LoRG 4

DiOrthoÆs hair began to stand on end From the GhosthoundÆs image a rumbling sound echoed outward that was so real that it almost didnÆt seem like a part of an image And perhaps it wasnÆt because it moved perfectly in parallel with the GhosthoundÆs physical heart Yet as DiOrtho listened every sense told him that the image floating in the air above him was the source of the noise It felt like the heart in question was right next to DiOrtho resonating with his body

The pressure increased as the heartbeats continued The noise grew stronger each beat smashing outward with such power that the pressure was forced briefly backward Then it gathered up in a wave and smashed against the GhosthoundÆs image furious about this transgression Something was rising in the air around the hunched form of the image gripping its own chest with its talon Yet the image wasnÆt the GhosthoundÆs only creation he was the architect behind the suppression array as well And as though it was infuriated by this show of defiance the array upped the pressure further

The imageÆs legs were annihilated in a sudden spray of gore so that the body simply hung in the air His right arm began to writhe and bubble like it was being roasted over a fire until it shriveled and was physically torn away at the shoulder His cheekbones splintered and cracked his skull shuddering and splintering

Meanwhile The enormous claw continued to tighten clearly shattering ribs with the force of its grip In a way it looked like the claw of the image intended to take its own life before the array could do it It was one of the most perfect acts of spite that DiOrtho had ever seen

In front of DiOrtho Vant Overseer Helen lowered her stance and increased the thickness of the crimson flows around her Just as he was feeling rather gratified that she was also being visibly tested by this powerful image a wave of heat smashed against DiOrtho His skin was almost instantly scaled Blisters gradually began to form along his face and hands the closest exposed skin to the image

DiOrthoÆs vision began to grow blurry but he blinked rapidly so that he wouldnÆt miss a single detail The heat wasnÆt from the suppression away it was the GhosthoundÆs image itself that seemed to be boiling itself The heart was the source of an unending inferno that began to completely warp the rest of the image

THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP

The massive claw that had protected the heart from the pressure around it to this point began to ooze and melt The mixture of bone metal and sizzling flesh oozed down the imageÆs waist and dripped across the space where its legs used to be The fractured skull of the image dripped across its shoulders A strange light emerged in the GhosthoundÆs image slowly warping the surrounding space

DiOrtho snapped awake as his forehead hit the ground painfully sending his scalded skin screaming The pressure must have briefly knocked him unconscious He raised his head back up to look at the image but the light had become blinding

DiOrthoÆs head hit the tiled floor once more This time the contact did not wake him back up

Warning Please see the nearest Village Spirit

Recalculating Synchronicity detected

Congratulations Your Skillset the Descent of the Grim Chimera has evolved into the Supremacy of the Grim Chimera Some Skills have also evolved Skill Levels will be maintained

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Avoidance has evolved into Chimeric Impunity

Congratulations Your Skill AbominationÆs Grim Vigor has evolved into Grit of the Ascendant Bane

Congratulations Your Skill Molten Fang of the Pariah has evolved into Pernicious Fang of the Shade

Randidly released a long breath savoring the sensation of Chimeric Impunity almost making the previous physical suppression irrelevant He barely seemed to feel the effects of the array any longer With a small grin on his face carefully released his left handÆs grip on his chest and raised his arm

Rummbbllee

The whole of the Rally Station shook RandidlyÆs eyelid twitched The boost in power is so much that the energy passing along the sympathetic relationship between me and the Rally Station can shake the entire hunk of rock

He might very well have been tempted to continue to experiment with the new capabilities of the Grim Chimera but he had a killer headache the strain on his image of the Grim Chimera was truly ridiculous He would need to take a long break before he tested his new limits

The process of evolution had been a close thing too Randidly had underestimated how stubborn the Grim Chimera was It wasnÆt until the end as the image truly began to disintegrate at the edges that its basic form began to change By the time that the process was finished even Yggdrasil was completely drained from frantically healing the damage to the Grim Chimera

Randidly huffed out another breath and deactivated the suppression array But seeing that the Rarity had gone up on the Skillset he knew that the attempt was a huge success

Chapter 1531

Unfortunately the increased Rarity of his Skillset was where the good news for the day ended

Randidly stared at Helen with a helpless expression on his face What do you mean he likely wonÆt challenge me in time That was the whole point of allowing him to witness the transformation

Even I was stunned by his stupidity Helen said with the shake of her head She gestured to the slumped form of DiOrtho Vant on the ground His skin had gradually healed from the terrible burn marks that covered his body but he still remained unconscious He came so close that I couldnÆt afford to protect him I needed to keep myself from ending up like that And IÆm pretty sure his image was impacted pretty directly It burned away partway through and he stayed through sheer Willpower He will need some actual time to recover from that

After rubbing the back of his neck Randidly could only sigh Well too late to do anything about it now Did you give out any other Darkstar Coins

The other recruits had the fucking common sense to leave the training area when it was clear your physical suppression was beginning to bleed outward into the surrounding space Helen said with a pointed glare at Randidly

He raised his hands in an admittance of guilt It was a new array that IÆd never tried before Obviously the result was great but it did bleed into the surrounding space The array needed enough power to forge a connection and that seemed to warp the surrounding limiters How bad was it

Bad for me Near fatal for him two meters back Helen grunted She folded her arms and then unfolded them Then she threw her hands up into the air Sorry IÆm not trying to lay the blame at your feet Just unfortunate that our best recruit might be wounded by this And honestly he fucking reminds me of me So much misplaced violence peh Helen spat off to the side LetÆs be positive though Hopefully he wakes up a bit less of a dumbass

Randidly faked a smile but his chest still felt heavy Not that he would lose sleep over it but he still regretted hurting the recruit like this Especially when it was clear the young man had Helen’s attention He rolled his shoulders lightly just to feel the sensation of moving his body For the next few hours IÆm going to experiment with my new image Let me know if his condition changes

Helen nodded and Randidly left Part of what he wanted to do was experiment with his changed image but that was only part of his motivation for wanting some alone time Helen might not be aware of it but whatever had transpired with DiOrtho VantÆs image had attracted the attention of the surrounding Nether Randidly both wanted to monitor the process to ensure the recruitÆs safety but he also meant to observe it

Every bit of data was important And from the behavior of Nether the process wouldnÆt harm DiOrtho Or at least not physically It might spell trouble for him down the road as the accumulated Nether in his body proceeded past a certain point but it could also be an opportunity The Nether was quickly repairing the impact that RandidlyÆs image had made against the recruits

Although its a disappointing irony that I might need to become someoneÆs Nether teacher before I am even close to understanding the energy

Randidly shook his head He could wait until later to sharpen his own humor on himself For now he needed to take advantage of these Nether reverberations

Raymund almost felt like he was floating as soon as the suppression array was deactivated He looked down at his long claws in wonder sometimes it was very easy to forget that even existing in their camp was some of the most brutal exercise that he had ever experienced Around him most of the rest of the recruits had similar expressions of pure bliss as they waved their liberated limbs around

The quickly arriving impression of power was intoxicating

Is this a celebration you should attend looking so joyous recruits Overseer Helen’s voice cut across all of their relief like a knife made of ice thrust into the ribs We are going to the funeral of a Commandant A being who died in the very location to which you will be soon deployed murdered a foe who is more likely to kill you accidentally than to even notice your existence Now is anyone going to explain the joke of this situation to me or are you going to behave as soldiers

Raymund and the other squad leaders whispered a few words to their particular squads helping the ground stabilize their expressions and emotions The two hundred recruits were standing near the central training area in tight groups preparing to head to the Rally Station Teleporter Even DiOrtho Vant who looked like he had just woken up from a nap remained silent Overseer Helen scrutinized them for several seconds her mouth in a thin line

Just as she was opening her mouth to say something else the air next to her opened and Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound walked out into the area in front of the recruits With what was probably the original version of the look that Overseer Helen imitated and used on the recruits the GhosthoundÆs gaze razed its way through the ranks leaving the unfortunate recruits who met his eyes paralyzed for several agonizing seconds by the force of his person

He seems different Raymund vaguely sensed

After studying the recruits the Ghosthound nodded slowly IÆll keep this short DonÆt bite off more than you can chew recruits YouÆll choke to death

He turned away without saying anything further and Overseers Helen Heiffal and Muareth formed the various squads up into a tight column behind him They marched quickly toward the central portion of the Rally Station where the other recruits were waiting en mass in their polished armor The other groups stood as still as statues and allowed the elite squad to pass

Yet as they trooped forward Raymund felt his chin slowly rising He took longer more confident strides A week ago they had faced and defeated a batch of recruits five times their number And now after the hellish training they just recently endured Raymund was filled with the ridiculous notion that even if every other recruit attacked them together they would still be able to defeat them

But that might simply be dazed exhaustion inflating an otherwise legitimate bit of confidence Raymund shook himself slightly He couldnÆt help but attempt a similar glance to the one that he had seen from both Overseer Helen and Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound as he regarded the competition He quickly scanned the surrounding sea of silent recruits as the elite squad moved through the waiting crowd right to the front Such a numerical disadvantage is likely insurmountable There are one hundred ninety nine thousand of them

Yet aside from the Drill Sergeants I cannot spot a single image that intimidates me amongst

Raymund blinked and rapidly withdrew his very obvious inspection suddenly realizing that he had been staring directly into the eyes of a Drill Sergeant across a sea of bodies between them That very Drill Sergeant appeared to have noticed RaymundÆs gaze several seconds ago and was now red faced with fury As Raymund flushed and looked at the ground there was a rush of noise as the Drill Sergeant rushed toward

After flinching Raymund looked upward The other Drill Sergeant a squat humanoid with suddenly very red skin and four arms had charged over toward Raymund Somehow the Ghosthound had sensed his approach and interposed himself between them Although RaymundÆs heart was pounding he couldnÆt help but feel strangely relieved as he looked at the GhosthoundÆs broad back

Teach your recruit some manners The other Drill Sergeant snarled Or if you donÆt have the balls get the fuck out of my way and IÆll

Which of us the Head Drill Sergeant The Ghosthound asked He raised his right hand and jabbed his finger into the chest of the other Drill Sergeant sending him stumbling backward While the aggressorÆs face was suddenly slack with shock likely due to how easily he was pushed around the Ghosthound stepped forward again I know my job And my place Can you say the same

You Apparently this Drill SergeantÆs temper was more dominant than his sense because he stepped forward and whipped his arms sideways to knock the GhosthoundÆs hand away Almost immediately something changed in the air Raymund couldnÆt see it but he felt the GhosthoundÆs emotions instantly condense to a vicious blade

