LoRG 4

However Randidly narrowed his eyes as the locked foot position vanished and the Master flew backward He seemed to have immediately sensed his inability to defeat Randidly in that way and threw himself to lessen the force of the blow And now borrowing the power of RandidlyÆs strike he rushed right back toward his cup

Number One grinned now that the barrier had vanished He had recovered more quickly than the Master and had been furious conjuring tiny whirlwinds Do you think IÆd miss this chance

Randidly flexed his fingers savoring the heat Another wave of attacks rushed toward the Master Despite having a fist sized depression deforming his chest he adroitly tumbled and grasped with his left hand The challenge had given him some time to deplete the suppressed ripples so he handled Number OneÆs attacks in a series of two quick snatches Then he waved his right hand physically backhanding Number One and sending him sprawling Compared to the average person the Master was probably quite imposing

This time he just picked the wrong opponent The heat in RandidlyÆs body flared

You two will pay The Master began but his words were cut off as Randidly landed in front of him with enough force to crack the ground

Randidly bent his knees his eyes wild with glee His image physicalizations flared an event horizon forming in his left eye grey black armor covering his torso and legs thick golden veins pulsing in his limbs The physical restrictions of the mountain were rapidly tightening on his body but for a few seconds Randidly had access to his actual dominant physical prowess He whipped a left hook around and slammed it into the MasterÆs side Even as the Master spat out a surprised gasp Randidly released disruptive ripples directly into his body That should slow down his healing

The Master was blasted sideways by RandidlyÆs strike but Randidly spun sideways and brought a vicious kick around that stopped the Master dead and folded him over like a sheet Burning with heat Randidly raised his hands and hammered the Master down into the ground By the time he bounced back up his preparations were complete Upstodatee from

RandidlyÆs fingers curled into a palm strike that he slammed against the MasterÆs side A dangerous core of grey energy ripped forward

Can you strike now that heÆs been pummeled Randidly asked the Unborn as his attack landed Spiraling patterns swam around his arm and dug into the MasterÆs side spraying blood in dribbling arcs across the stone ground Finally the restrictions caught back up to RandidlyÆs body

Congratulations Your Skill Dragon QueenÆs Sinister Tongue has grown to Level 516

You The Master howled as he was bounced away and slammed against the ground Perhaps under the same returning restrictions as Randidly his inflated body began to shrivel Behind Randidly the Unborn chittered to each other in their misshapen mouths but ultimately shook their heads

The Master needed to be weakened further before they could devour him A physical beating was not enough

The grey masterless Path floated in the air behind Randidly His Nether accelerated trying to finish the working in time The lines around his eyes tightened it would be a close thing The Master pivoted his face pinched with confusion How is this possible YouÆve erased my connection to the Path of Dreams Well no matter So long as you exist within my realm

The Nether Ritual finally arranged itself and activated Randidly felt a humming resonance in his chest but otherwise experienced no discomfort Compared to swallowing words a single Mountain Path was much easier Randidly used his authority to seize upon a strip of the isolated space and ripped it out

Congratulations Your Skill Precise Nether Ritual has grown to Level 440

Below them the summit the storm the mountain paths everything vanished While everyone else was locked by the frozen ripples the Master began to fall down toward a howling gash in space Much more than when he had been physically struck he now was half mad with pain

Randidly felt the restriction steadily loosening His face steadily shifted toward a frown I could steal the Path of Blood because of the connection I had with it but I technically didnÆt steal the whole mountain This place the Master layered the Paths on top of each other I took the outside of the mountain but the inner portions still exist However my forceful removal appears to have wounded this place

And wounds to the space

A flickering phantasm of the mountain surface Randidly had just gobbled down waxed and waned The significance of it held it briefly in place Crackling bolts of electromagnetic discharge snaked up and down along the boundary The Master twisted in his fall looking down with wide eyes Whatever rend had been generated in the layered fabric of this place gradually weakened the restriction on ripples Slowly at first then returning to a normal velocity Number One and Randidly began to fall

