LoRG 4

Neither answered so the only noise was the sound of AlanaÆs wound being cauterized

After a few seconds Alana pulled her hand away from the charred flesh Her face hadnÆt even twitched I think I was confused before the match began I thought my role was to show you that you werenÆt quite there yet But you are there huh No what IÆm really supposed to do is show you whatÆs next

She reached up and rubbed her chin idly as though lost in thought I had always planned for five Revelations But it wasnÆt until I was here that I realized how my role can only carry me so far I cannot allow the role to become who I am the life and the vessel must be in balance with each other So this Fourth Revelation I cannot separate it from who I am And when you punched me Paolo I realized how much I want to win Right now Alana Donal wants to win more than almost anything else I donÆt want today to end in regrets

Her right arm was still hanging uselessly at her side but the flames on AlanaÆs left hand grew more intense Wincing Paolo settled into a defensive stance Kayle crossed his knives in front of his torso It was clear that he was having difficulty keeping the knives steady

The Fifth Revelation Alana said quietly Want

Chapter 1471

If AlanaÆs first four Revelations were about the emotions she experienced from interacting directly with Randidly Ghosthound the Fifth Revelation was her honest response to the news that he would be leaving and that she didnÆt possess the strength to follow him It was for that reason that Alana refused to stop getting up no matter how many times she was smashed into the ground

The previous night before she had gone to have dinner with Hank Alana Donal had gone to speak with Randidly she wanted to request that he take her and Wivanya along with him to the Nexus

Some part of her had understood that the request was rather unreasonable She and Randidly hadnÆt even had much interaction lately In addition she was aware vaguely of the gulf that existed between her own power and that of Randidly Ghosthound The scent of his images lingered in the air around his island constantly fascinating Alana If she went with him at her current power level she would only be a burden on him She could understand that But she also believed that by training with Randidly directly she would be able to quickly advance across most of the gap between them

Randidly had been in a lengthy meeting with Gertrude Collins when Alana had arrived at Town Hall and inquired with Tatiana so she had decided to politely wait until he was finished During the time that she was waiting Helen also came to talk about something with Randidly so the idle duo had agreed to grab a coffee to stall for a bit of time and see if the meeting finished soon

During that coffee Alana Donal had confessed the reason that she wanted to talk to Randidly was to ask whether she could come with him to the Nexus Helen had been silent for several seconds after she heard that and then set down her cup with a click Follow me

Then she had taken Alana to the training arena and tossed her a training spear Almost by instinct Alana caught the spear and frowned You want to spar right now

I just want to teach you a bit of fear Helen had responded in a voice that Alana had taken as being filled with arrogance And so she had tightened her grip on the spear and fought against Helen without holding anything back Although it was a little over twelve hours to the finals Alana had freely unleashed all four of the Revelations she had

At the end of the spar Helen had crouched next to the wheezing Alana Donal Think deeply about what your role in the life of Randidly Ghosthound truly is Only come back to make this request if you are absolutely sure of your answer

Which was why Alana had shown up at HankÆs covered in blood sweat and dirt She had been truly and utterly suppressed in a way that she hadnÆt experienced in quite a while Even when Randidly had become the avatar of the Grim Chimera in his challenge against Donnyton Alana hadnÆt felt so helpless She hadnÆt been able to reach him there but it had felt like he was only a short distance away

This was different Because in HelenÆs image there was an implacable certainty that Alana couldnÆt currently rival It wasnÆt confidence and it wasnÆt just concrete Willpower projecting a conclusion

Helen simply knew her role implicitly That certainty eliminated all hesitation in her person and image As small as AlanaÆs hesitations were they were still present She didnÆt quite know what she wanted to be That was an undeniable fact

Seeing her state last night Hank had demanded an explanation and then stomped away to exact vengeance on Helen He slunk back a half hour later looking a little roughed up but seemingly less mentally affected than Alana had been

Now standing with a useless dominant arm in front of Paolo and Kayle Alana acted without hesitation She wanted to be the woman who won this fight So she raised her head The Fifth Revelation Want

The white wings spreading outward from her Fate above her head beat rapidly and began to shrink As the wings receded white flames seeped out of the fingers of her left hand She rigidly extended her fingers forward to mimic the head of a spear and then settled down into a half crouch Both Paolo and Kayle watched her warily nursing their own wounds

Of the five revelations this one had the weakest Skill effect It simply granted Alana an increased clarity of intent between her thoughts Skills and body The effect was a slight but holistic amplification that grew more powerful the more single minded she became The change in the color of her flames just proved it was working as intended And standing in that arena as Randidly and the audience weighed their actions Alana could see with absolute clarity the Path she wanted to take

If you want to be something different simply be through action Changing yourself is that simple

Alana glanced between Paolo and Kayle Her gaze felt leaden as she shifted it from side to side as though the process of adjusting the object of her attention required several technicians fiddling with precise dials Are you both prepared

They didnÆt answer with words but both Paolo and Kayle sprung forward at the very same instant Kayle could only move one of his arms well enough to hold a knife but his eyes seemed to gleam with the palpable desire to seize victory for himself Paolo kept his left arm close to his chest but Alana sensed his image gaining traction around his body once more she suspected that he would be able to manage at least one more strike with that woundedÆ arm

Kayle was coming from AlanaÆs 10 oÆclock while Paolo rushed in from her 3 She stepped sharply to the right making a beeline for Paolo Her left arm was a spear that she thrust forward in a sizzling line The white flames rising from her hand didnÆt flicker with the movement seemingly above the influence of air pressure caused by her movement

Paolo lowered his shoulder and used his right arm to push aside AlanaÆs thrust The muscles of his right arm were shredded from contact with that placid white flames and his face twisted into a scowl but he managed to deflect it For a split second they stood there PaoloÆs left arm cradled against his chest while her arm right arm hung limply at her side Alana watched him with half lidded eyes

He didnÆt strike despite her nonexistent guard

Alana smashed her foot into the side of PaoloÆs knee earning a grunt from him But his image of triumph flared and kept him on his feet At which point Kayle arrived at her back and slashed forward with his long knife

Twisting Alana accepted a long gash across her shoulder blades in order to whip her right arm around She couldnÆt grip with it or move anything past her elbow but it was enough to crack Kayle in the jaw with her shattered elbow joint She felt the fracture spread to her upper arm but Alana couldnÆt dwell on that she shifted her weight onto her other leg to move fractionally away from Paolo

But the three of them were simply too close together As Kayle was falling backward from her elbow strike his leg whipped up and kicked Alana in the waist It wasnÆt particularly damaging but it did mean that Paolo caught up with Alana before she could pull back her left hand His right hand seized her left wrist below the reach of the white flames

This time he did strike with his left arm a straight so brutal that she would have wondered if he was injured at all had she not been able to hear the bones of his shoulder grinding against each other during the explosive movement Yet she had been expecting this Alana pivoted on her left foot bringing the right half of her body backward and letting the punch whizz past her nose

But instead of running out of gas there PaoloÆs fist sprung open and then he swung his arm toward her Before she could react Paolo had physically seized AlanaÆs face pushing her to the side in an attempt to unbalance her Alana twisted her left wrist to escape PaoloÆs other hand but his grip was like steel The crowd’s cheers made him seem more like an avatar of wrought metal than a human being His body became the refinery and each movement was a working of incredible sophistication beyond the normal functioning of a human body

Her right arm flailed but was largely useless AlanaÆs mouth tasted like blood as PaoloÆs fingers ground her cheeks against her teeth In her heart she felt viciously frustrated But more than anything she was struck then by her own limits This was as far as she had been able to make it even after ridding herself of her hesitation

AlanaÆs torso was steadily being pushed backward and her legs couldnÆt keep up with the pressure Paolo possessed more raw Strength than she did There was a part of Alana that felt like it was time to give up

But she didnÆt want to And in her chest there was a resonance form the vast space that had existed since Randidly Ghosthound had created the connection with her Through that she had gratefully absorbed quite a few details that had largely solidified the foundation of her image That connection had been the lifeline that had made her rapid ascension to the strongest individual on Earth that much more smooth

So close the precipice of a loss now and still under the influence of the Fifth Revelation Alana felt that calm resonance It could nudge her in the right direction now but she sensed that it wouldnÆt be enough to overcome her current predicament And when she thought about that she could see the one moment where that connection had been useless when she had lost herself in the expectations that Donnyton had for her

And in a way it was the presence of this supportive connection that had put Alana in the mindset that meant it was so difficult to escape the behaviors that had her image plateau for so long It had caused her to take the details of images for granted

It wasnÆt enough just to absorb anotherÆs details to grow stronger while only working on the fundamentals herself Sometimes even a prophet needed to raise her eyes toward the sky and want

The muscles of AlanaÆs abdomen strained against the muscles of PaoloÆs arm I still want to win

The white flames on AlanaÆs left hand stirred and slid down her arm Her arm abruptly cut sideways as she sliced through the fingers of PaoloÆs right hand and then cut his left arm off at the forearm Strangely his hand still squeezed her face even as Paolo took a stunned step backward

Unfortunately victory wasnÆt quite so simple

KayleÆs long knife ripped into AlanaÆs right thigh and then cut downward largely destroying her quadricep She fell forward onto her knees but that also brought Kayle into a hunched position as he continued to twist the blade in her wound She rewarded him with a horse kick to his face that crunched his nose into a mound of mashed flesh and cartilage that leaked blood

With her right leg trembling she spun onto her butt and raised her left hand above her head The white flames evaporated from her limb and formed a one meter tall hand in the air above her It resembled ghastly figures from poorly developed film in older photography blurred at the edges and strangely exaggerated It was a childÆs rendition of a hand rather than an anatomically correct version

That glowing white hand swept forward its fingers scything toward Kayle Kayle produced another dagger to replace the one he left sticking out of AlanaÆs thigh and reversed his grip His Willpower clearly illuminated his grey eyes Absolute Divide

Chapter 1472

Randidly watched the final moments of the match without expectation or judgment simply experiencing the heights to which humanity could now reach These would be the people on the front lines against the First Calamity

AlanaÆs hand of pale flames slammed against KayleÆs defensive Skill In the air above Kayle his image manifested with a vivid intensity that surpassed his previous usage by far he was currently giving it his all That simple white divide in a sea of blackness warped the surrounding air somehow shifting before RandidlyÆs eyes until the colors flip flopped Now a black line divided a sea of white KayleÆs face was twisted into the most pained grimace that Randidly had ever seen

The two Skills clashed And in the end

KayleÆs Absolute Divide endured while AlanaÆs flaming hand faltered and dissipated For a second the two stared at each other The low roar of the crowd was like the static on an old television that was poorly tuned It added a sense of unreality to the two rigidly staring fighters

They both sagged at the same moment

Dammit I wanted to win Kayle muttered Then his eyelids fluttered and he fell forward having completely overdrawn his mental energy to defend against that last attack

Randidly felt a great deal of sympathy for the man the headache he must be experiencing right now was undoubtedly brutal Plus Alana had tricked him The hand of white fire she had conjured looked intimidating especially after she had sliced Paolo but it hadnÆt possessed any real bite Randidly unleashed a bit of YggdrasilÆs image to lessen KayleÆs pain

There were now only two active participants left in the finals

With a grunt Alana pulled KayleÆs knife out of her right thigh Then she rolled onto her belly and slapped the ground with her left hand pushed her body of a couple of meters off the ground She twisted midair and managed to land on her good leg She swayed for a second then turned toward Paolo while she ripped off his handÆs grip on her face and tossed it to the side

An excellent fight Paolo announced from a growing pool of blood One worthy of crowning a champion

Alana simply stared at him appearing too exhausted to muster the words But as she held the knife aloft her arm didnÆt waver

Chuckling Paolo looked down at his own limbs Blood oozed from the stumps of the fingers on his right hand and gushed spiritedly from the severed end of his left forearm In front of him and a few meters to the left his limbs twitched Yes it should be exactly like this Alana Donal I want to show you one last Skill

He raised his right arm The silk wisps of images that he took from the audience flowed in faster and faster weaving themselves together where AlanaÆs Want had severed his flesh Very quickly the missing fingers were replaced by a ghastly phantasm of those fingers His hand glowed with meaning and Paolo clenched those spectral fingers into a fist

The Right Hand of the Challenger

Paolo lightly threw a punch forward The spectral fist shot not toward Alana but directly up into the air gleaming like freshly polished silver

Then he shrugged at Alana But the fact I need to make a challengerÆs fist means that it is already my loss We concede

The crowd was silent until the words that Paolo had said seemed to sink in Randidly tilted his head and considered the slate grey sky hopefully they could finish the award ceremony before it began to snow

Then the audience caught up to Paolo’s words and exploded

King Phirun watched the award ceremony with a frown on his face and his arms crossed Some of the best doctors from the various Zones had rushed down to the arena and made sure that all the contestants were recuperating without any issues But aside from having their images roughed up a bit even the hemorrhaging Wivanya was quickly returned to prime form so that the ceremony could begin

That was the benefit of the System as long as there were no extenuating circumstances even severed or annihilated limbs could be replaced So that now only thirty minutes after being pronounced out of the final Wivanya sat primly on her hind legs while her rapidly wagging tail revealed her cheery mood Alana Donal actually had to whisper something to the dragon so that she wouldnÆt injure any of the other duos with her tail

The sight only served to worsen King PhirunÆs mood Beside him Huang Shou glanced sideways at him in amusement You are disappointed with the result

Pah King Phirun spat to the side Next to him his ZoneÆs duo that made it the farthest in the tournament Kadir and Tosam visibly flinched But then King Phirun shook his head No Alana Donal deserves this victory Paolo and Kayle are also impressive fighters The only problem I wish they would have a little decorum They act so carelessly

Huang ShouÆs smile quirked upward at the corner and he adjusted his grip on his cane Oh

King Phirun refolded his arms so the opposite arm was on top Although he was inherently suspicious of Huang Shou the man at least had an admirable amount of pride For that reason he deserved an answer These are the greatest warriors of our age fighting with each other to the point that they were practically bleeding out and ineffectually swinging their fists at each other How can the populace have any respect for power when the powerful seem so mundane Truly I am glad that I didnÆt decide to participate I worry about how my reputation would have been impacted

Truly it was a great dishonor to lose to Paolo and Kayle in the quarter final round Haung Shou said lightly but the smug expression on his face revealed his true feelings King Phirun grunted but had nothing to say to that quiet boast The older man had earned it His gaze was heated as he turned briefly to his duo that was eliminated in the top 16 then back to the arena floor

Randidly Ghosthound looked around at the waiting audience Beside him WivanyaÆs flicking tail was positively hypersonic It is with great pleasure that I announce the victors of the EarthÆs first and possibly last DuoÆs tournament In third place

Last tournament Kadir mumbled to himself

Tosam nudged his partnerÆs shoulder Because we might be renaming the planet today

Hank Howard and Ancho The Ghosthound continued While the crowd clapped enthusiastically for the gunslingerÆs saunter toward the proffered bronze medal in the GhosthoundÆs hands Kadir huffed out a breath

Well IÆm not gonna go calling Earth something different just because of some stupid tournament Kadir said through gritted teeth

Hank took the medal and then tried to put it around AnchoÆs neck The horse shook its head wildly avoiding it like it was a piece of rotten meat Meanwhile King Phirun threw a mild glance at Kadir If you felt so strongly about the issue you should have simply won the tournament

Besides it might not matter Added Tosam with a sly smile The name change happens in the System right With its translation software it might automatically translate Earth to the new name every time you say it So even if you refuse to say it no one else will notice And you will hear everyone else say whatever the new name is

Kadir blinked in horror Beside Huang Shou Huang Li leaned forward and glanced down the row of people at Tosam ThatÆs an excellent point

Out on the arena floor Hank threw up his hands helplessly and put the medal around his own neck The audience was half clapping and half laughing as he returned to his starting position at the side of the arena With a small smile on his face the Ghosthound continued In second place Paolo and Kayle

This applause was much louder but mostly because mixed in the clapping were calls of you got screwed Æ and Next time for sure Æ Despite their loss Paolo and Kayle seemed rather genial about the whole thing taking the silver medal from the Ghosthound and then engaging in an impressively fast game of rock paper scissors afterward With a wide grin Paolo slid the medal around his neck and strutted back to their position Kayle just shook his head

Finally the announcement that we were all waiting for The Ghosthound beckoned He didnÆt even bother to activate his images yet he somehow seemed to be standing at the bottom of a bowl so your attention couldnÆt help but flow down toward him The winners of the duoÆs tournament are Alana and Wivanya

The clapping from the crowd started off loud but it was quickly drowned out by the fifty or so dragons that launched themselves into the sky at the announcement and belched frost toward the overcast grey skyline Wivanya raised her head and joined her children in their exultation giving themselves over completely to their joy

Rather than a medal Randidly produce a glowing stone tablet Strange runes covered its surface shifting as the GhosthoundÆs fingers pressed up against it He walked over to Alana and offered her the Runic Tablet So Are you ready to officially make our planet a part of the Nexus

Yes Alana said shortly She looked at Randidly with several seconds as though wanting to say something He regarded her with a mild expression on his face Then she shook her head and looked down at the tablet She held it in front of her with both hands as though she was truly holding an ancient artifact that could be broken from the slightest mishandling Wivanya lowered her head from her roar and brought it next to AlanaÆs head where the dragon began to speak rapidly

King Phirun could not hear what the dragon was saying but Alana Donal was having none of it After literally shooing the enormous dragon away she released a sharp breath and looked around at the audience I name this world Expira

The tablet in her hands broke in half golden dust shooting rapidly out of the broken tablet and flying up into the air Then in front of King Phirun a notification appeared

Congratulations Your planet Expira has officially become a part of the Nexus As new citizens of the Nexus you will be subjected to periodic tests to determine your eligibility for benefits The first test will take the form of a great Calamity that will descend to Expira and attempt to lay waste to everything you have built

Congratulations The difficulty of your Calamity has been increased in proportion to the density of Aether on your planet The Calamity will arrive in 150 days Please prepare well

Chapter 1473

“Expira ” Tatiana spoke clearly as she glanced down at the clipboard that she held in front of herself They were in her office meeting at 10 A M sharp the day after the world was named and the first Calamity was announced Randidly knew that she checked the clipboard less because she needed the reminder but more because the habit of confirmation was so deeply ingrained into her person that she would be bewildered by the suggestion that she didn’t need to double check her work It was why she was so good at running Kharon “To expire or to exhale In a way certainly a morbid motif to associate with the world but considering your quest to destroy the Nexus “

There Tatiana paused in her unasked for explanation checking Randidly with the same relentless determination to confirm she showed toward her work Honestly Randidly couldn’t begrudge her this habit considering the difficulty of keeping up with his quick decisions the trait was a boon Then she set down her clipboard on her desk ” perhaps more relevantly one of the many ways to reference ghosts in Latin is expiravit A mouthful and one that would not translate well to the name of a world But Expira on the other hand “

