his attack

Chapter 1817

Blood drifted out from the corpse the crimson color contrasting powerfully with the dried husk of the Patron of Feathers

Edraine felt genuine fear as she watched the drifting weightlessness of VelioÆs body Two desires rose in her simultaneously First to unleash the attacks she had steadily refined by breaking out the Patrons prove her worth on this battlefield She wondered how well she would measure up against her capable allies and the most powerful individual in the Nexus

The second impulse was to turn and flee To remain was to dance with death

While Edraine remained tensed between those possibilities the Patrons surged into action The Patron of the Abyss rushed forward rapidly swelling into a massive roiling cloud of absence that devoured the area around Elhume The Patron of the Blooms began to generate another viscerally present garden while the Patron of the Sun gathered up his power between cupped hands

Elhume raised his head and grinned at them all His blurry form flared with power Die here The Third Fist Boundless

This time Edraine reacted to his voice and mobilized her own destructive image to counter it By the time Elhume raised his fists and drummed against the fabric of the Nexus around them she was poised to meet it Edraine hissed and pain and drifted backward but her image absorbed most of the force this time

Her image coiled and flipped wanting more feedback

Her eyes glittered and she clenched her fist I was completely overpowered But this method is correct I can feel it something changing ItÆs almost as though my image is coming alive to complete itself

Only the Patron of the Abyss seemed to be staggered by the most recent attacks its body broke apart into a dozen wiggling pieces that drifted out in every direction Emptiness lightened to the purple amorphous substance and then settled back to absence The other Patrons used that same moment to strike back

The Boundless Wilderness The garden of the Patron of Blooms exploded All the plant matter swelled and bristled ripping through its previous forms to become something vast and primal That overwhelming tide of natural growth swelled until it completely surrounded Elhume Thick tree trunks crashed down on him Building sized roses unleashed thorns as large as a normal human He raised his fists in response but the Patron of Blades and the Patron of the Sun werenÆt about to let him counterattack easily

The Golden Eyes Indignation

Sudden Stagger

A dusky crescent whipped forward from the Patron of Blades and hit the Elhume almost lightly Yet when he received that attack he stiffened That moment allowed the huge golden beam edged with black stars to smash directly into his chest

Edraine raised her hand to shield her eyes from the light yet suddenly the Patron of Blades and Blooms were there on either side of her The Patron of Blades was sweating all his cool confidence gone We must leave Reus

Here The Patron of the Sun panted even while the golden black beam pinned Elhume down He too looked bedraggled and exhausted The conflict with Elhume had only lasted for about fifteen seconds but it was clear that they were completely spent The Patron of the Sun shook his head Even without his body he is still so

The First Fist Dominance

But the Patron of the Sun shook his head emphatically No Theoretically Elhume shouldnÆt know the location but since the Patron of Feathers is like this can we risk it Our powers will be suppressed there if he shows up we will be slaughtered

Well where else can we hide from the eyes of the Nexus The Patron of Blossoms snapped The System is present everywhere

Edraine licked her lips Then she opened her mouth I might know of a person who can help us

Lady Iellaya bowed her head She was alone in Commandant WickÆs office with the Commandant but she didnÆt dare show even the slightest bit of disrespect after the week that she had She was afraid for the first time that she could remember filled with a strange sense of weakness

The past few days had been rough First she had followed the Grand Marshal Devick around as the woman gleefully slaughtered the opposing factions within Military High Command as soon as she found them There were even some innocent people that ended up as collateral damage because they were speaking with the Grand MarshallÆs targets

Perhaps ten thousand lives from safety patrols to assistant Commandants had been ripped to shreds by this sociopathÆs chained hooks It was to the point that the opposition didnÆt dare let any of their soldiers outside of the base and the average civilian seemed to have vanished Either they were accompanied by a Speculum tier combatant or they would be killed

Needless to say the abandoned corpses and DevickÆs gleeful laugh hadnÆt helped the increasingly ominous mood in the Nexus Her show of violence had even scared the Engraving Guild into setting aside their differences and reaching a pact Now the NLC seemed to be reorganizing itself to speak out against these atrocities

Hypocrites Lady Iellaya thought

The second reason she was afraid was

for whatever reason Lady IellayaÆs image was rapidly weakening A few of her feathers had been falling out each day She was not a suspicious woman but definitely it felt like something ominous was happening around her

So How bad is it Commandant Wick tapped the desk From his tone he knew exactly how bad it was

Lady Iellaya cleared her throat from accompanying Grand Marshall Devick these past few days I think itÆs clear she intends to hunt down the opposition until they are either eradicated or she gets to fight another Speculum Her dedication to her crusade has not slackened in the least

No thatÆs not what I mean Commandant Wick steepled his fingers Obviously she will pursue justice with zeal That is why she is a Grand Marshal No what IÆm asking is how her mood is

Lady Iellaya blinked She pictured the womanÆs gleeful expression Honestly she appears quite cheerful

Good Then itÆs time I ask her for a favor

Chapter 1818

Randidly crouched on one of the stone pillars a storm of natural energy rushing around him He waited preparing for his next opportunity His eyes were sharp as he examined the flows of the Grand Pattern The sun beat down on his every move bombarding him with heat and dangerous force spikes There were occasional wind blades but those almost seemed more like afterthoughts than actual attacks

Congratulations Your Skill Cutting Tide of Amenonuhoko has grown to Level 557

Although perhaps the reason I donÆt notice the wind blades is that the natural energy maelstrom is almost too good at what it does Randidly reflected

Congratulations Your Skill Dodge has grown to Level 390

Randidly swayed to the side remaining on top of the stone pillar while avoiding the exterior force of a spike His ears twitched as the force spikes ripped through the surrounding space There was no visible or sensory way to predict the force spikes but they couldnÆt come from nothing Right before they erupted there was the smallest noise as the air compressed into a tight coil It gave him the smallest bit of warning His ears twitched again

Congratulations Your Skill Philosophy of the Boundless Deluge has grown to Level 485

Force spikes ripped giant holes in RandidlyÆs storm weakening his presence However all those energies that originated from his body and dominated the surrounding space were not fragile Natural force and Nether gushed together in a wave forming a wind that was so much more than a simple breeze The storm was RandidlyÆs significance transformed into a blade cutting a path forward His eyes glittered as his observed the flow of the Grand Pattern in front of him and decided how he wanted to slice

The pattern may be called grand but there is no particular order to how it unfolds That made the initial attempts to move forward in this Step difficult but if itÆs not about a predetermined pattern but more about reacting and understanding organic arrangements cascade without some maestro manipulating them

Randidly planted his foot decisively He launched himself through the air crossing from one pillar to another As anticipated the consciousness above unleashed a barely perceptible attack The force spike manifested but one of the three sharp fangs that stirred the surrounding storm shot forward and blocked it The glittering fang glowed with a red light

Neutralize

Congratulations Your Skill (Domain) Resonant Fangs of Extinction has grown to Level 378

Congratulations Your Skill (Domain) Resonant Fangs of Extinction has grown to Level 379

Pressurized natural force erupted and was met with a bloody light that slaughtered it in a blink Unlike an image this natural energy weapon had no follow up So Randidly continued to glide through the air until he landed with the soft patter of bare feet on stones

The inputs are always chaotic Randidly thought as he sidestepped on the restricted platform to avoid a horizontal force spike Below him the mist churned endlessly around the bases of the stone pillars The Pattern is only GrandÆ because it manages to incorporate all of them without losing its own flavor

ItÆs like a juggler who lets the audience toss more objects into the mix That sort of adaptability is certainly intimidating

However he had his own weapons Randidly pressed his hand to his chest as he viewed the gushing natural force and Nether running freely together to create a stable storm around him despite the best efforts of the force spikes Every time an attack removed a chunk the fangs would cut through that area and turn everything into a chaotic mess of raw energy The flexibility to turn that chaos into the anticipated movements of energy was nothing for his Fidelity of the Ascendant Moirae

Gradually he was learning Missing chunks didnÆt slow him down nearly as much as they used to However his current position was a bit frustrating

Randidly glanced to his left where the passage to the Fifth step waited across a gap of only five meters He had gone halfway around the edge of pillars in a semi circle until he reached the other side Yet his face twisted into a scowl Not yet huh

This thing Nether force to follow the shape of Aether But that destructive aura it releases

Randidly stopped Edraine was in front of him bowing I donÆt mean to interrupt your current training it seems But we truly need your help That small token is a weapon being refined by Elhume Even now one of his attacks is pursuing us If we cannot hide ourselves and screen the attack he will track us and retrieve the item I understand if you are not ready for that risk but perhaps

Now donÆt pressure the boy The Patron of the Sun said not without a little irony in his tone He gave Randidly a small smile and folded his arms across his chest After all he wishes to protect his Alpha Cosmos from unstable outside influences Letting so many of us in at once might be dangerous

Both the older man and the amoeba seemed to shrug as though this response was actually quite normal but the Patron of Blooms turned and eyed Randidly with her dull green expression She began to release a bit of her aura An ominous image rose in the area around the pillar Oh Well too bad child Even if my descendent helps you you will assist us Or else

Everyone flinched and raised their gazes seeming to notice the destructive environment for the first time The Patron of the Sun looked up at the sky His eyes widened This what the hell sort of place is this That is no sun

Randidly felt a dismissive snort from the consciousness in the sky Disdain became the clouds and the force spike fell like rain upon EdraineÆs guests smashing the ominous auras that these individuals released Within ten seconds all of them stopped paying attention to Randidly and instead looked up at the brilliant sunÆ in the sky Their images had been suppressed back to within their bodies now vulnerable to the force spikes crashing around

Be a real shame if some of their attitude was squished out of them Randidly smirked around as several force spikes ripped past cutting a hole in his storm and making the Patrons move toward the middle But with so many individuals on top of the pillar there wasnÆt much room to maneuver

Randidly coughed lightly after seeing the Patron of the Sun getting caught in the edge of a force spike and having his finger mashed to paste Alright letÆs be civil yes If you think that Elhume wonÆt be able to track you you can go within my Alpha Cosmos As long as you behave In addition I want to study this weapon

Randidly reached out to pick up the strange bone charm The purple amoeba trembled and spoke to him Of them all the Patron of the Abyss had the most amicable vibe Move with care

The older man nodded There is something insidious about the energy It corrodes you just from touching it Holding it reduced a great Patron to this state His sorrowful gaze turned to the feathered mummy

RandidlyÆs gaze flickered for a second That why is that figure so familiar

But then he shook his head and picked up the item He shook in in front of the individuals demonstrating that he was unharmed The Patron of the SunÆs jaw dropped The reason it hurts them is they donÆt consciously control their Nether it is Nether in the shape of Aether so their bodies accept it as Aether without realizing the caustic reaction that results from admitting it into their system Meanwhile DonÆt worry about me

Randidly opened a portal into his Alpha Cosmos his excitement building as he toyed with the small item Each of the Patrons gave him a meaningful gaze as they entered into his body Not that it wasnÆt a risk but Randidly wanted to examine the bone charm he felt Nether around it at a density he had only seen from the Nether King before And the way the Nether was folded it was another sort of Nether Penance done in a completely different style than the crown After studying it he knew he would be able to make a breakthrough in his understanding of Nether

He was grinning down at the admittedly creepy bone charm when a new disturbance emerged from the sky Frowning Randidly looked up You were so well behaved when I had visitors even helping me suppress them and now suddenly huh

The consciousness was moving with rising alarm but it wasnÆt targeting Randidly He observed a fist literally punch a hole in the fabric of the sky and rush downward Light congregated and pulsed releasing deadly heatwaves But the fist pushed through all resistance as it rushed toward Randidly The sky began to shake as its attempts to slow down the fist were fruitless The Grand Pattern slowed and stopped as it twisted and began to constrict across the interloper Yet still it rushed forward rumbling the entire mountain that some of the pillars cracked

His skin prickled because he recognized that aura Apparently Edraine hadnÆt been exaggerating He straightened and huffed out a breath Time to defend against ElhumeÆs attack Damn even from this distance even without seeing them he can wield so much power

Yet Randidly grinned His heart was pounding

Once more it was time to brush against his ultimate goal the villain who spent billions of lives to accomplish his selfish goal

Chapter 1819

The sky quaked and the previously intense sunlight began to pale

The force spikes and wind blades around Randidly dried up The entirety of the force of the Grand Pattern squeezed around to face this blurry fist releasing a blue radiance Standing there on the edge of the circle of pillars it suddenly occurred to Randidly that he could jump over to the slope that led up to the summit at this moment The impediment had vanished

For a brief moment he was tempted But then he shook his head and settled down into a squat Natural energy and Nether roared around him rising to rival the cacophony of the wind Sure I dearly want to make it to the Fifth and Final Step to thank those nameless specters from before But IÆm also here to improve myself ThereÆs no need to take a shortcut especially when this consciousness is doing everything in its power to protect me

Of course Randidly could clearly feel the emotions of that power that hummed in the sky Its thought process was less protect the challengerÆ and more eliminate the undesirable interloperÆ But that didnÆt mean that they werenÆt working toward the same result The massive sea of energy fueling that intense sunlight found a target and ignited into a blazing hellscape Such was the intensity of the heat that the clouds burns and the air screamed

RUmmBBllee

Some of the blue light around the first began to dim underneath that pressure but otherwise it was completely unresponsive As though deeply insulted the consciousness sent wave after wave of force spikes to slam against it Still its speed and target remained unchanged Randidly could feel that while the external manifestation of the fist was weakening its image based core remained untouched The strange aspect of time urged it forward an imperative bulldozer that swooped down toward RandidlyÆs position

LetÆs greet Elhume properly after all this time Ignoring the pounding of his heart Randidly put his entire focus into his storm of force and Nether that he released The tight flows looped outward bounding into a larger and larger area now that force spikes didnÆt intermittently punish him for expanding his power base And while Randidly was not sure whether he could quickly increase the efficiency of his stormÆs power he could certainly gather more force by spreading over a wider area

Congratulations Your Skill (Domain) Resonant Fangs of Extinction has grown to Level 381

The black and crimson speckled fangs rand through the storm stirring it into a destructive froth Nether formed the deepest currents thick and crushing as they rushed to follow his direction Above that were hints from RandidlyÆs image as he used the physicalizations to incorporate other sources of power into the patterns Glimmering veins of force came from Yggdrasil The eddies of shimmering refractions came from the Grey Creature And the crackling power of electricity that lined the stormÆs edge

Randidly grimaced He didnÆt have much time to accumulate The closer the fist came the more he could feel how the mountain was throwing all of itself against the on coming attack and still coming up short from stopping it At the same time Randidly supposed that it also demonstrated how powerful the creator of the Grand Pattern really was that this mountain could stand against Elhume directly

Stand might be a strong word Randidly through sourly as he mobilized every tool at his disposal Can receive an attack without promptly collapsing would more accurately describe this state of affairs

Congratulations Your Skill Aureate Arteries of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 488

Still this isnÆt going to be enough The beating of his heart had become almost deafening His skin trembled with it His veins hummed so much his body sang The storm around him pulsed with the rising tide of his capabilities all weaving together to create one grand message about his ability to rival the Nexus Randidly raised his head and grinned His consciousness slipped into his Nether Core and rotating it faster and faster

More I can handle even more than this I need to Because

Three small grey bubbles flew out of his Nether Core and settled into the three fangs Following RandidlyÆs instincts SulfurÆs Domain led new flows in complex patterns His maelstrom folded in on itself a snake eating its own tail Randidly clenched his fists and increased the spinning of his Nether Core to a smooth blur of darkness Nether exploded out from his body rapidly being siphoned into the various flows in the surrounding space

Congratulations Your Skill Left Hand of the Nether Oracle has grown to Level 411

The pillar underneath RandidlyÆs feet was shaking to the point it succumbed to cracks when the rising tension of the storm reached the height of of what Randidly could just barely corral From only about five meters around him soon the tightly wound whirlwinds of power sprang out to ten meters and then twenty More and more Nether flowed into the pattern rising in a wave until a massive buffer zone protected Randidly

The fist was only five meters away and the collision point between knuckles and his energy blast was so close that it seared his skin The rapid dispersal of energy superheated the surrounding air to something close to plasma The noise and light blended together into a muffling blanket that settled over everything and blurred the details RandidlyÆs body trembled as he ran out of force to release

But that didnÆt mean he was out of cards to play Sulfur

Congratulations Your Skill (Domain) Resonant Fangs of Extinction has grown to Level 382

The three fangs glowed crimson spinning together to smash into the fist about to reach Randidly Each bore the smallest grey bubble humming with the impossible amount of matter condensed into them

Congratulations Your Skill (Domain) Resonant Fangs of Extinction has grown to Level 383

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Impunity has grown to Level 457

Congratulations Your Skill (Domain) Resonant Fangs of Extinction has grown to Level 391

All remaining awareness was slapped away from Randidly by the impact He felt the stone beneath his feet crumbling as he was forced backward His eyes were unfocused and his ears rang But even without knowledge he tightened his hand on Acri and brought out one last drag of Nether He dug deeply pulling up some of his original significance With that vital energy reinforcing AcriÆs edge he thrust again falling away and on his back foot

His vision returned just in time to see Acri slashing through the fist which had blessedly begun to crumble at the edges The combination of chasing the Patrons being thoroughly lashed by the consciousness of the Grand Pattern and RandidlyÆs concerted assault of Nether had weakened it significantly