And when the other Drill Sergeant pressed his arm against the GhosthoundÆs it just passed through the Head Drill SergeantÆs limb without any resistance

Without missing a beat the Ghosthound reached forward with that flickering right arm and seized the Drill SergeantÆs throat with his suddenly very solid and strong fingers As he lifted the unfortunate soul of the ground whose expression was frozen in the face of a fish being dragged to the butcherÆs table the GhosthoundÆs left arm came up Strange angular black armor formed around his suddenly massive limb as he made a fist

That relief in RaymundÆs chest rapidly turned into a stunned panic HeÆs about to smash that manÆs skull like a melon

Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound A sweaty looking Superintendent Xeruth was suddenly standing next to the Ghosthound his hands held aloft like he wanted to stop the GhosthoundÆs movements but was scared actually touching him would set him off Raymund could see drops of preparation on the Superintendent’s pale temples This isnÆt this just a misunderstanding Drill Sergeant Pooual just made a mistake IsnÆt that right

I The Drill Sergeant hissed through his teeth emotions warring across his face Yet fear had quickly overtaken anger Apparently he was also aware of how close he came to being wiped from existence due to this casual confrontation But before he could come to any conclusion Raymund heard the GhosthoundÆs voice seeming to radiate from the Head Drill SergeantÆs back

Oh You were going to apologize Then I suppose everything is fine The Ghosthound said

Apologize Drill Sergeant PooualÆs skin rapidly flared back to red

But Superintendent Xeruth felt no such qualms about putting his hands on this lesser Drill Sergeant His hand clamped down on the manÆs shoulder Yes Apologize to the Head Drill Sergeant

For several seconds the entire assembly was silent The near two hundred thousand soldiers looked on at the confrontation Standing right near the epicenter Raymund could just barely touch on the slightest inkling of the emotions passing between those two powerful men And from what he could tell The Ghosthound believed he had already won so strongly that he was gradually changing the Drill SergeantÆs mind

His confidence cut even more deeply than the image power he had displayed

Although his skin was so red that blood might be welling up from every pore the Drill Sergeant lowered his gaze I apologize

The Ghosthound just snorted Then he turned away without even acknowledging the manÆs words LetÆs get going WeÆve wasted enough time here

Chapter 1532

The ancient mechanical clocktower was the tallest building in Outer Realm Umt giving Lady Iellaya a sprawling view of the downtown area of the floating piece of land She looked down through the glamorously wide stone streets that were absolutely clogged with soldiers in military uniform Superior officers shouted and waved their arms forcing their various battalions to move to make room the soldiers flowing ceaselessly behind them

Lady Iellaya checked with her aide on one key fact and was somewhat nonplussed when it turned out that her initial impression was correct For most of the off duty personnel attending the funeral was only voluntary

Looking at the numbers that continued ceaselessly to flow out of the teleporter formation it seemed that many had resolved themselves to volunteer And Lady Iellaya didnÆt fail to realize that the more people were present in the Outer Realm the more difficult it would be for her to detect a saboteur Lady Iellaya glanced sideways at the aide standing next to her Do we have the room for all of the soldiers

WeÆve already started moving all of the soldiers below the rank of Commander out to the overflow venues so this area should clear up shortly The aide responded quickly In addition we have received regular reports both from the extra security around the teleporter and the entrance to the undercity there has been no suspicious activity thus far Everything is optimal

Lady Iellaya allowed herself a short nod The black feathers down her arms and spine flared slightly hidden under the tight military uniform that she wore It was difficult to shake the feeling that she was missing something But for the past week she had been tirelessly throwing herself into preparations for this funeral She had visited the nearby Outer Realm that had been attacked She had thoroughly inspected thousands of teleportation records She had patrolled every public inch of Umt looking for any trace images that stuck out to her amongst the local population

Maybe what IÆm missing is a fucking break Lady Iellaya thought sourly

Perhaps most depressingly she was slowly realizing that successfully pulling off Commandant LyrimÆs funeral would mean nothing in the grand scheme of things This was only a detriment to her career a failure here would mean she could no longer advance while Military High Command would almost instantly forget her hard work should she succeed

Or even worse they might assign her more funerals in the future

Lady Iellaya shuddered then looked back out to the streets below Due to the sheer volume of people who came out for the funeral most of the actual residents of Outer Realm Umt were stuck within their stone residences their noses pressed to their windows to watch the spectacle While the few remaining family members of the Commandant had already been taken to the chapel the rest of the people who lived here descendants or not wore solemn faces and watched the soldiers march below Somehow the event felt less like a moment honoring a fallen comrade than a foolhardy denial of weakness by the military

Look at how large our armies are Look at the solidarity This will never happen again We are invincible The soldiers seemed to shout with their localized unity in each step But as Lady Iellaya stood on the clocktower and waves of sound separated by space converged on her all she heard was a chaotic mass of bodies stomping around

She could understand why the real residences might be especially tense right now Sometimes it was better simply to avoid the attention of those in power Especially considering how little value Commandant Lyrim appeared to put on protecting the Outer Realm even during his life and also because of how shallow the backing was of this Outer Realm currently

Offending the wrong person would mean this place would be wiped off of the map

The residents of this Outer Realm might be relatively affluent in the grand scheme of the Nexus Many of them were employed by the NLC or were assistants to the Overseers of the various Cohorts But although they might have specialty training it wasnÆt so strenuous that replacements couldnÆt be found even in the short term

That was the reality of the Nexus There were simply too many people waiting in the wings hungry for access to more Aether

Lady Iellaya turned away from the window ThatÆs why I cannot hesitate to seize more responsibility IÆm so close Just a little more

She glanced sideways at her aide Contact me immediately if something comes up But for now I need to pay my respects LetÆs get this over with

The aide bowed and Lady Iellaya proceeded down the straight and sharp cornered stretches of stairs that formed a repeating square all the way down to the ground She could have utilized her Authority in the Nexus Ways to jump to the location more directly but Lady Iellaya thought it was better to not clutter the signals being observed by her team monitoring the Ways If anything unusual happened she wanted to know immediately The time that they took to investigate her movements might be crucial to the security efforts

Lady Iellaya did not forget even for a second that an unstable element bearing a yearÆs worth of Aether for an Outer Realm was lurking about There were enough powerful individuals present at the funeral that there was little chance of anyone truly important dying but with so much Aether missing she was unwilling to take even the slightest risk

Besides Lady Iellaya could also use the physical exertion to work her way through some of the stress she was experiencing from the constant state of awareness she was maintaining Unfortunately she knew immediately when she arrived at the ground floor that the next few minutes wouldnÆt be as stress free as she had hoped

Lady Iellaya narrowed her eyes at the woman waiting for her with her hands clasped behind her back Miss Rex What a surprise to find you here Is there a problem I can have a guard guide you to the chapel if you wish

Neshamah Rex smiled sweetly at Lady Iellaya Each strand of her emerald hair seemed to be an exquisite work of wrought stone twinkling in the light filtering through the window Even more strikingly the light that hit her cascading mane of hair then radiated out from around her in a delicate and arresting halo Lady Iellaya felt a strange unfamiliar irritation as she looked at the inscrutable young woman in front of her With her blue skin and a deer skin mahogany dress she truly looked like a perfectly manicured product rather than an actual living breathing and shitting individual

Lady Iellaya convinced herself with difficulty that punching the woman to wipe the smile off her face would not help ease her stress

NeshamahÆs lips parted and she tilted her head to the side She still maintained a small smile Oh my how embarrassing Have we met before I was under the impression this was our first meeting

Lady Iellaya pressed her lips together This is our first meeting Miss Rex But I believe you should be aware that you are a relatively well known figure around the Nexus Now if there is nothing I must be going

Of course You are the head of security for the entire funeral right What a stressful job Which is why I came to speak with you NeshamahÆs eyes crinkled at the edges There is something I want to say before I let you go

Lady Iellaya just looked at the other woman ignoring her perfect dimples The notoriously playful and irreverent Neshamah Rex was exactly not the sort of individual who Lady Iellaya wanted to encounter right now

By the end of a few seconds of pregnant silence Neshamah was practically beaming What I want to say is You are doing a great job

Lady IellayaÆs didnÆt even react thatÆs it

ThatÆs it Neshamah nodded so sharply that it was clear she believed that she had accomplished something of actual significance The young woman clapped her hands together and unleashed another bright smile You are basically the only woman at Military High Command right Hehe I might have been a bit dishonest earlier Even if we havenÆt met before I also know quite a bit about you Lady Iellaya Such a determined worker a better soldier we havenÆt seen in the Nexus for entire Cohorts So maybe I also wanted to spark a friendship while making sure you understand how appreciated you are Have I charmed you yet

I must return to work Miss Rex Lady Iellaya said in a monotone voice She brusquely shook the young womanÆs hand and then started walking toward the door Thank you for your support Now if youÆll excuse me

The door opened before Lady Iellaya had reached it A rather uncomfortable looking Randidly wearing a stiff military uniform that was entirely too tight walked through the door He opened his mouth to say something to Lady Iellaya as he entered but then he caught sight of Neshamah Rex and fell completely still Then his gaze toward the beautiful daughter of Solomon Rex turned rather intense

Almost hungry

Seriously Randidly Lady Iellaya rolled her eyes inwardly But she said nothing because she was rather shocked to discover that Neshamah was similarly transfixed by the sight of Randidly Ghosthound The daughter of Solomon Rex blinked several times as she considered Randidly The two were balanced in a frozen moment stalling in their previous movements

Neshamah recovered first Her trademark smile bloomed Well well well ItÆs been quite some time since IÆve been surprised like this You are

Randidly Ghosthound Randidly said quietly His emerald eyes scrutinized Neshamah but Lady Iellaya could now vaguely sense he wasnÆt actually besotted as she had assumed he was peering through Neshamah examining some interior construct of her person And you

Ah You are that contentious Head Drill Sergeant The mad dog of Shevran Haha This is quite amusing Neshamah slapped her knee with all the glee of an old sailor hearing the news that the red light district was having a sale all of her previous coquettishness gone I am Neshamah Rex ItÆs very nice to meet you For now letÆs leave it at that But in the future feel free to reach out Mr Ghosthound

Still chuckling she walked past Randidly and out into the street where two tall bodyguards in grey coats were waiting The trio quickly cut into the dwindling crowd of soldiers and seemed to instantly vanish

Lady Iellaya frowned at Randidly What was that about

RandidlyÆs eyes were still pointed out the door looking through the crowd following the vanished figures The muscles of his jaw continued to work as though he were clenching and unclenching his jaw That Neshamah uses Nether Actively The way it was moving through her person sheÆs better than using than I am