“Stop trying to tease me The planet is already named ” Randidly shook his head unwilling to admit that he did feel quite a bit of awkwardness from the thought that Alana would have named the world after him “I know you brought me here for other reasons what did you want to tell me “

Chuckling Tatiana stood from her hefty leather chair and walked to the window She used just the tips of her fingers to grab the maroon drapes and drag them to the left to marginally lower the amount of light in the room Despite the fact that temperatures continued to remain low the sun was bright on the day after the duos tournament ended While walking over to the Town Hall Randidly had heard several people say the sun dawns on Expira Æ He had winced every time

Tatiana marginally adjusted the curtains a small amount further leaving her office mostly in cool shadow “I brought you here for three things First Donny invited you to dinner a week from today On your behalf I accepted You could stand to be more friendly toward Donnyton Secondly everything is prepared for our construction crews to begin work on the other floating islands As soon as you pick out the pieces of land and finalize the plans we can begin

“Finally I wanted to ask you officially as the head of Kharon’s government when Randidly Ghosthound planned on heading to the Nexus Through my Skill I can see some of your answer but what I feel is oddly unsatisfactory “

Randidly considered the question carefully like he was judging the attitude of a man he had never seen before Not that he didn’t have some inclinations as to how to answer the third question but he sensed his vague feelings wouldn’t be enough to ease the slight edge to Tatiana’s smile ” I certainly won’t be staying here until the First Calamity arrives My growth rate on Expira is quick but not as quick as it needs to be So I’ll remain long enough to get all the projects finalized but probably not longer than a month “

“If you really want to accelerate your growth rate relative to the base timeline why not spend some time in Dungeons ” Tatiana said Then she pursed her lips “While you are there you can help me with some of the details of Kharon Academy “

Randidly had to wince at that He briefly channeled Revelation energy giving him a little extra insight into how his additional work with the Kharon Academy project would influence it What few insights he gleaned by peering forward weren’t surprising but they still stung a slight amount Others would achieve much better results than he would It wasnÆt a problem of willingness to help on his part but perspective

What was needed was tools to help educate children and teenagers who were basically still near the normal capabilities of a human Randidly did not have much expertise in that area Or rather the methods that seemed natural to him were horrifying to others

Thanks Shal Randidly closed his eyes But it wasnÆt like his assistance would be completely useless “Tatiana you don’t have to hold back As much as I will grumble I can handle more of the work on these projects they are my brainchildren after all But as for my growth rate “

Randidly shook his head “A Dungeon would help me develop in specific ways I think the details of my images could be vastly improved and I can perhaps make some breakthroughs in Nether manipulation And those are important areas of my power But they aren’t the core of my identity that I’ve chosen That is my image physicalizations and utilizing multiple images and Skills at once And as for that I probably improved more during the fight against Kaan Swacc than I have before and since It isn’t an ability that you can practice alone or without the threat of death if I fail IÆve grown too used to the tension I need to ascend to the Nexus to find more difficult challenges “

“Pah ” Tatiana pressed her hands against the windowsill and leaned forward Her face was hidden in shadow “I do know what ascending will mean for your growth And I don’t really need help with the projects I just don’t want you to go It’s going to be hard without you “

“Hasn’t all the suffering I’ve put you through prepared you for this ” Randidly said gently Then he adopted an innocent expression “In fact you should probably be thanking me If not for how much suffering I’ve made you endure as you tried to keep up with me you would be “

Tatiana pulled a book off of a nearby bookshelf and flung it at Randidly like it was a frisbee A tremor ran through Randidly’s body and suddenly he was taller and slightly hunched over His joints ground into a new alignment As the book whizzed toward his face a tail of bone about two fingers thick flicked out from behind his head and caught the book a few inches from his face While his left eye was devoured by darkness he twisted the book so he could read the cover A Regression Analysis of the Danger of Unchecked Raid Bosses

Randidly raised an eyebrow “Sounds captivating But I bet the conclusion is that the best option is just to kill the monsters “

“You are blessed in many areas but I doubt you are as funny as you think you are Randidly Ghosthound ” Tatiana shook her head almost ruefully Then she walked over toward Randidly who was still in his physicalized image form The orb of melted light and darkness observed how Tatiana did her best not to tremble as she withstood the substantial pressure that Randidly’s images released And Randidly couldn’t help but love her for that attempt to make him feel normal These days he did his best not to dwell too long on his departure from human limits It was it filled him with an oddly bleak mood Like the individual he had become was so far removed from who he had been that he now human only in name

But that was the point Randidly said to himself I was unable to protect myself or the people I cared about before I havenÆt lost the Why of my transformation Even if I can no longer be considered the same person we want the same things I would have been happy to know that I have come this far ItÆs time to ascend to the Nexus

When she held out her hand Randidly released the images and the book fell into her palm She returned it to the shelf and slid the book into place Perhaps sensing the mood with that Skill of hers she was quiet for some time

Then she turned back to him and put her hands behind her back “Honestly that book is a quite self important text which comes to common sense conclusions But it gathered quite a lot of data to support those conclusions so there are many tools within it that allow you to identify how long a Raid Boss has been active based upon various signs in the area Certainly worth a read for anyone planning But anyway I can sense you have another reason for remaining on Earth One that seems quite unpredictable I can sense its shape but not itÆs origin Can you tell me what IÆm sensing “

Randidly rubbed the back of his neck “Honestly your Skill is somewhat uncomfortable But you are technically right I’m waiting for something else to happen before I leave Earth “

He paused considering how to explain Because ever since the tournament had finished and he had almost unwillingly watched all the significance Paolo Kayle Alana and Wivanya generated be siphoned away he had sensed that something was coming for Earth through the thin film of Nether that the System allowed some force had been constantly producing significance ever since

It wasnÆt near the level of the tournament but it was at least double the previous Nether density that flowed through this area of the System Randidly dearly wished he would have been paying more attention to the time before Kaan arrived to see if it was that type of event that was approaching

At first Randidly had assumed the change was just related to the impending First Calamity that had been announced to be more difficult than usual But that didn’t feel right As Randidly carefully monitored the significance he could tell that the event in question was much closer than the announced Calamity It would happen quite soon as far as Randidly could tell

Randidly wondered if the extra difficulty was the fact that the Calamity would be arriving early

“Something will happen soon on Earth ” Randidly eventually said to Tatiana “I really don’t know more than that But it should be only a few days or weeks away I just want to make sure the consequences aren’t too drastic before I go “

Tatiana walked back over to Randidly and nodded Then she reached out hesitated then put her hand on Randidly’s shoulder With emerald eyes he looked up at her Tatiana released a breath and then spoke with urgency “Alright I’ll keep an eye out for anything strange But I want to say one more thing You are going to want to disappear without saying anything don’t give me that look You know it’s true I’m telling you don’t you dare Unless you want to come back to Earth to find that I’ve created an entire action figure line based on your likeness “

Randidly blinked Tatiana smirked “I’ll give it very embarrassing catchphrases like “The Spear Always Advances ” or something like that Alright go away I have a lot of work to do “

Randidly forced out a chuckle but he didn’t get up quite yet He reached up and put his hand on Tatiana’s that was still on his shoulder and squeezed “Please never do that And I promise I’ll let you know before I leave “

After the meeting with Tatiana Randidly returned to his floating island and returned to his peaceful area of greenery on the Western side He sat down meditated for about fifteen minutes and then carefully wove together a Nether RItual Randidly was rather pleased to notice that his practice weaving Nether to take significance made the process of making a ritual much easier In fact Randidly was rather confident that his new Nether Ritual was much more powerful than any he had been able to make in the past

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 175

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 305

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 176

With an almost intoxicating sense of intimacy Randidly reached across the distance between them and touched Vualla But he took extra care to keep his touch light he would feel like an idiot if he lost himself in his more efficient Nether Ritual and revealed the connection between them to the Xyrt Brigade

As per Randidly’s usual luck he could immediately sense the sense of strained fraying from Vualla’s images she was in the middle of an absolutely brutal spree of training Almost unconsciously because Vualla couldn’t spare much attention from her task Randidly felt her mind reveal that the training should end in about six and a half hours Randidly licked his lips in dissatisfaction and quietly shut down the Nether Ritual He had wanted to show off his recent improvements due to the Nether significance he absorbed but he didn’t mind waiting

Chapter 1474

To fill the time until Vualla could be safely contacted through the Nether Ritual Randidly walked to the finally completed home that had been constructed for him in the center of his island He had considered putting the island into his Alpha Cosmos and taking it with him but ultimately didn’t feel like it was worth the effort Plus Neveah seemed to have been quite taken with the idea of Randidly’s home and had spent several hours touring the place and speculating about an Engraving she could make for the house

Randidly walked to the front of the house and put his hands on his hips To be sure the newly completed domicile of the Ghosthound was quite impressive even if it isnÆt anything like what he would have built for himself But considering his long line of wooden shacks that generally served as his homes he could understand why the decision hadnÆt been left to him

The house was a massive beast that hunkered to the ground appearing squat with its three vaulted floors only because the house stretched left and right for almost fifty meters in each direction and made the height seem insignificant The exterior felt heavy due to the gleaming black marble that was used to form the bones of the building In the silver light of the moonlight spirits that spiraled constantly around the building the marble gleamed playfully generating the incorrect impression that the house itself was alive

Two pillars flanked the main doors to the building stretching up past the limits of the first floor and reaching the apex of the second Above the pillars was a relatively small balcony that overlooked the area in front of the house Randidly glanced around If he wanted the balcony to worth a damn he would need to do a bit of landscaping on the area in front of his house Right now it was just pitted and rutted dirt with the tracks of the machinery that had stacked the expensive materials of his home on top of each other

Of course landscaping was an area in which Randidly felt significant confidence With a wave of his hand Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil caused small microbes in the soil to swell up to small bean sized growths of organic matter then explode further until they were krakens sculpted of roots and vines These plant krakens rapidly leveled the surrounding ground with their tentacles and then ground up the larger stones and spare materials that had been left behind Everything became a part of the soil to enrich future plants that would grow there

Randidly even used the sharp thorns that adorned his vines to sheer down extra steel beams and scattered the shavings within the mass of dirt With the System basically everything has some value The plants that grow here might be weird but thatÆs just a part my legacy No need to worry too much about the details

Considering how this place would likely be treated in the future Randidly also decided to dig a deep trench extending outward from the front of his home Later he would fill it with water to make his home resemble a national landmark As he did so he idly wondered if Tatina would hire groundskeepers for the place and later curse him for making the water feature so large

Ultimately Randidly decided to shorten the length of the pool

He released a powerful pulse of YggdrasilÆs image to encourage growth in the front area after his plant krakens began to smolder and scatter to ashes then walked to the heavy wooden doors to enter his home Randidly paused and ran his fingers lightly over the wood It was a good material even now radiating an intense spiritual energy Although the effect was minor compared to his base regeneration it was easier to recover Mana while near to this door This was an area of particular interest to Neveah It would very easily accept a powerful Engraving

From the intermittent messages that he received from her she was having difficulty keeping the Engraving self contained keeping the effect as potent as she wanted while also not quickly reducing the door to splinters due to the relevant softness of the material

Randidly had told her that the door wasnÆt an important issue but Neveah had stubbornly insisted that the door was basically the mouth to his house And having quality teeth had a direct effect on the ease with which you moved through life

Considering the few times Randidly had seen Neveah show her teeth in her natural form he decided to let go of the issue Besides it seemed to be helping shake the funk that had hung over Neveah since the fight against Kaan Swacc

But when he pushed open the doors into his house he couldnÆt get the image of a beastÆs mouth out of his mind The doors opened into a large hall made interesting only by the intricate mixture of jade marble and blood steel that formed mesmerizing patterns along the floor At the far end of the hall was a massive staircase that curled both to the left and right and took a walker up to the second floor

But Randidly ignored the upper floors for now and simply walked through the two wings of the ground floor pushing open smaller mimics of the massive front door and revealing the empty spaces within Perhaps because of the image he possessed when he walked into the house Randidly couldnÆt help but feel like he was walking through the inner organs of a preserved beast long after it had died

The rooms were empty dry and sterile All of the byproducts and fuels of actual life had long ago disappeared from this place It was a mummified corpse and at this point it was impossible to tell what sort of beast this had originally been

One thing that disturbed him became increasingly apparent Although many moonlight spirits gathered around the outside none had come within the walls of his house The house was gorgeous the paneling expensive and well made but Randidly was not satisfied with this

As Randidly pushed open doors to empty rooms over and over again he gradually could understand why it had been such a big issue to Neveah to add an Engraving to the home This place was for me but right now it is the furthest thing away from being mine So while Neveah works on an Engraving

Randidly ascended to the third floor finding yet another long hallway that spread to his left and right without any variance Every fourth room was a bathroom and several had small passages between the non committal spaces Thoughtfully he chewed on his lip Then in a decision he made in a split second without thinking about the consequences Randidly body shuddered and once more transformed into the physicalized version of his images His joints cracked as his arms and legs extended outward The muscles of his legs and torso trembled and swelled Heatwaves wafted off of him as his heart raced and brought scalding blood to his newly transformed body

His left eye was shrouded in shadow His veins gleamed golden His hair lightened toward emerald green

Then in a natural expansion of his images Randidly roared The vicious teeth of the Grim Chimera were barred toward the ceiling without restraint The third floor around him shuddered and then was torn to pieces Bits of wood and steel and stone were blasted to bits and exploded outward The two lower floors shuddered but thankfully held

That had been RandidlyÆs one worry he didnÆt know enough about construction to know if what he was about to do would completely invalidate all the effort and materials that had gone into making this home But he some part of him felt a deep sense of dissatisfaction at the empty home So he decided to fix the problem

Before all the debris collapsed down to the surrounding space Randidly released a light breath Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart

All the bits of broken materials halted midair hovering uncertainly under the pulse of gravity that Randidly released Then he raised his metal fist and tightened it all the materials flew rapidly back together and spun together in a small tornado of destruction The moonlight spirits above his house had frozen at the destruction but now began to dance excitedly and fly insubstantially through the tornado By simply smashing everything together against itself Randidly quickly created a large ball of soil

But this amount was far from enough Humming to himself Randidly opened a portal with the PhilosopherÆs Key to one of the random valleys in the Nordawn Mountain range where he had done his more explosive training sessions Then he casually transported large amounts of soil and plant matter that had already subtly incorporated his images to the ruin of the third floor That would make the process more simple

With this Randidly could cover the entirety of the third floor in at least a foot of soil without a problem The cracked remnants of the walls remained at most of the edges of the third floor keeping this soil layer from collapsing outward These wounded structures groaned from the pressure but ultimately stayed upright

At least its good the materials are so high quality Randidly reflected The increased weight from all this stuff didnÆt cause the house to collapse

Then very deliberately Randidly turned his attention to the trees he had brought over through the portal and targeted them with Yggdrasil The massive phantom of the World Tree appeared in the air above Randidly Its glittering emerald leaves rustled lightly in an invisible breeze Golden light flashed up and down the massive trunk tracing the massive history of the world that was recorded across its bark

Then Randidly sat still with his legs folded beneath him and released consistent waves of that images of varying power There were several small trees but already their roots dug into the dirt on the third floor and crisscrossed one another Randidly greatly anticipated the result the moonlight spirits gleefully floated amongst the small canopy of the trees bringing life back to this place He consistently pulsed the image of Yggdrasil until enough time had passed and he happily set aside the renovationÆ of his house and wove a Nether Ritual

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Ritual has grown to Level 177

A vast space separated Randidly and Vualla but Randidly bridged that with a whispered prayer He could distinctly feel the heat of VuallaÆs body even from this distance In a way that was impossible to put into words he had been subtly influenced by the places where their thoughts and bodies had touched during their interactions on the frontlines Through the passage of time and circumstances the typical entropy of those foreign notes had not faded in his body If anything they had only become more poignant There was meaning to the fact that Randidly Ghosthound had met Vualla Mateo

Like two celestial bodies who moved within each otherÆs gravitational field their trajectories were subtly and absolutely altered by even their proximity That shared orbit gave Randidly the material needed to form a bond between them no matter the distance

The first thing that Randidly felt when they connected was a burning curiosity Sensing it was safe right now to contact her Randidly freely reached the rest of the distance and their two minds brushed against one another While Randidly focused on releasing more of the now slightly flagging image of Yggdrasil to heal VuallaÆs image Vualla methodically examined Randidly from top to bottom Her inspection was extremely vigorous

This would go more simply if you would let me finish Randidly teased

Vualla snorted mentally DonÆt act coy with me you are horrible at hiding your emotions You are quite proud of your growth arenÆt you What the hell did you do Your images have so much more depth to them now Then Vualla released an exaggerated sigh If I hadnÆt had that recent rapid improvement maybe you would have caught up to me

Randidly paused in his healing and examined the images he was helping to recuperate And all the shy satisfaction he felt dissolved into helpless amusement Perhaps due to the rapid cycle of being ground to nothing by her training and then revitalized VuallaÆs image had experienced an immense transformation She had always pursued absolute control of her body in order to make herself the ultimate machine of destruction but it seemed that Vualla recently expanded the scope of her image a bit

Before it was just her body but now there was a growing sense of internal and external influences within her image Around her was a persistent flow of energy She had begun to understand how interconnected the physical objects and images were How by bringing power along alternate avenues the destruction that could be wrought spread even further

Basically she had begun to incorporate Nether principles into her use of images The Nether wasnÆt genuine so the effect hadnÆt reached its full potential but it had given her a significant boost in power Considering the already deep and detailed image that she had managed to receive from the brief possession from the original Vualla

And also the fact that she had been constantly pushed to her limits by the Xyrt BrigadeÆs training

Randidly bowed his head in mock surrender Please remember to mention me in your speech when you topple the Nexus

Vualla laughed in their mental connection loud and genuine and full of pleasure Randidly felt the warmth pass between them But then VuallaÆs mood turned more serious I hope I get that chance Looks like someone else is trying to beat us to the punch

Sensing RandidlyÆs mental query Vualla continued to communicate Your Nether King in the sky above Earth It looks like the Seventh Cohort was a feint Two days ago it was discovered that the Nether King was active in the Sixth Cohort By the time its presence had been discovered at least ten planets that possessed citizenship of the Nexus had been quietly polluted and destroyed It used the corpses of Aether beings to raise an army of twisted monsters

My training is being accelerated IÆll be deployed in a month to investigate the extent of the Nether threat to the Nexus

Chapter 1475

Alana froze with her lips slightly apart when she opened the door and found Helen standing there one hand on her hip and her usual scowl of I wish we were just fightingÆ written large across her face But very quickly AlanaÆs expression turned solemn and her hands dropped to her sides in a way she had known that she would be coming She had chosen a Path by approaching Helen and asking for passage to the Nexus This was the inevitable result of her true progress on that Path

“So ” Helen asked simply Her expression didnÆt change

Alana pressed her lips into a line She felt somewhat reassured by her own very human sensation of her heart pumping blood through her muscles and organs When she spoke she chose her words carefully “I felt my own weakness in the finals I understand how close I came to losing that fight And I cannot deny that my victory was less due to the strength of my image and more due to gamesmanship within the fight But still I want to try “