Number One eyed Randidly suspiciously but ultimately he appeared to bury the hatchet I will remember this favor You have weakened his dominance in the area But I can take it from here The Master is my prey

Randidly nodded not really minding if Number One did the dirty work for him Whirlwinds condensed around the old manÆs feet and he accelerated downward after the Master Meanwhile Randidly kicked lightly off ripples and hopped back up His hand reached out and he grasped the grey cup that symbolized the connection with the Path of Dreams

As happened before he immediately felt some new connection form to a distant area There waves of color and emotion surged in an endless chaotic sea of neon flashes and confusing shapes The cup in his hand lightened to become emerald and began to leak black gas into the surrounding space

RandidlyÆs overtaxed mind buzzed barely able to support the additional strain Just as soon as he touched the Path of Dreams he rapidly retreated his consciousness and allowed it to shift naturally He didnÆt have the spare attention for it now That place is quite different than the Path of Blood

Luckily it seemed like no one else noticed Randidly had taken over the discarded Path likely they had only noticed the development related to the Path of Blood based on the fact that they were standing on it

Number One rushed downward flanked by fifty of his small whirlwind missiles The Master twisted around and grasped with his left hand but the limb had once more taken on the revealing slowness The whirlwinds vanished but Number One had seen this move too many times He only created only six this time shooting them rapidly downward

The Master gritted his teeth He splayed out the fingers of his right hand and unleashed force spikes that deflected the whirlwinds away from him In the end nothing has changed I rule here

Feel free to rule from your grave Number One descended on wings of judgment His deflected whirlwinds swam in long arcs racing toward the MasterÆs back With agonizing slowness the Master closed his hand one more time The attacks vanished before they could harm him

But Number One just grinned triumphantly Whirlwinds appeared on his hands and feet granting him a boost of speed The Master roared and once again all the ripples lurched to a stop But only a second later that effect frayed and vanished

The whirlwinds allowed Number One to close the distance and bring a whirlwind covered fist down on the MasterÆs stomach The impact ripped through his robe and sprayed chunks of flesh Behind RandidlyÆs back the Unborn began to whisper excitedly it was almost time

Chapter 1841

Number One finally felt a cautious flare of triumph as the MasterÆs body tore through the strange spacial rifts earning several deep gashes for his uncontrolled landing and crashed down through into the cave systems of the mountain While the stone dust settled Number One proceeded more carefully down through the unstable space and shattered rocks and alighted on the ground

The Master was pushing himself out of a small crater Dark fluids oozed out of the corner of his mouth and through the deep wounds on his torso In the corner of the now destroyed cave some scandalized minor Disciple watched the suddenly arrived Master and Number One with wide eyes Number OneÆs lips twitched and he flicked a finger the unfortunate witnessÆs head exploded before he could even understand what was happening

Better remove any more uncertain elements now

You cannot overcome me I am this place The MasterÆs chest was heaving The wounds inflicted by Randidly Ghosthound continued to trouble him making the movement more heaving and sputtering than any sort of productive motion Without me everything will collapse

You overestimate yourself Number One said coolly as he walked forward His steps were unhurried he couldnÆt decide if he should let the Master weaken a bit from his leaking wounds or strike quickly before he recovered But more than anything else he was oddly incensed that the attack he just inflicted was rapidly healing while RandidlyÆs endured His expression hardened annoyed at these details None are my equal

Heh I can already see your pride curdling in your chest Despite his wounds the Master favored Number One with a sinister smile Do you feel invalidated knowing that it was your invitee not you that managed to push me to such a state Heh heh compared to him you are nothing

Then you are less than nothing Look at you collapsed before me Number One hissed He threw caution to the wind and struck In response the previously feeble Master twisted and unleashed a spike of pure force The previous force spikes paled into this massive obliterating drill Number One instantly generated a patterned spring absorbing the offensive blast and rebounding it directly back toward its maker The Master scuttled sideways but Number growled in triumph as the force spike blew off the masterÆs right foot Upstodatee from