Lady Iellaya blinked Really

Really Randidly confirmed finally shaking his head and turning to Lady Iellaya Lady Iellaya chewed on her lip at that thought Not that she didnÆt believe Randidly but it was difficult to imagine that one of the most famous individuals in the Nexus had been secretly utilizing Nether this entire time

which probably meant she was doing it with the NexusÆs blessing Hum That was something worth considering And it was slightly disturbing to realize that this young woman had been using Nether right next to her without Lady Iellaya being able to sense it at all

But Lady Iellaya quickly shook herself They could discuss the implications of the Nether later If you have something to say letÆs talk while walking we are already late enough as it is If I donÆt bury the Commandant personally I donÆt think it will even happen

Chapter 1533

As it turned out Randidly didnÆt have much to say on their walk to the chapel he had just come because he hadnÆt wanted to linger with the constantly fearful Superintendent Xeruth as the two of them waited for the funeral to start Plus some of the surrounding individuals had been staring at Randidly and whispering apparently his reputation preceded him Therefore he had come looking for Lady Iellaya

The small chapel where the funeral would be held was a rustic building that could only barely claim to be a chapel based on the height of its ceilings Thick uncarved stone pillars held the roof about five meters above the heads of a normal humanoid Which did seem to add a reflective mood to the attendees But even with that height the hundred Commander rank military personnel and above the family and the various security guards meant that the entire thing would be filled to bursting with bodies

Lady Iellaya was not looking forward to squeezing into a seat

Even worse the entirety of the chapel was shaped in the same hewn stone look of those grand pillars The benches were squat grey pews The altar was a stone table The windows looked positively feeble between the heavy rectangles of stone that formed the walls Everything was rough and weighty

It spoke to a Commandant who valued austerity and solemnity over all else It felt like the building itself was all the gravestone the deceased could ever desire

No one was happy with the arrangements and despite the fact that she had no control over the situation Lady Iellaya had been receiving a steady stream of criticisms for the past week over the venue Basically she now hated this Outer Realm and its chapel more than anything else in the Nexus

Aside of course from the Commandants who refused to promote her But that was a work in progress

So as they walked Lady Iellaya didnÆt try to hold back her feelings of frustration while speaking Of the individuals that she knew Randidly Ghosthound was one of the few which she trusted implicitly Their conspiracy to overthrow the established order of the Nexus generated bound them together even ignoring the fact that Randidly had remade her Class for her So Lady Iellaya ranted wildly talking about her fury toward the various attendees before moving on to how difficult it had been trying to protect Outer Realm Umt from being the target of any giant terrorist attack

With the Nexus’ situation being what it was Lady Iellaya was inundated with threats of action from various dissatisfied groups It was impossible to keep track of who could take advantage of the gathering of important individuals to send some meaningless message that would probably be misinterpreted anyway

The sense of sympathy powerlessness Lady Iellaya felt as she studied these groups did not leave her particularly optimistic about EdraineÆs plan at all But at this point she wasnÆt going to back down

This conversation carried them through most of the walk They had headed outside of the downtown area along a dirt lane now blessedly devoid of other soldiers to ascend a small hill and arrive at the chapel Along the lane were bare imitations of trees done in copper and brass their sharp and angular branches ending in points sharp enough to impale flesh Lady Iellaya finally ran out of steam as she considered these queer decorations on the way to the chapel

Fucking creepy as hell Lady IellayaÆs feathers twitched I wonder how many birds have killed themselves on these branches

Right when they were about to arrive at the chapel Randidly Ghosthound spoke Well we donÆt think the resistance is very powerful right At least not powerful enough to seriously threaten all the Commandants and political figures here right

Yes but that doesnÆt mean I wonÆt be blamed if those in power are inconvenienced even the slightest bit Lady Iellaya said with a scowl Just imagining the shitstorm she would need to endure if something happened

I just mean it doesnÆt seem likely to me that the funeral would be the target You talk about wanting to send a message but whatÆs stressing you out is that stolen Aether right Well they didnÆt try and send a message with that collection Randidly pointed out He scratched the back of his neck like he felt slightly awkward speaking out They just stole a bunch of Aether And now youÆve very obviously tightened security here Fighting from a position of weakness only a dumbass would attack the funeral right now There are probably dozens of easier targets in the Nexus with so many elites concentrated here

Lady Iellaya shrugged Not my patrol not my problem Now letÆs just get through this shall we

Octavius Shrike woke up with the knowledge that something was very wrong with his situation Reaching for his image netted him nothing In addition his body was entirely frozen He couldnÆt manage even the slightest movement

His bedroom as it usually was when he lay down for some restful meditation was completely dark The door and windows were sealed But he could sense that he was not alone in the room Two presences shifted lightly around his desk at the far end of the room perusing through the copious amounts of scrolls and personal effects that Octavius maintained there

For a second Octavius felt a flash of panic But then he quickly calmed himself His initial fear was that this was the Nexus itself moving against him perhaps someone had informed those in power about the alliance between himself Edraine Lady Iellaya and Randidly Ghosthound to overthrow current Nexus leadership But that feeling quickly passed as he realized that despite his proclivity to record every portion of his life he had forcefully restrained himself from noting anything incriminating down

If they were looking for evidence they would not find it here

Especially here in his home office Only documents relating to the Seventh Cohort were present Mostly it was his personal observations about common elements present in the worlds that were passing through the Calamities and a second hard copy of Aether harvests statistics in the Seventh Cohort The former was the seed of a paper Octavius intended to eventually submit before the Eighth Cohort was formed and the latter was just a precaution

However that lack of panic quickly erupted back into panic as he blanked on what other forces would have the capability and the motivation to break into his room and restrain him Confusion and darkness quickly whispered to those fears helping them rapidly swell and overtake him His image once more strained against the strange sense of isolation but Octavius could manage to do exactly nothing

IÆm at their mercy That chilling thought helped calm Octavius down

The two presences noticed OctaviusÆ wakefulness as well stopping in their examination and glancing at each other They might very well be completely imperceivable with Octavius being sealed as he was if not for some recent points about emotion Octavius had learned from Randidly Ghosthound The two figures blended perfectly into the darkness and their images were perfectly controlled but they allowed their emotions to flow rather freely

Octavius managed to latch onto two distinct flavors of emotion in the darkness

Cruelty seemed to grin as he looked over at Octavius HeÆs awake

Anxiety glanced at Cruelty in annoyance Although Octavius couldnÆt truly sense either of their movements he liked to imagine that Cruelty shrugged before he replied to the pointed glance Why not talk We have him We have everything here we need LetÆs enjoy the success

Finish the job first Anxiety replied curtly We need to make sure we get all the records he made of the Aether Harvests Even if we are deep in the lower portion of the Nexus the possibility of other forces noticing the array around the house isnÆt zero Stay focused

Bah why worry The man is anal he is so good at organization that its boringly easy to find all his documentation ah I suppose itÆs possible that he might have another copy hidden somewhere Hehe canÆt be too careful right Cruelty paused and notes of glee began to emerge from him He walked over to OctaviusÆ bed and began to stand over him The hanging darkness suddenly felt that much more solid

Octavius tried to squirm but still couldnÆt move at all He marshaled his image but that just made Cruelty laugh Heh So Mr Shrike please tell me are you hiding another copy of these notes I would really appreciate honesty I would hate to drag this out

Even through the pitch darkness of the room Octavius could sense something congealing in CrueltyÆs hand But just as Octavius began to sweat and that hand was being lowered toward his chest Anxiety stomped over You cannot use Nether We are Nexus extremists exposing a corrupt official How would we know how to utilize Nether Just burn him out the old fashioned way

Fine Cruelty mumbled Inside Octavius shivered He wanted to open his mouth and tell them that he didnÆt keep second records but his body was still completely paralyzed His eyes widened and his pupils dilated despite the darkness

Please Octavius said a silent prayer Even the overlay System was isolated here he couldn’t even send a message

Somehow Cruelty appeared to observe OctaviusÆ struggles Oh I know you cannot answer me yet But I usually find giving you a taste of pain before I ask the questions clears up any misunderstandings You will die tonight Octavius Shrike The only question is how clean your passage is going to be Now let me show you what uncleanÆ feels like

For a split second as Cruelty moved closer to Octavius a portion of his Aether Architecture engaged Which filled the frozen Cohort Overseer with both hope and foreboding Hope because the architecture placed there by the System could come to his aid now and stop this insanity Foreboding because if what Cruelty planned was enough to trigger the SystemÆs implicit defenses whatever he was up to was not a good thing

Yet just as quickly as it had come the Aether Architecture disengaged Cruelty was prepared for this Fear swallowed the brief hope that had been ignited in OctaviusÆs heart

CrueltyÆs hand touched OctaviusÆ chest Although he could not move his body slowly strained to arch his back and create space from the light touch The pain arrived a second later wet and clinging spreading to engulf his entire body The darkness became an abyss as Octavius felt this strange being begin grinding away at his image OctaviusÆ eyes bulged He wanted to vomit In a very real way the fabric of Octavius was being destroyed and he could do nothing about it

His tongue began to swell and undulate just slightly His organs were screaming

The pain continued to rise within him in densely packed waves His image couldnÆt even marshall itself to fight He just felt a horrible sickening fear as he felt everything he had built in his time in the Nexus was erased All his hard work came to naught If he could have moved Octavius would have trembled and sobbed Although he would have been aghast at the possibility before tonight Octavius would have even traded his beloved horn for the safety of his image

They plan to make me weak Octavius thought in desperate

But another voice in his head just snickered DoesnÆt this prove you are already weak

Eventually the pain stopped With its retreat the restrains on OctaviusÆ body also dissolved He reflexively tried to cough but he was so weak and drained he just ended up drooling and convulsing lightly

Now tell me again Cruelty said with glee Do you have other copies of these notes

A new emotion arrived at the scene It seeped up through the floorboards and around the edges of the door It was a horrible bloodlust so thick and hungry that it numbed Octavius just to sense it He couldnÆt believe that the other two didnÆt notice

Octavius’ eyes rolled back into his head But despite the fear he couldnÆt help but laugh The air around them continued to change ever exit was now sealed You gentlemen are so royally fucked

Perfect LetÆs keep going with messy than shall we Cruelty responded Clearly he was delighted that Octavius didnÆt capitulate immediately Yet as he moved to touch Octavius again the mysterious figure stilled

In the darkness a beast yawned grabbing the attention of both Cruelty and Anxiety That bloodlust became an image that began to squeeze the room The bed and the doorframe and OctaviusÆ desk began to tremble Both the shadows were transfixed Before they could figure out what was happening whatever array they had prepared popped audibly