A win is a win Helen responded mildly She was using her own image as she carefully studied Alana staining the air around her a mild pink with the intensity of it Being carefully weighed by Helen was a curiously impersonal thing At the moment it was like they had never met fought eaten or laughed together at all The attention that Alana now earned was a pure thing of merit sundered from personal feelings

“You have a week Sharpen your spear Alana Donal ” Helen said before she turned and left leaving Alana with a strained sense of erratic glee

A week was a small amount of time But after her fight against Paolo and Kayle Alana had quite a few ideas about areas of her image that could be refined At least a dozen small steps popped into her head that would let her improve And what she had learned from watching Randidly Ghosthound through the years was that it was these small steps that eventually carried you all the way toward power As long as she went into a Dungeon and spent a few months honing herself within

Alana clenched her fists so hard that she subconsciously released tongues of orange flame that danced across her knuckles Whatever Helen had seen it had been enough for a chance as long as Alana could take the next step she could earn herself a ticket to the Nexus Her excitement was so genuine and pure that she belatedly realized that the flames had extended up along her arms to her biceps and began to singe her cotton shirt Chagrined Alana brought herself back under control

Behind her in the suite they shared the door to Hank’s room opened and the gunslinger poked his head out “Is that woman gone I ain’t associatin’ with her ever again You know she tried to cut my revolver in half “

“Maybe that’s considered flirting in her culture ” Alana chuckled and closed the front door Besides I know plenty of men that would kill for the shotÆ on her you had IsnÆt that right cowboy

Hank made a strangled noise in the back of his throat that made Alana laugh She walked toward her room but he cleared his throat and spoke before she got there Ay reckon that it wonÆt be these pistols that eventually slay her but there is another issue You seen Ancho today

Alana paused briefly She considered telling Hank the truth that she had seen Ancho hanging around with some of WivanyaÆs children and a few ogres that convinced the horse to try drinking ale and spitting it at a match to pretend he was a dragon The sight on HankÆs face when he learned of his horseÆs escapades would be priceless

On the other hand she didnÆt want to blow up AnchoÆs spot if the strangely intelligent yet otherwise mundane horse was able to return without issue So Alana offered Hank a small smile and lied Have you checked the stable Well you know he doesnÆt like it there he might be wandering about Kharon IÆm about to head out so IÆll look for him as IÆm departing and let you know if I see him

Then Alana slipped into her small bedroom and shut the door behind her Very quickly she gathered up all of the few objects that she had scattered around the room her spare clothes leather wristguards a whetstone and rag for polishing the head of her spear a few spare dollars of currency on the bedside table and the half read travel report sent back from VyeÆs explorations

The book was the last thing Alana picked up Of particular interest to her was the section on Zone 11Æs Epic Dungeon A few had gone in to cull the numbers of monsters that periodically exploded out of the Dungeon but Warlord hadnÆt yet wanted to commit a large number of Zone 11Æs forces to the endeavor Which meant that the hitherto unseen Dungeon Boss was a perfect foe to test herself

She tossed everything into her interspatial ring She only had a week she would need to start immediately

Before even the clumsily tied rope came loose and the extendable ramp began to slide back toward full extension Commissioner Arrietti was there His hand snapped out and seized the metal handle and dragged it the half meter back into its original position With his other hand he looped the rope once more about the ramp and deftly tied a quick knot Then he stepped back and glanced around at what had previously been the main route of ingress and egress into Kharon the gate had been disassembled and all of the rope ladders and ramps were stowed away Now it was simply another edge of the city without any lingering structures

Behind him he heard one of his patrol officers speaking quietly to a younger colleague “And THAT is why he’s the Commissioner It might seem overwhelming at first but you can’t relax not even for a second That’s what it means to wear the uniform If you want to learn how to be a police officer of Kharon the best way is to watch the master “

Well it helps that my Skills give me precise warnings about accidents like this Commissioner Arrietti thought modestly while simultaneously bearing a wide smile on his face He remained facing out toward the edge of Kharon to hide his good cheer Over the edge he could see a crowd milling above peering up at the moving city Ahem Certainly though considering the torturous training with Helen I had to endure in order to get here I have earned the chance to savor this respect

Commissioner Arrietti stood with arms akimbo looking down below at the construction crews that were rapidly moving through the area of the duos tournament and either tearing down or making the various structures permanent Just as quickly as this place had housed thousands of attendees now the Orchard moved forward with plans to make this area literally house people Beneath him the stone ground began to tremble

While a small crowd watched the many legs of Kharon eased outward and pressed against the ground Engravings gradually began to glow along their length Up by Commissioner Arrietti moss spirits swirled downward over the edge of the city in larger and larger numbers preparing to fuel the movement Four hundred metal limbs pressed against the ground and then began to flex Kharon trembled once more

Then it gradually began to rise Another wave of moss spirits exploded outward from the buildings of Kharon in a breathtaking number They whipped through the air and then zipped down to swim playfully amongst the many legs as the metal limbs heaved Kharon’s bulk up into the air The motes of emerald light ran together so thickly that they no longer seemed like individuals but were one giant river Upon that river the boat that was Kharon gradually stirred and was carried away toward the borderlands

When Kharon was safely trundling South heading to blaze a Path to Earth’s final and hitherto uncontacted Zone Commissioner Arrietti gave up his heroic pose at the edge and turned around He strode purposefully back toward the center of Kharon giving stern nods to the various municipal workers that continued to pack away the materials used for the bridges When he passed the two officers that were talking about him earlier they snapped to attention and offered him a sharp salute Arrietti’s heart swelled with pride

He walked around the corner and was now safely out of sight Arrietti surreptitiously checked the surrounding street Then he broke into a brisk jog toward Town Hall feeling a light film of sweat beginning to form on his forehead despite the cool temperature he was going to be late

The consequences of such a state made him furious at himself for losing himself in the swell of pride If Tatiana was in a bad mood and assigned him some additional training with Helen

Arrietti began to accelerate and tears formed at the corner of his eyes What did it say about him that his closest female relationship was with the woman who regularly tortured him He was only a few steps away from those particular men who enjoyed painful explicit acts in sex dungeons with beautiful women what if this prolonged exposure to Helen who was admittedly a very attractive woman was slowly warping his typical preferences

Needless to say Commissioner Arrietti arrived at Town Hall with a bubbling cauldron of negative emotions sitting in his chest But at the front door he straightened his uniform and coughed into his hand His worries were ultimately pushed to the side in the face of his training It was only with a confident and severe expression that he proceeded into the building Regardless of his feelings respecting the institution of Kharon was paramount It was only as the prestige of Kharon was increased that Arrieti could find satisfaction in his semi miserable state

Only through my station that I can feel satisfaction Arrietti reflected rather dourly as he walked down the hallway and approached the meeting room He sighed and shook his head reaching for the door handle He was prepared for the worst

But before Arrietti opened the door Tatiana came swiftly around the corner Her face split into an apologetic smile as she saw him “Ah Commissioner I hope you all haven’t been waiting long my meeting with Randidly took a little longer than expected Is everyone present “

I have no idea Arrietti thought to himself But instead of answering he smiled and opened the door His eyes scanned the present faces within as they turned to regard him Then he confidently answered “Yes we are ready for you “

“Actually though ” When Tatiana reached him she put her hand against the doorframe and pushed it shut The people within tilted their heads curiously to the side as she did so “There’s something I wanted to talk to you about Come to my office after the meeting so we can address it further but I wanted to give you some time to gather your thoughts before that there has been a sharp increase in complaints regarding Kharon’s police force over the course of the tournament It is most likely just due to the added strain of helping with security but I want to be thorough As long as you don’t mind I’d like to launch an investigation into the entire department searching for corruption and abuse of power “

“Eh But we just put the whole department through the Dungeon training ” Commissioner Arrieti mumbled He heard a strange ringing in his ears His department investigated

Tatiana sighed “We don’t talk about it much but its precisely after sharp gains in power that people can experience dangerous shifts in their psychology Previously repressed and controlled impulses have a habit of manifesting when someone feels a newfound sense of capability But I trust your choices in subordinates I’m sure all of it will be for nothing “

Then she opened the door and walked into the room

Chapter 1476

Tatiana smiled at the five figures waiting at the meeting table while she and Commissioner Arrietti took their seats at opposite ends Gertrude Collins sat with her hands folded on top of her legal pad looking every bit the teacher’s pet with her blue and pink post its flanking her legal padlike two brightly colored watchtowers Kharon’s senior teacher Mrs Jane sat similarly with her hands folded but without any paper in front of her Yet Tatiana had interacted with the mild seeming woman enough times to know that she was wickedly sharp anything that she heard she remembered

Beside Mrs Jane was Brethren Zod the Weaver representative chosen amongst the non human teachers that would be present at Kharon Academy From their few interactions Tatiana had found the Weaver surprisingly useful for planning if a bit unpredictable Oftentimes the young spider provided a perspective that greatly challenged the human’s preconceived notions about teaching Naffur was currently out helping Vye with a Raid Boss problem so Ajax was present to represent the interests of the Order Ducis opposite the Weaver Perhaps it was somewhat racist of her but Tatiana found it very amusing how much the cockroach man and the spider detested each other Even though Ajax was originally a human transported into a monster’s body the body seemed to have steadily influenced his behaviors She made a mental note to be careful about letting the two argue

The final figure at the table was the smallest ogre within Wolfram’s cohort of scribes hunching his shoulders to not take up more space than he needed At two and a half meters the act of him slipping through the door was mildly impressive

As she sat and pulled her chair in behind her Tatiana glanced one more time at Commissioner Arrietti The man’s face was creased in a deep frown Inwardly Tatiana shook her head She didn’t doubt that the man was even now examining his every memory to search for any evidence of the creeping corruption that Tatiana referenced as an example she could have waited until after this meeting but Tatiana had figured giving him some time to reflect was better than springing the issue on him once she had him in her office But Tatiana hoped that he wouldn’t now let the issue distract him from the meeting the man simply took his work way too seriously

He would probably kill me if he found out but I wonder if I can secretly set him up with a woman to help him ease up a little Tatiana organized the papers in front of her and then set them down on the table Then she cast one last critical glance over Elmer Arrietti making note of his attire and how he held himself Heh who would have thought that my experience running a high end escort service would come in handy like this

But she let those thoughts go for now Instead she cleared her throat “Alright we all know why we are here After his discussion with Miss Collins the Ghosthound made it clear that we would need nine Keystones for Kharon Academy We currently have six that fit the criteria that he set Miss Collins if youÆd bring everyone up to speed “

Gertrude Collins nodded smartly “As per the Ghosthound’s instructions the Keystones are to be ideological issues or outcomes that the student will spend their study at Kharon Academy learning to address These will be more general than majors at a university Although I communicated how focusing so much on the negative might not be a good thing ” Gertrude paused so Mrs Jane next to her could press her lips together ” he remained firm

Honestly I never understood a teacherÆs need to frame everything positively Tatiana dragged her fingers across the wooden table We donÆt live in a positive world But luckily Randidly gets to take the heat for this decision hehe and Mrs Jane is the type to hold a grudge

“So these are the six Keystones we now have Indulgence Ignorance Weakness Tragedy Helplessness and Emptiness These are the issues that our students will address “

“There is quite a bit of overlap between them ” Brethren Zod commented while his two front legs bobbed against the edge of the table “Should we not seek to make all of the different Keystones distinct “

Tatiana nodded “Ideally yes But I don’t think it’s an issue as long as we keep it as minor a crossover as possible After all the same methods can be used to solve many of our worldÆs problems But since their study will be informed by the whole of methods to address each issue the Keystones should still shape distinct followings But the fact is that we still need three more options So if anyone has an idea “

“There’s another issue ” Gertrude added She made a small note on a pink post it and very purposefully stuck it to her pad before she continued to speak “ItÆs the creation of the Keystones Randidly excuse me the Ghosthound said that he wouldn’t help with the details of their creation So we will need nine individuals to help source the Engravings Neveah will be making for the Keystones So “

“So if you feel strongly about one flaw in our world please feel free to take responsibility for a related Keystone ” Tatiana finished Then she drummed her fingers against the table as she considered the issue Her gaze touched on all of the people around the table “Don’t force yourself there are plenty of powerful image users on Kharon now We can get outside assistance if we need it But also the people here are the ones who understand the spirit of Kharon Academy the best We are the ones who can give the most insight into its shape “

Then as she considered the thoughtful expressions of the surrounding people Tatiana noticed that Gertrude Collins was making several notes on a blue post it She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes “Also considering the fact that we need three more Keystones anyone who has an idea should share We can hopefully generate one or two more in preparation for the meeting with the Ghosthound at the end of the week “

Commissioner Arrietti rubbed his chin Tatiana made a mental note to gently press him later to see if he had a concrete idea And after toying with the post it note in front of her Gertrude looked up with a determined expression “Well actually I did have an idea I just I don’t know what word to use to sum it up But if I had to pick one I guess truth “

Everyone looked at her The ogre scribe shifted slightly and spoke in a soft voice “Did you say truth “

“Ah yes But like I said that’s just a stand in ” Gertrude to speak more rapidly “What I’m really talking about is something like destiny We have helplessness already but a sense of helplessness toward your life Loss of control and agency Or maybe something like avoiding a destiny that you don’t want That Path doesn’t have to be true for you “

Mrs Jane nodded very slowly “I think I see it And I think the word you are searching for is Certainty You want to combat certainty It’s a good option “

They were standing about fifty meters away but the sound of that ponderous volume of water crashing into the pool below had almost become ubiquitous at this distance The crashing notes of water impacting water would have echoed outward to fill a larger space if not for the fact that it was a constant production line of vibration So the sound didn’t echo it just continued constantly pushing against the eardrums of the listener The noise pooled contentedly above like the water did below

Randidly scratched his cheek suddenly understanding what Tatiana must constantly go through with his wild and high minded ideas “You think this would be a good spot to take for the Kharon Academy “

Tim Moss nodded seriously and pointed up toward the mouth of the waterfall “It’s flat up there right That can be where most of the school buildings are Or over there along the ridge Tim waved his hand vaguely not having any actually viable options to point at in particular Then a town and houses and stuff can be down here at the bottom well maybe a bit farther away so they didn’t hear the waterfall all the time But like it’s really cool right Waterfalls are cool “

“Oh yea ” Randidly said hollowly His senses were spreading out to cover the surrounding area and getting a gauge for how large the piece of land he would need to take in order to maintain a working waterfall In addition he was quickly able to determine how rocky the surrounding area was Engraving could substitute for quite a lot but still ” It’s very cool “

Encouraged Tim’s expression immediately brightened “Plus I’ve seen the Niagara Falls before this is nowhere as big as that So probably people won’t mind if we take it away or something “

RandidlyÆs mouth twitched This area is flooded with monsters that I donÆt know if anyone would even notice that it was missing People who live nearby might even thank us for ripping their neighborhood monster den out But as Randidly glanced around he did see a few crumpled and vine covered signs that human habitation used to be present here Likely before the System rearranged their world there appeared to have been a large building at the base of the low hill on which they were standing

The people who lived or worked in that building had undoubtedly developed a tolerance for the constant thrum of low thunder that echoed out from the waterfall RandidlyÆs mouth twitched Lucky pre System Perception bastards

But that was Randidly simply projecting the sardonic amusement he felt as he considered the viability of using this area of land as the base of Kharon Academy and son developed a headache It wasnÆt the noise of the waterfall that stifled RandidlyÆs enthusiasm despite the fact that he had earlier promised Tim that he could help pick the spot to draw him out of his shyness The genuine reasons that he hesitated were two fold

First space to build the Academy

Randidly glanced upward at the waterfall in question For about thirty meters above the ground the water fell freely from a thin ridge where it geysered horizontally out into the air But despite its height the waterfall possessed immense power due to sheer volume of water that squeezed out through the cracked stone and into the air

The smallish mountain in front of them was just one of a hundred in the surrounding area None of the surrounding mountains were particularly large but they pressed so tightly together that Randidly guessed that the source of the waterfall was snowmelt from the more massive Mountains only a short distance away It probably flowed through the high valleys in the main portion of the mountain range finally arrived here to crash gleefully down toward sea level

But the area around the source of the waterfall was rocky and cracked Most of the ground in the surroundings was sharply inclined It was possible that they could level the ground to make a firm foundation but how much space was available for the various classrooms and the auction hall that Randidly wanted to be present in Kharon Academy They would need to take some of the surrounding mountains as well and have some of the construction be on the surrounding peaks

Randidly did some mental calculations A conservative estimate put the resulting landmass at about half of KharonÆs size Which would certainly be able to house the 10 000 children that currently clogged KharonÆs parts but it was a slight wrench in their plans All the careful drawings and projects that Tatiana had forced Randidly to make would have suddenly been for naught

The second issue was less pressing but still frustrated Randidly with a pool of water and resulting river that deep where would he put his labyrinth The landmass would also need to be thicker than his original estimates The increased area would help generate enough power to keep it airborne but still

What about you Tim asked finally waking Randidly from his mental calculations Have you picked a spot for the other land we are choosing I can give you some suggestions if you want

I think I have spots picked out but thank you Randidly said wryly wondering how over the two hours of their tour of the countryside Tim had shifted from a shy pre teen who could barely look at Randidly to an authoritative patriarch in the field of real estate But honestly Randidly appreciated the change It helped alleviate some of his anxiety that he was shifting too far away from being a human

Which was useful just because Randidly was preparing himself to completely ignore that fear and throw most of his energy into a few days of intensive image training Hearing the news from Vualla had lit a fire in his heart Once more he felt confident about his decision to move on to the Nexus

That was the venue where he could grow most quickly and defend ExpiraÆs future

This world could get along without him just fine in the meantime What Randidly needed to be ready for were the bigger threats coming down the pipeline I think IÆll just pick that valley of wildflowers we found and then that flat stretch toward the beginning If we clear out the cactuses it would be ideal

Tim looked at him in shock That first place was a desert You are going to make people live in a desert Think of how high their air conditioning bill is going to be Dad always complained about stuff like that when we lived next to the desert

RandidlyÆs face twitched I think it will end up working out

Chapter 1477

Kharon hummed around Randidly Ghosthound at full and furious capacity In various small meeting rooms across the city the assembled teachers began refining the curriculum plans for Kharon Academy Tatiana invited various agricultural groups of Kharon to her high windowed office to talk about the acquisition of a floating island dedicated to growing the Wandering CityÆs food Commissioner Arrietti led an investigation into abuses of power within the Kharon government starting with his own police force In the belly of the city the Order Ducis began to ramp up the difficulty of its training assignments as the many applicants prepared to seize the five openings

But that was just the tip of the iceberg A cohort of immigration applicants were finally approved and given full status as KharonÆs citizens The metal working complex made a recent breakthrough using a strange fluid obtained from a mysterious pool in Zone 11 to create a metal that could be recast with ease Competition was heating up between the restauranteurs of Kharon who had enjoyed the explosive demand during the tournament but now had to return to only the population within the city The cities park service dubiously prepared for the arrival of a true winter