Then AcriÆs tip struck the upper left portion of the fist cutting away a large chunk Acri slid upward removing almost a third of the remaining fist but the other two thirds continued forward

Randidly roared and flared his flames of Nether Weight as much as he could That last burst knocked away a few more sizable chunks but

From afar the fist of Elhume landed on RandidlyÆs chest

For a second nothing happened It felt like his heartbeat stopped as he prepared for the brutal blow Then the wind rushed around him blasting against his face and waking him up He sucked in a shaking breath

I did it

However then Randidly felt his significance stirring Something a long time coming had come full circle bringing a huge amount of significance to his body Gasping he stabilized himself on the crumbling pillar He propped himself up with Acri struggling to understand what happened

Then it clicked and he blanched His hands tightened on AcriÆs shaft That attack that strange image of time present that attack I just blocked was what struck me the first time Elhume noticed me

Chapter 1820

Randidly pressed his hands against his chest feeling the strange resonance that spread through his physical body and then across time His stomach curled in on itself He winced as the force rebounded back from the past and hit him again in the present Most of it was dispersed but it still slapped against him unpleasantly

The internal discord shook his Class and Nether Core but his Class was no longer as weak as it had been in the past Plus the impact brought with it a gushing wave of Nether due to the completed cycle In the Nexus surviving a blow from Elhume meant something

Still RandidlyÆs expression was grave as he looked up toward the sky where the Grand Pattern was just not beginning to recover from the attack The image was peculiar and pure but what is really insidious about the arrangement is its basis in Nether Truthfully that attack of Elhume doesnÆt contain much power in its image The image is simply a near invulnerable and unavoidable vehicle to bring the hidden core of the attack an impact aimed at significance

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 438

Congratulations Your Skill Right Hand of the Nether Polymath has grown to Level 391

RandidlyÆs eyes glittered as he replayed the attack he received over and over again His Dreamcatcher of the Long Night hummed aiding in the accuracy of his recall even if he didnÆt dare go back and experience again lest he attracts attention Luckily the mountain needed a break to recover giving him time to analyze what he had just experienced

The more he scrutinized it the more he was torn between believing the ruler of the Nexus was a genius and that he was arrogant ElhumeÆs hidden attack couldnÆt even be considered a bloodthirsty strike Rather than piercing breaking or tearing Elhume aimed to shakeÆ his target That simplicity gave it extra power without involving killing intent at all It had all the destructive impulses of a child hopping up and stomping down on a puddle

Randidly licked his lips however when what is drummed is the extremely fragile and unnaturally thin base of significance that the System allows for individuals even if the energies arenÆt connected all image users rely on that small amount of significance they are allowed to stabilize themselves Losing that will causing significant damage Quite the insidious attack Rather than bother to overwhelm their images Elhume just shatters their foundation of Nether

Randidly stumbled almost falling off the pillar as a chunk of stone came loose underneath his feet and brought his attention back to his current predicament He grimaced as predicted the top of his current pillar was half destroyed in the aftermath with another large portion sporting dangerous cracks Small stones rolled and popped down dropping into the mist

His Grim Intuition did not notice those stones hitting the ground

Only when the cracked stone settled without everything collapsing beneath him did Randidly release a sigh of relief Then he shook his head Hopefully this pillar doesnÆt become relevant later Because in its current state breathing too briskly will demolish it

He set that aside He could only handle one thing at a time and for now he detected the feelers of Nether sliding into the atmosphere above likely searching for the outcome of ElhumeÆs attack

However feeling the way that his significance had been struck both in the past and present gave Randidly an idea Taking the impact in the here and now had been like a guitar string being plucked vibrating all the way from the base up the fretboard Eventually it had reached the point that he had met the significance from the first time that Elhume and Randidly had crossed paths impacting RandidlyÆs Class to the point that its potential had been squeezed out

RandidlyÆs tail rapidly began to flick side to side gathering as much Nether as he could as quickly as possible It seemed to embroidery an intricate pattern of Nether into being from nothing The tentacles in the sky swam forward seeking the Patrons and the tiny bone charm His body was still shaky from the force he had just unleashed but he couldnÆt afford to be distracted

Randidly was not prepared for the concerted attention of Elhume to land upon him

Almost immediately after they arrived the Patron of Blooms looked around at the sky with an excited expression This place how interesting What an unexpected world And the Nether well I simply must introduce myself to some of my descendants IÆll be back quite quickly IÆm sure

Then she was gone leaving Edraine rubbing the back of her neck She turned around and opened her mouth to tell the rest of them not to wander off but the only individual who remained was the Patron of the Sun who held the withered body of the Patron of Feathers Feeling her intense gaze the Patron of the Sun offered Edraine an awkward smile IÆve already had my fun here Better give them some time to learn the rules Although honestly

There was a glimmer in the Patron of the SunÆs eyes as he looked toward the horizon You donÆt need to worry about the Patrons This place is special for a lot of reasons but the largest one is that so few people have chosen a Patron I suspect that their actions will be much less selfish than their personalities would indicate This place is reminiscent of a home we had in the Second Cohort

Edraine harrumphed not sure if she believed him

Glendel sat up from his bed With a gesture a Four Armed Beast King condensed on the roof while a Thousand Foot Shade Viper coiled in the bedroom around him The sudden appearance knocked a lap from the end table where it shattered on the ground Glendel didnÆt even bother to look a glittering crown settled on his brow releasing a ghastly radiance that empowered all of his ghosts in the surrounding area

For several seconds he simply sat there unable to determine the source of that strong feeling of danger that gripped him His heart continued to pound and his hands squeezed handfuls of his sheets He kept his voice low and confident Who goes there Why were you observing me during my slumber

The crown flared with power when he received no answer The Shade Viper raised its head its eyes trained on the corner based completely on intuition On the roof of GlendelÆs house the Beast King pounded on his chest and roared with enough force to wake the whole neighborhood If this was another renegade Chimera infiltrating the town

GlendelÆs image blasted outward trying to grasp the smallest flaw in the otherÆs deception and rip it away As soon as he sensed the threat or was incapacitated a ghost would alert the Squad on duty But the spectral hand of sovereignty he possessed could find nothing

His expression tightened Without any other recourse he simply sat and stared toward the corner He refused to slacken his guard Even without proof he trusted his instincts

It was instinct that informed Glendel he should recommend moving to Donnyton to Regina and the other survivors from the hospital all those years ago It was instinct that kept him alive a hundred times during the fights to defend Donnyton Even against the First Calamity it was instinct that allowed him to quickly discover the core area and eliminate the growing Patron of the Grey

So he waited

Other individuals noticed his image pulses and came to visit but the strange vigil of the Beast King on the roof gave them pause Ultimately they turned away and went back to their sleep The neighborhood on DonnytonÆs Western slopes quieted again

But Glendel didnÆt blink

A superb dedication A sharp intuition Kind eyes A purple amoeba finally revealed itself in the corner of the room Its image as it drifted forward was so vast that Glendel mentally prepared himself for a fight to the death But the words of the amoeba surprised him

Choose me as your Patron Let us fish long dead monsters from the Abyss

Chapter 1821

Samuel Hoss woke with the first inkling of the sun reaching over the horizon The pale gloom spread through the slight opening left by the curtains and softened the harsh shadows of his bedroom Despite his high Vitality and Endurance he still found it relaxing to sleep for an hour or two each night right before dawn It cleansed his mind helped him overcome the burden of frustration that he carried for so long

His attempts yesterday had ended in failure just like always But he had an inkling of the path forward

Groaning he sat up and rubbed the back of his neck The System had empowered all their physiques but there were some old aches that never seemed to fade He glanced sideways The other side of the bed was empty Regina was already up Which at least meant that there would be some breakfast already made

Groaning again he got up and went to the bathroom After relieving himself and washing his hands he stumped down to the kitchen and rapidly shoveled the cold fried eggs into his mouth He leaned over the sink and took a gulp directly from the faucet Wiping off his mouth he walked down to his workshop

Today Sam mumbled Today IÆll try and make something simple Maybe a spear for old timeÆs sake

However when Sam reached his workshop there was his problem his favorite hammer was nowhere to be seen He scratched his stubble covered chin in irritation

He quickly circled the workshop his eyes roving past the still furnace the anvil the piles of raw materials and the scorched wooden worktable Sam scratched his chin again when he was unable to find his Blazing Dawnmist Hammer And it wasnÆt like it was an item that could be stolen Not only did the hammer weigh almost a half ton but Sam had managed to forge it with the special quality of not being able to be stored in an interspatial space Maybe I left it in my outside workspace

But no Sam had sensed that he had been close to developing a new hammering method after forging the Wolf Bracer and had spent the last mouth holed up in his workshop trying to capture the elusive feeling he had sensed during that making Not only had he been hammering the materials but Sam had felt like there was a bit of extra substance to his strikes Like he had tempering some inner ephemeral portion of the equipment with each blow Perhaps if he could do that more reliably he would be able to make it past the VIII barrier

His obsession had netted him nothing thus far but he felt very close to breakthrough

Sam moved his search from his workshop to the rest of the house However he quickly became so aggravated in his failures that he stubbed his toe on one of the stools in the kitchen Of course his toe was so pointlessly robust that not only did his toe sting from the impact but his kick snapped off the bottom portion of the leg Which left him with an uneven stool and still no hammer

Sam growled quietly to himself and then headed to the other end of the house opposite his workshop It was time to consult an expert

He knocked once and then barged into the examination room Regina Have you seen my

Sam instantly felt awkward as he stopped speaking he really should have waited after knocking One of the few things both of them took very seriously is another barging into workspace without an invitation Regina wearing blood spattered scrubs and pressing her lips together in a way that informed Sam that they would have a talk about this later leaned back from the grey cadaver on the table in front of her Behind her were two ogres a human woman a frogperson and one of the Lizakh all also in scrubs and carrying clipboards The corpse Sam recognized as one of the unpredictable ChimeraÆs that infested the most desolate places on Expira

Yes You had something important to say Regina said with faux sweetness

Eating out again Sunan grumbled and shook his head in such a perfect mimicking of SamÆs disappointment to ReginaÆs suggestion last week that Sam snorted No The church of Arbor is having a potluck IÆll help with the gardening and eat there

SunanÆs idea of helping with the gardenÆ was waiting next to the garden and then carrying the baskets of freshly picked produce back to the kitchens Still the men and women who ran the garden were part of DonnytonÆs core group They of course thought his firm dedication to being a beast of burden was adorable

They probably also think he will grow out of it someday But that little fool is just as stubborn as Regina

Sam returned to his workshop He picked up another hammer and began to swing it lightly through the air His lips twitched the hammer was far too light in his hand to the point that it didnÆt feel like he was swinging a hammer at all He simply had a handful of cotton fluff that he was waving around However he ignored the discomfort and continued to swing

When he finally felt like he was growing comfortable with the way the tool felt in his hand he walked over to the pile of materials in his workshop and pulled out some of the newest refined metal bars from Kharon He raised the hammer above his head and brought it crashing down

He didnÆt even bother with starting the furnace He produced passive heat with his Skills rapidly turning the metal a dull red and throwing off sparks with every strike Sam hammered that bit of metal for almost an hour but during the whole experience he didnÆt feel that sense of incorporeal hammering that he received Although the spearhead he made gleamed with a dangerous light he tossed it into his rubbish pile to be sold in bulk to the discard weapon store in Donnyton

Sam then tapped his chin His hammer steamed as it began to cool Huu that sensation I felt was only at the end after I started to understand what I was making Maybe I need to have a sharper vision

Sam began to work again He hammered three more spear heads each time having a more elaborate and details vision for how the weapon would turn out in its final form However the feeling of impacting more than the physical was barely present and even then it was only sporadic Sam was unable to recreate it

Dumping these attempts into the rubbish pile Sam released a long sigh Difficult as expected But I am starting to feel that sensation more frequently And I think IÆm finally starting to understand Its vaguely similar to the process of imbuing a Skill into equipment but the arrangement is much more profound

This then likely what IÆm actually influencing is the weaponÆs Nether Sam mused Through interactions with the Alpha Cosmos world through the archways Expira had steadily learned more about Nether However their knowledge was still extremely shallow Most of their initial theories proved incorrect leading to a relatively new assertion that was gaining traction

The Nether in Expira was steadily increasing So the possibilities of what they could do changed every day

Sunan Stop for lunch ReginaÆs shout cut through SamÆs focus bringing him back to himself He set the hammer down and brushed some metal shavings off of his vest Then he headed back into the house

He hadnÆt been invited but Sam was also hungry for lunch And he needed to do a little groundwork groveling so the dinner tonight would be pleasant

Chapter 1822

Crackle

Crimson lightning branched and spat as it traced the edges of a massive grey storm that churned slowly in place Intermittent rumbles blasted out from the interior where steam and natural energy swirled together to form an impenetrable barrier Occasionally searing blasts of light surged from the hidden core of the storm but they rapidly faded and reappeared in new locations The storm was a living entity pulsing and releasing strange waves of pure force that pressured the surrounding space

It was enough churning chaos to chew up a city block and spit out gravel

Congratulations Your Skill Philosophy within the Boundless Deluge has grown to Level 519

Indignation rolled off of the consciousness in the sky which tossed down nearly fifty force spikes in an instant to tear through the storm However as those force spikes grew too close to the storm the dangerous crimson lightning and the unpredictable illumination grew especially apparent although the edges Those two forces became a stubborn rind around the storm weakening the force spikes to half of their normal potency Although the consciousness could punch out small chunks from the storm its irritation only grew as the storm slid forward to the next pillar without needing much time at all to recover

It ceased throwing out force spikes and gathered a massive amount of energy to itself Meanwhile the storm below paused as though making its own preparations to handle whatever attack was coming The consciousness squeezed and squeezed building up pressure Then with a dull roar a huge wave of force blasted downward large enough to cover the entire Fourth Step

In response the storm suddenly began to rotate at an extremely fast speed The steam and natural energy blurred and receded sucked into the central area by the acceleration As the steam shifted the potent Nether flows that served as the foundation of the storm were revealed as thick black coiled vipers Just as the massive force was about to arrive those flows exploded and expanded rising to smash into the Grand PatternÆs attack Four black and crimson fangs led the expanding storm their sharp points aiming up at the sky

Congratulations Your Skill Cutting Tide of Amenonuhoko has grown to Level 578

Congratulations Your Skill (Domain) Resonant Fangs of Extinction has grown to Level 413

The two forces smacked against each other all that natural energy grinding away at the opposing side attempting to overpower and dominate For several long seconds both forces flared their peak capability The reverberations caused several of the damaged pillars in the surrounding space to buckle and collapse into the mist waiting below The air rumbled and the mist seethed

However neither could remain so explosive for long The consciousness furiously tried to gather more power for the last push it needed but already the pressure was gone its attempt to pancake the entire Step had failed It could only watch in dismay as this annoyance continued to survive

The storm also weakened and this weakening was much more abrupt than the Grand PatternÆs For a second the consciousness felt triumph it seemed like the infuriating storm would finally collapse after over expending itself to resist

Then that horrid creature at the center of the storm began to glow golden and emerald Rapidly it pulled power down from the intense sunlight that filled the sky both weakening the Grand Pattern and strengthening itself With that new surge of energy the storm stabilized began to swirl once more The steam and natural energy returned with a vengeance edged with crimson lightning and intermittent illumination The consciousness stirred up the wind to howl impotent and incensed

Influence +205

Randidly tilted his head to the side and sensed the surroundings WIth how the restriction is creeping up toward 50% I have quite a bit of time here A week or so A grin spread across his face Plenty of time to study the bone charm closely If I can activate the other four enhancement rituals to create more Nether Weight the Fifth Step will have no chance of stopping me from reaching the Summit

Number Four watched the award ceremony with a bland smile on his face Unlike the others who faked smiles to hide their boredom he did it to hide his anticipation Despite the solemn atmosphere his stomach did flips He held quite a bit of excitement toward the end of this ceremony He had sent a message to set a trap Now all that remained was to see whether his target bit

Thirty nine individuals had survived the vicious training camp Perhaps because of what happened with Number OneÆs invitee the head Disciple had been especially malicious they needed to call the camp early because of how quickly the fatalities had occurred

Considering the chaotic state in the Nexus right now none of the powers that had sent representatives to the training camp were happy to hear about the deaths

In second place Number One droned on as he passed out the next plaque The recipient bowed Another Number that attended stifled a yawn Now that the deaths had ceased most of the core Disciples were ready to return to their own training after the brief break

Finally your champion Number One supported himself with a cane to go toward the last individual The woman bowed smoothly For winning I will take you to the creator of the Grand Pattern so you may witness his majesty and experience the core area It is an excellent chance You must cherish it

Number FourÆs lip curled upward Selfish prick You just want an excuse to complain to Master about that toad you invited was targeted Heh I bet even your use of a cane is fake well I canÆt complain too much After all much of what I learned about surviving from this place I gathered from watching you

But your time is running out old man

I could not rival any of you in terms of individual power The woman said as she straightened She had tawny golden hair and vivid red violet eyes She showed a charming smile to the Disciples and other participants But when it comes to following a pattern and analyzing wonders IÆm very confident in myself

Follow me Number One began to say but then the doors to the hall banged open Number Four raised his hands to cover his grin His eyes curved into tiny crescents Such timing

The sleepy eyed Number Two looked around His long brown hair was filled with cobwebs from prolonged stillness Then he cleared his throat clearly showing how long it would be since he had spoken It would be inappropriate for you to take her Since one of my disciples invited her I should accompany her to visit Master