A woman was suddenly standing in the middle of the room next to OctaviusÆ bed Although the gloom elsewhere remained impenetrable she seemed to glow with an inner light She grinned around at the two shades that stood transfixed at EdraineÆs sudden presence among them Although the Engraving had already been destroyed EdraineÆs image tightened in the air Your array is quite good Took me a bit to intrude And I would have likely missed it had I not been looking for it Just bad luck on your part I suppose But good luck for me I smell a rat in the Nexus

Who are you Anxiety demanded His voice was authoritative but his emotions revealed how tenuous his control of his mental state was We are on official Xyrt Brigade business If you interfere

Edraine shook her head and gestured Suddenly the room was illuminated Two furry humanoids looked at her with their mouths open in shock You arenÆt military ah are you members of the Bestial Purity Association Interesting But considering that your leader is likely still hibernating Heh who paid you off

The one who Octavius had thought about as cruelty who had the beady eyes and greasy fur of a weasel flipped sideways and rushed toward the door The other man a humanoid canine dashed for the sealed windows Both bounced off their intended exits with their claws glancing ineffectually off of the surfaces A powerful barrier was up in the surrounding area

Edraine cracked her knuckles The right humorous of Cruelty which formed the majority of the upper arm cracked a split second later The weasel man whimpered and fell to the ground

EdraineÆs gaze was cold The being that had been afflicted with the suffocating embrace of a duplicated personality for a few thousand years barred her teeth You hurt my subordinate You made me watch Now itÆs time for you repent

Chapter 1534

Octavius moved from his bedroom to his library while Edraine released the full fury of her image with the two assailants in the other room The heavy tomes that lined his library shelves watched silently as he stood for a while next to his desk and trembled He had one hand on the mahogany surface and the other over his heart It took almost ten minutes for Octavius to control his breathing and bare to peek inwards at his injured image

The fear was a physical thing toying casually with the muscles of his chest like his body was a guitar it playfully strummed

When Octavius finally worked up the nerve to check something within him gradually eased It is not as bad as I feared Much of the detail was lost but my image was stalwart enough to not sustain any permanent warping

To put it in perspective while Octavius had feared that he had lost years of his hard work due to Cruelty the truth was likely closer to a month or two of recovery would have him returned to his former capability But even now thinking of the pure joy that Cruelty radiated as he was purposefully striking at the core of Octavius made him grit his teeth and press his eyes closed

Octavius reached up and rubbed his horn Even if the trembling stopped time retained its fuzzy fragile sensation as he tried to ground himself

He only stopped rubbing his horn when Edraine walked purposefully out of his bedroom Her mouth was twisted into a frown Either they have more spine than I expected or they truly donÆt know who paid them to do this But I would like a second perspective contact Randidly Perhaps his Dreamcatcher of the Long Night will be able to sense something

She turned away then and frowned at the ground But just as Octavius was sending the message to Randidly Edraine turned back around and looked at him Oh and Octavius They paid for what I did to you These two will be as feeble as mice for the rest of their lives

LayÆmel Tuuellethe stood underneath the boughs of one of the metallic tree like statues leading up the low hill to the chapel He was deeply irritated by his current situation but tried not to let that show on his face He was not irritated because he wasnÆt invited into the chapel for the funeral service honestly the place was crawling with figures so powerful that LayÆmel wouldnÆt even dare breathe for fear of offending someone he couldnÆt As a non named member of the Swacc Family LayÆmel meant nothing to even his connections in the Family His position was closer to that of a contractor than a member

He could make deals with the Family but they would discard him immediately if he crossed the line or if he became embroiled in any difficulties

LayÆmel flicked a metallic branch in front of him pausing briefly to listen to the low noise it made He glanced toward the man laying on the ground next to him his irritation steadily mounting How the hell is this funeral lasting so long Although I cannot give you an exact measure of the GhosthoundÆs capabilities believe me that he is an easy foe to underestimate he is the type of scheming foe that deeply conceals himself

Uh huh figure man replied with obvious boredom He was a muscular figure with a shaved head laying on the ground with all of the tension of a homeless person napping on the beach The manÆs tanned arms were covered in inked designs a truly barbaric custom in LayÆmelÆs opinion but the most arresting aspect of this figure wasnÆt the man himself it was the massive black greatsword on the ground next to him covered in blue Engravings

LayÆmel had been careful to stand on the opposite side of the man from the sword His instincts simply wouldnÆt allow him to casually approach

The man reached into a pouch at his waist and pulled out a small piece of candy in an opaque plastic wrapper He opened the wrapper and popped the item into his mouth Almost instantly mist starting rolling out of his nose and mouth The man grinned up at LayÆmel appearing to be an apparition that floated within the localized fog Want one These Frigid Glacier candies are very good Very refreshing I really need to buy more

No thank you LayÆmel responded automatically He stopped flicking the metallic boughs and began to squeeze the metal with his hand Because he could make deals with the Swacc Family he had some access to inside information As long as he could obtain very detailed information about Randidly Ghosthound or even capture him alive he would have the chance to officially bear the Swacc name

His heart pounded That was the goal he had pursued for so long

LayÆmel winced and released his grip he had squeezed so hard that his palm was now divided by an oozing gash of a wound He flexed his hand and watched as the flesh steadily knit itself back together Then he began to flick the metal once more

After the wound was completely healed LayÆmel cleared his throat and continued to speak One of the GhosthoundÆs images is related to life Another appears to be some sort of spiritual figure And if you can believe it it appears that he even has a third image of the same caliber Ah obviously each individual image is no match for you Mr Dunn But combined

ItÆs an interesting method of using images Velio Dunn replied through a wide yawn that had his jaw cracking For a split second he appeared to be a frost dragon bellowing his breath toward the sky Then when he relaxed and smiled a nova of mist spread out from his face due to the candy But

Velio jabbed his finger at LayÆmel You are ruining all of my tension ItÆs like a good fuck with a stranger in a dark alley you donÆt want to sign a contract agreeing to all the details beforehand Half of the fun is living in that raw moment and discovering these details together So donÆt tell me any more about him I just want to see him just once to see if IÆll accept the job And if heÆs weak peh

Instantly LayÆmel flushed But I have already given you the fee

You paid for me to take a look Suddenly Velio Dunn was not an affable man laying on the ground He glared up at LayÆmel and the elf couldnÆt even breathe The runes on the enormous sword began to glow So IÆm here taking a look IÆm trying to keep you from fucking wasting your money by ruining everything with your prattle So accept my advice alright LetÆs have some patience Try and enjoy yourself a little more

So LayÆmel fell silent even though he was feeling humiliated and furious Somehow the worst part was that he was just as scared of the runic greatsword than the man himself Still lying on the ground Velio Dunn popped another candy into his mouth He amused himself by blowing mist rings up into the air above him

Truly if I hadnÆt obtained his name from a Swacc Family contact LayÆmelÆs expression was stiff It would be difficult to believe that he is someone who has lived since the Second Cohort and is one of the most feared assassins in the Nexus

They waited like that in something like silence for almost ten minutes the only noise was Helio chuckling to himself when he managed some acrobatic feat with his mist rings LayÆmel did his best to relax Then blessedly individuals began to file out of the chapel above them on the hill

LayÆmel nodded decisively LetÆs shift positions to attract less attention

Why bother Velio rolled onto his back and then flipped himself up to his feet With a toe he flicked his two meter long sword up in the air and seized the hilt with his hand Anyone who would recognize me has already sensed me anyway There is no need to skulk around for just an innocent look

LayÆmel blinked Uh arenÆt you worried that being seen would tip off Randidly Ghosthound As an assassin

Lamel heheh your name is a portmanteau of lame camel Anyways Lamel it seems clear to me that you just donÆt get it Velio patted LayÆmelÆs shoulder several times and each touch sent near painful jolts through his body Velio Dunn was strong Also donÆt call me an assassin ever again Or IÆll kill you But I donÆt take these jobs because I like killing In fact I find killing generally deplorable I canÆt have a climactic rematch with a dead man

No I do this because itÆs fun To fight To struggle To have an inevitable showdown Velio Dunn shook his head almost sorrowfully When he blew the mist out of his mouth this time it was directly into LayÆmelÆs face IÆm here to look because if it seems like fun IÆll definitely fight this Ghosthound of yours And IÆll admit that it seems like IÆm a jinx for most people inexplicably people who fight me end up dying during the fight Can you understand how disappointing that is To be all riled up and lathered and then to have your opponent bisected in half on the first attack There is no greater sorrow in the world

I I see LayÆmelÆs mouth twitched

I cannot handle that disappointment any longer I am not a young man Velio sighed deeply Lamel I get that this Ghosthound is stronger than you you are pretty weak to begin with But that doesnÆt mean he isnÆt just another schmuck who would inexplicably end up impaled on my sword understand I have to protect myself from disappointment So letÆs just

There he is LayÆmel interrupted pointing up through the crowd at a figure who walked out of the chapel

Velio Dunn tilted his head to the side and squinted up toward the chapel The chubby bloke with the two hammers at his waist IÆm sorry Lamel but thatÆs a definite no

No not him the the humanoid with short black hair LayÆmel was exasperated If we donÆt mind being seen letÆs just walk up there and I can introduce you to him That way you can read his image

HavenÆt you been listening to me Velio Dunn looked at LayÆmel with a scandalized look on his face IÆm a dangerous man What if I kill him accidentally while introducing myself

What do you mean WHAT IF DidnÆt I hire you to kill him Inwardly LayÆmel was fuming But he had been forewarned that Velio Dunn was a little bit peculiar So he kept his temper as best he could Well ah There Do you see ItÆs that man The one holding that key up to the air on the left

Oh Was all Velio Dunn said But LayÆmel didnÆt really notice because he watched with shock as Randidly Ghosthound opened a portal in the air and stepped through it And just like that he was gone

He didnÆt use the Ways Interesting VelioÆs words brought LayÆmel back to the present As LayÆmel twisted around to urge Velio to accept the commission he was pinned to the ground as he saw the expression on the other manÆs face There was no humanoid in those sharp features only a hungry beast Velio licked his lips I accept Lamel That body of his bearing the sin of breaking through the SystemÆs physical limitation IÆll definitely fight your Randidly Ghosthound Hehe I just hope he doesnÆt die quickly

Chapter 1535

Randidly shook his head emphatically Sorry Unless those two focus on the sensations they felt when interacting with their mysterious backer the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night cannot do anything to help ItÆs not an interrogation device just one that allows for reflection