Meanwhile Randidly quietly stood on his floating island and felt waves of significance pass beneath him like wrinkles on silk as Kharon rapidly began to evolve But still as it had been since the tournament there was something else producing significance on Expira He frowned slightly using his delicate senses to try and trace the source But while significance slowly accumulated around Kharon Randidly couldnÆt sniff out the reason for the gradual shift

Of course Randidly wanted what Kharon did to be significant But he sensed that this was not completely the doing of his city So before he moved toward training he took some time to dedicate his whole attention to the change

After a few seconds of standing at attention like a german shepherd that had caught the scent of a groundhog Randidly huffed out a breath and then shook himself He turned and glanced over at his now partially renovated home On the demolished third floor seven trees stood tall with quite a bit of space between them After almost a day of periodic blasts of his Yggdrasil image it was clear the plant life was beginning to shift toward something that should exist partially in myth

There was an ethereal quality to the air within this grove In addition Randidly would occasionally catch a smolder of golden light from the root systems these trees were creating But it wasnÆt quite there yet

Randidly cracked the knuckles of his right hand and then produced his PhilosopherÆs Key Honestly Tatiana had taken the news that he decided to redecorate the top floor very well considering what it had cost to employ Mareen She just emphasized that any changes he was making needed to be done before he left for the Nexus she refused to finish any half made mess And considering the fact that this would be a working of image Randidly would prefer to handle the details himself

When his mind insistently continued to fuss over the issue of the changing layer of significance across Expira Randidly walked through the portal and found himself met by the soft rush of waves hitting a shoreline They lapped forward over his toes and frothed onto his ankles He took a deep breath tasting the heavy tang of salt carried by the wind

For this training session Randidly chose to head to the NemesaiÆs old base in the middle of the sea Since TheaÆs breakdown and due to the fact that the world now accepted them the Nemesai now moved more openly into the Zones Being also citizens underneath the fucked up Nexus they honestly got along rather well with their Champion counterparts Which meant that the abandoned and desolate secret hideout could be freely used

And Randidly wouldnÆt need to worry about polluting the surrounding space Or about leaving the ground torn and charred

Randidly walked away from the shoreline but didnÆt head down into the dizzying network of tunnels and caves than ran beneath the island Randidly grinned up at the pure azure sky above him lightly dotted with quickly moving clouds Setting aside the danger of causing a cavin in on himself he genuinely wanted to remain out here The color of the sky reminded him of VuallaÆs eyes

Still he had to push all those little distractions away as soon as he settled down into a sitting position Today would hopefully be the beginning of a shift that had been a long time coming today Randidly Ghosthound would work very seriously on the image of the Grim Chimera

The air around him cracked as his body quickly began to produce more heat His heartbeat quickened His blood positively sizzled as it rushed around his body and passed oxygen on to his muscles As the changes to his cardiovascular system grew more drastic a tremor ran through RandidlyÆs body A low growl escaped his lips His eyes narrowed into slits as the pain began

Unlike during a triple image activation which had become increasingly habitual Randidly kept a lid on both the Stillborn Phoenix and Yggdrasil as the Grim Chimera expanded freely through his body Previously he had carefully allocated space in his person for each of the images to coexist But now he didnÆt require that careful calculus He could simply explode with a single minded power So the Grim Chimera gleefully expanded and manifested across the entirety of RandidlyÆs person

His metal left arm rippled and a bulging arm of muscle appeared in its place ending in a massive claw with talons as long as a human hand Those talons stretched out lazily almost as though it was testing the laws of physics in the surrounding space His right arm slowly withered and stretched until a spear of bone covered in dried blood extended out from his elbow His shoulders and spine cracked and twisted as he grew slightly taller and broader His two bone tails flicked back and forth from his neck and waist His heart rate continued to rise

Randidly eyes blazed with emerald fire His mouth stretched wider and wider less as any display of emotion but acting more like the side effect from his jaw cracking and grinding into a new joint formation His heartbeat accelerated even further thundering in his chest The skin of his torso turned pale as the skin of his extremities darkened The air around him hissed as Randidly breathed out and released blasts of steam

His larger shoulders rose as his new lungs inflated to fill his new rib cage When he breathed out the steam it was slightly luminous although the effect was mostly lost in the broad daylight underneath the brilliant azure sky Then his whole body trembled a split second later the Grim Chimera raised its head and roared toward the sky blasting out steam like a dragon whose treasure horde had been pilfered

A flock of birds on the far side of the island took flight as sound waves and image reverberations echoed outward Randidly sensed fish quickly zipped out of the nearby shadows toward deeper waters and couldnÆt stop the surging glee in his heart This was the raw dominance that the Grim Chimera wielded The trials that had nearly killed it left it unfathomably strong For good measure Randidly roared once more The remaining animals in the surrounding area fled

The roar of a predator is a universal signal Randidly thought idly Then he rolled his shoulders and took a step forward His ankle and knee bent slightly and he savored the sensation of power that flooded through him The physical limitation of the System was practically nonexistent now although Randidly could still vaguely feel where it lay coiled like an untied rope around his body But with that awareness was also a certainty that he could stop his foot and break past that limit almost immediately hitting the ground and sundering the surrounding island in an explosion of violence

The realization brought the Grim Chimera a great deal of joy While Randidly was now his image personified he still possessed an independent perspective that watched the inner machinations of the Grim ChimeraÆs mind Likely the uncontrolled emotions were a reflection of the parts of Randidly that resided within his other his image But this observational Randidly was somewhat amused by the Grim ChimeraÆs easy joy and ferocity If you donÆt control that hunger youÆll soon bite off more than you can chew Probably sooner than you think

The Grim Chimera breathed in sucking in oxygen and energy from the surrounding

Congratulations Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith has grown to Level 299

The relatively thick Aether that blanketed Expira rushed into the Grim ChimeraÆs body The thin film of Nether provided an almost nonexistent boost to his Nether Nebula But the real effect was the way that the surrounding air of the island seemed to grow dim for a few seconds Randidly could notice trace weakenings of the stone beneath him as the Grim Chimera stole something vital from everything touched by its breath

The Grim Chimera held that breath in his chest for a few seconds that gradually released it Then he breathed in again

Still all that energy made the Grim Chimera practically glow Randidly took a few more steps forward savoring the intoxicating feeling of power within this physical form Then before he was carried away by the sensation Randidly stretched out his right arm The subtle strand of rope wrapped around his wrist trembled and then unfolded into the air Soon the complex matrices of the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night hovered in front of him

The Grim Chimera burning with fighting spirit slipped into the strange space of lights and echoing resonances The observing Randidly felt a small amount of pity You believe this is necessary to prove yourself and we believe it is necessary so you might be broken and then reforged but be careful

Without any hesitation the Grim Chimera called a moment to mind and it grew bright and rushed to hover in front of him Of the moments within the Dreamcatcher it was clear from the shrill keening of it t this was one of the most powerful Randidly carefully wove a protective film of Aether and Nether tightly around his Class then allowed the eager Grim Chimera to reach forward and touch that heavy moment There was a brief sense of disorientation and then Randidly was there floating

It was an extended empty moment The Grim Chimera grinned in anticipation Randidly Ghosthound released a breath while the Stillborn Phoenix and Yggdrasil prepared themselves And then that flitting Perception came upon his person as Elhume looked for Yystrix

If anything RandidlyÆs first impression of that contact was a sense of awe In their previous brush he hadnÆt possessed the same familiarity with Aether and Nether that he did now So when this time that massive landmass of crystalized Aether appeared in front of him he could truly appreciate the feat it represented The fossilized power there was enough to rival what one million Randidly GhosthoundÆs could currently accomplish There were mountain ranges and valleys and plateaus and rough edges ravines within that landmass sized crystal all possessing more raw power than Randidly could generate

Looking at it it seemed impossible

Even more intimidatingly this time Randidly could sense what lay beneath that huge and eye catching piece of crystal Aether It rested on a swirling swamp of Nether It was a sinister tar that sizzled against the bottom of the crystalized Aether representing an equally staggering gathering of significance to mirror the meaning that Elhume possessed

But the sizzle made Randidly frown Why

Something that was deeply locked away within all that crystalized Aether stirred The movement created a minuscule crack That silent slithered across the continent of crystal And suddenly all that Randidly could sense was a distant buzzing

When he came to his Absolute Timing told him that he had been unconscious for four minutes and eleven seconds He sat up with a groan a vicious headache pounding at the periphery of his awareness That brief brush with Elhume had apparently knocked him directly out of the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night

He glanced around It seemed that the process had also melted the only now cooling sand on which he had been standing

Randidly turned his attention inward and then sighed with relief although his Class was shaken it hadnÆt been stripped barren as it had in the past Perhaps being knocked out of the memory and not having to remain underneath ElhumeÆs scrutiny weakened the permanent damage Or quite depressingly perhaps he had finally become powerful enough to survive a single glance from Elhume

At that point Randidly became aware of the low whine that was coming from the Grim Chimera What he found in his image was somewhat shocking even the most core detail of that confident Grim Chimera was now blurry and indistinct The impact of ElhumeÆs attention had smashed it to smithereens If it hadnÆt been the image focused on survival it likely would have been completely annihilated the remnants now uselessly drifting apart

Yggdrasil was also wounded from the brush but much less so than the Grim Chimera So it quickly marshaled its energy and prepared to heal its fellow image But Randidly shook his head and stopped it The Grim Chimera chose this Let it heal on its own It needs this

Meanwhile the keening cry of suffering continued But more than a lament the noise was a promise The Grim Chimera swore vengeance with every moment of his strained suffering

Chapter 1478

Why are you grinning Kayle asked even though he knew the answer His longtime rival was not a complicated man

PaoloÆs expression like his voice and movements was practically booming on the small balcony of one of the OrchardÆs finest hotels Ahaha Well isnÆt this exciting This well certainly there is no honor in what we do now but considering the circumstances eheheh

DonÆt laugh like that Huang Shou brought his cane down in a brutal smack against PaoloÆs back but the man simply endured it with his shit eating grin in place Kayle shook his head slightly you needed to hit Paolo harder than that in order to get through to him He considered lighter strikes like that just displays of affection

Then Huang Shou jabbed his cane at the papers on the desk small end table that he had previously directly Huang Li to drag out onto the balcony The papers fluttered slightly from a small breeze Mrs Hamilton sent over projections Read them DonÆt think that now that the tournament is over work has ceased It is only beginning

Huang Li Kayle and even Paolo obeyed For their next project they had no chance unless they came armed with plentiful information

Over the next several days Randidly practiced with weaving Nether gave Tim some pointers on the Engraving to create floating islands and spent some time refining his other images while the Grim Chimera recovered from that immense psychological impact The process was slow at first but the Grim ChimeraÆs natural inclination toward adaption meant that it quickly accelerated Much of the raw sense of power had been beaten from the Grim Chimera in that brief contact with Elhume but it had regained its almost uncanny cunning in exchange

Not that Randidly needed the Grim Chimera to behave particularly intelligent most of the time but it was one third of the person he was gradually becoming Keeping it in touch with caution was prudent considering the dangers that waited in the Nexus When the confidence was unfounded it needed to be tempered

Once the Grim Chimera had regained enough of its details to condense into a physical form Randidly didnÆt let that freshly shaken image settle he continued to hammer it by taking it into the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night and fighting against Kaan Swacc And during those fights Randidly only used the Grim Chimera

His physical power and capability in physical condensation of images had increased but the largest gain from the fight RandidlyÆs ability to use three images at once was sealed As such the Grim Chimera quickly became involved in several long drawn out fights with Kaan Swacc Which is the worst method to combat Kaan Swacc who used those extended brawls to methodically suppressed the Grim ChimeraÆs abilities until it was beaten into submission

Time and time again Randidly persisted until his vision was blurred from the creeping headache of using the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night but he did not slow down After being defeated by Kaan and then meditating for about twenty minutes in the real world he would stand and shake himself off Then he would open up the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night and throw himself right back into the fray

After the fifth such attempt an attempt that had only lasted three minutes before Kaan Swacc had suppressed Randidly and forced him out of the memory the image of Yggdrasil pulsed slightly it pointed out that the process Randidly was currently experiencing was very similar to the training of the Xyrt Brigade Which meant that it carried with it the same risks that had made Randidly so furious when they had afflicted Vualla

Randidly considered that his chest rising and falling relatively quickly thinking was also a chance to catch his breath Truly he was exhausted And when he focused his Willpower on the current state of the Grim Chimera what he found there was lackluster The last time the image had been this blurry and feeble was when Randidly had been forced as an image to the frontlines

Otherwise it had never been this bedraggled and feeble

The body and face was wan and ethereal Once more the Grim Chimera was a featureless being the details rubbed away The only elements that were maintained with any clarity were the sharp edges of his talons and the point of the Grim ChimeraÆs bone spear The rest had faded into a bitter shadow that hung in the air like a stench Even the two tails of the Grim Chimera had vanished

Ultimately however Randidly shook his head side to side at YggdrasilÆs objection You are right this is dangerous ThatÆs the point The Grim Chimera doesnÆt respond to anything else And compared to the Skill Levels that you two possess the Grim Chimera has a much lower foundation We need to force that upward The faster the better

The Stillborn Phoenix stirred but all it felt was contempt for the weakness of others It might have even sprung over to devour the Grim Chimera if Yggdrasil hadnÆt always been careful to watch the selfish imageÆs movements For its part Yggdrasil pulsed again urging Randidly once more

Randidly waved his hand I stopped Vualla from going down this Path because of what her image was becoming It was calcifying into a horrifying monster with no senses only the capacity for destruction But the Grim Chimera will grow even in these circumstances That is the type of image that it is Trust me I made it that way

Unwillingly the part of Randidly that agreed with Yggdrasil relented And so the Grim Chimera went once more into battle against Kaan Swacc The unifying image of it was getting weaker as it continuously overexerted itself but Randidly didnÆt concern himself with that Instead his focus turned to the various Skills that made up the Descent of the Grim Chimera If the common thread was lost focus on the aspects

Its two passive abilities were the first specific images to receive RandidlyÆs attention Even if the whole of the image was weakening that would eventually come back if the parts grew healthier So in the next fight against Kaan Swacc Randidly embodied both Chimeric Avoidance and AbominationÆs Grim Vigor to the best of his abilities

These were the Skills that generally drew the least amount of their potency from his image so Randidly hadnÆt spent much time refining the images related to them They were after all entirely passive in their activation But in that first fight against Kaan Swacc with that mindset Randidly realized how much the Grim Chimera needed those two images when fighting alone

Chimeric Avoidance was the signature Skill of the Grim Chimera that allowed it to avoid just a little bit more that what should be physically possible Every one of the ChimeraÆs movements could be streamlined because of that Path of variance that only it could walk Attacks that should lay the Chimera out simply brushed against its hardened skin as it weaved closer

Because the SkillÆs effect bordered on impossibility Randidly had just vaguely influenced the direction of the image in the past His attention had been spent elsewhere But now he felt the massive contractions running through the body of the physicalized Grim Chimera as he fought His heartbeat was thunderous his blood was scalding While stepping sharply backward to avoid one of KaanÆs pyramids that shot down at his head Randidly realized that the Grim Chimera wasnÆt inherently special It had no magical Skill that gave it access to isolated space in order to dodge

The body of the Grim Chimera evolved on the fly Its joints bones and muscles could expand and contract rather freely The more Randidly examined himself the more he realized that the bones of the Grim Chimera seemed to be lined with a cartilage/muscle hybrid that allowed his skeleton to contract And as agonizing as the process was the Grim Chimera knew it was worth it

Survival first Everything else was just a bonus

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Avoidance has grown to Level 289

Kaan used the resonance from one of his pyramids to suppress RandidlyÆs abilities and another to boost his own Then he zipped forward filled with the fiery assurance that Randidly Ghosthound was a Nether spy

And how could the Grim Chimera withstand the strain of the constant expansion and contraction Because it had a Skill that made him more myth than flesh

Congratulations Your Skill AbominationÆs Grim Vigor has grown to Level 335

Steam radiated off of Randidly in waves as he spun sideways breaking past the System limit and barely managing to use raw Nether Brawn and the dregs of the Grim Chimera to stand up against Kaan SwaccÆs blitz He moved with a violence that shredded his muscles because he had no other choice and his body was steadily knit together again by the vigor that animated him

In this Skill Randidly steadily invested more and more of his thoughts and insights as the frantic battle raged The drive at the core of the Grim Chimera became almost an obsession because Randidly sensed that shifting this image would give him the insight to transform the Grim Chimera What was the source of this monstrous vigor As his arms were smashed and broken by KaanÆs attacks RandidlyÆs attention was stretched to its limits The length between moments because positively yawning

Possibilities flitted and front of him and were banished just as quickly

Randidly released a steaming breath The muscles of his legs tensed as he prepared to roll to the side In the genesis of the Grim Chimera were hidden many old images but as Randidly dug deeper within himself looking for an answer the image that emerged most cleanly was ash The Chimera was a being of ash surviving and persisting through a great cataclysm The old world had been reduced to embers and scattered leaving nothing remaining of the grand civilization of the past

But not all of those embers had gone out The wafting steam radiating outward from RandidlyÆs skin began to intensify Randidly blinked It was pretty simple really He had considered similar options in the past Animating the core of the Grim Chimera was one of those few remaining embers of a destroyed world

And just like that the engine of the Grim Chimera became suffused with overwhelming heat Which was not enough to prevent Randidly from being smashed into the ground and knocked out of the memory by Kaan Swacc only a few moments later

While he recovered from the damage the Grim Chimera had sustained Randidly lay on his back and looked up at the sky Somehow while Randidly had been training even the clouds had fled from him All that lay above him was a vast expanse of blue The sky was so clear that it didnÆt even seem to exist It gathered his gaze and rewarded him with nothing but that eternal blue

In his chest there was a minor shift at the core of the Grim Chimera Where there had previously only been emotions now the molten ember of a destroyed world bound itself with those emotions The ashy capricious form of the Grim Chimera began to swirl and churn

Considering how exhausted RandidlyÆs mental energy was even outside of the weakened image of the Grim Chimera the change did not come with much fanfare But like the slow trickle of water forcing its way out of a broken pipe it portended larger shifts to come

Randidly began to laugh as he observed the slow shift in his image See ItÆs working

Yggdrasil shook its leaves in disbelief

Chapter 1479

Derek Moss scratched his cheek and did his best to phrase his objection delicately ArenÆt we technically also applicants to the Order Ducis

Naffur just shrugged summarily vanquishing DerekÆs concern Although the leader of the Order DucisÆs reassuringly solid aura helped mask his age sometimes it was impossible to hide how youthful his features were Standing now away from the rest of the Order Ducis applicants that milled around the training area Naffur dropped most of the official stern expression that he generally carried and spoke candidly Technically you are right But two of the slots in the next batch are reserved for you and Hydie So we figured you would have extra insight to help choose the other five people who would join Congratulations