Number OneÆs expression turned red It looked like his blood pressure rose so quickly that his face would inflate and pop

Chapter 1823

The chasm was so familiar It yawned below him like an open wound But then came a word that shattered everything

The deep darkness below him shook and cracked as it tried to contain the craving in that word The hideous emotion bubbled upward more than this emptiness could withstand The word bounced back and forth fracturing the walls of the area and worsening the pulsing pain transmitted upward However that kinetic force was only a side effect of the massive mobilization of significance from below

Randidly felt his mind trembling underneath the pressure but for the first time he did not look away from the source of the voice His Nether Core tightened but did not flinch After studying the bone charm his understanding of Nether had reached a whole new expanse It reminded him of how excited Neveah became when she broke through her limit on the Engravings left by Yystrix He was nearing the capability he needed to form a Nether Penance and the results were beginning to show

Congratulations Your Skill Left Hand of the Nether Oracle has grown to Level 463

Yet the experience was not enjoyable The complex lines of Nether and the sheer weight of significance gathered throughout the years still left his mind buckling under the strain RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed He knew that if he didnÆt push himself forward he wouldnÆt improve

And with the improvement he had earned in that break period between the Fourth and Fifth Step of the Mountain he could finally peer down through the obstruction to find the source He followed the voice downward past the significance and into an even more horrifying depth Down there dead things whispered

RandidlyÆs skin prickled The speaker is even below where PineÆs body is But

Congratulations Your Skill Right Hand of the Nether Polymath has grown to Level 444

Mee

RandidlyÆs eyelids trembled The last word had enough force to shatter his examination and toss him out of that mysterious area of Nether He opened his eyes and blinked A thin trail of blood dripped out of his nose which he quickly wiped away

The surroundings slowly reestablished themselves He sat on the slope between the Fourth and the Fifth Step of the mountain The previously cool stone ground had been heated to steaming by the revving engine of his body It was almost time for him to move to the next area He had originally wanted to briefly allow himself to rest but of course reality had other plans The speaker had drawn him into a brief illusion as he attempted to communicate

Randidly stretched and then cracked his neck Still itÆs not like this hasnÆt been fruitful for me And it might really be time that I begin to explore whatÆs reaching out for me Especially because its connected to the Shallah

Then he slapped his cheeks Even if he was a little shaken from hearing that voice calling for him again he couldnÆt dwell on it very much right now He only had about ten more minutes before he needed to move on to the Fifth Step So he began bounding up the slope while also inspecting his Nether Core Stats

There was a flickering in the middle of the step and a figure appeared RandidlyÆs expression turned odd The figure was clearly a Lizakh although not one that he recognized Probably from when the Lizakh were spread more widely throughout the Nexus But the thin Nether flow quickened toward the shadow beingÆs body As more Nether flowed into it its eyes began to glow with intelligence To the point that it looked down at its hands in obvious wonder

As I thought There are shades on this step too Randidly narrowed his eyes

The shade grinned over at him showing sharpened teeth Ah this feeling I havenÆt felt this good in centuries Since IÆm in such a good mood let me give you such advice turn around boy This mountain is a cursed place a cruel joke made by the Master On each step you will have to fight against the shades of the greatest students of the Grand PatternÆs Blood Path Even if you defeat us all the being waiting at the top will slaughter you And you will be cursed joining us on these steps for all eternity slowly losing your sense of self

The shades words trailed off and his expression grew complicated RandidlyÆs skin prickled More and more Nether was flowing out of his body and reinforcing the shade in front of him Perhaps originally he only had to face a depleted version of this disciple But now RandidlyÆs own abilities were strengthening it back to its original form

He considered cutting off the flow but that almost seemed cruel And of course if he defeated the full version not only would his improvement be that much greater but he would probably harvest a lot of Influence in the process

Besides this mountain had ignited his fighting spirit He wanted to be pushed to his limits Because outside of this place the jackals were already circling

IÆm sorry but I wish to see the summit Randidly shook his head His blood boiled He was somewhat aware that he was indulging in the worst manifestation of his stubbornness but Randidly was tired of being bullied by the powerful individuals in the Nexus Now that he was on this mountain where images were suppressed and all that mattered was his body and his understanding of the Grand Pattern he wanted to prove himself

Prove that he could claw his way to the top at least in this single aspect

Heh Is it strange that IÆm glad you said that Reminds me of my own desire to climb this cursed place Even though I knew it would likely end in my doom The Lizakh used its long tongue to lick the lipless edges of its mouth My heart couldnÆt let go of that small chance I would succeed And only by chasing could I be satisfied

ItÆs not strange at all Randidly grinned wickedly as his tail began churning the surrounding space Winds stirred the ground blowing several pebbles around in a circle The fingers of RandidlyÆs left arm began to stir The fangs twitched as though wanting to unsheath themselves and stir the surroundings into a frenzy He flexed his hands and the wind wove itself into complicated organic patterns

An interesting application of the Grand Pattern You are attempting to mimick the Judgement Storm This is the first time that IÆve seen such a method The Lizakh shade tilted his head to the side Then he cleared his throat However the efficiency is incredibly low And with our bodies restricted like this efficiency is paramount Allow me to demonstrate the One Strike Seven Deaths Palm that IÆve mastered after spending a thousand years Let me warn you that taking it directly ah your storm

While the shade spoke Randidly didnÆt cease his preparations Truly only a thin amount of the Grand Pattern flowed down into the area Without the chaotic ripples Randidly had to generate the storm forcibly on his own However the lashing movements of his tail and the fangs cutting through the air had enough power to quickly accomplish it The wind billowed and seethed at his direction

Congratulations Your Skill Cutting Tide of Amenonuhoko has grown to Level 579

Congratulations Your Skill (Domain) Resonant Fangs of Extinction has grown to Level 414

Once the maelstrom had been established itself Nether began to bubble and twitch branching outward while alternating between preternaturally fast jerks of motion and quivering stillness The Nether foundation soon covered the surrounding ten meters and whipped the winds even more quickly Natural energy surged to follow RandidlyÆs will creating empowered wind blades that shredded the air His storm began to buzz

You The Lizakh goggled Then it hastily took a fighting stance If you think this ostentatious display is enough

Crimson lightning crackled along the edge of the storm Strange radiance began to creep through the middle portions of the storm quickly hidden by the shifting currents The wind howled and the surrounding air shivered before the fearsome weave of energies Almost a third of the step was covered by the grinding maelstrom The shade stood at the edge being forced back just by the pressure the storm released

Randidly took a step forward His eyes blazed So Your palm attack

Chapter 1824

Number One walked forward his back straight and proud Even as he ground his teeth to keep up appearances According to his stated desires the group of four was exactly the sort of thing that infuriated him This outcome would have brought him a great deal of grief

That fool Number Two is dedicated to a fault Since it is his invited he definitely feels responsible for this lucky girl Meanwhile Number Four was clearly the individual who leaked the information that this girl won to Number Two HeÆs here to watch the show only no matter how imperative he suddenly claims that it is he sees Master And I am furious IÆm worried IÆm frustrated And IÆm increasingly desperate

As he thought about each of the emotions he allowed his facial features to change to reflect those emotions His portrayals felt flawless But he suddenly realized the woman behind him was watching him carefully as the emotions passed through the medium of his face

He gave her a tired smile covering everything up He was a great being caught in a moment of weakness by an inferior his embarrassment was understandable But something about her eyes shifted his focus Inwardly Number One reviewed her information Original Planet Expira Hum I havenÆt heard of that Yet it also sounds so familiar When did I become so idle that I recognized minor planets

The group reached the end of the tunnel and arrived at the base of the Path of the Spirit In the middle of the cavern in front of them a massive pillar of white energy blazed upward connecting the powerful energies below with the powerful energies above The Spirit Path was perhaps the most dangerous of the three paths at least in theory It required balance between the inner patterns and outer and punished you for failing at either Only through this connection could they take an elevator up to where the Master spent all of his time training

So long as Master responded Which did give Number One a bit of trepidation

Number One vented that emotion by turning and glaring at Number Two and Number Four They were the true source of the pressure he felt Number Two didnÆt even appear to notice that fool was probably even now practicing the Grand Pattern in his mind Number Four looked hurt as though the child like traitor couldnÆt figure out why Number One would be mad at him

Snorting Number One looked back at the pillar of light Even if they both represented threats he was still Number One Alright we will ascend together then Once we reach the Master Miss Silver it is important that you remain completely respectful

It started small but within only a second the entire cavern around them was shaking The vaulted ceilings trembled and cracked It seemed the area was nearing a collapse Number One frowned upward believing that the Master was just engaging in a particularly destructive training session Yet the rumbling continued to grow worse

Large chunks of stone fell from the ceiling and crashed on the ground

Then he felt pain right above his heart where the connection to his path resided Number One hissed and raised a hand to his chest feeling this disturbance impact the Path of Bone What the hell Is Master losing control of the Path of Spirit Or could something have happened on the Path of Blood IÆve been so careful

A voice blasted out interrupting Number OneÆs wild speculation Elhume you bastard How dare you intrude on my sacred space We had an agreement

The shaking grew worse as the entire group paled If what Master said was correct and Elhume was truly attacking the sacred Mountain

They would be squished to nothing without any tension Number One dared plot but before true power there was little that he could do

Do you think IÆm dead Do you think I donÆt notice how distracted you are ARGGHH You dirty fuck

Influence +7 901

As they walked over toward the stairs to the next step Randidly patted the Lizakh warrior on the back It was very easy to be in a good mood after receiving such a gushing surge of Influence from the shade after his victory DonÆt take the loss to heart If IÆm being honest my method of utilizing the Grand Pattern can be considered cheating The fact that your seven palms was able to penetrate that deeply into my storm is pretty impressive without an image

ItÆs not seven palms its one strike The Lizakh warrior sighed His expression was drooped and exhausted Combined with the insubstantial body the effect was making him look quite pitiable Today for whatever reason I felt especially good I even thought I could push my One Strike Seven Deaths Palm to new heights Perhaps even evolve it entirely To think I ended fully three meters away from touching you and triumphing and the storm only grew more powerful the deeper I penetrated

Well letÆs not get ahead of ourselves I still could have produced Acri Or used one of the Fangs to neutralize the force of your palm Or gathered up a bunch of natural energy and unleashed it in a highly destructive blast Randidly continued to pat the LizakhÆs back However to be able to push five meters into the storm weathering the electromagnetic radiation light radiation Nether and natural energy is pretty impressive

I also appreciate that you directly surrendered after that Probably saved me quite a bit of time

Randidly began to climb the stairs heading to the next opponent Immediately the physical restriction on him increased by another 3% He moved his arms around savoring the restriction it probably hadnÆt been since he had broken past the 1000 Stat barrier that he had felt so stifled But after a few steps he turned and looked at the Lizakh warrior Oh you are coming up with me

The Lizakh warrior regained a small amount of haughtiness Why not Challengers come through here so rarely Besides I might find it mm educational to watch you battle against the other guardians They are all more powerful than me and significantly so

RandidlyÆs turned away to hide a smile You mean you want to see me beaten up huh Well considering how much Influence you gave me I wonÆt hold it against you Plus if you are climbing with me anyway

Would it be possible to see your Skill for utilizing the Grand Pattern again Randidly asked Consider it payment for the entertainment in the other challenges I think IÆd find it highly educational

The Lizakh warrior glared at Randidly several seconds as though suspicious he was mocking him But seeing RandidlyÆs straightforward look he seemed to be mollified Hmm I suppose youÆve probably never seen anything like it huh Well there should be no harm in showing you just a little You take a thin channel of the Grand PatternÆs force and split it in two Then you torque both streams in different directions

The shade struck A spiraling piercing attack shook the surrounding area and briefly knocked the mist backward For that reason alone Randidly could only raise his eyebrows in shock being able to briefly delay the suppressing mist was more than he could accomplish

His emerald eyes glittered as he replayed the attack and notice the ingenious way the Lizakh utilized force To be honest in terms of multiplying the power of a small amount of natural energy the Lizakh was quite a bit more proficient than Randidly He just couldnÆt host a walking natural disaster

Which was perhaps cheating

Can I see it again Randidly asked The way you utilize force is pretty impressive

Too quick to catch it Heh you are starting to see my charm Watch closely The Lizakh grinned Then he threw out several palm strikes in a row The mist almost hissed in distaste as it was forced backward The curling strikes smashed against the strange material of the stairs throwing off sparks without damaging it at all But the mist could only begrudgingly give up ground before the curling attacks

RandidlyÆs eyes glowed His hands twitched mimicking the movements of the Lizakh

Synchronicity detected Your Skill Talon Strike is reacting

Chapter 1825

Calculating resonance detected calibrating Rarity

Warning Please see your nearest Village Spirit If you do not sickness and death may result

Congratulation Your Skill Talon Strike has evolved in Tempest Drill Skill Levels will be maintained Attacks will be imbued with the natural force surging through the userÆs body and projected a short distance Pure kinetic force will be slightly empowered while all other forces will be slightly weakened User can torque the forces immediately prior to release increasing the effectiveness of the attack Effect can be stacked limited by the physical constitution in the userÆs body Power increases with Skill Level Multiplication of the force increases with Skill Level Restriction on other forces slightly decreases with Skill Level

After a few casual swings releasing brief flourishes of spinning wind RandidlyÆs eyes sharpened to something deadly His next palm strike incorporated a few lingering lines of natural energy into the attack unleashed a twisting drill of wind that show forward and smacked against the imperturbable stone of the staircase The heavy mists in the surrounding area stirred but were not forced backward

Congratulations Your Skill Tempest Drill has grown to Level 247

Congratulations Your Skill Tempest Drill has grown to Level 248

The Lizakh goggled You you really just copied my technique ahem since it has come to this let me offer you some advice There are several flaws in your execution

Randidly nodded without any pretense the LizakhÆs judgment was true Compared to the ability to condense elegant miniatures of the Grand Pattern that the Lizakh demonstrated Tempest Drill was relatively weak However what it lacked in pure power it more than compensated with speed of use and flexibility Because while the base ability wasnÆt anything particularly special if he forced the might of an entire storm through that strike

RandidlyÆs hands lashed outward tearing through the air Bit by bit more of the suffocating mist was pushed back

Congratulations Your Skill Tempest Drill has grown to Level 249

Congratulations Your Skill Tempest Drill has grown to Level 273

Besides Randidly mused to himself Because of how low Level this Skill is IÆll be able to grind quite a bit of PP off of it while we ascend In addition the current Rarity is only Ancient If I can gain a bit more insight into its usage I bet that can at least reach Mythic

Quite pleased with these developments Randidly ignored the disbelieving mutterings of the Lizakh shade and turned his attention to his Path screen He had once more shot up to almost 3400 PP during his time on the Path of Blood it was the fastest growth in terms of PP that Randidly had experienced for years Combined with the steady development of his new utilization of natural energy the Randidly who walked out of the mountain would be a much more dangerous version than had walked in

His fangs steadily sharpened under the pressure of the Grand Pattern

He even had earned two new Path options However RandidlyÆs expression became heavy when he saw the first one

Disciple DonÆt hold back The Lizakh shade shouted Perhaps my heroic figure inspired you to imitate me but this enemy cannot be beaten by typical means Trample him directly

Randidly ignored the shade He pivoted around and pounced forward again His hands twisted in midair gathering natural energy just through his movements That energy spiraled through his forearms and erupted from his palms The air whistled through his fingers

Congratulations Your Skill Tempest Drill has grown to Level 275

Congratulations Your Skill Philosophy within the Boundless Deluge has grown to Level 532

Again the shade shook his head clearly very aggrieved by the whole situation Its hands curled in a particular pattern coopting the force of the Tempest Drills and pushing them to the side RandidlyÆs eyes flashed the method this figure used was very similar to the way that had absorbed the wind blades in the lower Steps Albeit with much more finesse and using a smaller movement

Still Randidly had no intention of trying to resist that effect directly His smile inched outward revealing hungry teeth His arms twisted and strained to avoid the redirection but he didnÆt incorporate any of his insights of the Grand Pattern to counter the effect Without much suspense his palm strike hit a golden pillar again and dispersed

The muscles of RandidlyÆs core tightened as he rebounded and began to cut again at the shade with Tempest Drill More and more natural energy seethed around RandidlyÆs body as he began to build up momentum

Congratulations Your Skill Tempest Drill has grown to Level 276

Congratulations Your Skill Cutting Tide of Amenonuhoko has grown to Level 580

Congratulations Your Skill Tempest Drill has grown to Level 277

Fine fine The long haired shade muttered as he redirected RandidlyÆs attacks again Tire yourself out Torture me Haah why am I cursed like this Just let me sleep in peace

Randidly continued to strike His palms were pushed to the side but he shifted his weight more adeptly and transferred his power with even greater efficiency He felt the way the Grand Pattern moved through his body and sharpened that blade The air around him began to hum as the force he gathered grew so large that a portion of it twisted out around the golden pillar harmlessly churning the surroundings

Even if the attack didnÆt land that didnÆt mean it was meaningless That energy could then be pulled back through his body empowering his next strike even further Randidly didnÆt condense a storm but soon whirlwinds churned around his limbs