The two of them were standing in OctaviusÆ library Edraine shrugged slowly as though she had been so aware this news was coming that she forgot to react to it when she heard it I understood it was a longshot but it is difficult to know the best course of action without knowing who our foe this time is Luckily Octavius was just a chess piece in the larger Nexus political struggle not the actual target Our groupÆs purpose is likely unrelated to this incident

Randidly nodded slowly and turned to look through the wall into the now mostly demolished bedroom they were strong through The person who could hire them Their Engraving was positively sublime but even without that I wouldnÆt have wanted to fight them at the same time Why would they do this anyway

Gesturing to a scroll on the table Edraine spoke in a light tone They did it to frame Octavius for underreporting the harvested Aether in the Seventh Cohort Apparently whoever arranged for this attack has also been moving amongst some of the NLCÆs lower tiered accountants in very specific places about 25% less Aether was reported than what is currently present in the Seventh Cohort gathering formulae Octavius is currently checking each formula by hand but heÆs already found several dead bodies in the area The opposition is cleaning up after themselves and leaving us a mess

Then Edraine sighed The air around her started to hum with anxiety The lines on her face were deep to RandidlyÆs eye Lady Iellaya was able to pull some strings to shift of the CohortÆs security personnel to help with clean up on the CommandantÆs funeral but we need to figure out how badly Octavius has been deceived Especially now that there is a trail of bodies it will be difficult for Octavius to avoid culpability as the Overseer

you need a distraction Randidly realized tasting the subtle moodiness that was radiating off of Edraine That was why she had insisted that he come so quickly even though the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night was almost guaranteed to be ineffective His mind began to whirr To buy Octavius time

A last line of defense in case of emergency Edraine said as she nodded But we are near that point already With another hour Overseer Octavius Shrike will have uncovered a plot to steal Aether from his Cohort and heroically put his life on the line to stop that If he is discovered in ten minutes next to the bodies the most likely conclusion the security personnel will come to is that he is dirtying his hands to cover his tracks We need a stop gap in place to pull attention away

Likely the force that is responsible for this conspiracy wonÆt try and interfere directly until they understand why their initial attempt failed they wonÆt move drastically They donÆt need to if the entity responsible is large enough pay off the Bestial Purity Association to do its bidding They will likely assume that someone like me exists and push other pieces around to draw me out Here Edraine pursed her lips Her face looked especially severe as she stared down at the floor a testament to the different life experiences between her and Vualla itÆs unfortunate to admit but we cannot digest this situation ourselves You wonÆt just be a distraction but also a bridge As a group we donÆt want to draw attention to ourselves by bringing this conspiracy to light and also we have no legitimacy in the eyes of the established Nexus organization

You donÆt need to spend so much time explaining Randidly cut in We donÆt have much time What do I need to do

Honestly perhaps it is me that IÆm trying to convince by dragging my feet Edraine sighed again and shook her head But you are right We donÆt have time If there are better answers they will take more time to discover than we have We might not be able to digest the benefits of revealing this conspiracy but Military High Command easily could

Suddenly EdraineÆs hesitance began to make sense RandidlyÆs eyes narrowed as black purple energy flared to life around his eyes He did his best to peer into the future but he felt the heavy madness that he had witnessed in the face of Commandant Wick pollute his vision Very quickly that primal madness of chaos made the intersection of chance murky Even so Randidly pushed himself to the limit Darkness swirled around his left eye until he was completely blind to the physical realm What remained was the graceful and brutal crash of intentions that spiraled toward the future

This taint from WickÆs image Randidly could only grit his teeth and do his best to predict how the monolithic military figure would react Yet the more he peered the worse he felt very quickly he was nauseous He had never seen the threads of timelines mutate before his eyes like this His Skill gave him a window into an entirely different world

To Randidly it looked like a sinister ballroom where the unholy band sawed bones against each other to the raucous merriment of the bloodthirsty couples that spun together across the various timelines He could practically hear the laughter of the dancers in his ears as harsh and jarring as a piano ripping itself to pieces

And above it all thousands of glowing red eyes watched from the eaves

Congratulations Your Skill Revelations of the Atramentous Threshold has grown to Level 340

Congratulations Your Skill Revelations of the Atramentous Threshold has grown to Level 341

Ultimately Randidly shook his head and backed off of the Skill he really wasnÆt able to peer into how Commandant Wick would react Instead he spoke to Edraine it made sense even if it made him uneasy IÆll get in contact with the Commandant and allow him to spin this as corruption within the NLC In exchange he protects me while I perform the distraction and finds Octavius to be completely innocent in the follow up investigation That is putting a lot of faith in him

Plus the worst of it RandidlyÆs frown deepened We reveal the connection between you and I Which will draw in Octavius and Lady Iellaya We let him know that you exist and that my relationship with Lady Iellaya is more serious than just her being my superior officer

Edraine nodded You are correct that our ability to gain this information and offer it to him will reveal a bit of our strength but I suspect it wonÆt be as much as you think Men like the Commandant he might now suspect that you have someone near his power behind you but there is no way that he will expect me

Edraine revealed a sharp smile as she finished her words Just the movements of her lips and tongue were enough to release weak waves of force in the room As always her image was quite impressive No wonder she had subdued the duo in the bedroom so easily The scroll on the table trembled and rolled Randidly slowly nodded his assent Alright then IÆll send a message to the Commandant

Elohamore Huzzhleigh adjusted the cuff of his guardÆs uniform Then he reached up and unbuttoned his collar Immediately he heaved a deep sigh of relief he appreciated his position as a member of the Nexus Security Force but the requirements for the uniforms were notoriously strict Sometimes a day of simply patrolling became near torture

Even now his partner Kadan glanced around quickly to check for a superior when she saw him unbuttoning the collar Then she gestured toward the clock with a small smile on her face Are you cutting out early Heh maybe a special night planned with Mrs Huzzhleigh

Fuck off Kadan Elohamore rolled his neck Due to him being more bestial than humanoid the neck hole was barely capable of containing the thick muscles of his upper torso His windpipe was forced to give up some of its space to compensate

IÆm just saying the last time I saw you this excited Kadan said with a widening grin until the noise of her words was briefly blanketed by outside noise

A rumble went through the ground and their guard post Instantly ElohamoreÆs face went white and he quickly rebuttoned his uniform Kadan tightened her belt and then leapt to her feet Both grabbed their weapons as they hurried through the door and into the outside world with all thoughts of clocking out forgotten

Behind them the warning light flicked on several seconds too late

Very quickly the duo rushed toward the source of the reverberation Powerful confrontations were unfortunately very common in the Nexus Even worse the Nexus Security Force had no legal right to intervene in these sort of situations when the image power indicated that the upper crust of the Nexus was moving

Elohamore knew that this would be a difficult incident as soon as they arrived at the source of the shockwave The explosion had come from the Suaycloak Lounge a swanky gambling establishment in the district that Elohamore and Kadan patrolled They were a bit below the bottom of Bray Street so this area wasnÆt the truly posh portions of the Upper Nexus but it was exactly in these sorts of mixed neighborhoods that seedy establishments thrived

The grand five meter tall doors of the Suaycloak Lounge had been smashed to the side so forcefully that the portions of the wall where the hinges had been attached were now cracked and crumbling Elohamore made a note of that in situations like this the security forces were essentially highly paid appraisers They tried to calm whatever confrontation was going on but they were really just here to record who broke what

Later they would send a missive to the culprit with a carefully tallied bill

This sort of job always left a sour taste in ElohamoreÆs mouth because it was a far cry from what he had thought he would be doing on the security force But he breathed in as deeply as he could manage and strode through to the interior which was set up like a jazz club

A man with black hair a metallic grey torso armor and bare feet was glaring over at a four armed man who was trembling in the corner People scrambled to the side trying not to be pierced by those locked gazes The black haired man smiled Did you really think I would just let your show if disrespect go

Chapter 1536

Elohamore panted rapidly his lungs clogged with a cloying panic He dare not blink lest he missed something and suddenly became the target of this vicious manÆs attention It had only been two minutes since he and Kadan arrived at the Suaycloak Longue but in that time he had an epiphany it wasnÆt that the security forces didnÆt want to intervene in situations like this but they simply didnÆt have the backing to stand against someone truly powerful

An average person meant nothing in the Nexus Only with power came influence

Elohamore and Kadan had very quickly been forced to retreat beyond the shattered main doors in order to avoid being damaged by the strange pressure that Randidly Ghosthound released The man seemed to walk at the center of a greedy vortex of darkness devouring both physical objects and the images of those that resisted

His movements were brutal and destructive All resistance was crushed with extreme prejudice And as his attack grew more frequent the darkness seemed to grow even more sinister

The Ghosthound now stood in the center of the destroyed club still releasing that cloying aura that siphoned off all resistance from the remaining individuals He held his four armed target aloft his hand around his throat He appeared to be studying him perhaps faced with the realization that his demands for a more genuineÆ apology would not be met as he had both broken his targetÆs jaw and knocked the man unconscious

Of course that sort of reaction would be the realization of a mentally present individual The Ghosthound had thus far displayed little faculty for recognizing the facts in front of him Only his domineering temper and vicious pride had been on display

Perhaps what currently brewed in his mind was a growing fury that his desire was being frustrated Elohamore felt a great deal of pity for the GhosthoundÆs target as he dutifully noted down what property had been destroyed

A powerful manager of the Suaycloak Lounge lay slumped on the ground right where the Ghosthound had smashed him into the marble floor for daring to interfere His body was covered in a thin dusting of splinters from the table that had once existed at that very spot Elohamore could see the shattered bones of his arms poking out through his flesh

Another woman who had been an associate of the GhosthoundÆs target was still smoldering in the corner with her arms and legs severed and strewn casually throughout the completely silent main lounge area Most of the other former guests had retreated to the upstairs when it became clear that the Ghosthound wouldnÆt even bother to notice them if they didnÆt interfere with his work

The GhosthoundÆs single mindedness at least was a blessing

Keh I suppose The Ghosthound began to slowly speak but Elohamore jumped before the intimidating villain could continue a figure had materialized behind him right outside of the Suaycloak lounge After sparing Elohamore an irritated glance for blocking her path a three meter tall woman strode confidently forward into the ruined room

Her voice was booming as she glared over at the Ghosthound What is going on here Do you really think that there wonÆt be consequences for your actions Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound Release that man immediately and come with me you will be tried before a tribunal for your crimes

As she spoke the woman seemed to glow with a bright light Her skin was luminous Looking at her back Elohamore seemed to see a lonely mountain peak as the radiance of dawn spread out to gently touch upon the landmark Underneath those precious first rays the mountain seemed to transcend physicality and become something near divine The air hummed with the breadth of its presence