Lucky us Hydie grumbled Then she stifled a yawn and capped the gesture by chugging the rest of her coffee They were standing in one of the staging bays of Kharon as the city walked steadily South The sun hadnÆt yet risen so the air still had the grainy texture of twilight as it filtered through the open passage out into the world

Rather than taking offense at HydieÆs comment Naffur just grinned His whole face lit up with the useful charm that meant he would likely lead the Order Ducis for a long time Yea well blame yourselves for being too efficient at your tasks If you keep doing the things we ask we are going to keep coming up with jobs for you There are thirty people who persevered to this point among the applicants although youÆll notice that there is a pretty clear hierarchy amongst them Just take the group and clear out some of the denser monster populations in the area The Levels are in the high 60s around here so you should be able to get a good picture of their actual strength

If I may Hydie raised her hand She had a little bit of coffee sticking to her upper lip Naffur blinked but nodded Hydie pointed over at Derek I assure you that he is the one who is responsible for our efficiency If anything IÆve routinely encumbered our activities So I think itÆs for the best that I sit this one out lest the process be negatively affected

No Naffur responded Then with a sly grin he walked away

I guess thatÆs that Derek thought wryly

Derek walked over and patted HydieÆs shoulder Keep trying Someday youÆll be as good at avoiding work as you want to be Why do you want to skip out on this one anyway After patrolling through Kharon for so long it will be good to get out and just hunt some monsters Plus you can try out your new image on some targets you wonÆt feel much pity for

Yea yea Hydie waved her hand then quickly pulled it back to her chest Immediately after she sighed ItÆs just well I havenÆt this is embarrassing to admit But itÆs been a while since IÆve painted my nails I set out all my bottles for ease of selection so I donÆt have any in my interspatial ring And my fingers look ragged right now I was in too much of a hurry this morning

Derek turned away and shook his head Well seems like we are ready to depart then

Hydie huffed out a breath

Once Randidly discovered and refined the image of a burning ember of a planet as the core of the Grim ChimeraÆs image his attention moved on to another Skill Molten Fang of the Pariah

Congratulations Your Skill Molten Fang of the Pariah has grown to Level 241

That heat source was exactly what Randidly needed to boost the raw destructive might of the Skill With the average temperature across his body rising about thirty degrees with the shift in his image his right arm was practically glowing with heat as the new notes were added to the Skill But it wasnÆt just the heat that made the attack powerful since the source of the flame was a dying world there was a horrible caustic quality to the fire in the Grim ChimeraÆs chest It struck both the wielder and target but the Grim Chimera had spent its entire existence accepting that horrible energy source

It was a flame that released the acrid tang of ashes and sweat The radiating illumination gradually tainted the Grim Chimera darkening and warping it to its current form

Gradually RandidlyÆs thoughts on how the Grim Chimera grew so twisted were solidified The details of the images while still remaining weak grew clearer In his mind that ambiguous cloudiness was banished But with that clarity came some rigidity So Randidly threw himself with even more dedication into the spars against Kaan Swacc He pushed his limits without restraint

Congratulations Your Skill Molten Fang of the Pariah has grown to Level 242

The added offensive power of the revamped Molten Fang meant that Kaan Swacc couldnÆt be as aggressive in his attacks on Randidly so the brawls stretched out into extended slugfests If Randidly were genuinely trying to improve his ability to defeat Kaan Swacc he might have experienced a small amount of despair at the repeated slow losses He was making progress but none of it seemed to affect the outcome

But Randidly didnÆt need to win here he already had In fact he relished the extended fights Even as his body and image began to fray at the edges from the strain his Skill Levels and his conclusions about the image of the Grim Chimera began to accumulate toward a complete transformation The brutal impacts and desperation of the confrontation against Kaan Swacc were pushing him to greater heights

However soon Randidly had utilized the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night so often for so long that he had a constant low headache The fights were lasting for longer and longer as his Skill Levels improved which increased the strain of deviation from the memory Yet Randidly didnÆt relent in his dedication One day of mind grinding training became two and then three The headache became a constant pounding resident in his cerebral cortex that sapped RandidlyÆs high brain function and left him with only instinct The improvements to the various details of his Skill usage gradually slowed as he ran out of mental juice

But he didnÆt mind In the haze of pain and fighting Randidly was looking for the grand spirit at the core of his images Others might hesitate to wander into such a deep mist of exertion to find an answer but Randidly was confident in the choice he knew that the spirit of the Grim Chimera was an enormous grand thing It could stand toe to toe with his other images

Even through the haze it would be so profound that he would recognize it instantly when he felt it So he wandered forward in near blindness fighting and struggling waiting for that epiphany

Or at least that is what he told the part of himself most closely associated with Yggdrasil which was watching the training process with increasing alarm But Randidly had carefully arranged this week so he would have several days in a row to train without any interruption He had a meeting with Tatiana Saturday morning and a dinner with Donny Saturday night

Otherwise the week was free He could be as bleary and battle crazed as he wished

Randidly allowed himself a bit more rest time between the matches as his exhaustion deepened but he continued to keep himself in that drained state As his mind for details continued to be eroded his fighting style expanded to include the other Grim Chimera Skills ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe filled the surrounding air with the bitter ashes of the world ember of the Grim Chimera carried greatly weakening their images

Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes continued to be an aggressive explosion of straight line momentum that enabled Randidly to cross the distance to Kaan Swacc but now it carried a vague emotional component As the Grim Chimera exploded into motion it briefly was filled with an all consuming desire for revenge At first the sudden fury surging through his veins confused Randidly but he gradually understood that the source was the ember not that the energy source possessed by the Grim Chimera was sentient but it did carry with it a deep yearning for revenge against the Cataclysm that had sundered it

That emotion was so potent that it was willing to direct it at any poor sap who stood in the emberÆs way

His chest heaving as he faced off against Kaan Swacc Randidly flexed his fingers with such violence that the joints of his fingers popped and cracked On this I can get behind you ThatÆs why I refuse to stop improving So that one day I can hold the Nexus accountable for all the lives it has devoured Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes

Congratulations Your Skill Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes has grown to Level 219

Congratulations Your Skill Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes has grown to Level 220

Randidly also enjoyed the usage of The Chimera Weeps But Man Mourns which allowed him to release a veritable wave of lightning fast spear thrusts in the surrounding area Each individual attack was relatively weak but the sudden burst allowed him to both deflect KaanÆs pyramids while scouring small scratches across his metallic body With one more tool being refined for the new shape of the Grim Chimera he was able to hold his own against Kaan Swacc for even longer stubbornly enduring the Xyrt Brigade representativeÆs ability to suppress images

At this point even the Nether Suppression Cell was of limited usefulness against Randidly Nether was steadily becoming a larger part of who he was sure but without his conscious direction it mostly functioned as an anchor that allowed more of his images to physically condense on his body Those benefits might fade eventually if Randidly was kept in the Suppression Cell for long enough but it wouldnÆt happen over the course of a brief spar

Soon all of his Grim Chimera Skills began to accumulate Skill Levels at an extremely fast pace The constant usage plus the newfound image of the world ember became the catalyst for immense change in the Grim Chimera Aside from of course the final Skill of the Descent of the Grim Chimera Skillset Especially while exhausted and drained Randidly knew that the Skill All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth would require some individual attention that he couldnÆt yet give it Without proper time and attention he wouldnÆt dare use it

So he continued to fight and struggle Wednesday turned into Thursday and then Friday Day and night passed without Randidly even noticing His bloodshot eyes grew almost glazed to timeÆs passage fixed on the memory of Kaan Swacc Between the matches he sat and meditated trying his best to recover his mental energy with only AbominationÆs Grim Vigor serving as the source of the healing

For now he was entirely the Grim Chimera A Grim Chimera that he was steadily rediscovering within himself

Chapter 1480

When Randidly turned up for their meeting Tatiana looked him up and down and then clicked her tongue in distaste Did you finish training immediately before you had to come here You smell like sweat and look like a zombie Your eyes are as red as my lipstick

Randidly considered lying but guile is an art that requires quite a lot of consideration and effort the truth was much easier And most likely telling the truth was the right thing to do Well IÆm not done training yet but

But you are in the middle of something I understand Tatiana said lightly They were sitting on a wooden bench in one of KharonÆs parks which Randidly appreciated The feeling of simply sitting in the sun was very pleasant while he nursed his general sense of exhaustion But he didnÆt then enjoy when she slapped a heavy packet of paper onto the bench between them Her image oozed tightly controlled fury But what you should understand is that you canÆt just half ass this and you certainly cannot put these decisions off not considering we donÆt know when you will leave

So IÆm going to take a walk around the park It will take about fifteen minutes When I get back I hope you are ready to talk about the city that you founded and how you would like it run With impeccable precision Tatiana spoke stood and then walked away with small rapid steps

The wind seemed slightly chillier as she stalked away

Randidly rubbed his chin guiltily As Tatiana moved further away he released a low breath Then he eased the restriction he had placed on his other images allowing Yggdrasil to finally flood his body mind and soul with warm and vibrant energy It was the monsoon the desert of his mind had been waiting for Compared to the steady and stubborn healing of AbominationÆs Grim Vigor the effect was immediate His headache began to gradually weaken and Randidly gratefully sat with his eyes closed and recovered

SheÆs right Randidly thought to himself as he sensed the life around him in the park Becoming strong enough to matter in the Nexus is important but that only matters as a means to protect Expira Strength is not my ultimate goal ItÆs that sort of thinking that led the original Vualla astray

And while IÆm here I need to give the proper care to the problems of the Earth

Before even Tatiana came back Randidly mind started to come back into focus One part of him began furiously scrutinizing his behaviors in that desperate spree of training to look for methods to improve the Grim Chimera but a larger part did turn toward the packet that Tatiana had left on the bench He picked it up and began to steadily read through it The task of paperwork was daunting due to the unending field of followup paperwork that was always lurking beyond the first batch but lifting his chin and pouring through just these documents in front of Randidly was manageable

When Tatiana returned she didnÆt mention that frustration and annoyance that must have led to her going on a sudden walk and Randidly didnÆt either They addressed only the work arranging the sale of the land and talking over various options for the housing island Randidly had been scouting In their careful planning and long term projections Randidly really felt how he would soon be gone from Earth And how long that absence would be for His wandering city would really need to thrive without his reassuring presence

RandidlyÆs emerald eyes surveyed the park around him The flitting moss spirits the walking couples and the laughter of children all seemed suddenly so separate from him He had always been aware this was coming but as the truth of his forthcoming absence started to sink in a part of Randidly couldnÆt help become melancholy

Sensing the shift in his mood Tatiana smiled playfully Only this amount of work got you down You just donÆt have it in you to be a bureaucrat

Randidly ignored her attempt to lighten the mood and just spoke from the heart IÆll be sad to go

And we will be sad to see you go Tatiana replied with the same directness Then she pointed to a graph on the page in front of her and asked Randidly a question and he allowed her to guide the discussion forward to the next issue on the agenda

The meeting ended up lasting for almost two hours but that was mostly because Randidly started taking longer and longer pauses to consider the questions that Tatiana asked him and reflect on the actions heÆd taken on Expira to reach this point During those extended silences she didnÆt prompt him simply letting him slowly work through his thoughts

So it was in a changed mood that Randidly returned to his floating island Some of the exhaustion that Yggdrasil was furiously trying to address slipped sideways to become emotional heaviness that tugged at his thoughts There was significance in his reflection which drew more density into the steady churn of his Nether Nebula That light grey color at the core was growing increasingly distinct

After shaking himself back to action Randidly walked onto the third floor of his home and considered the rapidly expanding foliage present there He released several powerful pulses of Yggdrasil feeling the ground accept the image easily as it was shaped by the World TreeÆs power Then he more carefully allowed the Stillborn Phoenix image out in the surrounding area using it like a pesticide to suck away the life and energy from developments that werenÆt in line with his plan

With a nod Randidly hopped off of the third floor and landed on the ground Then he walked over to his small shack on the other end of the island He pushed open the door and peered carefully inside his eyes taking in the deep gouges in the ground and the piles of shaved metal Acri have you recovered

There was a low hum in response and then RandidlyÆs living spear tiredly slithered forward out the door From the three meter long bulk of the previous lance form Acri had used the stupendous amount of experience that he absorbed from Kaan Swacc to streamline himself back toward a more typical size for the spear Yet above all else what struck Randidly as he viewed the reforged Acri was an appalling thick pressure that the spear now released

The sensation of sharpness he emanates is almost overwhelming

Acri twined its body beneath itself like a spring and then launched it up into the air where Randidly snatched it and tested its weight The material of the shaft had shifted somewhat Where it had previously been a plant spear now it clearly felt like AcriÆs plant matter had edged toward metal Randidly could feel the pulse of life within the forest green shaft but it was a type of life that he wasnÆt familiar with The material felt cool and solid against his palm

RandidlyÆs hand tightened on Acri and he flicked the spear from side to side With the weight increase the balance of the weapon felt even more appropriate in his body that was strengthened by physicalized images Randidly could feel the momentum and force that could be now generated with the metal/plant Acri and it brought him quite a lot of joy

He held up the spear to catch the light Even though the main result of the transformation was a general reduction in size AcriÆs spearhead remained overly large for the shaft It was as wide at the base as RandidlyÆs thigh and stretched perhaps a half meter long Perhaps it might be more accurate to call the new Acri a glaive While Randidly watched the spearhead slid part revealing two jagged blades that connected to form the spearhead Tightly layered patterns ran across the blade reflecting various shades of green grey and blue

You look good Randidly grinned at Acri who wiggled shyly Then he allowed the spear to curl around his waist like a belt while he checked the time

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Timing has grown to Level 161

Randidly still had about four and a half hours before his dinner with Donny He wavered between refining his Nether weaving or training the Grim Chimera further but ultimately he felt like he was making a lot of progress with the Grim Chimera While he still possessed that insight he wanted to see how much further he could push the image

So he opened a portal to the old Nemesai base and continued his training Once more he forced the Grim Chimera to confront Kaan Swacc directly

Significance continued to pool around him solidifying even more of his image physicalizations in his body Although Kaan Swacc could empower himself and weaken Randidly with his resonances RandidlyÆs base specs had risen to the point that even Kaan Swacc wasnÆt physically a match for him

The memory of Kaan was shocked by his inability to completely suppress Randidly but not overly so He once more loudly criticized Randidly for destroying his future and cutting himself off from the Nexus limitations and also for selling out his potential to the Nether Then he weaponized his image and used it to wear down the Grim ChimeraÆs powerful body With the combination of all his slightly improved new Skills Randidly stoically endured for longer than he ever had before The fight stretched on for nearly half an hour before Randidly was forced out of the Dreamcatcher simply because the deviation from the past grew too extensive and the headache was unmanageable

Randidly tskÆd as he rubbed his temples afterward Acri slithered up and rubbed his neck in concern Maybe I should spend some time trying to absorb otherÆs memories and finally finish Leveling up the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night If IÆm going to train like this I need to be able to withstand the pressure for longer

But for now Randidly simply satisfied himself with his current capabilities For the next four hours he challenged Kaan Swacc almost a dozen times each battle brutally straining the limits of his new image As he had hoped the new Grim Chimera was gradually gaining a solidified shape

Of course a part of Randidly wished he could break past KaanÆs frustrating defense and crush him with just the Grim Chimera And he had one last Skill that could perhaps do that All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth But as tempted as he was Randidly let that avenue unpursued He wanted to be very sure of the new shape of the Grim Chimera before he began to tinker with its most powerful Skill

When his Absolute Timing warned him that he was in danger of being late Randidly twisted his lips in frustration left the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night and allowed Yggdrasil to work on his persistent headache while he opened a portal to a bathhouse in Kharon After scrubbing himself clean and applying some Ghosthound soap to himself with a conflicted heart Randidly opened a portal to the residential district on the hill over Donnyton and searched for DonnyÆs home

When he arrived a guard directed Randidly downward through several long corridors and too a staircase into a basement At the bottom Randidly walked out into a chamber the sized of a football field whose walls were lined with Engravings RandidlyÆs eyes took in the whole thing Considering the sophistication these must have been done by Sam

At the center of the area was a small gazebo and garden where Donny was standing and talking with a man in a chefÆs uniform At RandidlyÆs arrival Donny gestured for the man to leave and turned to Randidly Ha You are here on time I honestly planned on you keeping me waiting

Randidly smiled wryly I suppose I deserve that but before we continued IÆd like to ask you a question

When Donny tilted his head to the side Randidly shook his Look does everyone think that IÆve been developing a temper You can let whoever you have in your Bodyguard Skill out I wonÆt freak out if we have a third person for the dinner

For a second DonnyÆs face froze But then he sighed well this makes things much easier But IÆm sorry to admit I donÆt think this will be the dinner you expected

There was a blurring as he deactivated his Skill and RandidlyÆs eyes widened Fifteen people exploded into motion taking positions around him A horse huffed a large breath out through his nose

Alana leveled her spear at RandidlyÆs back ItÆs an assassination attempt Sun Strike

Chapter 1481

Based on my observations of Randidly Ghosthound we have three distinct advantages Mrs Hamilton had written at the beginning of the extensive report they had all been given in preparation for this The first lies in the rather brutal compulsion to improve that the Ghosthound routinely demonstrates through his training habits Perhaps he doesn’t think of it that way but we can rest assured that he is training himself with a rigor that will eventually produce a vulnerability we can take advantage of It is simply his nature

He knows little of rest

Huang Li was blurring sideways into his assigned position as the words seemed to echo in his head Although his System boosted Intelligence let him memorize the report from almost a single glance he had still carefully pored over every word in the last five days careful not to miss anything After all they would only have one chance

Huang Li drew his sword and his mind continued to run through the words of the report Secondly it is clear from that values emphasized by the Order Ducis that there is a large hole in Randidly’s experiences Perhaps other than the occasional monster Randidly Ghosthound has not often been ambushed The Order Ducis only speaks of self improvement never preparedness or vigilance

There are a few easy explanations for this strange understanding of the System dominated world First the Ghosthound’s Perception is far beyond typical human limits There is even no anecdotal evidence of someone being silent camouflage or fast enough to get the jump on the Ghosthound The one exception is the use of Donny’s Bodyguard Skill which used against Randidly Ghosthound’s second fight against Donnyton as a whole As such I believe Randidly will notice quickly but it is the best method available to us

Plus you need to consider that since the beginning even before he had a class Randidly Ghosthound was stronger than all but the highest Level monsters on Earth As such with the scientifically proven sensitivity monsters have toward Aether usage they have probably avoided him instinctually

Another explanation is one that is largely extrapolated from second hand accounts and observations of the GhosthoundÆs companion Helen The other world where Randidly spent quite a bit of his time Tellus was one dominated by spear users There a barbaric sort of chivalry governed the battles Perhaps entirely by accident Randidly has been primed to believe that a target wouldn’t bother to ambush him for a shred of an advantage Quite frankly Helen routinely talks when prompted about how everyone thought Randidly was quite weak until he proved them all wrong

No one took him seriously enough to ambush him until it was too late We wonÆt make that mistake