Congratulations Your Skill Tempest Drill has grown to Level 278

Congratulations Your Skill Tempest has grown to Level 301

You The long haired shade watched Randidly accelerate with bulging eyes

Chapter 1826

Whoossh

The Lizakh shade blinked several times as he watched the confrontation in front of him continue to develop He could not remember his name or family just that he studied the Grand Pattern and longed for nothing more than to climb to the summit However watching this black haired human utilize his strike to defeat the guardian of the ninth platform he felt the significance of the moment carved onto his soul

He could barely breathe he couldnÆt stop trembling And the fact that the human copied his strike

His body is becoming a conduit to the Grand Pattern directly The shade licked his lips the sensation tingling and real He couldnÆt remember the last time he had such a sensation The human twisted rapidly in front of him bringing his attack spiraling to meet the guardianÆs deflection palms The air churned around the attack applying increasing amounts of pressure in the surrounding space even before the attack landed Is he truly like that monstrous first guardian He walked down the path of image physicalizations and improving the power of his body

Whoosh Upstodatee from

After a long moment of the two methods of using the Grand Pattern grinding against one another the guardianÆs deflection finally pushed the drilling attack to the side The palm attack hit the golden pillar and stopped without any suspense However the powerful winds curled around the outside and then spun back to join the challenger’s body His body twisted without needing to recover between strikes His palm lashed out again as if manipulating the Grand Pattern and then unleashing it was simplicity itself

Sweat was coursing down the long haired shadeÆs face Its aggrieved expression remained as its hands continued to trace wheels but now there was a desperation that gave the Lizakh shade a deep and satisfying burst of catharsis Hm I expected you to struggle and fail to progress after enduring my Seven Strikes err Seven Deaths One Strike but watching you torture the other guardians isnÆt a bad outcome

More wind spiraled together becoming a constant slipstream around the confrontation The force the challenger wielded coiled around him like a serpent Seeing him like this steadily accumulating more power made the Lizakh guardian shiver He had assumed the storm the challenger summoned against him was some profound technique previously but now he understood that it wasnÆt such a fragile thing

There was no core he could have struck There was no weakness The challengerÆs greatest weapon was his powerful body Right now he was just experimenting with new ways to use his physical prowess The guardians of the Fifth Step became whet stones to improve himself

Whoosh Whoosh

With more power came more speed Palm strike deflection Palm strike deflection The call and response was predictable but as the challenger gathered more force the balance shifted He applied so much pressure that the long haired shade could only stumble backward to avoid being directly blasted away This made the guardian even more desperate because if he was pushed too far he would be out of range of a golden pillar

But the challengerÆs speed left him with no time to recover The guardian scrambled backward and tried to reposition himself but the palm strikes didnÆt cease With those familiar spinning motions that had long frustrated the Lizakh the guardian pushed the strikes away from its body However it couldnÆt avoid letting those attacks disperse themselves in the air And when the golden pillars didnÆt absorb their force

Whoosh WHooSH WHooSH

However it was VantÆs image that cracked

In the next moment Charlotte Wick charged forward The Primal Beast smashed its massive horns back and forth pressuring Claudette Her steps were light as she avoided the strike and then released a freezing field Her lips tightened as WickÆs natural energy let her resist and strike again

Claudette had no choice but to raise her blade Cursed weapon met antlers once twice three times Sparks were thrown in every direction and Claudette stumbled back but WickÆs image began to dissipate

Claudette still won

After coughing for several seconds Claudette gestured Next

Vant and Wick moved to the side and made way for Raymund Ballast Claudette and Vulpine began a high speed exchange in space focused more on physical combat than just raw image power

DÆminÆs eyes focused on Vant who drifted away After firming his resolve he flew over

Hm The ram demon noticed him immediately and tilted his head to the side DÆmin IsnÆt it your rest time What are you doing up here

I know but I canÆt just sit still I want to improve If I donÆt put in more effort

IÆll be left behind DÆmin thought to himself And from the meaningful look that Vant gave him he didnÆt need to vocalize that feeling His determined expression announced it clearly enough

Vant shook his head and scratched his horns but still straightened Alright I donÆt mind doing some extra sparring but your image is still pretty weak Until you decide how you want to improve there is only so much you can gain from straight combat Better to spend time working on your foundations

DÆmin clenched his fists Then he produced his javelin and took a fighting stance I know I know IÆm still far from being enough But while I was resting it came to me all at once The way to combine my different strengths into one This might not be the perfect image for me but I cannot afford to wait any longer

LetÆs see it then Vant flexed his hands His buzzing multi faceted image formed behind him

DÆmin nodded slowly a strange energy beginning to swirl around him Following his instincts he brought out fire and led it down those complicated paths Something ancient and pure began to burn within him and D’min increased his energy output As he did so golden sparks became molten flows of shining fire that orbited his body Sun Storm

Chapter 1827

The eight shades congregated in the corner of the platform talking excitedly with each other Their positive emotions were quite conspicuous on the battlefield surrounded by mist Because this area had none of the environmental obstructions of the other platforms their voices echoed across the whole arena

Ah perhaps finally my disciple will be defeated here Still his potential is immense to reach the ninth guardian

Haah you never seem to learn How can this challenger be your disciple Any other guardian could flatten you to a detestable pancake Why must this continue Even your words can torture me

Stop bickering and pay attention to this confrontation Perhaps we will be able to intuit some new secrets of the Grand Pattern by watching their movements

Ugh you training fanatics are the worst LetÆs just have some fun since we can wander around a bit When was the last time we could gather like this Who wants to play some tarot with me

We have no tarot deck

We can ask the challenger

IsnÆt my disciple busy DonÆt you dare distract him from his fight Or rather our fight for proper recognition

Hmph what are you going to stop us Go back down to the base of the staircase weakling Before I crush you

How DARE

Randidly made the executive decision to ignore any further bickering from his shadow entourage He sealed his ears and simply focused on the energy around him Besides he had more troublesome issues to handle

Congratulations Your Skill Cutting Tide of Amenonuhoko has grown to Level 601

Gritting his teeth Randidly attempted to disperse his momentum as he skidded back away from the point of impact He feet dragged across the ground and sent pebbles skidding Natural energy swirled around him in a massive maelstrom crackling with electromagnetic discharge and mysterious light At this point on the ninth platform of the Fifth Step he could not afford to hold anything back

With a pinch of his Focus Nether guided those chaotic energy flows back around to his body to empower himself He exploded forward utilizing a trick he had learned from one of the other guardians to create a slipstream around his body A drill of air and Nether curled around AcriÆs point as he thrust the weapon toward the shade in front of him

The shade was short and skeletally skinny with frizzy hair that careened in every direction from his head and hung down to cover his face But when he raised his hands he held four dangerous needles of force between his fingers

Congratulations Your Skill Philosophy within the Boundless Deluge has grown to Level 572

He pushed his Grim Intuition to the limit feeling the small imperfections in the air More energy than he could comprehend filled the surrounding area congregating around the two fighters but also swirling in the uninhabited areas as well The more he looked and traced the connections outward the more he felt mental strain building up but he refused to look away

The more a complicated work of art glittered around him

For a few moments time seemed to stand still Everything became energy The details of the surroundings vanished their shape fading Instead Randidly could read their energy He could even see the swirling efforts of the thin shade in front of him to disappear

Everything was laid bare And once he witnessed the whole of the environment something clicked into place in his mind

RandidlyÆs heartbeat quickened This is why images are suppressed here Not because the power of the Grand Pattern suffers no competition but the ultimate goal of this obnoxious place is understanding Of witnessing this vast interaction Images ultimately are a cheat you accomplish a goal by relying on a mental manifestation of energy that doesnÆt need to be restricted by inputs and outputs Shape and emotion are enough to make up the difference Witnessing this majesty requires too much work too much suffering compared to the alternative But once youÆve seen it

An instinctual understanding of energy flows began to bud in RandidlyÆs subconscious It didnÆt manifest a Skill but somehow he could feel the barest possibility of how the Nether King could wield such power

Of course there was a cost The mental strain became a throbbing physical headache that quickly began to congregate around RandidlyÆs left eye The warping of the Stillborn Phoenix quickly grew stronger the darkness spreading to cover a larger portion of his face

As the pain became agonizing the sensation of being frozen finally shattered The shade whipped backward its body steadily being obscured by the flows of energy it manipulated For a second Randidly stalled then he once more found his momentum His arms tore forward bearing whirlwinds of vicious force

Now that IÆve seen your pattern you canÆt just screen my gaze any longer Randidly pounced downward

His palm strikes impacted the obscuring energy flows and ripped through them revealing the guardian wearing a look of shock on his face But of course he was still a powerful warrior He righted his stance and tossed two force needles at Randidly

The headache worsened as the agony seemed to crystalize into a dagger wiggling into the back of his left eye but Randidly could even see the patterns the shade used to create the force spikes It would take a while to get his Skill Level to the requisite power but he could mimic the technique

The force in the surroundings seethed and pulsed in constant motion Randidly was so close If he could have more time to study

However he ignored that possibility for now Because he might not know the finer points but he had plenty of experience manifesting his own patterns and exerting his will Randidly reached into the surrounding space and forced the two force needles apart so they shot on either side of him Then he crossed the last bit of distance and impacted the core of focus that the shade used to control the surrounding pattern

RandidlyÆs attack slammed the guardian into the ground The other watching shades fell silent In the same instant a notification popped up and pain around his eye began to ease

Congratulations Your Skill Tide of the Void is reacting

Congratulations Your Skill Tide of the Void has evolved into Breath of the Cosmos Skill Level will be maintained

Chapter 1828

The world spread out before him gleamed with thin threads of power

Randidly controlled his breathing and allowed the churning storm around him to slow and stop of his own accord The heat of his body struggling under the physical suppression rolled off his shoulders and distorted the air He deactivated the Hierarchy of Burden and no longer channeled the forces through his body The skeletally thin shade hopped back to his feet and Randidly spared him a sharp glance But the shade raised its hands in surrender and Randidly relaxed further

Truly this is an immaculate view Randidly thought as he glanced around The brilliant threads touched everything Various types spun together all of the platform Although he wasnÆt familiar with the behavior of each having a visual real time representation of the forces he interacted with would be useful

As the mist parted and the next stairwell was revealed Randidly took the time to look at the explanation for his new Skill

Breath of the Cosmos A Skill that gives the User deep insight into the surroundings The intersection of thousands of different influences and taints can be seen by the User When the Skill is activated the UserÆs awareness grows to fill an even larger area although mental strain increases Skill can be utilized in conjunction with other forces to control the observable forces For in the wider Cosmos only by witnessing its majesty can you begin to control it Effects greatly increase with Skill Level

Influence +17 051

Steam wafted off of RandidlyÆs body even as the other shades chattered and wandered over to greet their new defeated companion The investment of significance that he made previously flowed back from the skinny shade instantly pushing RandidlyÆs total Influence to above three hundred thousand He flexed his back and earned a satisfying crack from his spine In terms of Nether Core growth Randidly had no complaints about the mountain

But for the moment Randidly remained still The darkness around his left eye seeped outward as he continued to study the energy flows around them all

The more he looked the easier it was to distinguish between the different forces The entire platform was a constant interplay of bright and dim flows Some were energy currents with others were simply small breaths of air released as the shades moved and displaced the environment Others were the influence of the Grand Pattern gradually adding structure to the chaotic interactions Viewing it all still gave Randidly a painful tightening behind his eyes but with the evolution of the Skill it became manageable Compared to the many times that RandidlyÆs Skills and Class had been broken this was relatively harmless

Congratulations Your Skill Breath of the Cosmos has grown to Level 400

Congratulations Your Skill Philosophy within the Boundless Deluge has grown to Level 573

Congratulations Your Skill Breath of the Cosmos has grown to Level 401

Interesting Randidly watched the shade move around and the particular patterns that they seemed to radiate likely subconsciously as they interacted with each other All the shades have the ability to affect the surrounding patterns with just their bodies their particular methods have become so ingrained in them that they rub off on the ambient energy currents naturally However there is a firm divide between them and this most recent guardian

Randidly focused on the skinny individual with wild hair While most of the others simply left a trail in the air that mirrored their capabilities the few meters surrounding this guardian seemed to enter into a particular arrangement Without the benefit of images such constant continuity of pattern was extremely impressive In essence the shade could only rely on the small movements of his body to keep the whole enterprise on its correct course While resisting outside influences to a degree The shade didnÆt need to rely on the rivers of natural force that Randidly used to essentially dominate the surroundings

But of course that let him tear the shade’s pattern to pieces when he came too close but he wouldnÆt hold that against him

The Master was a squat wrinkled humanoid Unlike many of the other Nexus elite who hid their age the Master considered it a mark of humility His wide cheeks sagged into his fat neck On top of the puddle it made him look quite a lot like a toad One nearing the end of its life

Master

In order Number One and then Numbers Two and Four bowed to this being All wore a similar fawning expression even blunt Number Two Finally the woman Lyra Silver bowed Great One

Hm You donÆt seem to be familiar child Come closer so I can understand your role in the Grand Pattern The MasterÆs beady eyes locked onto the woman Number One wondered if his Master would invite the girl to train privately with him then break her body and cast her to the side like he had so many times in the past

Lyra stepped forward without fear But to Number OneÆs surprise Number Two stepped forward as well Master it isnÆt appropriate to indulge in her sexually She was one that I personally invited to the Mountain It will reflect badly upon me if you do so

If Number One hadnÆt been similarly dumbfounded he would have quite enjoyed the bug eyed look this statement brought to the face of Number Four The Master was similarly stunned not expecting that Number Two would so bluntly address this matter Of them all only the humanoid woman didnÆt react maintaining her bow with her eyes demurely lowered

And that finally earned a glimmer of respect from Number One Hm This woman is not simple

Ahem ahem disciple such a joke is inappropriate The MasterÆs gaze turned flinty as he considered Number Two for several long seconds He sighed and shook his head To think a disciple of mine would have so much free time as to fool around with his Master I will need to discipline you later Your focus is clearly lacking To one such as you the Grand Pattern will always remain inscrutable

Number One also stepped forward Master this woman grasped victory in the most recent training camp Although she has been inside the Mountain for a short time she displayed prowess that matches those who have been here for a hundred years In addition there are some unrelated matters IÆd like to

One issue at a time Do you lack patience The Master gave Number One a scathing look This time Number Four appeared quite tickled by the scowl Number One suppressed only after a second It was an appropriate amount of time

A practiced lack of control

Child ignore my pathetic disciples You have done a great thing and now have my attention You have earned five minutes of my time Shall I demonstrate my might for you Perhaps I can show you the origin of the Grand Pattern Or

Actually The woman looked up and smiled Her red violet eyes gleamed I have heard your eminence could distribute Paths I hope that you could bless me with one

A Path The MasterÆs expression became strange

Chapter 1829

Leaving aside the rowdy group of shades behind him Randidly focused on the skinny shade and the lines of energy that it released Unlike the others it didnÆt speak In fact it walked next to Randidly and very obligingly demonstrated its capabilities Each movement was filled with a hundred small adjustments that maintained his few meters of pattern

Observing was an invaluable experience that Randidly appreciated Yet at the same time it was obviously a conscious act by the shade

At one point early in their climb Randidly had finally let curiosity overtake him He spoke softly so as not to drag any of the other shades into the conversation Why are you helping me so directly

He couldnÆt see what expression the shade wore due to its unruly hair but Randidly clearly saw the shade twist its neck and look up the staircase Then it shook its head sadly as though it was unwilling to speak of it However the meaning was still clear the final guardian of the Fifth Step was not someone you could catch up to just like this

To the shade there was no harm in giving Randidly further demonstrations

Congratulations Your Skill Breath of the Cosmos has grown to Level 492

Congratulations Your Skill (Domain) Resonant Fangs of Extinction has grown to Level 500

The Stillborn Phoenix image physicalization continued to dominate the left side of his face Under its influence Randidly could feel the flows of all things in the surrounding space even through the muffling of the mist As he gradually grew familiar with using subtle movements of his body to affect the surroundings he gradually incorporated his Domain into that awareness

If I can connect them

Still he paused in his observations as Sulfur began to tremble Before his eyes a dark grey bulge formed on his forearm almost all the way up to his elbow The bulge gradually swelled until it was the size of a tennis ball Then it popped allowing a gleaming crimson speckled black fang to force its way out A thick ichor dripped down from the gash until Sulfur settled back into place around it With 500 Skill Levels Randidly now had access to five fangs

Sulfur gradually calmed down and the new fang detached itself to join the others in swimming through the spreading tendrils of mist He didnÆt want to use them yet to control the lines of energy but they were useful at keeping the mist at bay This left Randidly with the spare attention to continue to examine the patterns he could create in the surroundings

Congratulations Your Skill Breath of the Cosmos has grown to Level 493

Ten minutes later Randidly grimaced and deactivated his image physicalizations He raised his hand and rubbed the bridge of his nose As expected even if I can see it controlling all the flows without relying on energy or Nether is difficult No wonder only the ninth guardian has any results in this area ItÆs not something you can do without a monstrous amount of Control or Skill Levels

For a while Randidly simply walked The skinny shade walked right behind him keeping abreast and demonstrating his ability to manipulate the surroundings with seemingly normal movements of his body Behind them the Lizakh shade happily boasted and complained in equal measure The long haired shade sighed while the fifth guardian continued to describe how each moment was an opportunity to train The seventh guardian wanted to play a card game but none of the other shades paid her any attention

They walked for another hour in that manner During one of the breaks in utilizing Breath of the Cosmos Randidly examined the surroundings more closely He narrowed his eyes and looked over at the skinny shade we canÆt even make it to the next platform like this can we Is the final guardian that strong