Oh The GhosthoundÆs darkness had steadily ebbed as resistance to him had fallen but in the face of this new arrival his face twisted into a wild glee His left eye became a pure black orb with the image light the woman released unwillingly being bent and twisted by that suddenly palpable hunger The two images impacted each other with a physical clap that echoed in the empty interior And who the hell are you to tell me what to do

He truly is the epitome of pride to not even recognize a Chairperson of the NLC Elohamore thought with a little bit of envy Although he would never abuse power like this man would he couldnÆt help but admire the Ghosthound he had the nerve and capability of being so bold in the Nexus Meanwhile Elohamore

Someday Elohamore half promised himself Somehow he couldnÆt manage to make the thought convincing

The womanÆs shoulders began to tremble as she spread her arms out wide Ripples ran through her image and suddenly there was a figure meditating on top of the mountain The quality of the light changed and suddenly the darkness was pushed back the wild hunger of that darkness could not withstand the force of this light You heh IÆll teach you a lesson before I toss you back onto your precious Rally Station

Now Chairperson Loyola Another figure was abruptly there next to him but Elohamore was too busy struggling to withstand the light from that mountain to jump again in surprise Such aggression over a mere scuffle between Drill Sergeants this isnÆt something that figures like us should be involved in

The tall Chairperson slowly turned around but she did lower the pressure she was using to force the Ghosthound back Commandant Wick Do you truly believe I will let this go Not only did he destroy my business but he also blatantly ignored the code of the Nexus As such

Please The Commandant waved a massive paw in the air as he took several steps forward When he passed Elohamore the pressure Chairperson Loyola released could no longer reach the members of the security force It was like it never even existed IÆm truly surprised you would show such an unseemly display over mere monetary concerns Æ

You dare call me unseemly Chairperson Loyola gestured to the shattered and smoldering lounge around her When your mad dog did this His pride drove him to almost kill a coworker Is this the sort of leaking ship you run these days

Belatedly the Ghosthound glanced around He took a few steps over to a partially destroyed couch and draped the four armed manÆs body across it Because half of the legs of the piece of furniture had been obliterated the manÆs body slumped sideways seemingly about to tumble off of the slanted remnants of the couch

Unlike your fragile NLC we in the military encourage minor spars The Commandant continued serenely Each of his steps was heavy as he continued forward The Chairperson turned all the way around to face the Commandant her expression twisted into a stare of open hostility It didnÆt seem to faze the Commandant at all But honestly IÆm surprised you have time to play around in a minor matter like this

Suspicion flickered in Chairperson LoyolaÆs eyes but she ultimately didnÆt bite She just stared at the bearman in front of her with a frightful intensity

The Commandant smiled very slowly dragging the moment out oh hadnÆt you heard Recently Overseer Octavius Shrike came to Military High Command with evidence of large amounts of corruption in the NLC Fearing that he would be used as a scapegoat he had no choice but to utilize the organization with the most sterling reputation to exonerate himself from these obvious misdeeds WeÆve been investigating the Seventh Cohort personnel for several weeks now the results should be announced to the public later today Let me say the truth seems to be pretty damning

Emotions flickered across the ChairpersonÆs face so quickly that Elohamore couldnÆt follow the tiny movements at the corners of her eyes and mouth Her wrinkles rapidly expanded then shrunk Gradually she seemed to realize that the Commandant was no kidding She pressed her lips together You you have no right to investigate the NLC you bloodthirsty pig We have an audit department

How could the people guarantee that the investigation was completely unbiased The Commandant interrupted If we allowed the ones being investigated to investigate themselves Do you take the people of the Nexus to be fools you oversized slut This is what justice looks like

Elohamore couldnÆt help but shiver When both sides are so obviously determined to find fault with each other can either one really be trusted But if there definitely was corruption in the Cohort

Once more the ChairpersonÆs face was mercurial and inscrutable But finally she snorted With the issue behind her forgotten she strode forward past Commandant Wick and the watching Security personnel and disappeared

The Commandant chuckled lightly and gestured at the Ghosthound Instantly the man walked to the CommandantÆs side and the two turned and left without giving the security personnel a glance Neither Elohamore or Kadan had the energy or capability of stopping them however both didnÆt dare move until they left unwilling to attract the attention of these powerful figures

That was Kadan whispered She shook her head several times as though she didnÆt quite believe her eyes And then they left without saying anything ItÆs like

ItÆs like this wasnÆt about that poor fool at all Elohamore said with a sigh This was just a piece in a bigger game across the Nexus I have a feeling what we heard was legitimate There is going to be news about corruption in the Seventh Cohort soon As for what happens after that

Both fell silent Both were scared This was definitely above their pay grade

In the middle of the demolished club the four armed manÆs body finally overbalanced from his position With a thump he slid off of the couch and onto the cracked floor

Honestly Randidly was extremely grateful that the Chairperson had arrived at the club when she had He was running out of ideas of how to stall for more time by inflicting non fatal damage on the unfortunate Drill Sergeant To ease his conscious and put on more of a show Randidly had rather secretly injected minute amounts of Nether into the Drill SergeantÆs body during his grand and overly aggressive attacks While he tossed his unfortunate victim around he wove that Nether together into a near invisible flow through his body

The effect would be minor but an astute man would notice that his attacks and images would be just a smidge heavier in the future now grounded by his own significance

Randidly glanced forward at Commandant Wick as they walked He considered saying something but decided against it for now It was clear from the emotions around the man that he was in a good mood Randidly wasnÆt going to risk spoiling that for now reason

That thought earned a small smile from Randidly as he reflected both on his wariness toward the Commandant and his forced retreat before the image released by the Chairperson Truthfully IÆm still coming up short Even with the new Grim Chimera even utilizing three images at once I might have reached a point where I can reliably survive but victory is out of my grasp Which means His mind returned to the Nether he had seen in Neshamah Rex and RandidlyÆs gaze sharpened But if I ask for help with Nether what will she ask for in exchange

The duo proceeded through the Nexus Ways while Randidly mused to himself swiftly arriving at Military High Command Soldiers leapt to their feet and saluted as the Commandant glided confidently forward Randidly followed in his wake Military High Command was situated in a massive black castle directly below the surfaceÆ of the Nexus where only those who possessed the requisite qualifications could go Security at the perimeter was tight but the interior of the castle was hauntingly deserted

Randidly idly wondered if he satisfied the conditions for going to the surface yet but he didnÆt possess much curiosity toward that location Especially not when he finally had a lead on meaningfully increasing his power

He didnÆt want to waste any more time

The duo passed through the cookie cutter hallways quickly the only detail that distinguished that they were moving was the fact that the faces in the hundreds of portraits along the walls were of different people To see all these stern faces as they moved forward it really put into perspective how long the Nexus had been in existence

The ambiance wasnÆt helped by the fact that the lighting came from torches with maroon flames placed periodically along the walls It cast a strange light over everything as though the entire place was crusted with dried blood

They finally arrived at the CommandantÆs office and once the door was closed behind Randidly the bearman didnÆt waste any time Heh This was an unexpected boon Mr Ghosthound Even beyond protecting Shrike I owe you a favor And I donÆt say that lightly Also I believe there is an easy favor I can give you

You are trying to reinforce your images right Allow me to help I have a particular knack for regulating unruly forces With my assistance I can near double your power immediately

Chapter 1537

The CommandantÆs eyes glowed somehow making the wild claim that he could double RandidlyÆs power credible But there wasnÆt even a flicker of hesitation in RandidlyÆs mind

I will have to decline Commandant Randidly replied slowly The offer might sound beneficial but Randidly didnÆt trust it for a second But thank you for your generosity Considering that I still need to train the recruits it is for the best that I do not make any sudden changes to my person

A stretch in a time dilated location would easily resolve such difficulties The Commandant countered smoothly with an easy smile His teeth were very white

Randidly resisted his bodyÆs urge to tense and he forced the Grim Chimera not to manifest its defiance Now was not the time to show outward aggression But he did make a slight mental note the dark side of Commandant WickÆs good moods was a sharp increase in avarice He bowed slightly Even so I have to decline Shortcuts will only hurt me in the long run

Heh ThatÆs why I like you Ghosthound The Commandant chuckled again You arenÆt swayed by immediate benefits But still are you sure you wonÆt reconsider Considering your connections well it seems obvious that your ambition is not some mundane accomplishment You cannot deny that more power will make seizing what you want easier As your superior officer I owe it to you to help achieve your desires

The CommandantÆs words were light but his image shifted slightly at the same time The tight control that he had maintained over his image rippled and parted If RandidlyÆs senses hadnÆt been so acute he might have missed the change In that oppressively restrictive scaffolding that restrained WickÆs madness a hint of a flaw emerged That madness spread out to touch the surrounding space seeming to erode the natural order of the universe within the office

itÆs an emotional attack HeÆs trying to inflame my desires Randidly abruptly realized After the Stillborn PhoenixÆs experience with emotions as a part of images in the past few weeks he would never overlook the sudden surge of charged emotions that sought to infiltrate his person as the Commandant spoke And at the moment the Stillborn Phoenix gratefully shifted from its normal cycle and devoured the threads of madness from Commandant Wick

But Randidly was thoroughly chilled by the situation despite his immunity Just like with Neshamah and Nether the more I meet the upper crust of the Nexus the more I realize that my tricks are being used by others more proficiently than I can manage Maybe they donÆt have all of them together but IÆm not unique

While the subtle display filled Randidly with a sense of dread he kept a slight smile on his face He kept any stiffness from his features even so I can wait Besides somehow I feel like having a favor from a great individual such as you Commandant Wick will be invaluable in the future

Commandant WickÆs smile faded The massive bear man looked at Randidly Ghosthound with his beady black eyes Within his soul that madness stirred and seemed to seize control of the CommandantÆs body Despite being a living breathing organism he stilled entirely there wasnÆt even the slightest modicum of movement from his person for almost ten seconds

Then his image shifted and the flaw was repaired Commandant Wick shook himself lightly and then allowed himself a sardonic smile Keh I have to admit my insistence has more to do with my discomfort with owing a favor than anything else but IÆll respect your wishes Bahaha those labor freaks will be on their back foot for months after this Especially because of all that extra Aether thatÆs turned up ItÆs one thing for us to claim there was corruption most people might not be convinced all considering their bias against the military But if we also sweeten the deal with a generous increase in everyoneÆs Aether allotment Heh most would be forced to admit that there must be some truth to the investigations Otherwise where else could the Aether have come from

Randidly nodded slowly But Edraine has already informed me that most of the spare Aether that was discovered was confiscated by Military High Command The surge in Aether that we are experiencing is because the military made the unilateral decision to stop supplying Aether to the vast majority of the planets in the Fifth Cohort