The third advantage is the most unpredictable because its application in RandidlyÆs battles has been haphazard But it cannot be denied that he will occasionally be overwhelmed with battle lust It doesnÆt truly cloud his judgment not as you would hear with the berserkers of old but he often practices self denial in those fights He stubbornly refused to switch to a better answer to his opponent in order to sharpen a certain set of Skills or images

With these three advantages I believe it is very possible for the current Earth to inflict serious damage on a surprised Randidly Ghosthound

“It’s an assassination attempt Sunstrike ” Alana announced using a sign they had agreed upon beforehand to indicate that she could sense the GhosthoundÆs image was in a weakened state Rather than launching herself forward and attack as the Ghosthound twisted rapidly to face her Alana struck the ground in front of her with her spear The burning stroke threw up a spray of dirt and pebbles to screen the Ghosthound’s vision Huang Li settled his feet and raised his sword His heart was pounding harder than anything he could remember except that moment where he had lost against Paolo and Kayle But now those powerful warriors joined him in surrounding the Ghosthound And yet

There’s something in the air Huang Li realized He barely suppressed a shiver The air around him is thick The surprise that he had briefly been able to detect from their quarry had vanished And in its place some as oppressive as a sky filled with massive iron grey storm clouds settled over the underground area

Huang Li had heard the rumors had seen the Ghosthound from afar but it was different now as they aligned themselves as foes against him The hitherto ambivalent energy around the Ghosthound now grew hostile It pressed over Huang LiÆs mouth making it difficult to breathe But he forced himself to remain focused and study their foe

He was a young man perhaps in his late twenties his arms shoulders and waist thickening with potent muscle that showed through his loose clothes He had short black hair and bright emerald eyes His left arm was entirely metal apparently forged by the Ghosthound himself From afar the Ghosthound had even appeared skinny but up close he possessed all the raw and primal presence of a jungle cat

His eyes flicked almost contemptuously around at them as the screen of dirt fell and hit the ground At that moment Huang Li began to understand what it meant to be the strongest person in the world

Hank’s bullet was the signal for their offensive to start in earnest To follow up a half dozen of Glendel’s monstrous spirit followers charge to swarm the Ghosthound Their eerie cries echoed incessantly in the small underground space Behind the specters Paolo Kayle Lucifer and Tykes swarmed forward to be prepared to smash the Ghosthound if he made a single mistake Huang Li stood in the secondary encirclement with Giuliana Donny Dinesh Alana and Lyra joining him They were there to reinforce if any of the front four that Randidly attacked

Beyond them Huang Shou Glendel and Stan waited to address any further issues that emerged Ancho after being summoned was rapidly cantering back toward the entrance to the underground training area Huang Li wondered if the horse had the sharpest instincts out of all of them Aside from Wivanya who Alana stated wouldn’t agree with this course of action every one of the tournament top 8 duos was present

All to bridge the gap between themselves and Randidly Ghosthound

As the bullet rushed toward the Ghosthound Huang li could see a sliver of hesitation in their targetÆs eyes Yet simultaneously as Li thought he recognized that emotion the Ghosthound’s body was blurring into motion He pulled a long dark spear that appeared to have been wrapped around his waist like a belt and cut quickly upward The enormous spearhead impacted the bullet with a crisp ding the projectile was cleanly dissected while midair Which gave the Ghosthound almost a horrifying amount of time to glance around and weigh the foes that were arrayed against him

The lines around his eyes tightened The heaviness in the air grew more unbearable And even though the electrical lights in the underground area didnÆt flicker they suddenly seemed dimmer The disapproval of the Ghosthound squeezed the entire area dimming even the light

“Are you serious ” The Ghosthound said rather casually considering the circumstances He flicked his spear and it spun so quickly that it hummed Then his hand snapped shut as a spectral wolf pounced toward him Rather than seeming worried the Ghosthound smiled “The Chimera Weeps But Man Mourns “

His spear released a melodious whistle as it ripped through the air adding a strange beauty to the dozen quick thrusts that reduced the ravenous spirit to just wafting shreds of ectoplasm He whipped abruptly around his joints seeming to compact and twist in a tighter motion than should be possible for any human individual The Ghosthound’s spear flashed up a four winged owl was cleanly beheaded The spear then whistled cheerfully to the right A minotaur and a harpy were shredded while both howled with unwillingness The Ghosthound sucked in a powerful breath and the remaining two specters seemed to stall in their charge

A few deft strokes later the Ghosthound had the freedom to grin around at the foursome of Paolo Kayle Lucifer and Tykes Shreds of GlendelÆs thralls drifted in the air around him

So this is Randidly Ghosthound Huang Li tightened his grip on his newly acquired sword It almost felt like the weight Huang Li had sensed from the body of the Ghosthound now reached over and playfully put its finger on the tip of his weapon The muscles of LiÆs arm strained to keep his stance clean in the face of that force His resistance was made more difficult because of the enclosed area Huang Li’s image couldn’t efficiently spread in the basement But he gritted his teeth and expanded his image to rush around the edges of the arena

Meanwhile Tykes reached the Ghosthound and hefted a replacement iron ball above his head one that had as much diameter as he had height Handles had been installed on the sides so he could keep a firm grip on despite its surface area But even as Tykes quickly whipped the ball into the air in preparation for a strike he was stabbed in the chest by the Ghosthound’s spear It was such a sharp movement that even Tykes couldn’t react he seemed frozen in comparison That was just the difference in their base abilities

But Tykes shattered and reformed into the Ghosthound himself his spear now thrust into the empty air Behind him in the Ghosthound’s original position Tykes brought his massive ball down toward the Ghosthound’s back Across the arena Dinesh released a slow breath

“Ha ” The Ghosthound twisted around to his left His metallic left arm blurred and warped as he spun and it was with an enormous taloned claw that the Ghosthound met the blow Rather than knocking it away he just caught it with a dull thump Steam started wafting out of the corners of the Ghosthound’s mouth and nose “Now’s not a great time for a spar I won’t be able to hold back if you keep pushing me “

Kayle and Paolo crossed in front of the Ghosthound each blasting out a powerful image Kayle possessed his enormous divide Paolo was positively explosive with the aura of triumph he radiated They planted their feet and struck at the Ghosthound who had opened up his stance to catch Tykes’ blow Tykes for his part swore quietly to himself and heaved on the ball but the Ghosthound’s talons had sunk into the surface the weapon didn’t budge even when he was putting all his Strength into the effort

The Ghosthound spun his spear the enormous blade at the end stopped Kayle’s slash dead and knocking the man back a few meters Then the Ghosthound opened his stance further taking Paolo’s powerful punch directly to the chest He didn’t even grunt he simply released Tykes’ iron ball and straightened into a kick to Paolo’s chest The man was blasted backward as Lucifer arrived and swung his massive saber in a horizontal slash that Kayle had to hop back to avoid

This too the Ghosthound didn’t bother to avoid He pulled back his spear set his feet and then sprung forward in a thrust so quick that Huang Li didn’t even register the movements until they were completed In fact some part of Huang Li wondered if it wasnÆt his mind filling in the movements of the Ghosthound after his eyes failed to catch them His speed and coordination were uncanny

Lucifer responded more quickly than Huang Li would have been able to smashing his heels into the ground and slowing himself down so he wasn’t skewered immediately But despite his attempts he shattered like broken glass as the Ghosthound’s spear reached him In his place Lyra appeared turned sideways so the attack barely grazed her midsection

“Don’t fight him physically ” Lyra yelled Above her head a violet moon released a powerful wave of light Her image forced aside the sinister darkness that seemed wrapped around their foe Then that light pressed down across the Ghosthound’s body briefly suppressing him With that opportunity Lyra twisted her palm in the air “Sudden Eclipse “

As debris was blasted away in every direction the Ghosthound took only a single step backward His skin was reddening and steam wriggled its way off the skin of his arms and legs Huang Li pressed his lips together and continued to ramp up the speed of the low wind around the arena Into that chaotic space stepped Alana Donal

“When he forces me back take the shot ” Alana announced to Hank Howard Then she blazed with golden orange light A billowing veil of holiness spread out from her person sizzling as it steadily eroded the images of the others in the surrounding area Lyra retreated back her hands gradually nurturing some new attack The sense of holiness that Alana released suffered no imperfections as it dogmatically cleansed the surroundings Two enormous ivory wings spread out from Alana’s helmet and beat launching a flurry of drifting white feathers in the air

When the holiness hit the Ghosthound the steam around his body thickened His skin shimmered strangely His form was partially obscured making the long shadow that he cast even more ominous Alana’s face tightened into a frown “Solar Flare The First Revelation Advance “

Alana blurred into motion at a speed that Huang Li had only seen once before a few seconds ago from the Ghosthound’s dominant response to their group teaming up on him Randidly Ghosthound spun his spear and turned to meet Alana directly Hank crossed himself and then raised his revolver At the back of the encirclement Glendel raised his head “Wraith’s Vengeance “

Chapter 1482

Displaying a remarkable amount of Control Alana pulled her image back to just around her person and didn’t interfere with the descent of Glendel’s will upon the Ghosthound Above his GlendelÆs body was the towering and indistinct figure composed entirely of shadow The only exception was a pair of luminous eyes below the heavy crown that he bore This was the Sovereign of Ghosts ruler of the deceased savior of the damned That long shadow possessed the strength and integrity of a monarch steadily focusing on the figure of the Ghosthound

The shadowy Sovereign of Ghosts raised his hand and pointed at the Ghosthound and from the ground beneath the GhosthoundÆs feet came the grasping hands of angry ghosts The Skill drew power from the foes that the target killed so they had anticipated a massive response when they used it on the Ghosthound But the ambusher’s hesitated for a brief moment as thousands upon thousands of hands reached up and seized onto the Ghosthound’s limbs

There were so many hands that there quickly was no more room on the GhosthoundÆs body to grip even for ghosts So then the hands started holding onto each other in tightening rings Where they couldnÆt bind the GhosthoundÆs movements directly they formed ropes woven of hands that tried to bind him

There were human and monster hands so thickly clustered that they began to blend together into something positively corporeal They were ghastly bindings of sharp knuckles and desperate fingers With the steam rising off of the Ghosthound’s skin and the chains of spectral flesh binding him he was almost completely invisible to their eyes But even so the Ghosthound’s emerald gaze cut through the foggy haze and locked onto Glendel “You are certainly trouble YouÆve done a good job remaining low key for the past few years “

Then Alana was their her spear bright and pure as the dawn as it rushed forward The first clash between Alana Donal and the Ghosthound was him deflecting her spear to the side but the cleansing power of Alana’s image behind the strike carried forward and smashed into his chest The dense almost physical images of the Ghosthound wavered and Huang Li felt a flash of confidence The ghostly hands around his body seemed to tighten

They could do this

Then the Ghosthound exploded with force It was difficult to describe the phenomenon in any other way Huang LiÆs eyes couldnÆt follow the particulars The steam and mist and even Alana’s image were blasted away as he took such an abrupt and powerful step forward that it shattered the surrounding space His figure was suddenly revealed his skin releasing dense heat waves that made him difficult to view in an entirely different way

Most alarmingly those powerful spectral chains that Glendel had created were forcibly torn as he stepped forward And in the next moment Alana pulled her spear back and the Ghosthound stabbed forward to counter her When the two spears impacted each other Alana’s holy image stuck again at the weight that the Ghosthound released into the surrounding area And that holy wave of flames flared to even greater brightness as the two forces began to mix as though experiencing a surge of motivation to burn the power around the Ghosthound away and leave him defenseless

The Ghosthound twisted his spear and then spun bringing the butt of his weapon around to strike at Alana’s head She ducked and thrust at his midsection which he sidestepped with ease Then he planted his foot and accelerated at an impossible pace repaying Alana’s thrust with one in kind As he did so the Ghosthound sucked a deep breath The golden flames that were surging around him dimmed Even Huang Li perhaps twenty meters away from the Ghosthound swayed as that inhale pulled at something vital in his chest and stole a tiny pinch of it His image which had just been able to gain some momentum turned suddenly sluggish

Kayle had recovered his position and sprung forward as it became clear that Alana could only hastily move to deflect the Ghosthound’s thrust upward He cut decisively in a sharp vertical motion between the two combatants “Absolute Divide “

The Ghosthound’s spear sheered right through the barrier that Kayle conjured barely being slowed by a fraction of a second as it did so Which gave Alana a slight edge but even so the wicked and sharp weight that the Ghosthound wielded slashed through Alana’s golden flames and ivory feathers to cut a narrow gash in the shoulder of her leather armor

Hank Howard took his shot aiming for the moment where the Ghosthound’s spear scored a hit on Alana’s armor That small encumbrance was what he had been waiting for As the bullet rushed forward more and more scraps of the shattered images that had already been thrown against the Ghosthound were gathered together They flocked together like a school of multicolored fish each bearing a small amount of power Yet when enough of those scraps were gathered that bullet became a kaleidoscopic streak through the air Just as the Ghosthound pulled back on his spear Alana released her own and seized his shaft “Not so fast “

Without any apparent effort the Ghosthound flicked his wrist and flung Alana to the side Alana blinked in shock

Then he turned toward the attack and the head of his spear flashed in the light as he cut toward the bullet With the Perception given to Huang Li by the steady breeze that churned through the arena he could sense how perfectly the Ghosthound lined up his attack

which was why the sudden second shot from Hank’s revolver threw him off so much The bullet shrieked across the intervening space nicking the edge of the powerful bullet and redirecting it down and to the left The second bullet was so impossibly fast that it impacted the far wall before Hank’s powerful bullet impacted the Ghosthound but that quick bullet bounced off the wall without damaging it its power was practically negligible Yet for the first time the Ghosthound was struck with a serious blow That amalgamation of the previous images used against him blasted away the strange aura around the Ghosthound and sent him skidding backward across the ground for several meters

His toes left deep troughs in the dirt ground Finally he eased to a stop and immediately reached up toward the wound

Drops of blood fell from the Ghosthound right shoulder where the bullet still flared with furious life and continued to drain the oppressive deadliness the Ghosthound released into the area With their foe clearly shaken and focusing on the last attack Giuliana stepped forward and snapped her whip forward at the Ghosthound’s back

But as soon as she did so Alana’s eyes widened “Let go of “

Yet her warning came too late Even without the Ghosthound moving his previously rigid spear twisted sideways The head of the spear spread apart like a monster’s jaws and snatched Giuliana’s whip out of the air With a small yank the Ghosthound sent Giuliana sprawling Such was his overwhelming Strength that she was pulled eight of the ten meters toward the Ghosthound before she could stop herself Paolo and Kayle rushed forward to strike at the Ghosthound but he slipped between their strikes That same almost unrecognizable speed was suddenly applied to dodging Then His left arm transformed into that massive claw and he seized Giuliana by the head

For a split second Huang Li felt a chill Randidly Ghosthound was going to crush her skull right in front of them He would kill them to make an example of them

Luckily that did not happen While everyone else waited to see what the Ghosthound was doing the man in question grinned and tossed the suddenly limp Giuliana out of the encirclement Huang Shou moved to catch the woman and gently laid her down on the ground Then he looked up and gave the Ghosthound an inscrutable look “She’s just unconscious “

“That’s the punishment for springing this on me ” the Ghosthound announced as he spun to look at them all “But it will help me finish something that I’ve been working on for a while When I catch you I’ll be taking a bit of your mental energy You’ll recover but it will put you out of commission for a few days Still want to continue “

He hasn’t even used his image yet not really Huang Li thought But as he did so Alana Donal spoke and reframed the issue “The Ghosthound is so exhausted that he cannot even muster his images in his defense HeÆs bleeding This is our chance “

Tykes roared and heaved his massive iron ball toward the Ghosthound’s back

Randidly had used the opportunity where he had contact with Giuliana’s skull to absorb a portion of her memories into the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night As soon as she had been caught there was a sudden surrender to her will to fight that was enough of a permission for the Dreamcatcher He didn’t know much about her but she did possess enough power to make it to the top 8 duos on Earth They might have made it even farther too if they hadn’t run into Alana and Wivanya who would go on to be the champions

So he figured he would try it And the experiment turned out to be a success he earned another Level for his Fatepiece through it

On the flip side his ‘ambushers’ appeared somehow incensed by the fact that he knocked her out so quickly Which Randidly thought seemed somewhat unfair considering that the punishment was a relatively light one considering the zeal with which they were launching full strength attacks at him

Still Randidly couldn’t help but smile this was an entirely different sort of challenge than the fights against Kaan Swacc And Alana was right After his extended training sessions this week he really was near the end of his endurance Even if the physical manifestations of the Grim Chimera could occasionally be summoned for heavier effectiveness he was largely just fighting against these people relying on his physical capabilities

Which meant that the would from HankÆs bullet was a genuinely troublesome one considering it continued to burn at the surrounding flesh of his shoulder Once more he ruthlessly prevented Yggdrasil and the Stillborn Phoenix from participating in this duel this fight was the Grim Chimera’s

Yet RandidlyÆs only response when Tykes picked up his gratuitously large iron ball and toss it over at his back was joy Once more his left arm spasmed painfully and transformed into the taloned claw of the Grim Chimera But this time when he should have deftly snatched the ball out of the air Randidly grasped nothing the ball in front of him shattered into pieces of glass and Donny was there with his shield raised

Randidly swiped his hand sideways to smash Donny away but Donny still managed to punch forward with his shield and hit the spot in his shoulder that even now burned as the image ate away at his physically condensed images The physical impact made it worse Randidly released a hiss of pain that came out as a blast of steam

Congratulations Your Skill AbominationÆs Grim Vigor has grown to Level 338

Randidly swayed sideways to avoid DonnyÆs follow up slash and then stepped sharply forward to avoid the immense saber wielded by Lucifer Other figures blurred around him seeking the opportunity to strike it seemed that AlanaÆs words had invigorated them But his eyes found DineshÆs figure at the back of the group Heh as long as I can shatter your Domain well maybe that a little unrealistic right now

The Grim Chimera was a starving camel unable to bear RandidlyÆs weight should he try and flex his Willpower Which just meant he had to beat this the old fashioned way By eliminating his foes one by one He would need to ignore the replacement effects for now

Paolo and Kayle struck at Randidly first Paolo throwing a full swinged punch while Kayle approached with his precise strikes Randidly could feel PaoloÆs steadily growing fury likely as a result of him simply enduring his prior punch to land a strike Randidly pressed his lips together and wove AcriÆs tip in a figure eight while he considered his next move These two were a problem Both because their images were strong enough to wound the convalescent Grim Chimera and because they were relatively sturdy He wouldnÆt be able to make any headway without taking some risks

KayleÆs knife cut into the back of RandidlyÆs thigh while PaoloÆs punch slammed into his wounded shoulder Randidly swayed and then thrust his spear toward PaoloÆs chest His lips twitched his right shoulder was getting slightly stiff slowing his attack somewhat He would need to monitor that going forward