That shade shrugged but its aura was tainted by bitterness apparently this being had never even been able to fight against the one above him Randidly nodded slightly as he raised his gaze and activated Breath of the Cosmos once more The lines of energy spread out before him This energy awareness stretched farther than his actual vision but only a small amount It too was eventually smothered by the presence of mist

His eyes flickered one brilliant and one darkness incarnate And when I start fueling these patterns with energy and not just my bodily movements

Congratulations Your Skill the Maelstrom Entity Approaches has grown to Level 399

Congratulations Your Skill the Maelstrom Entity Approaches has grown to Level 459

Congratulations Your Skill Breath of the Cosmos has grown to Level 510

The mist was blasted away by RandidlyÆs arrival revealing the tenth platform of the Fifth Step The ground was clear but in the sky above the platform almost fifty pyramids tumbled around evenly spaced apart

Randidly pounded his fists together and looked upward as his Nether began to flow toward the shade that waited in the middle His eyes instantly saw that beyond this platform was a ladder that led up to the summit He couldnÆt see the details because the mist thickened enough that all he saw was the blurry peak but his fighting spirit was ignited Finally IÆve made it One more fight

However his expression quickly transformed into shock as he looked at the shade You what are you doing here

Do I know you The woman tilted her head to the side Her features came back even more quickly than the other shades revealing her puzzlement in perfect monochrome relief Her hair hung down to her chin in gleaming strands framing her face Her slim body remained just as he remembered it

Randidly had no idea how to respond to that Eventually he just offered a bitter smile Perhaps not I just feel like there is some positive karma between us You are the final guardian of the Fifth Step WhatÆs your name

The woman clicked her tongue and shook her head Well that proves that you donÆt actually know me I am born of a race that doesnÆt have a home or a history I donÆt have something like a name All I know is that I want to see the summit Somehow I know that if I can manage that everything else will fall into place

Having that same female shade who helped him so much in the earlier Step act in such a familiar manner put RandidlyÆs heart at ease despite his surprise Yet her words gave him a bit of pause You havenÆt seen the summit ArenÆt you the highest guardian Why canÆt you go up

This is such a place Reaching the peak of the Fifth Step is different than reaching the summit If you can defeat me you can experience it for yourself Then you will understand

So we fight Randidly said

The woman grinned She looked just as decisive and confident as he remembered her from the previous Step And as she took a fighting pose suddenly all the energy lines on the entire platform stilled in an intimidating show of power I will fight You will lose Prepare yourself

Are you really the same person Or maybe this was the version that had climbed to the peak of the Fifth Step with an even more domineering attitude Randidly surmised Then he raised his gaze once more Does that mean is it possible that a version of you climbed all the way and accomplished your wish

The woman stopped her foot Immediately all the energy flows in the ten meters around her turned chaotic Which left Randidly without the spare focus to wonder All he could do is focus and struggle

Chapter 1830

The Lizakh shade felt his heart tighten as he watched the challenger and the final guardian blur and rush into conflict Both moved with impossible speed each wanting to decisively suppress the other The tension left the shade with his scaly face scrunched together On the one hand he didnÆt want the disciple he raised to fail here Yet on the other hand

When he looked at the guardian a blurry memory staggered out from the depths of his consciousness In it the woman kneeled on the ground holding a small bundle in her arms dripping blood She raised her head and roared at the sky tears flooding down her cheeks You told me that you would save her You promised

The sky remained silent in the fuzzy moment Whether due to shame or apathy it did not stir

In that stillness her grief crystalized into a vicious weapon

Challenger and shade woman clashed and skidded backward The concussive report sent most of the other shades stumbling The woman shade wore a cheery smile as she looked over toward the challenger Interesting You arenÆt using the Grand Pattern to enhance your movements like I am but you are faster than me even with 80% physical suppression Are you secretly a monster

IÆve been accused of that a lot The challenger admitted readily Then he took a fighting stance The air around him began to stir as he began to manipulate the Grand Pattern in the area around him

But unless you can influence more freely than that youÆll never beat me The final guardian announced She waved her hand and a portion of the floating pyramids rose so there were two layers of the floating pieces above the platform Then the guardian leapt up and began to kick from one pyramid to another approaching the challenger on an unpredictable path

Her feet always seemed to land perfectly perpendicular to the tumbling pyramids as though the whole of the platform were under her control

As she moved the Grand Pattern began to gather around her until even the cluster of shades could feel her rising momentum The challenger moved the patterns in a small area but the shade dominated She flicked her hand out and produced a tightly wound whip of wind that twisted at her opponent The challenger didnÆt flinch he exploded upward and met the attack of the guardian directly He flicked his wrist and produced his plant spear

As he impacted a pyramid and bent his leg to absorb the force he unleashed a basic thrust that ripped through the air His patterns spun outward empowering his attack In terms of piercing the Lizakh shade had never seen patterns more profound than that

Partway through the strike the whip blurred sideways and hit the challenger on the back of his knee His deadly patterns and thrust burned through the edge of the whip but it quickly reformed after the strike passed He swore and tumbled through the air while the whip encircled him Five glittering fangs shot out of his arm and churned up the air but the whip came alive and slid between them toward the challengerÆs body

Weak The guardian announced as she arched up directly about the challengerÆs struggle to escape her weapon With a twitch of the wrist her whip shifted again gracefully avoiding the buzzing resistance of the flying fangs Suddenly everything aligned The Lizakh shadeÆs disciple tumbled below with the guardian four meters above him Her whip formed a perfect spiraling drill pointed downward at his chest

The challenger barked out a bitter laugh The guardian stomped her foot

For several minutes Grand Marshall Ellios just focused on steadying his breathing and examining his injuries After fighting his way through the lowest level of the Path of the Pinnacle for a week his image was greatly depleted His body was riddled with wounds with image remnants embedded in his flesh so that the wounds lingered and continued to hamper him

ElliosÆs eyes turned bloodshot as he reflected on the experience Those damned Pinnacle Seekers How dare they conspire with a Nether King to create an ambush on the holiest of sites in the Nexus When I report this matter to Elhume

But that thought made even Ellios hesitate After all he had conspired with his subordinate Commandant Zettlequill and some other Commandants to join the rush for the Pinnacle despite express orders to the contrary He had assumed that other Grand Marshals would also attempt it as well as Lathis NÆGick but Ellios had been surprised to find that only relatively obscure members of the orthodox factions had dared make a dash for the Pinnacle other than himself His expression became sour reporting this to Elhume would just paint a target on his back

Still with my carefully crafted foundation if the Pinnacle Seekers and Nether Heralds hadnÆt worked together to suppress me Ellios gnashed his teeth and revealed a thousand wickedly sharp teeth His eyes burned with unwillingness After patiently improving himself for two thousand years this was supposed to be his chance to prove himself He wouldnÆt have said that he would surpass Elhume but with his foundation becoming the acknowledged second most powerful figure seemed like a sure thing Yet no matter how well made and detailed his image was under the besiegement of so many others he had been forced to retreat

He snorted out a breath and refocused Despite that the combat experience was valuable How often does one get to face so many Speculum and image fulfillment fighters It can be considered a tempering Shifting my image is difficult but there were a few areas that I understand more fully now After another ten years of training

Then ElliosÆs expression changed as he saw the dozen message that he had been blocked from receiving on the Path to the Pinnacle He began to breathe heavily That bitch Devick is back and she dared assume control of our faction and she was killing opposing Commandants

The more he read the reports the more shocked he became at the way things were developing the situation in the Nexus was rapidly destabilizing Terrorist organizations moved freely breeding and thriving in the chaos The Engraving Guild remained fractured due to the mysterious death of Lathis NÆGick Elhume remained conspicuously absent after the demonstration of power when so many rushed to the Path of the Pinnacle

Well it can be said that Devick made sure none dared underestimate Military High Command Ellios muttered to himself Then his eyes flashed Yet she snarls around like a mad dog with blood on her tongue bringing shame upon us As the most powerful Speculum in history it is up to me to correct her behavior

Ellios took half a day to meditate and eliminate most of the remnant images embedded in his body Then he rested a bit and allowed the mental strain to fade away When he had recovered to his peak state his eyes flashed opened and he entered into the Nexus Ways He arrived at Military High Command Headquarters and walked decisively forward

This then will be the moment that I reveal myself to the world The name of Grand Marshall Ellios will echo across the Nexus

Not that anyone was around to watch the great edifice to the orthodox faction was a hollow skeleton of its usual self Those that were present didnÆt dare show themselves for fear of the recent infighting between factions Still Ellios enjoyed the way his steps echoed loudly in the hallway

He knocked on the door to Commandant WickÆs office and then forced open the lock he knew Devick always had a sick fascination with her subordinates And as expected she was there loitering behind Commandant WickÆs desk with an expression of utter disrespect Ellios targeted her with an imperious glare that contained a trace of his image but Devick regarded him rather apathetically Ah you are back ItÆs quite bold for a traitor like you to stomp before me like this With two dozen uniform code violations no less

Ellios gnashed his teeth and took a step forward into the room Your actions I donÆt know where to begin Hubris is not an attractive color on you Devick You might also be called Speculum but I think itÆs time I demonstrate the differences between us

Wick pay attention Devick looked over to the corner of the room where the bearman stood without acknowledging ElliosÆ words Her lip curled up If you donÆt get it in a minute you arenÆt going to get it in a lifetime Understand

Have it your way Ellios growled and spread his arms An ancient and pure monolith appeared behind him His image traced the source of the first religion back to its primordial origins From that first belief all other powers stemmed Primal Altar

The office rumbled The door behind him buckled and cracked bits of wood spraying Opposite him Devick began to laugh

Chapter 1831

Even I didnÆt expect him to be this weak Grand Marshall Devick complained as she leaned back in the cracked remnants of Commandant WickÆs desk She flicked her wrist try to get rid of the coating of blood on her hands Due to her thorough hour long lashing of her opponent a large portion had dried but a few drips were still flung across the torn carpet

She pursed her lips in irritation as she looked at her speckled hands Wick Cut off a portion of his uniform so I can clean my fingers

Commandant Wick trembled at her casual tone but still walked across the destroyed remnants of his office to the whimpering chained Grand Marshall curled up on the ground Thick metal spikes protruded from the heavy chain lodging themselves even more deeply into the flesh of the shark man After scanning his uniform Wick could only shake his head Unfortunately Grand Marshal he has stained his entire uniform with blood there are no clean portions

This is why fastidious men are the best Devick sighed Yet IÆm surrounded by slobs No matter Come here Wick Because now itÆs time to discuss something important I hope you understood that this display wasnÆt really about foolish Ellios

Another tremor ran through WickÆs body But still he forced himself to walk forward and confront his superior officer With deliberate slowness she leaned forward and leveraged herself out of her leaned position using his desk When she removed her hands the overstrained desk collapsed into a pile of useless tinder Then she reached out and pressed her hand against his neck tightening a single finger at a time Her red hair cascaded down her back as she stood and lifted Wick off the ground You really decided to throw your lot in with this shit You endangered the prestige of Military High Command for this man Heh

Grand Marshall Ellios chose that moment to sob quietly adding weight to her cruel intonation Commandant Wick closed his eyes very conscious of the fact that while painful he didnÆt need his air passage to breathe Damnit he was supposed to be stronger than you How the hell are you so powerful when you jumped so quickly through image fulfillment to the Speculum tier

If you donÆt get it in a minute you wonÆt get it in a lifetime huh

DevickÆs bloodstained fingers tightened indicating that the time for Wick considering had passed Commandant Wick wheezed his words around her grip on his neck I considered this issue beneath your notice Grand Marshall

Hmph flattering me now Devick lowered Wick back to the ground and batted her eyelashes Despite her words Wick would never have survived without flattering her There is no way such a method would work A powerful individual such as I would see right through such attempts to sway me Ah well I suppose I can forgive you on behalf of little Iellaya You cannot be entirely ineffective to have gathered such a follower which reminds me When are you going to devour this Ghosthound I assume heÆs the one youÆve been grooming for the process

Commandant Wick bowed his head I am waiting for him to reach his full potential Based on my observations he will soon run into a wall Due to my prior arrangements I should feature heavily in his thoughts The longer he obsesses over me the easier the process will become

Hmm well I canÆt tell you much more without seeing him in person and how stingy that you havenÆt brought him here to meet me but Grand Marshall Devick tilted her head to the side while looking at Commandant Wick The pupil in her right eye steadily expanded past even the limits of her iris until her entire eye was black Then she blinked There is something odd about your aura If you donÆt strengthen yourself soon it will be too late

You monster How can your eye see so much Wick panicked inwardly but kept his face bereft of emotion He bowed Thank you for your advice IÆll begin making preparations at once

See that you do Grand Marshall Devick sat back down clearly losing interest in the subject She stifled a yawn and then looked over to the front of your office Oh and get rid of this man I have a tea date with little Iellaya later

Randidly stretched out his hand throwing a tightly coiled pattern that would spring open upon contact

The whip condensed from the Grand Pattern whirled so quickly that none of RandidlyÆs own patterns could affect it Any that neared it were blasted apart by the raw power of the rotation RandidlyÆs eyebrows couldnÆt help but twitch As he watched the carefully crafted energy flow blasted to oblivion Is this what people feel like when they fight me and my powerful body

The shade waved her hand again and the wind whip flopped and smashed like a blind kraken Randidly moved lightly following his instincts He leapt forward and unleashed a thrust Acri whistled through the air and cut a chunk out of the side of the whip before RandidlyÆs momentum carried him past it He didnÆt slow down at all building up some swirling patterns around himself as he glided across the ground and then bounced up over a wide sweep of the ground

He sucked in a breath and licked his lips Although his body had only a fraction of its normal power the sense of speed Randidly experienced curled the edges of his mouth up He leaned on his right leg and then rapidly redirected himself avoiding the wind whip He squeaked by the shadeÆs weapon but again lost his patterns

But watching his patterns being chewed to pieces got Randidly thinking

Patterns donÆt just have to be some esoteric shape my body is the crux Darkness swirled in one eye emerald fire in the other Put another way everything I do physically can be expressed in a pattern I donÆt just need to rely on these small tricks

His torso began to weave as he leapt up amongst the pyramids and bounded forward His body began to overheat even with the physical suppression Part of it was the natural heat of his bodyÆs engine but part of it was his excitement too Under the constant pressure radiating out from the shadeÆs patterns Randidly began to understand something His bare feet kicked off the strange metal of the pyramids making his movements abrupt and unpredictable

In the end the more powerful patterns canÆt escape resembling images Her power stems from the rotation of the whip Suddenly the arrangement resembles a concrete object Which brings power but itÆs also why she’s only here the tenth guardian Because she cheatedÆ

Fickle energy cannot clash against her directly But my body can And my body is part of my pattern It becomes the keystone The medium through which all the energy must pass A constant amidst the infinite shifts

Congratulations You are creating a Skillset

Warning Your Skill Absolute Timing is being absorbed into your Skillset As this is a Class related Skill some damage might result

Congratulations You have created the Skillset Moirae of Ripples Your Skill Cutting Tides of Amenonuhoko has been added Your Skill Philosophy within the Boundless Deluge has been added Your Skill Tempest Drill has been added

Congratulations Your Skill Dodge has evolved into Unpredictable Eddy Skill Level has been maintained Skill has been added to your Skillset Moirae of Ripples

Your Skill Absolute Timing is resonating with your new Skillset

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Timing is experiencing an unusual evolution

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Timing has evolved into Motif of the Hungry Deep

Chapter 1832

The difference in perspective was stark

Randidly paused on a tumbling pyramid crouching so both his hands and feet could grip upon the edges With continued delicacy the shade flicked her wrist and sent her massive wind whip howling toward RandidlyÆs position He knew he should dodge but his attention was captured by the endless sea of energy flows covering the entire platform He was transfixed by the scope of what he witnessed

Congratulations Your Skill Motif of the Hungry Deep has grown to Level 251

The mysterious flows swirled around Randidly to the point he was completely submerged within their tight folds Although his heart continued its frantic beat his breath caught and settled in the hollow of his throat Infinite layers and constructs of ripples buried him pushing his awareness deeper and deeper within them

Its not just one layer It keeps going down RandidlyÆs eyes glittered ThatÆs what I missed before Ripples hit ripples and to breed into more ripples but each of these stacked layers is constructed from several more folded energy frontiers

Congratulations Your Skill Motif of the Hungry Deep has grown to Level 252

Depth beyond all else Seeing down through to the truth of existence Just like the shade chose to make her patterns concrete for power I took my own perspective Darkness crept outward from RandidlyÆs left eye His entire face sank beneath that oblivion except for his right eye It burned hot and emerald like an aberrant star at the edge of a black hole that refused to have its light devoured But where she chose to push her patterns closer to images I accepted its true form Ripples

Congratulations Your Skill Motif of the Hungry Deep has grown to Level 253

Congratulations Your Skill Motif of the Hungry Deep has grown to Level 254

It wasnÆt a Skill like Breath of the Cosmos which allowed Randidly to perceive all the different flows of energy in the surroundings Instead it somehow framed the ripples that bounced and rebounded off of every surface and each other The Skill caught the subtle interplay that he had previously missed The chaos around him remained quite difficult to parse apart but all his subconscious insight into the arrangement were crystalized into the Skill

Despite the dangerous situation Randidly opened up the Skill explanation to confirm his intuition