Millions no maybe even billions of people will die to cement this as a political victory for you

RandidlyÆs heart clenched Being associated so closely with Commandant Wick made him feel frustrated Again he was in a situation where those billions of people would have been relatively safe if not for him If not for this chance the military would not have so decisively cast the Fifth Cohort to the side Of course Randidly didnÆt necessarily feel responsible this was the callous decision of the CommandantÆs

But his hands tightened into fists Yet I have taken advantage of these brutal military leaders They are for the moment my allies

It was a bitter realization

But anyway I must return to the Fifth Cohort the Commandant turned away and stared at a map on the wall The Nether is up to something big I need to be there to stop it You are dismissed soldier

Randidly saluted and then left With his heavy heart the portraiture that surrounded him on the walk out of Military High Command looked especially distorted The haughty expressions of the fallen military leaders twisted into leering sneers The faint screams of the dying seemed to permeate the building Randidly paused briefly and closed his eyes His Nether Nebula stirred his four grey bubbles tumbling end over end His Nether washed through his veins quickly finding and locating the foreign element in his body

With a sizzle his Nether annihilated that insidious thread of emotion that had embedded itself in his veins But RandidlyÆs expression was quite ugly Even though I saw it coming WickÆs image still managed to effect me If I didnÆt have Nether that was keyed only to my images it would have been near impossible to find and eradicate the taint

After he left Military High Command Randidly immediately pulled out his PhilosopherÆs Key and opened a portal to deep within the Web Before he returned to the Rally Station he wanted to do a few more cleansings of his emotions just to be sure Beyond that since they had another fifteen hours or so off anyway he would stretch that out a bit and train

Humming to himself Randidly began to descend deeper than he ever dared to in the past Part of him acknowledged it was a risk but another part of him knew that he couldnÆt afford to take his time improving

And once IÆm sure IÆm not compromised Randidly thought slowly as he floated downward ItÆs time to focus on my definitive Skills for the different images But before the new Grim Chimera I should return to my original image Yggdrasil The Inscrutable Mien of Genesis and the Implacable Price of Exodus have both been on the back burner for far too long LetÆs not forget to sharpen my most reliable blade

After the twenty four hours were up Raymund Ballast returned to the Fifth Cohort Rally Station with a face long with disappointment Reality had taught him several harsh lessons He was more capable than during his initial arrival to the Nexus that was undoubtedly true But in the grand scheme of things he was still a tiny fish who had foolishly swam out into the depths

The first information broker he managed to locate after asking around for a while had shut the door in his face when he requested information regarding the Swacc Family The second had refused to answer any of his questions and even recommended that Raymund pay him an exorbitant sum so he wouldnÆt simply sell the fact that he was asking questions about them to the Swacc Family

A string of further failures led Raymund to halt his investigations around that last message Techetadore and sent and instead just ask about his brother This was a little more fruitful but didnÆt turn up anything significant Techet had definitely come to the Nexus and been seen around He had even arranged an apprenticeship with a middling tier fighter who participated in the Nexus Arena but apparently Techet had quit the training after a week

Based on the timeline it was right after he quit that Techetadore had sent his final message to Raymund

By the time Raymund found out this information his twenty four hour holidayÆ was up He didnÆt even have time to try and speak with the fighter Techet had met before he had to return to the teleporter formation

Plus his mood was not helped by the fact that he was once more burdened by the suppression array the Ghosthound had created After a full day without its constant presence the exertion was once more agonizing

Currently Overseer Helen had them all standing in formation near the teleporter on the Fifth Cohort Rally Station A last few recruits were scurrying out earning death glares from Overseer that promised them additional training due to their lateness Overall the mood of the recruits was rather strained and restless Partially because they likely shared RaymundÆs opinion about returning to the suppression array while the other recruits clearly werenÆt affected but also many people were whispering about the report of corruption in the Seventh Cohort

Finally the last recruit arrived Overseer Helen stared around at them all and cleared her throat Does anyone have anything to say about the request made of you by Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound This is your one chance to come clean about any deals you may have made with outside forces

The recruits remained silent Overseer Helen nodded seeming unwilling to push the issue Alright then Squad Captains form up We are heading back Time to pick up where we left off

The group moved quickly across the dirt track as they returned to the training area But as they approached the space given to their elite group they slowed Head Drill Sergeant Randidly Ghosthound was waiting for them at the edge of his territory with his arms folded Yet after Overseer Helen said a sharp word the group kept marching

They filed around the Ghosthound avoiding his eye contact The intimidating man stood there at the edge and looked individually at all 200 of the recruits as they passed him

The group seemed to heave a sigh that flowed amongst them the tension in their bodies releasing as crossed the presence of the Ghosthound without anything happening Yet after they had believed they were safe the Ghosthound spoke

One of you lied

Everyone paused They couldnÆt help but turn around and look at their Head Drill Sergeant dreading what they would find in his face And as expected RaymundÆs blood curdled as he saw that orb of darkness that had taken the place of the GhosthoundÆs left eye He favored the group with a slow smile Did you really think I wouldnÆt notice

Chapter 1538

Randidly shook his head almost sadly The emotions from the recruits in front of him swiftly turned extremely chaotic So much so that he knew there were multiple that likely had made some sort of deal

Yet amongst these recruits there was one that went beyond that someone was trying to bring something foreign in

Randidly wouldnÆt have been as confident in his discernment a day ago but Commandant Wick had given him some hands on experience with drawing out an unwanted foreign image As the recruits paused and turned around to face Randidly he calmly mobilized the Nether flows in the surrounding space

It would have been difficult out in the broader Rally Station But under RandidlyÆs training area he was king A foreign entity passing into his territory meant that it was governed by his laws

Also Randidly was aware that he couldnÆt completely shield his recruits from the mundane persuasions that other entities could offer them From the uneasy guilt wafting through the air at least a dozen had reached a verbal agreement with the enemies of Military High Command They might even be curious about the elite training being conducted by the Head Drill Sergeant

But Randidly had a suspicion that the waves made by Military High CommandÆs report on corruption might push individuals to do something rather drastic He didnÆt have any real awareness of how the population of the Nexus would react but Commandant WickÆs obvious relish of the event informed his understanding

This was big Which would make the NLC and its allies desperate And desperate individuals took risks

Randidly spread his arms His Nether Nebula began to accelerate resisting the immense inertia of its weight His body became the mouth of a river of Nether It came out of him in waves flowing through the recruits in front of him without much resistance they were used to the strange effect the energy had on them

But when that flood of energy passed through the recruits at a depth and density that was many times higher than what they had normally experienced their eyes went wide and they swayed where they were standing Many of them tensed and frowned no doubt suddenly accommodating Nether at that density was uncomfortable even with their powerful bodies

A few looked like they were about to faint

But Randidly didnÆt relent He narrowed his eyes and scanned through the recruits as the Nether flowed ceaselessly out from the sea contained in his body It was an unintended benefit but it appeared his array was preparing him for a situation exactly like this And when the Nether wave had resonance through almost all of the recruits and hit the squad that was second from the front that was following Helen

Ah Ahh A recruit began to scream His hands went to his right side as though one of his organs was rupturing

Instantly Helen barked out an Order Everyone back away from Recruit Quewn NOW

The recruits twisted around and looked at their fellow recruit bewildered by the sudden intensity conveyed by HelenÆs order Randidly didnÆt bother to wait for them to obey All three of his images spread out in the surrounding space but the one that cast a long shadow over the situation was Yggdrasil The World Tree erupted upward like a long frustrated volcanic explosion a geyser of rune covered bark that sent emerald leaves spinning across the surroundings

In the next moment Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil manifested Thick golden roots erupted out of the ground and swelled until they were large enough to overpower a normal sized human Still Randidly was glad to see that most of the recruits were already reacting to the sudden actions proof that the training was having some effect a month ago they would have stood around slack jawed for long enough for them to be dragged into the confrontation But there were a few exceptions

Djark Quewn was a Squad Leader that had been chosen primarily for his leadership abilities and his fellow squad members were especially hesitant to the sudden shift In this case the current orders clashed with their previous training They were not supposed to abandon an injured squad member

So Randidly forcefully smashed them backward with Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil as the Nether spiraled around the panting recruit They skidded across the surrounding dirt with pained cries he hadnÆt attacked them but Randidly Ghosthound didnÆt bother to treat these recruits with kid gloves

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 322

Seeing Randidly intervening directly with impunity the other Squad Leaders realized that this wasnÆt a joke and seized the initiative In their small groups they rapidly retreated from the area Very quickly it was only three of them on the dirt road back into RandidlyÆs territory So he barred his teeth and slowly walked forward It was time to see what sort of image he was dealing with

Helen folded her arms across her chest Her expression was stormy

Meanwhile Recruit Quewn continued to scream Ah what what the hell is happening I didnÆt

His words were cut off as the flesh by his waist began to bulge outward A half formed image flickered around his body and the young man collapsed He looked down at his side in shock clearly unaware of what was occurring within his body Randidly did possess some sympathy for the recruit it was very likely that he hadnÆt understood what he had agreed to But he wasnÆt willing to give him the benefit of the not considering how powerful the incomplete image was that was clawing its way out of him

Not that itÆs having an easy time

Randidly chuckled as the image tried to break out of its hiding spot in the recruitÆs body but couldnÆt quite manage it Some of the tension he felt eased Based on its strength this image wasnÆt a pushover But the lessons that Randidly had learned on the frontlines during his time as an image held true Maintaining an imageÆs clarity while it was submerged in Nether was extremely difficult especially when you didnÆt have much experience in that area

Randidly tapped a finger against the side of his jaw Cook in there for as long as you want IÆll be out here when you are ready

Helen quirked an eyebrow upward if she should intervene but Randidly shook his head and gestured for her to retreat a bit As he walked forward toward the now howling recruit Randidly concentrated on Yggdrasil Around him his golden roots wove themselves upward to form a dome around Randidly and his quarry Seal off the surrounding space This thing canÆt threaten me but I donÆt want it to target the rest of the recruits when it gets desperate

Helen nodded and Randidly cracked his fingers The image inside of Djark QuewnÆs body finally seemed to recover itself from the shock of being flushed out with Nether bursting out of the recruit’s lower abdomen in a spray of gore There was a horrible hissing as the image shifted from the milder Nether inside of recruit’s body to the caustic and openly hostile energy in the air but now the image had come prepared

In a flash of pale green light the image forced the ambient Nether backward and manifested in all its splendor It was a dark skinned humanoid that stood proudly before Randidly with his chin raised His eyes were wrapped in dirty bandages and both of his arms were severed But unlike Randidly the image seemed completely whole even without his two arms