Dripping blood the Master hopped from wall to wall like a leaping spider His lighting fast movements soon carried him to the passage leading deeper into the mountain but Number One expertly created a loop of patterns and pulled the Master back into the middle of the cave

He had many tricks such as these all designed for this moment

Impudence The Master howled His left hand seemed to finally be loosening but his right started flinging out force spikes without limits Number One ducked under most rebounding others to further weaken the volley It only took him five seconds to cross the distance and stand over the Master once again

Number OneÆs lip curled upward as the Master unleashed a huge wave of force He mobilized the pattern he had spent the last hundred years perfecting Instantly all the energy of the attack was funneled away dispersing harmlessly behind him The Master had once used it in front of Number One to punish the previous Number One meaning he had many a night to ponder how to counter it It is too late you old fool I stand above you your Path of Spirit belongs to me

Number One felt the acknowledgment of the Path as he stood above the paling Master The old man coughed out a thick mouthful of blood You cannot

I can of course Number One felt the connection establishing itself Power filled his body he now controlled two Paths in this isolated Zone the Path of Bone and the Path of Spirit That gave him a majority control

Shaking his bed Randidly didnÆt bother to hide his amusement You really misunderstand I do intend to get rid of you But I suppose itÆs more accurate to say that IÆm here to collect a very old debt

A debt The Master spat out a mouthful of blood Some of his former arrogance returned to his features as he leveraged himself up into a sitting position Let me assure you I own nothing to the outside world I made this isolated space to escape from other entanglements This is my sanctuary And despite how you think this interaction will go the place from which I will finally escape when IÆm ready

Randidly didnÆt bother to answer Instead he gestured and the Unborn finally crept out from his shadow Their bodies remained sluglike but their malevolence twisted their features into something even more horrifying than he had been expecting Their eyes deepened to empty graves as they examined their prey

Immediately the Master became alarmed You What You are connected with that woman Please she acted independently Ahh

The Unborn pounced forward biting off thick chunks of his flesh Unlike with the items they actually devoured the substance of the Master Randidly pressed his eyes closed disturbed by the wet sounds of teeth mashing and bone crunching It was perhaps better to say that they werenÆt eating the Master himself but his consciousness this isolated world was his body

Influence +191 077

Congratulations Your Skill Cursed Fates of the Unborn has grown to Level 385

Holy shit RandidlyÆs expression flickered as significance flowed through the Cursed Fates of the Unborn and entered into his body A shudder ran through him His Nether Core rapidly absorbed the newly added significance and churned out thick waves of Nether At this point Randidly had gathered so much potency that his Nether seemed alive like oily tentacles from an undersea monster The more the Unborn feasted the more Influence flowed into him

Influence +75 221

Eventually the MasterÆs screams tapered off leaving Randidly with only the sounds of the UnbornÆs mouths working He turned away and opened his eyes surprised to find that the three shades of Devick stood there watching

You know what I hate about this Master and his damned Mountain most of all The short haired Devick asked with a shake of her head

The long haired Devick gave Randidly a lopsided grin Next to her the first imprinted shade was already beginning to disintegrate and fade They always have a justification for the proper method I can feel these vague platitudes everywhere True power in the world is related to reacting or preparation or creation or violence etc

The long haired Devick began to fade as well until only the Devick who was completely obscured by her hair was left She crouched in front of the twitching body of the Master while the Unborn finished their meal Only when the Master had been completely consumed and the Unborn crawled fat and full back to Randidly that she raised her head

Listen well Randidly Ghosthound From within her crimson hair Randidly saw two eyes filled with madness His personality had the foundation of his Nether Core but even he felt alarmed at the strange sort of temptation to see the seething mass of emotions this woman contained She was the worst sort of siren who would happily lead you to your own doom But it was also undeniable that she possessed immense power There is only one true method to power ItÆs actually quite simple win So long as you keep winning you will never lose

Chapter 1842

So long as you keep winning you will never lose

The words hung in the air bitter and deeply worn as though she repeated that one phrase to herself over and over again Randidly observed the wild haired Devick with a tight frown on his face He could practically feel the heat of her determination what had transpired had warped her to become absolutely obsessed with success