Motif of the Hungry Deep A method of understanding the vast universe The foundation of this Skill is a perfect awareness of the passage of time and a massive amount of experience observing patterns By combining such elements together in the special environment several mutations have resulted The user has learned two truths to generate this Skill First energy fuels the base of all substance Time will not destroy energy only see it change into different forms Second Desire lurks below all actions The hunger that never ceases stirs the vast sea originating from an impossible depth within the hearts of individuals The more the user fights opponents the more he can understand their core desire and predict energy output Gains a small amount of influence on nearby patterns per Skill Level Insight into energy increases with Skill Level Ability to form connections between incompatible energies greatly increases with Skill Level

Congratulations Your Skill Motif of the Hungry Deep has grown to Level 255

Exactly There are two constants that do their best to resist the pull of time energy and desire Randidly raised his gaze and frowned the wind whip churned through the air only a meter away from his face He raised his hand and grassed at the ripples within the attack His new Skill hummed to life to give him some extra capability Once I understand that once I can see both of those things everything else

His hand tightened into a fist Along the edge of the wind whip that was about to impact Randidly the wind briefly slowed With his improved understanding and with the ability to weave together incompatible energies he could grasp more of the shadeÆs patterns and combat the vicious rotation directly Unfortunately although the edge of the wind whip in front of him slowed more patterns whipped around and obliterated his resistance Cursing quietly Randidly hopped sideways to avoid the attack Patterns flowed around him to create a buffer so only a soft wind ruffled his clothes Upstodatee from

Congratulations Your Skill Unexpected Eddy has grown to Level 427

Congratulations Your Skill Motif of the Hungry Deep has grown to Level 256

A little unreasonable to immediately jump from helpless to dominant right Randidly gently teased himself at his disappointment The wind whip hissed and spat as it impacted the ground Its tip curled around behind him and aimed at his back By creating another buffer pocket of patterns Randidly glided sideways out of harms way

Oh The shade noticed the difference immediately You really arenÆt just suffering but improving Well I shouldnÆt let this continue

With a flick of the wrist the massive wind whip vanished She jumped down off of her perch on a pyramid and began to walk slowly forward RandidlyÆs expression became serious all of the smaller ripples in the surroundings were ironed out by several massive ripples that the shade released with each step The patterns she used became even more overbearing

For a second Randidly couldnÆt figure out what to say He huffed out a breath You know usually an opponent waits until I accumulate enough capability to rival them before they shift their own mode of engagement ItÆs just chivalrous behavior

Do I rescue maidens from voracious bog monsters Does it look like I pulled a cursed ring off the finger of a puppet king Am I supposed to be the Red Knight of Mid morning The shade clicked her tongue Energy swirled around both of her hands as she continued to walk forward No I am simply a lingering specter of determination Since you cannot help me climb to the summit I will end you as quickly as possible

Randidly pursed his lips as he studied the ripples around the shade You say you donÆt have a name or a culture but those references were a bit too specific for them not to have a genuine origin

However he quickly left that issue to the side Because the shade clearly was no longer playing around Or rather the sort of play she wanted to engage in became a lot more violent The tremors she released made RandidlyÆs hair stand on end

Congratulations Your Skill Motif of the Hungry Deep has grown to Level 257

Congratulations Your Skill Motif of the Hungry Deep has grown to Level 258

The resonance continued to grow And although Randidly could not manifest his images directly the emotional force in his image crept through that combination

The strike closed the distance to the shadeÆs chest but she just tossed her purple saber sideways Then a strange pattern suffused her body and she dissipated A split second later she reformed with her hand on the purple blade RandidlyÆs attack pierced out through the air that she had just vacated All the patterns in front of him seemed to degrade before the grey light that the palm strike unleashed It ripped forward like a baleful laser hungry for resistance

Congratulations Your Skill Motif of the Hungry Deep has grown to Level 264

Eventually it smashed against the barrier around the ladder to the summit releasing visible ripples through the energy pattern that prevented the tenth guardian from climbing upward Then the barrier reformed itself Randidly was somewhat disappointed that this strike couldnÆt defeat the defenses of the summit But he ignored that and twisted after the shade

Even as he was turning she cut with the saber toward his side He stepped back and brought a layered wave of ripples between them but that purple saber simply severed his newly evolved Unexpected Eddy Still RandidlyÆs speed meant that he swayed around the strike and ducked under the follow up cut

He stepped sharply forward leaving only a few inches between them The shade decisively threw her saber up in the air toward the pyramid layers His mind rapidly calculated the best reaction while his left arm released three fangs to keep the wind whip at bay Once sheÆs among the pyramids I can

The shade didnÆt teleport and her wind whip bulldozed straight through RandidlyÆs three fangs Even their force neutralization couldnÆt buy him enough time to react The impact sent him sprawling leaving his ability to read ripples as messy and useless

Randidly slapped his palms against the ground with enough force to toss his body several meters into the air avoiding a powerful follow up sweep of the wind whip His eyes were narrowed This monstrous power of yours

He gripped the edge of a pyramid and swung his body forward moving toward the shade The purple saber reached the apex of its arc and fell down eventually landing back in the shadeÆs hand on the ground She clicked her tongue even while she wrapped herself in a complex arrangement of the wind whip Her smile up at him was sly Were you trying to cheat How boring You deserve to get slapped around a bit for that

Randidly remained silent His blood hummed through his veins adding a peculiar frequency of ripple to the surrounding space Those ripples marched to become part of the complex patterns that surrounded his body as Randidly accelerated forward again

The shade cackled Good If you canÆt take that first step forward nothing will ever change But if you encounter a wall you cannot pass what will you do

Congratulations Your Skill Motif of the Hungry Deep has grown to Level 265

OHmm

This sensation RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed as he ducked underneath the lashing whip Her desire I canÆt really tell the details but this isnÆt just about reaching the summit I can barely feel its edge

Underneath all the other ripples something immense stirred Suddenly all the other details fell away and the shadeÆs body became larger and larger in RandidlyÆs vision He peered within the limits of her frame and saw millions of ripples layered upon each other Strange metaphysical bubbles fluttered up through the ripples of her being at the base of the powerful tenth guardian her purest desire flexed

Congratulations Your Skill Motif of the Hungry Deep has grown to Level 266

RandidlyÆs palm strike lashed up and the shade jerked her head back Instead of throwing her weapon to the side she slashed decisively downward at Randidly He just grinned as he pivoted his legs and unleashed another palm strike A vicious grey core formed even as the purple saber cut

Congratulations Your Skill Dragon QueenÆs Sinister Tongue has grown to Level 498

Congratulations Your Skill Motif of the Hungry Deep has grown to Level 267

RandidlyÆs palm slammed into the shadeÆs chest and sent her skidding back His expression warped some rigid pattern armor around her person dispersed much of the force And he didnÆt dare follow up on the strike because her purple saber cut a deep divot into Sulfur and part of RandidlyÆs side

The shade tilted her head to the side Small bits of steam wafted up from the location where the grey core impacted her patterns but she seemed unharmed However her eyes were growing increasingly bright and hungry Nether continued to rush out from Randidly and strengthen her significance In the face of an impassable wall you would charge forward Throw yourself against it again and again

Congratulations Your Skill Motif of the Hungry Deep has grown to Level 268

The bubbles erupting from the base of the shadeÆs existence became larger and more violent through her ripples RandidlyÆs gaze flickered and became clouded He saw a strange scene of the woman with a burning gaze looking at the sky her cries strangled to silence by grief Yet the next moment the vision was gone

Since the shade waited for his answer without attacking Randidly considered Then he shrugged It sounds like madness doesnÆt it But itÆs the choice IÆve made time and time again As long as it keeps working I wonÆt stop

Not so mad after all The shadeÆs eyes crinkled at the edges But that baleful intensity continued to grow Drops of neon purple slid off her saber and pattered onto the ground Then she blurred into motion the sharp purple edge of her blade leading the attack

Chapter 1833

The group returned from its meeting with the Master and split apart to their respective caves The young humanoid woman gleeful after receiving her requested reward departed from the isolated space and returned to the Nexus

In a way Number Four envied her for the quick entrance and exit into this dangerous realm He wished his own dream could be accomplished so easily without lingering so long within this place He had tried to keep his image strong but the Mountain and Sky both possessed defects in addition to their great power

If you werenÆt careful those crippling weaknesses could creep into you Depression from the Mountain Apathy from the Sky

But at the same time the rewards I shall obtain after my long quest will dwarf the pittance she took away with her Number Four thought with glittering eyes as he sat in his cave and looked at the beautiful array of colored flowers he had gathered over the years She leaves with a Path One blessed by the Master who has seen so many reach for the Pinnacle but still a limited tool Meanwhile I will take it all

The entire inheritance of the Master will belong solely to me And then

He immediately squashed that thought He couldnÆt allow his emotions to get the best of him He had bided his time for too long

About twenty four hours of meditating in silence to calm his mind Number Four opened his eyes Against the surface of the Mountain Number Four could hear the Grand Pattern howling with its previous force But something strange was running through the energy radiation coming in from the surface of the mountain Likely whatever loud report they had heard had weakened the MasterÆs energy

Number FourÆs smile snaked outward A weakened Master was an opportunity that they all pretended that they werenÆt waiting for

Number Four leisurely stood and proceeded through the interior pathways of the Mountain to arrive at the training area of Number Two Number One might be Number FourÆs primary competition but Number Two was the key to dislodging Number One They had been entrenched here for so long but it was just about time to uproot them Remembering Number OneÆs bulging eyes when Number Two showed up

Number Four paused at the entrance to a particular passage and listened Then he narrowed his eyes and barged into Number TwoÆs cave the other disciple was gone

For several seconds his mind just whirred trying to understand why the previously cloistered Number Two would suddenly be so mobile But then Number Four laughed aloud delighted by this turn of events In the end the true explanation doesnÆt matter All I need to know is that this is an opportunity

Number Four left Number TwoÆs cave and strode toward Number OneÆs abode

Randidly shimmied back and forth avoiding the powerful blows of the wind whip A slipstream of patterns formed around him letting him borrow the natural power of the forgotten and left behind energies in the universe to boost himself Each ripple was exceedingly small on its own but folded together through RandidlyÆs body

The shadeÆs eyes narrowed dangerously as he approached No matter how quick you can dodge unless you can suddenly overcome true power your parlor trick will earn you no accolades

Randidly didnÆt answer The shade stepped forward and slashed with her purple saber The weapon whistled through the position that Randidly had just been standing a split second too late to land But although he remained fine his patterns were aggressively trimmed by the attack The left portion of the patterns Randidly had maintained immediately began to warp and fade as they were forcibly detached from the others

Congratulations Your Skill Motif of the Hungry Deep has grown to Level 323

With a single touch the shadeÆs patterns popped and ruptured

Randidly already torqued his upper body his left arm whipping around with a palm strike armed with a grey core and a storm of energy It landed on the shadeÆs midsection directly and ripped a hole in her side

For the first time something bright and hard twisted the shadeÆs expression from its playfulness teasing as she tumbled backward Satisfied with his performance Randidly didnÆt follow up and allowed the shade to crash to the ground

He clenched his hands into fists His hands still tingled ThatÆs the capability IÆve been looking for Her power might be rigid but you canÆt escape the ripples As long as I can influence those base units of energy in all its forms

The shadeÆs side rapidly healed Her eyes were blazing as she hopped back up to her feet his shoulders heaving satisfied Because I can see that you are bleary eyed and waning And I am not If you expected me to surrender after you bested me a single time you are a fool I can wear you down You will never return to the Summit

RandidlyÆs expression shifted to something tired and sad Although it was disappointing that her playful liveliness faded Randidly intuited from the desire he sensed from her that this was perhaps the true version of the shade right before she died Playful and amused on the surface but hiding a deep emptiness in her heart And that last line

Randidly showed a crooked smile to the shade IÆve never been to the summit remember ItÆs you thatÆs been there before I wonder what you found there you now keep yourself from remembering

You have no idea what you are talking about The shade snarled The rotation of her wind whip accelerated

Randidly kept speaking I thought the barrier around the ladder looked familiar You are the one who created it You have stayed here and kept anyone else from ascending consumed with grief Considering IÆve already met other versions of you as I climbed is there a version of yourself up there that you donÆt want to face Has the possibility I can unravel that barrier finally stripped away the last of your pretenses

You are exhausted and rambling Let me put you out of your misery The shade charged forward her saber slashing back and forth

With that same sad expression on his face Randidly shook his head slowly Yes IÆm tired But you know what has been the most exhausting part of our fight Holding back If I donÆt have to do that any longer

Cutting Tide of Amenonuhoko stirred Steadily his Moirae of Ripples Skillset and assorted supports combined together Breath of the Cosmos to sense energy ripples The World Tree Sips from Every Realm to pull energy into his body The Maelstrom Entity Approaches to churn all the forces running through his body out into the surrounding space Now Motif of the Hungry Deep to consolidate his understanding and aid him in manipulating all the complicated forces

All told the reach of the GhosthoundÆs fury was long and his power crushing

After a long period of hibernation RandidlyÆs Nether Core roared to life Thick tendrils of Nether swam outward paving the way for the muscular arms of the energy storm that followed In only a second RandidlyÆs swirling maelstrom dominated the surrounding portion of the platform and forced the shade to a skidding halt

You what the hell

Ready for round two Randidly took a step forward This time he was the force that caused all the ripples to tremble

Chapter 1834

Number Four was surprised to run into Number One walking slowly through the interior of the mountain but he inwardly felt a flash of joy If you are pacing around like this heh you must be more rattled than you let on And the more your mental state is unstable the less focused you become The less rational you will be when the unexpected greets you

If I would have known this all would have started from someone wasting a Path to send someone you invited on a Path of Blood I would have done it myself years ago

Number Four schooled his expression into a thoughtful frown The sort of expression one would wear if they were too distracted by their inner world to notice the surroundings Then as if it were a coincidence and the beat of the cane didnÆt reveal him Number Four walked around the corner and came face to face with Number One

Both stop short Number Four took the opportunity to bow and speak Number One Oh I thought it was Number Two again Ha Imagine seeing that messy figure so many times in a week Anyways I really must be going

Wait Number One growled His eyes were bright and desperate Number Two You saw him earlier Out of his cave

Yes but only for a moment Number Four said casually Although now that his invitee is gone I wasnÆt sure

Damnit That bastard is plotting against me Could he Number One grimaced Then he whipped around and began to hobble away at his top speed heading for the Path of Spirit the domicile of the Master With a smirk on his face Number Four followed

The true test of an expert Number Four mused with suppressing his anticipation Is how well they can seize the opportunities the world makes for them In the end Number One I was simply quicker on the uptake

In this world that is a failure punishable by death

In their previous clashes his Dragon QueenÆs Sinister Tongue had been able to (barely) fend off the wind whip and knock the shade back when it landed Now fueled by the additional forces of Nether ambient natural energy humming image physicalizations and the dangerous electromagnetic and light radiations she didnÆt stand a chance His palm bulldozed forward without much tension

Congratulations Your Skill Dragon QueenÆs Sinister Tongue has grown to Level 515

The first strike sent the shade reeling The second strike obliterated a portion of her whip and made her scramble back desperation clear in her eyes Thereafter she relied on the purple saber to meet his blows Unfortunately that endeavor was also doomed

Around him the storm churned She could cut out chunks but the whole was too large to slow down

Five strikes later as Randidly had expended energy and pulled it back into himself in a freight train of momentum he could directly blast the purple saber backward simply overwhelming the cutting power it possessed The storm grew to cover the entire platform lashing and restricting the shade’s movements She struggled and screamed her purple saber flailing but it was useless

With insight and power he was nearly unstoppable

This was just a form he hadnÆt yet encountered

When he neared the ladder he realized that the barrier had returned around it stronger than ever He glanced over his shoulder the various shades all watched him The final shade kept her eyes lowered seemingly distracted To his surprise some color seemed to be seeping into her person Her hair was a dark red color or had been in life

Randidly turned forward and pressed his hand against the barrier It was definitely stronger than it had been previously but it soon became unstable and collapsed Randidly reached out and gripped another rung

He had prepared himself for pain but he wasnÆt ready for the pure jagged sensation of his skin touching the golden ladder Something pure and agonizing howled within the physicalized form of the rung skittering up through the contact and tearing its way through his nerve endings

So despite his preparations Randidly once more tore his hand away He stumbled back his breath raw and sour out of his throat When his vision stopped spinning he could see that he had ascended to an even higher place along the ladder However the summit continued to loom above him He had to climb higher to reach that place

He closed his eyes and calmed himself The sensation is probably going to get worse from here But IÆm not going to stop climbing just because of pain

He slapped his cheeks and stepped forward to press his hand against the barrier Ripples began to congregate around his fingers worming their way into the barrier and steadily undermining its structure The broken pieces of the impediment tinkled to the ground and the shade spoke as Randidly reached forward for the latter once more

My name is Devick And I come from a very particular variation of Elhumes unique for two relevant reasons First when we truly find love the couples unite their souls and become one being Second the females of our species may produce offspring without any biological input from the males All we need is to witness their image to imprint which joins our body and gestates to produce a child

Randidly paused and turned around The shade continued to look at the ground Her arms wrapped around her shoulders as though any loosening of her grip would allow all the broken pieces inside of her to shred her form and shatter upon the ground