Upon impact Paolo shattered as Randidly had expected But he hadnÆt expected the person who now appeared in front of him it was Lyra again cradling a swirling orb of red violet fire A viscous liquid energy raged back and forth seeking to break from the bounds that Lyra imposed upon it

Lyra winked at him and then opened her hands The Promised Radiance

Image and energy swam together and became a battering ram of liquid lightning that struck RandidlyÆs chest with enough force to send him tumbling backward Perhaps due to the time she had to charge the attack the destructive force even took Randidly by surprise He even wondered had his body not endured the worst of it whether the walls of this cavern would have been able to handle it

But the structure of the Grim Chimera meant that these sorts of attacks could be overcome directly

He sprung back up to his feet aching but none the worse for wear and scowled as he felt himself shattering and reforming somewhere else His new location was directly in front of a snarling Lucifer Lucifer Slash

Perhaps because he started with the spot where HankÆs bullet burned in RandidlyÆs shoulder and slashed downward he opened up almost the entirety of RandidlyÆs chest To endure the blow Randidly forced down the complaints of his mind and condensed entirely as the Grim Chimera So instead of blood fire flickered out of the edges of the wound The ember of the destroyed world was revealed releasing waves of crackling energy in the surroundings

Wounded like this Randidly had an epiphany about the Grim Chimera He began to laugh Yea this is fun isnÆt it

Chapter 1483

Huang Li watched with narrowed eyes as Randidly Ghosthound the most powerful man on Expira was opened from shoulder to hip by LuciferÆs strike The flesh split and flecks of gore were flung onto the floor Pressing his lips together Huang Li continued to churn his images around the edges of the arena as he prepared for his opportunity to move But he couldnÆt tear his eye away from the GhosthoundÆs wound

Flesh might have ruptured and bones cracked but nothing leaked out after the initial biological debris At least nothing physical It was a dull red heat that escaped from the wound in his body hazing the air with waves of heat As he stood before the stunned Lucifer Randidly Ghosthound looked more like some deadly machine than any being of flesh Even worse his insides were clearly on display Fleshy red and pink globes pulsed slightly ostensibly still carrying on their routine functions despite how close they came to being cut in half like a ripe tomato

The GhosthoundÆs smile curled upward as he considered the shock on their faces When he spoke more steam escaped his mouth seeming to glow slightly Yea this is fun isnÆt it

There was suddenly something present in the room that hadnÆt been there previously It was only a trace and that trace was both minuscule and elusive but a shadow flickered in the heat waves around his body and the GhosthoundÆs heaving shoulders His body had been a cage and now this being could escape The image of the Grim Chimera leaked outward staining the air like colored ink does water

Somehow that small sliver of the image was enough to suppress the surrounding images It spread its twisted limbs pushing everything else back The air suddenly tasted metallic and sour The GhosthoundÆs shoulders and spine cracked as his body shifted and grew His bones seemed heavier his muscles coarser and almost charred by that powerful source of heat in his chest The waves of heat wafting off of him intensified All but the extremities of his body were blurred and muddled giving him a strange ghastliness While his aura darkened it was only the GhosthoundÆs emerald eyes that stayed the same weighing the surrounding threats

Attacks based on images can reach him Alana announced Then she twisted her mouth ItÆs obnoxious but physical attacks donÆt appear to do anything significant We will tire out before he does Use your images as much as possible

The Ghosthound and sprang into motion Somehow he only seemed faster with those few inches of height and width that he added with that strange transformation when he had been wounded moving at lightning speed toward the closed eyed Dinesh Paolo and Kayle were instantly there interposing themselves between the Ghosthound and his target Both positively blazed with their images

And then the Ghosthound accelerated He stepped right and then stepped left with that same preternatural grace and he was past Paolo leaving only a billowing cloud of steam in his wake from his overheating body

Wha YOU Paolo roared and his image roared and spun back into his body Perhaps in some instinctual imitation that burning flame of triumph that he had spun itself into thin threads that entered PaoloÆs body and fueled him to greater heights as he had seen from the Ghosthound So he twisted as the Ghosthound moved past him ignoring the steam and pouncing toward the GhosthoundÆs exposed back

Paolo hit the ground without being able to land a strike He blinked in confusion he was too slow to catch up

Huang LiÆs hands tightened on his sword so much so that his fingers were trembling His strike was not yet prepared but he would need to use it anyway if Dinesh was in danger while preparing their next move But luckily Hank Howard rolled forward and sprung up in the GhosthoundÆs path Both narrowed their eyes as they considered each other Hank drew his repeater with a speed that could keep up with the Ghosthound and carefully aimed at his opponentÆs chest

The Ghosthound still with flames licking up out of the gaping wound on his chest stepped to the side in what appeared to be an attempt to avoid Hank just as he had Paolo But at the last second his left hand snapped sideways to snag HankÆs head Hank leaned to the left as though he had predicted the attack then fired six bullets out of his repeater into the GhosthoundÆs open wound

Huang Li saw one of the organs exposed in the GhosthoundÆs chest pop

The Ghosthound hissed and spun his leg arcing up to crack against HankÆs shoulder and send the man sprawling But that was all the time Paolo needed to catch up to the GhosthoundÆs back and bring both of his hands wreathed in glorious golden light crashing down toward their quarryÆs back

The Ghosthound twisted and thrust forward with his right arm while taking a step forward Blood sprayed out of a gaping hole as he opened in PaoloÆs shoulder even while the wounded man in question planted his foot and roared fully in the GhosthoundÆs face With that thunderous shout came a searing image of challenge that blasted the Ghosthound directly

The Ghosthound winced and took a half step back

Which put him perfectly in line for Tykes’ massive metal orb to smash toward him The huge projectile howled with an image of momentum seeming to possess all the force of a collapsing mountain Tykes pumped his legs and shoved it forward with all his strength

The Ghosthound twisted and lashed out with his right arm But even he seemed surprised when his bone spear of a right arm skewered through the iron ball and he was still impacted as the ball slid along the length of bone Then Tykes planted his feet and physically shoved the ball forward knocking the Ghosthound off balance

A split second later the GhosthoundÆs back foot smashed down and he stopped Tykes dead But again that brief moment was enough of an opening for the powerful warriors they had gathered to intervene

Huang Shou and Glendel glanced at each other Then Huang Shou pointed at the Ghosthound Be Still

Even as he handled the aggression of the arrayed figured of Tykes Lucifer Paolo and Kayle the GhosthoundÆs gaze whipped around to focus on Huang Shou as he spoke The Ghosthound then barred his teeth his shoulders rolled and began to pop once more as some new change came over the Grim Chimera

Glendel slapped his hands together and created a noise that echoed through the underground training arena SovereignÆs Guillotine

That massive phantom and its dark crown that stood behind Glendel began to tremble with exertion The towering figure raised a shadowy finger and from it sprung a keening wailing blade that shot toward the Ghosthound There was something overwhelming that Huang Li could sense from that blade It pressured the surrounding space to surrender to it to give completely into the fate that it brought In terms of image this was the most condensed strike against the Ghosthound yet Paolo punched Kayle and Lucifer slashed and Tykes continued to strain against the massive iron ball to keep the Ghosthound locked in place to receive that attack

A tremor ran through the GhosthoundÆs body right before the attack landed transforming into a massive shaking that sundered TykesÆ massive iron ball right down the middle From that broken orb of metal emerged a slender hand that seized TykesÆ face By the time the dust cleared from GlendelÆs SovereignÆs Guillotine landing Tykes had been tossed to the side

He had been rendered instantly unconscious just like Giuliana

But they had scored another deep hit against him The GhosthoundÆs left hip and much of his thigh had been ripped open flesh and bone appearing strangely more like a thin film with an underlying metal scaffolding than flesh Seeing the wound Huang Li was reminded of seeing the peeled back exterior of a zeppelin than any examination of a living being With all the dangerous explosiveness of a hydrogen balloon considering the radiating heatwaves and the horrifying image that was also escaping through that new wound

The worst part was that the Grim Chimera stirred again once more given outlet into the world The heatwaves were starting to fade around the Ghosthound revealing the sharp edged details of his form Just that sliver of the Grim ChimeraÆs image seemed to reach out and squeeze Huang LiÆs heart

But the GhosthoundÆs face was twisted into a grimace the attack had definitively dealt damage

Huang Li also didnÆt miss the change in the GhosthoundÆs right arm The bone spear appeared to have swollen within TykesÆ iron ball with enough force to rupture it and taken on different proportions The new limb was still thin and when all the slender fingers were pressed together still formed a sharp point but now five spindly fingers stretched from a skeletally thin forearm Compared to the dominant left arm the balance struck Li as comically horrifying Rather than any muscles the entire thing seemed to be held together by pitch black tendons creating a stark contrast to the dried blood and yellow of the bones

Kayle yelped abruptly drawing everyoneÆs attention And suddenly the Ghosthound was gone pouncing forward at his most recent prey At some point a long tail as thick as two fists pressed together had snaked outward from the GhosthoundÆs waist With a flick it swept KayleÆs feet out from under him By the time Huang Li had registered these facts the Ghosthound was springing forward to knock the runner up out of this ambush

The Fifth Revelation Want

Alana blazed with holy fire smashing into the Ghosthound before he could reach the surprised Kayle At the last moment the Ghosthound twisted midair like a feral cat and met this new threat His massive left arm whipped around smashing into AlanaÆs almost blinding spear thrusts Once more the Grim Chimera manifested its fury completely apparent For a brief instant the impact of images was so powerful that Huang Li coughed and was forced to take a step back

In the air above them Grim Chimera and prophet Valkyrie fought It was a frozen instant of a full impact between the two images

Then Alana grunted and was sent tumbling backward Her image flickered and then died around her like the flames had been buried in ice Kayle was able to regain his feet but the twisting movement that the Ghosthound used to face Alana allowed him to also bring his tail around in a whip blow that smashed Kayle into the ground sent him bouncing away like a ragdoll

Lucifer Slash Lucifer quickly stepped in but the wounded Ghosthound was even more monstrously fast than he had been while at peak health The Ghosthound avoided it with a single step toward Dinesh but Donny was instantly blocking his way As though he had expected that the Ghosthound stepped again and rushed toward the previously motionless Stan Lyra opened her palms and released a powerful ray of violet light but the Ghosthound ducked under it without slowing at all

On cue Stan erupted into a perfect mirror of the Ghosthound leaping forward and lashing out with the sharp and slender claws on his left hand It was the Grim Chimera hitting all the same notes but on a much smaller scale Yet like a handler cradling a newborn giraffe the Ghosthound slipped under the blow and touched Stan on his head and waist at the same time The man instantly crumpled the imitation Grim Chimera gone

The Ghosthound turned to regard the rest of them Heh The Grim Chimera grows based on danger How could a freshly born version be anything compared to me Which begs the question that IÆve been wondering since this started

The Ghosthound tilted his head to the side Why bother with this Do you really want a beating that badly

Chapter 1484

LuciferÆs eyes blazed as he considered the challenging tilt of the GhosthoundÆs head LuciferÆs own shoulders rose and fell with each heavy desperate breath struggling to wring just an ounce more potency about his own image His gaze was locked onto the Ghosthound If it wasnÆt for you

Everyone had their own reasons for accepting AlanaÆs invitation to this fight But for Lucifer it was because the Ghosthound was strong Overwhelmingly so Because there was a strong foe why was it confusing that he challenged him

The proof of the GhosthoundÆs strength could be seen in their current situation Of their starting group three had already been eliminated Giuliana made Lucifer the most furious but the biggest loss was probably Stan Eliminating him early meant that his ability to copy anotherÆs image didnÆt have much of a chance to get established Stan had been a fallback plan should the fight well go as it was currently going

The most infuriating thing was that Lucifer could clearly sense the GhosthoundÆs theoretical limits The man was mentally exhausted to the point that he basically only released his image when seriously threatened by an attack And each of those image pulses though powerful further decreased his available energy Even if the Ghosthound had an immense reservoir of Willpower originally that had been reduced to a dry wasteland with a few intermittent puddles This was the version of the Ghosthound that was the most mortal

But even so he suppressed them with just his monstrous physical stats and high Level Skills His image was almost an afterthought It was humiliating It was invigorating

no one has anything to say The Ghosthound spoke into the tense silence He pursed his lips You just want to attack me randomly with no explanation

Again no one responded Lucifer was practically grinding his teeth It was hubris the Ghosthound now spoke with the arrogance of one who had never looked at the back of another and wished for the power to bridge the gap between them Or if he had experiences like that he had now forgotten them

When Alana had suggested the attack it had come as a shock to Lucifer But he believed that all of the participants in the duos tournament or at least those at the top wondered the same thing when they pushed themselves to their limits to seize victory and name the world How far were they from the best Expira had to offer

How far were they from the power wielded by the Nexus

Now they faced a truth combined they measured up to less than one third of the GhosthoundÆs power They couldnÆt even defeat a single exhausted one of his images And perhaps it was truly closer to one third or one half of his abilities because he still had the benefits of his powerful Stats no matter the image But it was an unsatisfying realization

We can do better than this Lucifer hissed to himself

There was a sharp crack from AlanaÆs crumpled form and a hiss of pain Then the woman stood up and brushed herself off She glanced down at her broken spear tossed it to the side and produced another from her interspatial ring She gripped the shaft with both hands and lowered herself into an offensive stance Blood trickled out of the corner of her mouth but orange gold fire slowly sprang to light along her spear There wasnÆt a single ounce of surrender in her figure even though she was the only one who had endured a blow from the full power of his image

Lucifer tilted his saber so he held it horizontally across his body Your inner light and heat were bright when I first wounded you Ghosthound but now they grow dim You are weakening even as we are Yet you dare ask us why

Fine then the Grim Chimera said He was all bone tendons and inner fire as he rolled his shoulders and then accelerated toward Dinesh Alana once more launched herself forward the first to put her body in the GhosthoundÆs path Lucifer leaned forward and exploded toward the GhosthoundÆs exposed back

Unfortunately that new right arm of the GhosthoundÆs was just too fast The hand shot out and seized the tip of the spear the slender fingers belying its immense strength Again with the slightest twitch Randidly tossed Alana to the side Lucifer’s fury mixed freely with his image surging along the length of his saber Yet his speed wasnÆt enough As he pursued him from behind the Ghosthound opened up space between them without any apparent effort As long as he had that speed his back was never truly exposed

Then Donny was there again grinning from ear to ear There was a joy to exhausting this powerful warrior Invincible Aegis

A dozen immense golden shields sprung up between Donny and the Ghosthound Each was about two meters tall and was covered in a shimmering array of pictograms depicting their fight against the Ghosthound thus far It told a gallant story that ended in the defeat of the monster by the band of heroes

Invincible The GhosthoundÆs voice sounded amused Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes

The ground beneath his feet cracked and in the same instant the noise of him impacting the largest central Aegis reached LuciferÆs ears There was no instant of time that could fit between those two occurrences Donny was blasted backward his Skill flashing with golden light as all the shields were forced backward before the power of the Ghosthound In fact he continued sliding backward until he settled only a meter in front of Dinesh who stood in rapt concentration with closed eyes The central shield cracked

I need ten more seconds Dinesh sent out a message to the group Even though Lucifer was already rushed forward at the GhosthoundÆs back he felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach Ten seconds was a long time

Kayle seemed to materialize next to the Ghosthound who was raising his spear for another strike at DonnyÆs weakened Skill and crossed his long knives Slice and Dice

Even with his imposing image of a cruelly sharp divide adding an edge to his strikes each quick slash of his knives only inflicted shallow divots in the Grim ChimeraÆs impossible sturdy skin The strikes did have enough of an image to draw a reflexive rise in the Grim ChimeraÆs power but it was practically a negligible thing

But it did stall the Ghosthound out briefly Huang Shou thrust his palm forward Shatter

or perhaps it didnÆt slow him down at all The Ghosthound moved so quickly he vanished avoiding the strike entirely and appearing behind Huang Shou Before the aging man could even respond his head was grabbed and he was tossed to the side

Paolo had somehow predicted the abrupt change in direction and was close enough to launch a sharp elbow strike at the GhosthoundÆs temple But the GhosthoundÆs massive left hand tightened into a fist flicking sideways and shattering PaoloÆs elbow with an audible crack Just as his slender right hand thrust forward to seize PaoloÆs face Alana shot forward with thin white flames running along her spear

Her eyes glowed She let her breath slide out between her lips The Fifth Revelation Want

Those flames running along her spear immediately brightened Their white tips seemed to shimmer

For an extended second the Ghosthound seemed struck with indecision as Alana shot at his back and PaoloÆs indomitable image blazed even brighter despite his shattered joint Yet then the Ghosthound twisted so quickly that Lucifer couldnÆt follow the movement His slid outward fingers pressed together in a deadly point toward AlanaÆs chest

Alana seemed to predict this releasing her spear and stepping to the side Then her hand now bearing those white flames cut downward and severed the GhosthoundÆs tail His right hand veered sideways and ripped into AlanaÆs shoulder

Haymaker Paolo bellowed as he threw his punch His blazing image spun itself into threads and rushed to his knuckles The Ghosthound brought his left hand across his body in a backhand and effortlessly knocked the punch away The image of indomitable triumph was shattered Then he seized PaoloÆs face with his immense talons

Lucifer caught up his saber raised He hated that this was all he had the move he practiced day after day seeking to catch up to the distant form of the Ghosthound But this was what he had poured his last several years into It bore the weight of all his sweat and blood It had to be enough Lucifer Slash

His emotions and memories seemed to burn through his fingers and into the blade as he pulled it sharply downward and aimed at the sundered flesh on the GhosthoundÆs chest He felt instantly that this was the sharpest slash he had even unleashed Yet he couldnÆt help but also notice how quickly the Ghosthound responded

The GhosthoundÆs fingers in AlanaÆs shoulder sprang open widening the wound and then he threw her to the side At the same time Ghosthound released Paolo Both hands rushed toward Lucifer at a speed that was at least double his slash

PaoloÆs left hand seized the GhosthoundÆs wrist that had just released him His eyes were blazing and his image exploded outward over the surrounding area pressuring even Lucifer DonÆt you dare think IÆd go down so easily Right Hand of the Challenger

Paolo planted his left foot and smashed his right fist against the stunned GhosthoundÆs jaw Lucifer slashed downward and cut open another deep gash across the GhosthoundÆs midsection

Immediately that strange heat source in the GhosthoundÆs core flared to life There was a frozen moment in Lucifer’s Perception as he faced the direct ire of the Grim Chimera Before that sinister gaze all of the accumulated effort that went into his Lucifer Slash was crushed and obliterated The weight of that image smashed Lucifer in the chest He was sent flying backward vomiting the contents of his stomach

Paolo was sent stumbling backward as well shaken but somehow still conscious The Ghosthound swayed and hunched over his face hidden in shadow Yet others recognized it was an opportunity

Hank drew his revolver and shot a bullet that cleanly punched through the flesh above the GhosthoundÆs right knee The image of the Grim Chimera flared again but it was truly drained at this point The heat wafting off of his body was rapidly decreasing Donny leapt forward and swung his sword at the GhosthoundÆs back but a much thinner tail stretching from his neck snapped upward slapping the strike to the side