His gaze then went to the location where the MasterÆs body had been nestled in the cracked ground Blood still stained the stone in a rough approximation of his splayed body To be honest the Master couldnÆt really be blamed for what had happened to her He didnÆt encourage her to try and imprint on him The only action he took was turning away when DevickÆs independent actions blew up in her face His fate yes he acted cruelly but he likely didnÆt deserve this

I let him die for no true crimes And I benefitted greatly from it Damnit

Randidly looked at his Nether Core Stats with a complex expression

Weight 591 (+61) (+70) (+52) (+49) (+80) (+63)

Connections 1 911 242 177

Influence 1 113 002/

Devouring the Master had pushed his Influence over one million in a huge leap where he had previously been worried about accumulating five hundred thousand By absorbing the significance the Master had gathered through his long life he had pushed RandidlyÆs Nether toward a qualitative change and gained a huge boon for his evolution to the Legendary Rarity Nether Core It was to the point that he was now tempted to wait even longer to evolve it to gain more Weight in the transformation

Randidly pressed his eyes closed and shook his head It wasnÆt a good idea to make those decisions now He had just pushed his mind to the limit studying the Grand Pattern and then helping Number One against the Grand Master He needed some rest Decisions could wait until after his headache subsided

In front of him in the destroyed stone cave DevickÆs shade finally stirred She raised a hand and beckoned As agreed for helping me deal with the Master you are cursed no longer You can retain the PP you earned but the Skill shall become inert

However Randidly felt something stirring in his chest immediately as Devick acted The Stillborn Phoenix snarled its event horizon shaking from the naked avarice it felt Crackling lightning bolts and unpredictable bursts of light formed a shield around Randidly trapping the Unborn against his body Its howls became audible even through the image restriction of the mountain it did not wish for the spirits to leave The kinship it had found with them was a precious thing

Randidly shook his head sadly I know how lonely you are I know how you see yourself in them But that doesnÆt mean you can keep them here If you do they will just resent you Maybe even try to devour you someday

The Stillborn PhoenixÆs burst of power faltered slightly He could feel its indecision It timidly suggested that perhaps they didnÆt actually want to leave and this shade was forcing them to depart But even after only a few seconds of the image barrier being erected the Unborn swarmed out and slammed themselves against the impediment While the Stillborn Phoenix hesitated some of the more malicious Unborn began to gnaw on the lightning and open small holes

The trumpeters allowed their clarion song to echo across the grand staging ground behind the Military High Command building Flags flapped in the wind the only movement in the massive space Lady Iellaya stayed rigidly at attention unwilling to allow even the slightest flaw in her salute Next to her stood Commandant Wick who might be even more rigid than she

Around them the rest of the Commandants also stood at attention Behind them the various remnant soldiers of Military High Command stood with an equal mixture of anxiety and duty in their expressions

Preesent The orator called The various soldiers marched sharply to either side revealing a long and thin path between them They pivoted and saluted toward the path For several long seconds the dusty path remained unoccupied The wind continued to blow sending the flags wagging

Then the wind too died All was still in preparation

There were spots along the side of the parade ground where civilians usually were allowed to witness but those were currently barren Considering the current state of violence in the Nexus none dared leave their private worlds to go to Military High Command especially after the recent infighting that had occurred

Only the Engraving guild had sent a group which was more token than anything else They watched with a strange sort of dread in their eyes unsure of what this new development meant for the Nexus

Lady Iellaya shared their worry

The air above the parade ground rippled imperceptibly Extremely powerful images drifted downward causing Lady Iellaya to shiver Based on what Commandant Wick had told her even some of the old monsters who had obtained Tier III citizenship and lived in the Upper Nexus had come to observe this event ElhumeÆs appearances were always sporadic but he had been essentially out of contact since so many individuals invaded the Path to the Pinnacle Which meant that most of the power in the Nexus sat in the hands of Military High Command and NLC