Releasing another breath Randidly touched the ladder

Sensation beyond comprehension Pain Timeless torture

Coughing Randidly collapsed on the ground All his limbs trembled the energy sapped out of him from the brief moment of contact Their surroundings had changed again the somehow solid cloud beneath his feet hard darkened somewhat to a metallic mix of gold and silver

And the shade named Devick spoke again

I was born during the latest stages of the Second Cohort During those days the Nexus was filled with war Everyone killed each other desperate to defend their particular corner of the world The Aether Pumps hadnÆt been invented raw energy could only be harvested from incorporated planets At the same time combat power to defend your harvesting planets could only be earned by allowing some chosen planets to prosper and grow developing their own images It was a bloody arithmetic that devoured lives

In the wide battles that rocked the Nexus in the transition between the Second and Third Cohorts most of my people died For the first time I was alone I felt how weak I was very acutely But things began to improve A short time into the third Cohort the modern Nexus Ways were created in a stroke of genius allowing Elhume and his newly centralized power to sweep out through the Nexus and establish order Peace one enforced by the monster with the largest fist came

It was during that peace that I decided to have a child

Randidly panted on the ground waiting for Devick to continue but she did not More and more Nether flooded out of him solidifying her significance even further To the point that Randidly was somewhat alarmed he had no doubt that she had been an important historical figure Her hair had lightened becoming the crimson hue of blood

Well only one way to find out Randidly coughed once last time and swayed when he stood But then he reached out and grabbed onto the ladder to keep climbing toward the summit

Chapter 1835

Gasping and with the sort of headache that he had only experienced previously from a jealous and vindictive hangover Randidly keeled over The soft surface of the cloud gave a small amount but it was a surprisingly uncomfortable surface on which to pass out Most of the shades watched him silently a constant crowd Only DevickÆs shade spoke while she pulled more and more Nether out of him to solidify her own body

As I was alone I thought very deeply about what sort of individual I needed to imprint upon to form my child I would be the progenitor of my race its one hope at returning to its former power I tried to be realistic I didnÆt believe I would ever find someone who would willingly join their soul with mine but I still preferred if I could find a man who would be willing to be present in the life of the child

After a short monologue she fell silent again Randidly was left alone with the sound of his own panting Gritting his teeth he pressed himself up and shook himself The barrier began to unravel beneath his fingers but he thought instead about the pain he had to endure whenever he touched the ladder Is this really just raw emotional force that impacts me every time If she had been tortured by this previously no wonder she doesnÆt want to remember what happened

Even now Randidly sensed that this story did not have a happy ending If it had would she have locked her emotions out of her body Despite that he reached out and grasped the ladder doggedly climbing toward the summit that loomed above

This time he prepared slightly by mobilizing his own emotional force to form a resistance but Randidly almost bit off his tongue as the torrent of force waiting above bulldozed through his tiny emotions In a sensation remarkably similar to swallowing an entire planet Randidly felt those angry emotions force themselves down his throat and coil inside his body

The minute awareness revealed that the emotions that poured into his Nether Core area where they surged along the connection of significance to DevickÆs shade After absorbing those emotions and having the details of her face sharpened she began to speak Randidly shakily tried to remain conscious

Perhaps nine individuals out of ten would have made the obvious choice of mate I should imprint off Elhume the hero of our time He was the publicly acknowledged number one expert in the Nexus and was rapidly solidifying his power base

There were two problems with that First the Elhume of the Third Cohort stood at the center of the interconnected universe Countless gazes fixated on him LIkely due to that he receded from the spotlight allowing his fledgling organizations to handle all the day to day operations rarely showing himself to the public Even if I wanted to finding and imprinting on Elhume would be difficult

But the real issue was that I didnÆt want Elhume to be the father of my child As he was such an obvious candidate it just seemed boring right Being predictable after having my life destroyed seemed like the worst choice I could make I had to be singular

So I began searching for someone else

Randidly wiped the sweat off his brow and rubbed the bridge of his nose Then he cracked his neck His Nether Core was trembling from the strain of conveying so much emotion through to the shade He gave himself a few minutes gradually building back up the thick padding of dense Nether that he used to absorb the impact

Randidly looked over his shoulder at Devick Her iconoclast decision filled him with an impressed sort of disbelief You really arenÆt someone ordinary are you

For a split second Randidly thought he saw the ghost of a smile flit across the shadeÆs face As though even the strange and tragic situation couldnÆt mask her joy at being acknowledged as unordinary Then her crimson hair swung down like a loose curtain and covered her expression She was just a shade gradually absorbing the emotions she had once severed from herself

Randidly raised his head and looked up at the ladder However the personal will it must have taken to repeatedly shave off these layers of emotion thatÆs why its growing stronger with each time I seize the ladder The emotions probably grew back like weeds So those last few rungs with be the entire force of your grief several times in a row

Randidly stopped himself from thinking about it and stood Reach out grab pain enough to blackout After he collapsed his back arched as the emotions ran their course through him as they returned to the shade

Perhaps due to a well mannered upbringing but the shade waited until RandidlyÆs consciousness drifted back before she continued her story However being sure of what you donÆt want and knowing what you want are two entirely different prospects It is fair to say that I expertly handled the former while gambling with the latter I traveled throughout the growing cities of the Nexus visiting and sampling the local talented males

The bulging golden veins standing out along his forearms

His Nether Core barely able to contain the emotions that flowed through him and into the shade

This time Randidly persisted His image physicalizations were completely manifested but when the emotional transfer finished he had only taken a few steps backward He released a shaky breath and swayed

DevickÆs shade continued her narration At first I assumed it was my imagination I had grown up on stories of how paranoid women could get while they had a child usually for no other reason than their own nervousness about whether they would be good mothers And my own emotional state in the past month had not been very balanced I was a breeding ground for fear

However as the pregnancy developed I knew with chilling certainty that something was very wrong with my daughter Unfortunately I was still unwilling to face the truth IÆll spare you the details In the end my daughter was born but she was empty There was not a scrap of life within her body She seemed to be sleeping And I so so desperately wanted to shake her awake

But my hands were powerless as I held her small shoulders

The strange cloud Randidly stood upon had darkened to the point it was an impenetrable black Intermittently it rumbled beneath his feet The mist of the mountain summit drifted down a tantalizing sign of how close Randidly had now come

He raised his hand and pressed it against his chest His heart was pounding This should be the last one

Congratulations Your Skill Motif of the Hungry Deep has grown to Level 327

Once more with both hands he seized upon the ladder For an eternity he could not move burning and bucking and struggling the funnel between an entire sea and that fragile shade behind him His Nether Core trembled struggling to keep up with the strain The veins in RandidlyÆs eyes bulged and then popped as the pressure grew and grew The knuckles of his fingers tightened painfully

Eventually RandidlyÆs three images stepped forward and flared their power They formed a barrier that kept the emotional torrent at acceptable levels letting it steadily pass through him rather than trying to withstand all of it at once His tension rose but his body and soul endured

Afterward Devick spoke Holding my dead and empty daughter I stormed the base of the father He had begun developing an isolated zone to seek the Pinnacle and would only see those who were extremely talented He sat on the summit waiting for applicants to pass his tests

In terms of talent IÆve never met my own rival Every grief ridden I was unstoppable

I made it to the summit I stood before the Master of this place the creator of the Nexus Ways and later the Grand Pattern and begged for his help I couldnÆt understand why my ability had failed Why my daughter had not simply died but had never lived

And do you know what he told me The imprint and birth had failed because HE wasnÆt alive The perfect mate I had fixated on was just a failed image a byproduct of some more powerful beingÆs attempt to reach the Pinnacle And he couldnÆt help me because he had been trying to figure out this problem for his own sake for his entire existence

Somehow I had managed to pick one of the few men in the Nexus who wouldnÆt help be produce the daughter I so desperately wanted

Chapter 1836

The emotion steadily drained away leaving him lying in a new environment

RandidlyÆs jaw cracked as he painstakingly tried to loosen his locked muscles The pain faded but the strain and buzzing sense of being squeezed dry had not even after quite some time Behind him the shades flickered led by the now extremely lifelike looking Devick He twisted his stiff neck and investigated the surroundings

They now had reached a small plateau at the top of the sacred Mountain In front of him a low slope covered in quite a few extremely small mounds led up to two jutting pillars of stone Those pillars leaned together to form a passage from which thin tendrils of mist emerged Even looking at it Randidly felt something strange about that passage the mist exited and curled like stiffening fingers

Weirdly Randidly could relate to stiffness right now

His eyes scanned again looking for anything else Unfortunately the mist obscured the path upward All he could see was the foreground The last small rise to the true summit The strangely lumpy terrain And above them the inner workings of the Grand Pattern churned and spun for all to see and study

But at the moment Randidly was more concerned with getting his body back to working shape He rolled and groaned Another batch of physical suppression huh This feels like 90% So only 10% of my Stats matter for the last portion For a lot of people this basically breaks them back down to before they have a Class

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Impunity has grown to Level 509

Congratulations Your Skill Stigma of the Stillborn Phoenix has grown to Level 421

The strangeness of having his physical prowess reduced combined with the remnant aches and pains of an overstrained body and Nether Core meant that his recovery was quite slow His confused Uncommon Metabolism worked in fits and starts Randidly felt his sluggish blood and stabilizing Nether pumping through his limbs However the Nether he still had was relatively thin surviving that last blast of emotions had drained him of nearly everything

Sighing Randidly pushed himself to his feet The shades looked down at him pity written in large letters across their face To fill the silence he said ThereÆs one thing I donÆt understand Why did the imprint fail so catastrophically

To his surprise an answer came from directly to his right Because the Master is flawed He is imperfection incarnate

It took him a few seconds to swing himself around but when he did RandidlyÆs eyes widened Next to him with shadow colored hair to her shoulders was the shade of Devick that he had encountered in the Third Step You His eyes flicked back over to the other Devick who had crimson hair down most of her back How are you

ThatÆs just how immense our potential is The short haired Devick said with a smirk But then the smile slowly faded as she turned to look at the summit IÆm a remnant that regressed to the Devick we had been before we came to this place She is the Devick of the present And up there right in front of the pillars well IÆm sure you can guess

A Devick of the future Randidly mused Then he shook his head and immediately regretted the violence of the motion But why does that imperfection hurt you IsnÆt everyone imperfect

You foolish whore What are you doing here Return to your Step The long haired Devick stomped forward the air burning with the vicious scowl she aimed at the short haired version of herself If you donÆt IÆll show you how much I managed to improve since casting you aside

How much can you really have improved by working with this master The short haired Devick eyes flashed Compared to our talent that man is

I swear to god IÆll kill you The other Devick growled They both crouched low ready to fight Randidly saw patterns stir ripped by the sudden call of the two Devicks But as the moment lingered both of their faces creased with a deep and unavoidable grief In the end they turned away from each other without blows The long haired Devick spat on the ground

The short haired one turned back to Randidly True all beings are imperfect in execution But in aim they are perfect The Master is missing something So a baby created from his imprint will also always be missing something During that first attempt it was the spark of life that was missed but perhaps

There were no subsequent attempts with failed man children The long haired Devick hissed through her teeth There was no need

Nothing visibly happened but Randidly sensed the shifting Nether between the two Devicks as their gaze locked There was a strange communion of force and significance between them but even Randidly could see that something was horribly wrong with the process The resulting sphere of Nether that manifested in the air and then sank into the Future DevickÆs stomach was bulging and collapsing in strange ways By using the mirrored significance of the same individual

The strengths of Devick are there But the flaws become magnified Randidly observed

The figures blurred slightly as time accelerated through the replayed memory Future DevickÆs belly eventually grew to the point that it pushed out through her veil of hair And then

Failure Future Devick looked dispassionately down at the misshapen flesh she had produced Her eyes were flat and glassy as she tossed the body to the side Randidly shivered to feel the desolation that emanated from her if he could have given that sort of feeling to Claudette he didnÆt doubt she could overcome her fatherÆs machinations Her emotional force seemed endless The body is ill formed LetÆs try again

Try again There was a panicky note to Present DevickÆs voice But Future Devick simply glanced at her That bleak determination smothered any response She lowered her gaze and they once more engaged in the imprinting process

Failure These organs cannot support life

Failure Our image has seeped too deeply into the muscles It will collapse on its own before it can grow

Failure This creature will not have consciousness It is blank flesh

Each time the Future Devick endured the gestation and birth dispassionately Each time she studied the wizened and bloody result and listed why it would not work Then she tossed the baby to the side uninterested in it Steadily Randidly watched as the hundreds of small mounds were created before the doors to the summit The movements of the Grand Pattern became jerky and erratic as though the horrifying ritual wounded the surroundings

However that was nothing compared to when Future Devick began laughing

Heh another failure

Failure hehhahaha

Failure kekeke

This time the Future Devick paused as though she strangled the giggle with her powerful hands By this point the Present Devick had all the light and life leached out of her Although she had been a clone the process of imprinting so many times had sucked the detail out of her body and features until she was nothing but a shade She didnÆt react to the shift in the pattern even while the Future Devick considered

After a strained examination the Future Devick cleared her throat This being physically and mentally fine However its soul

His Present Devick whispered

Future Devick shrugged Ha Irrelevant The soul is quite weak However considering the other results this can be considered the best With the unique properties of our race our son can merge his soul with others and devour them to gain strength

But if the soul is so weak Each word cost Present Devick dearly Although a single imprint cost almost nothing a hundred in a row had blurred her features beyond recognition Yet despite that weakness she persisted desperate to speak What if our son loses the struggle and is absorbed by another Then

Future Devick snorted Then we treat the winner as our son What does it matter who devours who The one who wins is the one who possesses our potential

Chapter 1837

Number Four couldnÆt believe how simple it had been to arrange this chance He was positively giddy with how well things were developing They had arrived at the Path of the Spirit and forced their way upward while Number One grew increasingly desperate and paranoid When they arrived they found Number Two and the Master talking

Needless to say Number One blew his top

You DARE conspire against me Instantly the thick power of the Grand Pattern burst out of Number OneÆs body with enough force to crack the ground beneath him His beard fluttered and he cast his cane to the side His furious eyes were fixed on the somewhat surprised Number Two

The Master shook his head almost sorrowfully His empathy for his students was manufactured and predictable Number One if you refused to let go of your pride

Meanwhile Number TwoÆs usually stoic expression twisted into something as hard as granite He cared about only a few things but this was one of them Aside from Number One he was the longest living Disciple I will not allow you to show such disrespect in front of the Master

What Number Four didnÆt expect was for an equally thick and imposing blast of energy to come from Number Two In terms of potency neither lost out Their patterns grappled with each other spitting out unexpected bursts of force and ripping up stones from the ground Number Four stumbled backward balanced between fear and elation Seeing their true power made Number Four sweat and retreat he was nowhere near their match But so long as they weakened each other sufficiently

The Grand Pattern rumbled and grew unstable as both drew so heavily from its patterns In the sky above the domicile they fought for absolute dominance The already damaged base of the Master shuddered and crumbled as the pressure intensified The remnants of the buildings that had somehow managed to weather the power of ElhumeÆs strike were now ground down by the application of unadulterated force One by one the few remnant walls and pillars disintegrated

Still the pressure built between the two disciples Number One created a series of a dozen small whirlwinds that bent the air with the speed of their rotation while Number Two created a barrier of force around him that seemed to concentrate his entire power across its surface Both refused to back down

The Master sighed If you truly insist on this foolishness

Die Number One roared earning a lip twitch from the Master when he was interrupted His whirlwinds shot forward like humming ballista bolts Number Two clapped his hands and the barrier became a blade that cut sideways

Number FourÆs eyes glittered Heh now that youÆve antagonized Master it wonÆt even matter if you win easily Number One You might be strong but you are still a hundred years too early to challenge eh

Number OneÆs whirlwinds accelerated faster than Number FourÆs eyes could follow Which meant that he couldnÆt figure out what was going on for a few murky seconds Because it seemed that the whirlwinds were slamming into the area not around Number Two but against a hastily erected defensive barrier in front of the Master And meanwhile

Eh Number Four blinked several times as his reactions caught up a second too late His lower have was severed by Number TwoÆs powerful strike Number Four was falling slowly backward through the air and the other two Disciples twisted to face the Master now suddenly acting in concert

To Number FourÆs relief the Master seemed just as shocked as he had been His barrier began to crack beneath the continued bombardment of whirlwinds You What What

I officially contest the Path of Spirit Number One announced The MasterÆs face became cloudy with rage but both of their bodies faded away Soon they reappeared about twenty meters above their original position They floated within the depths of this portion of the Grand Pattern now in an official duel for control of the Path

Heh Hahahahaha The Master threw his head back and laughed Well I didnÆt see this coming When did you and Number Two well no matter Did you think this would be enough to dethrone me of control All of this is mine YouÆve grown fat on my milk and now you think you know it better than I do Insolence

I can defeat you Number One responded confidently Below Number FourÆs body finally hit the ground The pain shocked him awake and injected desperation into his movements He raised his right arm and realized his forearm had been cut off Then he raised his left and grasped at the air His own understanding trickled out of his gummy brain and into his hand But just as soon as his own Grand Pattern began to manifest Number Two unleashed another blast and destroyed his attempt

While his struggles continued below the face off above rumbled forward

You fool The Master hissed The Grand Pattern stirred around him and the whole mountain seemed to come alive The air and stone shook with his rising emotions You control the Path of Bone you contest the Path of Spirit and I control the Path of Blood You believe it will be an even confrontation but there is one thing you didnÆt know