Donny landed and hopped backward resetting his stance The Ghosthound released a deep breath

Then everything around them shattered as Dinesh activated the move he had been focusing on for the past minute and they appeared in about a hundred meters off the ground

The sun was just setting so the sky around them was stained orange and pink The clouds began to steadily swirl as the image that Huang Li had been steadily nurturing was able to explode outward and rapidly gain traction in the wide open sky That wild wind began to form a maelstrom centered around the slightly stunned Ghosthound

Directly in the center of those swirling clouds a massive violet moon seemed to descend It released a powerful light staining the surrounding clouds with even more wet and unnatural colors After a suspended moment of floating all of the arrayed individuals began to fall down toward the wasteland to the Northeast of Donnyton

A wasteland that the Ghosthound himself had created when he made his Class

DonÆt hold anything back Alana said raising her voice to carry above the increasingly tempestuous winds Her helmet morphed and once more wings of pure white beat above her body Her limbs were trembling but her image was clear and bright

Huang Li raised his sword The wind was singing along the length of his blade the song of the GhosthoundÆs defeat Sky Slaying Sword

Chapter 1485

Randidly had been hunched over when the shattering shift had happened so the first result was that his weight carried him forward in a slow somersault His Grim Intuition buzzed while it attempted to relocate its bearings and then snapped back into place flooding him with information about the surroundings Randidly then knew exactly where he was but he couldnÆt muster up the spare energy to deal with the change in scenery The whole reason that he had leaned forward in the first place because some part of him sagging underneath the weight of his own image

His image physicalizations were dormant physicalitiesÆ that manifested in the real world when moved by his Willpower Compared to the usage of raw images they were less impactful but much more efficient to utilize However in regards to the Grim Chimera Randidly had overused his Willpower to the point that the cost of the physicalizations was approaching the speed at which his overtaxed mind replaced his mental zeal

A little bit more and the physicalizations would reach a tipping point Randidly suspected they would cannibalize themselves then to keep them physicalized eradicating all the effort that he had poured into them over the past few months

Randidly Ghosthound was currently exhausted beyond his own understanding Not physically he had thousands of Stamina to spare He had moved past the point where Stamina was ever a barrier to what he wanted to accomplish To a lesser extent he had also gained a near infinite supply of Mana But in terms of Willpower and psychological determination

That tipping point was so close Randidly could practically feel it his thick and clumsy gathering mental energy in increments the size of grains of sand Leaning forward Randidly committed everything he had to carefully picking up a few more grains to maintain this form

In his mind the Grim Chimera swayed under the unrelenting scouring that these attackers inflicted upon him Just as Randidly was able to find the new physical shape of the Grim Chimera they had begun to tear it to pieces Of course that was exactly the method by which the image would grow the quickest But the combination of the brutal training followed by these small attacks

In the lonely space of his mind Randidly asked himself why he was so insistent on propping the Grim Chimera upright

DonÆt hold anything back Alana shouted to her assembled Expira dream team and even through RandidlyÆs weariness the corner of his mouth quirked up Around him the remaining fighters shifted into a new formation and Grim Intuition continued to dispassionately catalog their aggressive movements around him

Randidly gathered five grains of mental energy and carefully put them into the central area of his Soulspace His Nether Nebula was churning seriously rapidly absorbing the surrounding significance but Randidly couldnÆt spare his attention to notice Two of those gathered grains was spirited away to support the Grim Chimera physicalizations

Randidly gathered four more valuable particles of energy

The surrounding clouds were spiraling together steadily forming into a vast dragon that sucked in a deep breath as though it would swallow all of existence As Randidly continued to tumble forward in a lazy rotation the head of the dragon accelerated in its growth pumping its body to stretch and spiral around enough to catch up to its own tail Then it opened its jaws to slurp up the surrounding clouds extending its amorphous body even further As Huang Li raised his sword that massive dragon twisted and regarded Randidly with sinister eyes

You are next those eyes whispered

Above the clouds a massive violet moon was descending It hung fat and low in the sky dominating at least one fifth of the horizon Even some part of the distracted Randidly dispassionate admired the sublime light released by this celestial body So bright was the light that the red violet moon released that the color seemed to flow together into a drop of liquid light After trembling at the edge for a short while that drop fell down from the moon with all the suddenness of a tear It streaked across the sky with all the violence of a meteor seeking to eradicate all life on the planet Lyra reached up and caught that brilliant drop of liquid light between her palms

Randidly released a breath Three more granules of mental energy One went to the physicalizations There was less and less to recover as he pulled deeper and deeper on his own brains reserves The issue wasnÆt that he didnÆt have methods to defeat the people arrayed around him Even if he dropped the physical manifestations of the Grim Chimera and fought primarily with his physical abilities he was confident that he could defeat them It wouldnÆt even be a contest at all if Randidly activated either of his other two images to assist in the fight

One issue was that Randidly barely had enough mental energy to deactivate the physicalizations The process would undoubtedly be messy perhaps leaving some lasting scars on the Grim Chimera in the process

But it had also become a point of pride for his image The essence of the Grim Chimera had been barred and that essence refused to allow any compromise before these foes Which was why Randidly had tortuously fought relying only on the weakening power of the Grim Chimera to persist To the point that the last dregs of his mental energy were devoured keeping the Grim Chimera active

This time when Randidly pulled he could only produce a single shining granule of energy For the moment this was as much recovery as could occur

If we just rely on solely you we might lose Randidly observed to the hunched form of the Grim Chimera The gathered mental energy flowed through his brainstem returning his focus to a sharpened state A loss would have unpredictable results on Expira

Huang Li flourished his sword The howling wind in the surroundings became almost deafening as both the intensity of the wind increased and the participants began to fall back down to the ground while they vigilantly watched RandidlyÆs motionless form Sky Slaying Sword

The air around them rumbled as that massive cloud dragon began to move Randidly continued to tumble forward seemingly oblivious to the approaching danger The dragon was certainly impressive and fueled by a towering image but it was slow He still had a bit of time to gather himself

Within his Soulspace the Grim Chimera sneered at Randidly An unpredictable loss There is only one consequence of a loss death That is the way that it has always been That is what it means to be the Grim Chimera It has been your privilege to be in situations where that is not the case but that is why I refuse to relent I will face this threat alone or I will be crushed alone That is the Path I walk

Randidly wished he could be mad at his image but it was an all too familiar refrain He had taken a similar stubborn Path in the past This result was just a result of those previous choices

Huang LiÆs sword cut downward perhaps a bit superfluously The maw of the cloud dragon opened as it accelerated downward seeming to gather the whole of the sky behind it as it built up momentum toward its target Randidly felt so tired from the training he had endured and then this attack that he couldnÆt sustain both experiencing emotions and physical movements at the same time So for a few scattered shards of time he simply mused about the gamble that he was about to take

This was a targeted threat at the Grim Chimera that his image hadnÆt really experienced since it had become a part of him There was great meaning to this unprecedented sense of crisis as he had obviously experienced with the rapid condensation of a new form of the Grim Chimera in the past few minutes But there was an equal risk

With his current mental state Randidly was unsure how the Grim Chimera would fare after any more direct confrontations with anotherÆs images The outcome that he feared most would be that his image would shatter damaging and forcing him a large step backward in terms of physical image manifestations

But in a way he had no choice It was either willingly maim the Grim Chimera directly or dance on the edge of a knife Survival above all else

Of the two dozen cradled grains of mental energy two were stolen to fuel the physical manifestations If he was going to do this he needed more mental energy than this

The Grim Chimera raised its gaze and looked up at the rushing cloud dragon that Huang Li unleashed A split second later he activated Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes in order to zip sideways toward Dinesh RandidlyÆs eyes were sharp and vicious as he cut through the countervailing winds Unfortunately it seemed Dinesh had let Acri in the training area when he teleported the rest of them out here I might be facing this threat alone but IÆve already disabused myself of the notion that I can handle every threat directly letÆs see how much control you have over that massive image Huang Li

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Avoidance has grown to Level 293

As Randidly streaked sideways through the whistling wind the Sky Slaying Sword blasted through the spot where he had been originally floating with the rumbling vibrations of an avalanche Then like the titanic working that it was it twisted and undulated to shift its course in RandidlyÆs new direction In that time Randidly arrived before Dinesh and watched him shatter suddenly becoming a determined Paolo

Right Hand of the Challenger Paolo bellowed Somehow that indomitable quality that he possessed enabled him to resist the tug of the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night and now Paolo seemed positively bristling with that same fighting spirit His attitude was completely contrary to his shattered left elbow joint that hung uselessly against his body

He practically stank of abundant mental energy

RandidlyÆs eyes flicked sideways finding Dinesh amongst the dropping individuals As I thought YouÆve still got some juice left But if IÆm being honest yours is an image that I can deal with Better to handle a foe like this while I can Then Randidly refocused on Paolo and grinned he was exactly what the doctor had ordered Cursed Appetite of a Wraith

Congratulations Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith has grown to Level 300

Congratulations Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith has grown to Level 301

Whereas the Skill could generally be used to absorb trace amounts of energy from the surrounding area RandidlyÆs Skill and image usage had be becoming increasingly sophisticated since the Skill had been created So when he directly reached into Paolo and pulled at his mental energy he was able to rip out a large handful Granules fell like raindrops on parched ground His physical form subtly intensified in color Details became increasingly clear Paolo stalled out in his punch confused as the brilliance in his fist dimmed Meanwhile that ember in the Grim ChimeraÆs chest began to send tongues of flame flickering up out of his heavy wounds once more

Randidly clenched his massive left hand and hammered PaoloÆs punch directly shattering the manÆs knuckles and sending him tumbling away Then Randidly squinted upward and kicked his feet sharply downward at the same time He shot upward relative to the other fighters aiming for the grouping of Donny Lyra and Huang Li

Of course others moved to intercept him almost instantly The cloud dragon had drifted horizontally through the air again to right its direction and now accelerated up at Randidly from below Alana streaked in sideways each beat of her FateÆs wings sending pearly feathers tumbling through the air

But what Randidly was actually waiting for was Kayle who obliging manifested behind RandidlyÆs back and aimed several slashes at his blindspot But as Kayle began to swing his long knives RandidlyÆs right hand whipped around and snatched at Kayle Just as lightning fast as he appeared the man twisted and slid away through the air but Randidly activated Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes to explode in pursuit and catch him

For the second time in the fight someoneÆs psyche stubbornly resisted the pull of the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night this particular duo of Paolo and Kayle from Donnyton was trouble When the thin fingers of RandidlyÆs hand squeezed around his face cutting several gashes across his cheekbones jaw and upper neck Kayle decided to ignore defense and manifested his image in one shimmering blaze along the knife in his right hand

Which was also what Randidly was waiting for Heh maybe you two arenÆt so bad after all So generous with your energy Cursed Appetite of a Wraith

Congratulations Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith has grown to Level 302

Because he hadnÆt experienced it personally Kayle was no more prepared for Randidly to reach within him and steal some of his mental energy to fuel images Another handful was tossed into RandidlyÆs starving Soulspace The sharp divide along KayleÆs swinging knife dimmed and only scratched at RandidlyÆs shoulder while Randidly dislodged the rest of KayleÆs pesky resistance by slamming his left fist into his stomach Finally the Dreamcatcher could pull some of his memories from his head

Randidly tossed Kayle to the side and stomped on the air again shooting upward Behind him the massive cloud dragon was growing in size making the distance between them seem increasingly small It was definitely accelerating as well As RandidlyÆs Grim Intuition considered the size of the thing he was really quite impressed by Huang Li managing all of that image energy and keeping it pure wasnÆt a small feat

You go no further Randidly Donny announced from above He brought the blade of his sword against his shield producing a clear and valiant noise Righteous Barricade

A dense network of golden lines sprayed outward from Donny spreading rapidly out to form a web above Randidly separating him from the remaining challengers With the barrier in place Randidly would be forced to avoid the cloud dragon below while they continued to pepper him with attacks from on high In particular Randidly felt quite wary when he saw the small dagger that Lyra was shaping from the liquid light she had gathered

ThatÆs gonna be a problem RandidlyÆs mouth twitched For all that Lyra had only had her Class for one fourth the time as most of these people she was fucking strong

But despite what the Skill could mean the Grim Chimera only chuckled at the display Power flooded through his image physicalizations his heart began to pound Those two breaths of image potency he had stolen from Paolo and Kayle might be scraps compared to what he normally wielded but it was also about double the potency that he had started this fight with So Randidly stomped on the air once twice and then three times His body accelerated and ripped past the physical limitation Before Donny could react Randidly was right in front of him

Lucifer Slash Lucifer gallantly came at Randidly from the side but it didnÆt even matter Randidly once more activated Cursed Appetite of the Wraith They seemed a bit more prepared for his greedy pull this time making sure Randidly only could sneak away with a whisper of their power But that was really just to distract them Meanwhile his limbs blurred into motion

So fast that each movement produced a sonic boom Randidly knocked aside LuciferÆs slash with his left hand That fist then continued forward and smashed into LuciferÆs gut Even as he was about to be blasted away RandidlyÆs right hand snaked out and seized his head His memories were pilfered by the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night

Then with his grip on LuciferÆs head he whipped the limp body around and smashed it into DonnyÆs shield As Donny adjusted his defense RandidlyÆs massive left hand clenched into a fist and moved with deceptive quickness It slid under his shield and caught Donny in the diaphragm likely causing the muscle to seize and produce the sensation that he couldnÆt breathe RandidlyÆs right hand then released LuciferÆs head and grabbed DonnyÆs in one smooth motion

Even as they all fell down toward the ground and a massive cloud dragon ascended to obliterate them Randidly had reduced two more of the ambushers to non factors He turned and grinned around at the surviving seven

Chapter 1486

After favoring Huang Li Paolo Dinesh Glendel Lyra Alana and Hank each with a few seconds of a long stare Randidly glanced downward toward the churning clouds beneath He felt like he was walking a tightrope above the eye of a tornado with the howling maw of the cloud dragon yawning beneath him He could see disturbingly far down its throat And each second that he delayed it rushed upward with an ever growing fury Randidly suspected that the longer it pursued him the faster it would become

It seemed like one of those Skills

Yet simultaneously he was walking a tightrope of image usage that was some of the best training heÆd experienced in a long time Although they opened with the announcement that this was an assassination attempt Randidly could read how false that was in their images They werenÆt here to kill him rather it felt more like they wanted to prove to Randidly Ghosthound that Expira didnÆt need him This was a strange attempt to frame their parting as equals rather than Randidly being in such a dominant position

And at the moment that framing did have merit Randidly might only be using one of his images but they still managed to threaten him Encountering this fight was enough that Randidly would take care not to act too unilaterally paternal toward the planet in the future He wasnÆt the only person that could protect it

Yet all that was for later The fight wasnÆt over yet and Randidly was ascendant while the ambushers adjusted their position in an attempt to strike a decisive blow With the energy he was able to steal in the last several seconds from Donny and Lucifer his physicalizations were blazing to life The world ember in his chest released heat through the pounding of his heart reddening his skin His exhalations were thick with steam as he spread out his arms and flexed his muscles His skin tightened and warped its defensive properties strengthening every second

The Grim ChimeraÆs grin at the surrounding circumstances was wicked A dull roar reached his ears as the cloud dragon approached from below LetÆs see if you can catch me then ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe

Congratulations Your Skill ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe has grown to Level 159

Congratulations Your Skill ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe has grown to Level 164

The Skill Level was relatively low compared to RandidlyÆs other abilities but the haze of ash ill will and heat waves that spun outward from his body combined with the steam he already released to form a thick blanket that shrouded the surrounding area With his glowing emerald eyes at the core Randidly gritted his teeth and forced that Mantle to explode outward The thick particles of the Grim ChimeraÆs Mantle twisted and deflected energy away making it difficult for anyone to locate him within the grey smog

Congratulations Your Skill ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe has grown to Level 165

Of course compared to the mouth of the ravenous cloud dragon RandidlyÆs fifteen meter cloud was the size of a skittle thrown toward a human mouth But it did make the fighters above hesitate Hank Howard held his revolver at the ready his eyes narrowed for any movement Lyra continued whispering quietly to the dagger of violet light she was shaping Sweat was dripping down Huang LiÆs forehead as he maintained the huge working of the cloud dragon His hands on his sword were only able to resist trembling because of how tightly he gripped the weapon

Alana drifted downward toward the smog her hair fluttering as all of them continued falling toward the ground Her spear was held loosely in her right hand Despite the fact that her image had been damaged in their prior clash the tight expression on her face meant that Randidly wouldnÆt take her lightly In terms of determination few could match Alana Donal

Which was why Randidly sensed the strange desires of AlanaÆs image and was confused There was a deep longing there but she didnÆt attack She just stared intently at his Mantle

Why try to do this Alana Randidly wondered even as the roar of the attack rushing toward him grew increasingly loud

In spite of the tense situation Randidly spared a glance downward then back up toward Huang Li HeÆs someone worth watching IÆll have to get Tatiana to invite him to some Order Ducis training sessions to keep him on the right track

But then he forced himself back to the task at hand The haze around him continued to spread outward but he noticed with distaste that the cloud dragon would catch up with him before any of the others were at the fringe of his Mantle Even Alana was too far away Randidly weighed his pilfered cache of mental energy but decided it was ultimately not worth it to challenge the cloud dragon directly So instead Randidly opened his mouth and shouted Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes

Most of the opponentÆs flinched and HankÆs revolver barrel twitched side to side searching for RandidlyÆs presence But Alana continued to calmly regard the murky depths of RandidlyÆs Skill without the slightest hint of fear Those strange desires that swirled around her grew more intense the longer she stared ItÆs a feint Remain calm He is the one who needs to move

Congratulations Your Skill ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe has grown to Level 166

Congratulations Your Skill ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe has grown to Level 172

Grimacing Randidly maintained a tight grip on his Mantle around him The wind continued to nip at the edges attempting to pull it apart and reveal his form But Alana was right that shout was mostly a distraction Using the principles he had learned from his extensive experience weaving Nether he used those few seconds to weave together the caustic strands of his mantle into an even more dense barrier that he could carry around his person There was no avoiding making a move here but the Grim Chimera was gradually learning subtleties to its stubbornness There was no shame making some preparations for unavoidable setbacks

But soon his prep time came to an end The open mouth of the cloud dragon brushed the bottom of his Mantle and physically ground it to naught upon contact the invisible winds within its throat had enough force to rip the Mantle to shreds RandidlyÆs evaluation of Huang Li rose another few notches

Congratulations Your Skill Man is Proud But the Chimera Takes has grown to Level 225

While making a mental note to really work on the Skill Levels for this Skillset even further Randidly shot upward at a vicious speed Behind him he felt the cloud dragon stir and ponderously pull its jaws shut The motion appeared slow because of its immense size but as the lips smashed together right behind him with enough force to ruffle his clothes Randidly chuckled Almost Missed me by a full meter though