After Future DevickÆs ominous words the Present Devick seemed to wilt All the details of her sharp eyes and determined mouth seeped from her face and her gaze lowered to the ground She began to fade away and merge into the Mountain

Meanwhile Future Devick continued to inspect the twitching baby in her hands Then she nodded in satisfaction She truly seemed prepared to raise this strange self made baby although it was hard for Randidly to picture her having any sort of nurturing instinct in her after what she had witnessed

Before she left however she turned and made several sharp gestured with her hand toward the two stone pillars Do not think youÆve escaped culpability Especially now as you refuse to speak to me For dealing me such a grievous blow hehe I first will erect a barrier here that provides additional physical suppression It will therefore be impossible for anyone to walk this Path to the summit This Path of Blood will rot

The stone pillars glowed as some new restriction activated Then she drew a complicated swirl in the air However just in case I will also leave a curse here Any who dares walk through to the summit will bear a jinx left by me It will consume them if they donÆt kill you Let that be the cost for fraternizing with this damned Master

Then that shade turned and left The mist receded somewhat leaving Randidly alone in the area with the shades that followed him to this point Both the short and long haired Devicks looked bitterly at the two stones releasing mist

The short haired one spoke first Ignorance is truly bliss A mandate to kill the Master or die That old bastard wonÆt be easy to drag down Is there really no other way to proceed through to the summit

The long haired version spun and snarled at the other Devick You truly wish to still go to that place After how much weÆve lost

I know that arriving there will earn me nothing But there is always meaning in accomplishing your goals If not for that curse

Randidly felt a very foolish and particularly stubborn part of himself rising to the surface as he began to walk forward He could already feel additional formations engaging around him laying thick bands of force across his body His unwillingness to meekly ascent burned emerald in his eyes There might be a jinx left by you but weÆve already come all this way It would be a shame to turn around now so close to our goal LetÆs at least give it a try

You will die Even slightly unhinged do you think my displeasure is easy to bear The long haired Devick hissed Once you are afflicted there will be no escape

Shrugging Randidly didnÆt bother with the shades any longer Besides as he stepped forward he felt them all silent A massive working of significance stirred to life behind him At the same time the physical restriction grew Randidly couldnÆt help but laugh the restriction reached 99% of his physical prowess

Influence +1 304

Randidly walked right up to the two stones observing the mist It wasnÆt the Grand Pattern here that restricted the way forward but a simple increased weight formation Randidly felt his arms begin to tremble His weight was tripled and he was pressed down to 1% of his Stats To most people this was an impossible weight But for him

Primordial Nether Juju made it simplicity itself Randidly stepped into the mist A swirling pattern emerged on the two stone pillars But the pillars werenÆt the main source of its power The horrible working drew most of its power from the hundred odd mounds spread throughout the area

As advertised a jinx began to seep down into his body But as Randidly felt it he showed a vicious grin His formidable annihilating force of Nether mobilized in his chest as he read the notification

Congratulations Error Due to unusual circumstances you have gained the Skill Cursed Fates of the Unborn Lvl 1

I can feel all the horrible karma contained in this Skill His Nether billowed out through his body and kept the madness tinged emotions at bay But also

Influence +76 109

Randidly wanted to stand arms akimbo and laugh as the sea of significance pressing down on this place surged into his body The Future Devick finally paid back the Nether investment by letting me absorb the significance of all these unfortunate souls And then some

Influence +37 842

Chapter 1838

Randidly lowered his head and advanced Rather than walking he mostly had to raise his leg and swing the foot around to place back down in front of him He had the physical prowess to overcome his magnified weight but the combination of restrictions on him interacted in strange ways His more minute muscle groups that relied on tendons could barely move leaving the process almost entirely to the bigger muscle groups

Above him the sickly red lines crawled across the stone pillars More and more significance flowed along into his body and toward his new Skill drawn like iron shavings to a massive magnet Taking another step Randidly marshaled more dense Nether to his Willpower and prepared to annihilate this dangerous new Skill before it could affect him much

Influence +982

After the enormous burst at the start the influx of Influence from the mounds began to slow However the significance continued to wrap around Randidly and invigorate his Nether Core The mist thickened as he delved deeper into the final path and the ground sloped up beneath him His legs trembled slightly from the strain the additional elevation wasnÆt as easy as Randidly expected

One step at a time RandidlyÆs morose expression was the only constant as he toiled

Thick drops of sweat oozed down to his chin where they then hung until they were dislodged by the quaking jolt of his footfalls However that was the least of his worries Randidly began to hear and see deformed twisted infants floating around him watching him with dead white eyes and vanishing when he turned to regard them directly

Their forms varied and he couldnÆt examine them too closely but their base form seemed to resemble a fleshy spectral slug At their tip a pinched face of jumbled features broadcast some combination of pain fear and bitterness

This Despite his extensive experience fighting while in the Nexus it was an entirely new sort of unsettling to have the seething mist around you morph into cast aside babies when you werenÆt looking He took another step up the slope a few drops of sweat fell off his chin Out of the corner of his eyes he could sense a fetus chewing on its own fingers to his left Its mouth sat high in its face so it somehow managed to chew on the digits while peering balefully between his fingers Randidly immediately mobilized as much Nether as he quickly gathered Yea I do not need this sort of distraction when I reach the summit of this place and find whatÆs waiting there

But when he mobilized the Nether the Stillborn Phoenix began to crackle with powerful electromagnetic radiation RandidlyÆs expression softened as he felt the empathy his impossible image had for the cast aside babies that had degraded to become ill will and significance on this isolated mountain

Are you sure Randidly thought The Stillborn Phoenix rumbled affirmatively the black hole continually devouring light and emotion in the surrounding area With his next step RandidlyÆs foot dispersed a thick clump of mist As it spread away from the impact it morphed into a half dozen crying faces that tumbled across the ground RandidlyÆs lips twitched

and will you be able to ah help teach them a bit of discipline

Influence +904

Congratulations Your Skill Stigma of the Stillborn Phoenix has grown to Level 425

To that question the Stillborn Phoenix could only remain silent Growling to himself at his misbehaving protegeÆs Randidly did his best to ignore the continued appearance of the unborn souls he now carried He allowed the annihilating bath of Nether to disperse at least for now Almost as though they understood they had been spared they grew increasingly bold in their actions The hairs along RandidlyÆs back tingled as tiny hands gripped his skin and skittered through a series of expeditions to investigate his body

But at the same time Randidly ponderously shook his head and stopped ignoring the slew of notifications he received

Congratulations Your Skill Cursed Fates of the Unborn has grown to Level 29 Upstodatee from

Congratulations Your Skill Cursed Fates of the Unborn has grown to Level 53

How the hell am I gaining Skill Levels so quickly Hopefully its not because the curse on my body is growing stronger

He ignored the continued stream of notifications and pushed upward through the mist Pebbles skittered underneath his feet tiny kickballs knocked around by the slug like haunts that now played in the corners of his vision The gradient grew steeper as he continued too so Randidly grunted with the exertion of proceeding

His Grim Intuition sometimes caught the briefest hint of the other shades creeping behind him including the short and long haired Devick But then the Unborn swarmed back and the shades could only retreat leaving Randidly alone in the mist

RandidlyÆs jaw briefly dropped He couldnÆt suppress the impulse to look at Unborn which made them melt and recede The quivering carp heaved a sigh of relief But then Randidly raised his gaze toward the vast blue sky and the feeding frenzy continued with renewed enthusiasm These Unborn can devour other significance and turn it into my Influence

Influence +14 993

Congratulations Your Skill Cursed Fates of the Unborn has grown to Level 150

By now Randidly was only a few Influence short of five hundred thousand Which meant he could either choose to upgrade his Nether Core or weaponize these Unborn to absorb an obscene amount of Influence thereby increasing his Weight permanently

But as soon as that thought occurred to Randidly his expression grew cloudy He pursed his lips Ideally I could allow these strange spirits to develop but there are two problems First there is the matter of Devick If she still exists somewhere in the Nexus would she have some power over me if I keep these as part of my Aether and significance And secondly thereÆs the matter of the curse Devick left Devouring this strange carp which seems to be the controller of this Path is one thing but if I donÆt find and slay the Master of the entire Mountain

A pop pulled RandidlyÆs attention to the side The familiar figure of the bearded man who had introduced Randidly to the Grand Pattern suddenly appeared on the summit next to him In the pond the Unborn reacted to the arrival of this strange by furiously swallowing the few remaining tidbits of the carp However they didnÆt eat its flesh just sapped something vital from it A ghastly depleted grey carp remained as they retreated

Influence +2 101

The bearded man looked around and then boomed out a laugh Ha Ahaahaha You made it to the summit This is better than I could have hoped for You

RandidlyÆs leg twitched as the Unborn scurried up the back of his calf congregating in a massive spectral mass behind his lower back Their small fingers tickled his sides as they peeked out around to view this interloper with suspicion

However what had interrupted the bearded man was the arrival of another bearded individual this one looking like he had used a few more years cultivating his facial hair and his dignified aura In addition to his leonine visage his presence immediately affected the patterns on the summit

The UnbornÆs fingers sharpened and dug into RandidlyÆs side as they looked at that man

The newest arrival surveyed the summit in but a moment before snorting powerfully and unleashed a blast of the Grand Pattern His furious eyes turned to the first arrival If you think that this strange helper will be able to eh

Congratulations Your Skill Motif of the Hungry Deep has grown to Level 332

The new man blinked at Randidly who waved a hand and used ripples to weaken the Grand Pattern blast until it lapped harmlessly against him His eyes narrowed as he studied this powerful figure So considering the reaction of the Unborn you are the Master huh

Perfect The man with the lesser beard grinned Then he gestured grandly No reason to delay I officially contest the Path of Blood

His shout echoed across the summit with a surging momentum but otherwise nothing happened Randidly was unsure of what he was supposed to witness but both of the bearded individuals seemed stunned by this lack of development

You The bearded man looked up toward the sky How my remnant consciousness has been devoured Impossible

As surreptitiously as possible Randidly reached down into the pond and grabbed the carp no matter what was going on he needed to draw the Master out into a fight in order to confront the curse Devick had created It only took a glance to note that both were similarly restricted by this are they could utilize the Grand Pattern but couldnÆt manifest their own images And under those circumstances Randidly was very confident in his ability to endure and survive

Plus based on how antagonistic the two seemed to each other so long as Randidly had some leverage

As soon as he touched the carp Randidly realized he had made a mistake Just like with DevickÆs shades a large portion of his Nether unspooled and flew up to fill the sky The dizzying rush made him sway and almost collapse He was unsure of the details but Randidly surmised that he had now somehow claimed ownership of the Path of Blood

Both of the bearded men swung to face Randidly in the very next moment From their expressions they had sensed the same thing he did Neither seemed very pleased with this development

Chapter 1839

The strained moment of indecision endured for several seconds as the three individuals on the summit of the Path of Blood considered how to proceed The Master eyed both of the challengers to his authority suspiciously The man who had invited RandidlyÆs mouth worked without sound hinting at the chaotic mess of his mind

And Randidly watched them both his attention split equally between figuring out what sort of power he had obtained by grabbing the carp and estimating his own chances of surviving in a conflict with both of them The lines around his eyes tightened as he admitted to himself it would be difficult Even if IÆm quite sturdy and their images are limited by the Mountain and even if I have so many new abilities that I canÆt figure them all out they are both old figures in the Nexus Against both of them

Randidly kept his gaze focused and intense hiding the unease he felt Showing weakness now would be a very bad idea

Luckily when someone finally broke the silence Randidly wasnÆt the chosen target

The Master snorted with even more gusto than he had previously stirring complex patterns into being around his body They gathered especially closely around his left arm His narrowed eyes regarded the other man Number One Even I must admit that IÆm surprised by what you have accomplished Who knew that you had created a piece that could climb the Path of Blood under his own power But even so your rebellion was poorly conceived

For a brief moment Number OneÆs face flickered with indecision He glanced at Randidly clearly weighing his options On the one hand he could agree with the MasterÆs incorrect read that this was all his plan Yet it was clear he saw Randidly as a rogue element From Number OneÆs response when he first appeared he definitely didnÆt expect him to climb this high Combined with the fact that even now RandidlyÆs consciousness continued to spread across the sky Upstodatee from

the more RandidlyÆs consciousness spread the more the lingering clouds and remnant breezes above took on a particular flavor Because of his inexperience with whatever ability he had just gained the patterns on the whole of the Path of Blood began to take on the organization he had invented to become the Moirae of Ripples He tried to slow that transition but his attempts of were understandably rough it was like acquiring a new and unfamiliar limb His first few experiments resulted in little more than flailing And flying with this broad power

Congratulations Your Skill Motif of the Hungry Deep has grown to Level 333

Congratulations Your Skill Motif of the Hungry Deep has grown to Level 361

The clouds darkened above them The winds hadnÆt yet coalesced to become a maelstrom yet but RandidlyÆs attempts to control his ability seemed to just hasten the process The consciousness in the sky based on him seemed to take his movements as prodding to accelerate its efforts to overwhelm the surroundings

Randidly felt somewhat helpless a storm of his making that he couldnÆt control above him and hundreds of malicious baby spirits clinging to his back and glaring hatefully at the Master Is it too much to hope that I wonÆt look very dangerous to Number One

His beard billowing the Master swayed around the strikes He opened his left hand and closed it again robbing Number One of the dangerous attacks he used But Randidly didnÆt miss how the gesture was much slower than it had been ItÆs becoming more difficult for him to disperse the ripples and gather them If we push him a little further

Randidly sucked in a breath His mind rose and filled the sky The strange out of body experience made his head throb but he endured With his third attempt Randidly directly generated a horrifying maelstrom of electromagnetic radiation light radiation natural force and dangerous patterns He channeled all that force into a sharp wind and scythed down at the Master

A common wind blade that had tortured him immensely during his ascent now remade with enough power to obliterate even RandidlyÆs powerful body

Congratulations Your Skill Cutting Tide of Amenonuhoko has grown to Level 602

The Master took a step forward and grasped His fingers seemed to be rusted from the exaggerated slowness but all of RandidlyÆs force was suppressed The wind blade vanished plucked directly from existence Number One gathered himself and lashed out again but he paled as the Master seemed to ignore his drilling strikes and reached for the cup The mist stirred and the ripples began to curve back on themselves once more

You dare ignore me Number One howled He blurred into motion leaping forward with fully formed patterns empowering the motion All his potential seemed condensed into this sudden explosion Randidly prepared his own counterattack but then hesitated when the Master vanished and left the cup floating in the air And to his incredulity and alarm the Master appeared in front of him

Do you think your petty combination canÆt be broken Heh The MasterÆs eyes bored into Randidly Up close it was easier to feel the aura of timelessness that clung to his body I donÆt know how you avoided the defenses but the Path of Blood is very picky about its owner And you Heh Watch this I contest the Path of Blood

After he spoke the words Randidly felt something resonant in the sky His consciousnessÆs connection with the Path dimmed It hadnÆt been severed completely but during the challenge his influence had been reduced He stepped back and took a fighting stance but just ended up jerking right back forward he found his feet had been rooted to the ground His body swayed as he kept his balance RandidlyÆs eyebrows shot upward as he felt a strange surge of heat through his entire body He felt suddenly very very light His eyes widened in recognition This feeling

In front of him the dignified and respectful form of the Master visibly exploded His robe shredded as the manÆs body swelled into an impossibly large muscle bound brick house that would make any bodybuilder drool With a grin on his grotesque new face he raised a fist wrapped in pulsing veins The Path of Blood was one of my first Paths It harkens back to a more primitive time Therefore the challenge to rule it is very specific And for someone like you who cheated his way to the top

Stop Number One gathered up his whirlwinds and launched a volley at the MasterÆs back but Randidly felt his own power moving to stop the Number OneÆs attempts Without even his direction the imprint he left on the Path reached out and unraveled those whirlwinds by pulling apart the binding ripples that formed them

At least I know I can fare well against Number One RandidlyÆs lips twitched Then he turned to face the Master whose body twisted with kinetic force A punch from an arm as thick as an old growth oak tree accelerated at RandidlyÆs chest As for you

The punch landed Randidly didnÆt even have to take a step back The Master blinked in shock Even Number One stumbled stunned by the total lack of response

The familiar and comforting heat continued to spread through his limbs With the challenge for control over the Path of Blood the 99% physical restriction that Randidly had struggled under vanished without a trace He had an amused look on his face as he raised his hands and cracked his knuckles Based on the context IÆm guessing its my turn

Chapter 1840

You The Master released his words in a soft whisper The air around them stalled covered by the strange restriction that came along with the challenge He looked from his own fist to RandidlyÆs chest How is your body so powerful

Randidly squeezed his fist until his knuckles popped His blood stampeded through his veins bringing with it more and more physical power

He then leaned forward and whipped his arm around The motion was sharp and natural Just like when Randidly had been stuck the MasterÆs muscular form remained rooted to the ground Perhaps when the Master had looked like a frail scholar he could have dodged but his swollen body was essentially a punching bag to Randidly All fourteen hundred and ninety two of his Primordial Nether Juju burned to life Each of those individual Stats burned with a little extra potency at the moment due to the significance of this challenge

As soon as RandidlyÆs blow landed the challenge zone shattered The MasterÆs chest caved in beneath his fist revealing shards of broken ribs poking up through his fleshy sides RandidlyÆs connection to the sky immediately reasserted itself stronger than ever