The golden greaves lovingly wrapped from the manÆs foot to his knee radiated a formidable amount of power This one wasnÆt a pushover despite the imageÆs obvious discomfort to be exposed to Nether RandidlyÆs smile widened Who do you work for For what reason did you infiltrate my recruit

On the ground Djark Quewn spasmed slightly His side steadily knit together due to the System but it was obvious that the recruitÆs own image had taken some damage as this image had forced itself out of his body The image remained silent his wrapped eyes focused on RandidlyÆs person

As Randidly calmly walked forward as he was speaking when his opponent didnÆt answer he shrugged Well it doesnÆt really matter I have too many foes identifying one wonÆt make a difference Instead your annihilation will do great to send a message

The image pressed his mouth into a thin line but still he didnÆt respond Instead he kicked with his right leg bringing the limb almost immediately from a relaxed position to straight upward his toes pointing to the sky A wave of force blitz forward due to the brutality of the motion

RandidlyÆs heart began to pound Besides itÆs about time to test the limits of this new image

A ripple spread through RandidlyÆs body as his image physicalizations snapped into place This time it was only the Supremacy of the Grim Chimera that roared to life His skin paled until his flesh seemed almost immaterial but at the same time a black lacquer surged out from his torso and spin around him

In a split second his left shoulder was soaked in this material to the point that it dripped down his arm It ran across his collarbones covering the highest part of his torso The material flexed and settled into heavy armor Just as quickly as the physicalizations took form Randidly raised his left arm and spread his oversized blunt figures A massive black gauntlet seemed to cover his hand making the limb seem ominously solid

As the lacquer further refined its shape on his left arm it became increasingly sharp and brutal This was the gauntlet of a conqueror That conquerorÆs hand reached outward toward the wave of force rushing at Randidly

Congratulations Your Skill Grit of the Ascendant Bane has grown to Level 375

Those heavily armored fingers simply seized that wave of force and crushed it to oblivion Thin lines of that lacquer continued to run down from the heavy armor that concentrated around his shoulders Two relatively thick strips ran down RandidlyÆs chest from his collarbones to his waist where they spun around and formed into a tightly woven belt

Just as the lacquer continued to spread outward and drip onto a segmented tail behind RandidlyÆs body the blindfolded image launched himself forward Despite the fact that it was only an image it moved quickly and in a physical manner it seemed that the image was focused on the mechanics of physical movements quite like Vualla

Which meant that this was a very very bad matchup for the image

The image pivoted sharply in his charge and arrived at RandidlyÆs right side unleashing a brutal roundhouse kick at Randidly The black lacquer continued to draw faint accents across RandidlyÆs legs and feet but it never touched his pale right arm with his long fingers sharpened to points And aside from those two thick lines on his chest RandidlyÆs torso was only the faintly luminous flesh

So as the attack streaked forward RandidlyÆs uncovered body turned translucent The air hummed with the brutality of the images force And the attack passed directly through where he had been standing without affecting Randidly at all His body was insubstantial The ghost of the Spear Phantom had returned to the Grim Chimera

Congratulations Your Skill Chimeric Impunity has grown to Level 337

Before the image had recovered from its whiff RandidlyÆs right hand slashed out and drilled into the place in his chest where a humanÆs heart would be In that half beat of time before the image jerked backward Randidly unleashed a powerful pulse of Nether directly into the image

The image instantly retreated with a blurry hole in its form but almost instantly the details returned to startling clarity But a lot of the pale green luminescence of the image had dimmed

RandidlyÆs smile was a slow one more than most other people he understood how unsustainable it was for an image to keep receiving Nether wounds No need to rush LetÆs get to know each other a bit

Chapter 1539

Despite the fact that the wound weakened the image it was still strong Competing just on image Randidly was not sure his new Grim Chimera image would be able to overpower it directly Which was slightly disappointing but he had to give credit where credit was due The sharp movements and powerful kicks the image displayed were certainly impressive if his body had been present Randidly would really have enjoyed the fight between them

But perhaps because his body wasnÆt present the image suddenly displayed another extremely dangerous trait in a foe decisiveness His bandaged eyes scrutinized Randidly briefly but then he spun on his heel and leapt away All intent to fight had vanished His leg flashed upward and RandidlyÆs tightly woven dome was sheered open as though it was a piece of rotten fruit Even HelenÆs Tides of Blood that circled outside of the root dome was instantly penetrated

Randidly just smiled indulgently The lacquer continued its path down his legs forming a pair of armored shorts that stopped just above his knees Trying to run

Obviously the image didnÆt bother to answer the taunt kicking again to destroy the air in front of it and accelerating forward But just as the image was about to shoot forward Randidly sucked in a deep breath His eyes glowed with wicked glee

Congratulations Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith has grown to Level 354

Congratulations Your Skill Cursed Appetite of a Wraith has grown to Level 355

RandidlyÆs Skill hadnÆt changed in the most recent evolution but his understanding of its usage slowly did As the Grim Chimera shifted toward Supremacy it could steal more than just Mana Stamina and trace amounts of Aether Its covetous fingertips could gently tear away larger concepts from its victims So Randidly seized some of the imageÆs acceleration That combined with his own dominant physical gifts meant that he caught up to the image right as it was about to shoot out through the hole in the root dome

The imageÆs gaze cut sideways Randidly grinned and slashed right his right hand The image couldnÆt dodge so it spun up a leg to block Which only made RandidlyÆs smile widen His hand passed through the block and seize tightly onto the limb His fingers squeezed so tightly he cut slightly into the tough flesh of the imageÆs leg

Then Randidly spun around and his half meter thick lower tail heavily armored and covered in lacquer spikes smashed into the image The image twisted and released a second quick kick that met the tail directly

RandidlyÆs eyebrows rose when the kick was enough to stall his lower tail The force of the impact had loosened his handÆs grip But even then Randidly could tell it wouldnÆt be enough Damnit why couldnÆt the main body have come too This honestly feels like bullying

Lowering his torso the image prepared to kick off of RandidlyÆs arm and escape when its body spasmed strangely Blood began to bloom out of a sudden hole in the imageÆs back That oozing blood splattered to reveal RandidlyÆs previously invisible upper tail that had whipped out and pierced into the image

That attack also carried with it another payload of Nether which fuzzed the edges of the image for a brief moment The light it released dimmed further

The upper tail was only two meters long but its tip was just as sharp as the nails on RandidlyÆs right hand It easily ripped itself back out of the image and flicked lightly from its position on the base of RandidlyÆs neck The motion was fearfully casual as the image’s blood steadily evaporated from along its length

Being briefly paused was enough for the image to miss its chance to run without being chased down and slaughtered from behind Again displaying its decisive personality it spun around and unleashed a kick

The attack was fast but Randidly only needed to lean backward Meanwhile RandidlyÆs lower tail snaked outward and spun around the imageÆs waist With one leg lashing out to strike Randidly and the other stabilizing the move the image was defenseless The tailÆs spikes pierced into the imageÆs torso as its grip tightened Then Randidly simply tossed the wrapped up image back down into the center of the isolated space

The sounds of bones breaking as the image smashed into the round was a testament to the quality of the image Even though it was probably slightly stunned from the impact the image quickly righted itself and was met with another surging flood of Nether He staggered sideways portions of his body flaring and becoming fuzzy as the image struggled Randidly floated lightly downward as its light dimmed further He tilted his head to the side Rethinking this resistance

You are making a mistake doing this The image finally growled But it seemed that was the extent of its desire to communicate because the dimming light around it flared to life All the fading detail snapped back This mental projection was cashing in on its remaining Aether to return to its prime state The image spread its legs and leaned forward

Randidly simply waited for this final bit of resistance to run its course The imageÆs mouth twitched and then it kicked several times in quick succession A rampaging horde of force waves galloped toward Randidly Randidly observed with interest as the image released some of its tight grip over its form and seemed to simply become an amorphous presence amongst the force waves hiding itself

Grinning Randidly flexed his massive left hand and his slender and sharp right Then he stuck his left forearm up as a bastion in front of his body while lowering his right fist to his waist The lacquer continued to shift across his body and creep upward On his chest the lacquer appeared to eat entirely through his torso and reveal an empty passage that would allow an outsider to see directly through his body On his face the lacquer covered his left eye and hollowed out the eyeball to leave a void

Some allowances for the other images Randidly thought with pleasure But today Grim Chimera the show is all yours

The fingers of RandidlyÆs left hand began to glow cherry red and then a humming orange before ascending and becoming white hot Steam began to roiled around his cocked limb As the imageÆs attack arrived

The force waves crashed against RandidlyÆs heavy left arm barely making a dent The attack was strong but even Randidly was impressed by how dense and immovable the left arm of the Grim Chimera now was His right eye flashing as the image flitted sideways and shot toward the root dome Randidly right hand blurred into motion

The image split into three forms that moved in different directions but RandidlyÆs upper tail lashed out With its lithe form it was capable of moving at overwhelming speeds and it quickly sliced through two fakes RandidlyÆs hand shot unerringly toward the fine version of the image

Congratulations Your Skill Pernicious Fang of the Shade has grown to Level 296

The image seemed to have anticipated that Randidly would be able to find it and strike as soon as Randidly eliminated the fakes and began to move the armless body condensed back to its powerful form One of the golden greaved legs whipped up and smashed into RandidlyÆs glowing hand In addition Randidly felt the image marshaling all of its remaining Aether in a very particular way

Inwardly Randidly shook his head with pity Unfortunately for you This attack contains no Nether

Using Nether against Aether was akin to pouring water on fire To compensate for this anticipated attack the image was now doing the equivalent of upping the fireÆs temperature so the Nether would evaporateÆ before it could do much damage Unfortunately for the image to end this fire in no uncertain terms Randidly had brought a giant boulder and simply planned to smash it out of existence

His incendiary fingers cracked and shattered the golden greaves The attack continued forward and ripped a deep gash in the images thigh Waves of heat radiated outward and further seared the image flesh As the image jerked its head back RandidlyÆs hand ripped sharply upward and left a trail of mangled image details across the armless torso And it was at that point that Randidly smashed it with another blast of Nether

The figure in front of him grew misty as the image was unable to maintain its consciousness for much longer You mistake I will

Randidly wasnÆt sure how much connection truly existed between the body and the image in this case There had been some distant acknowledgment of each otherÆs situation when Randidly had been on the frontlines but whoever owned this image likely didnÆt possess the same sort of advantages that he did Plus the array that he and Neveah had created should interfere with that connection somewhat

Yet Randidly also believed that the original owner of this powerful image would understand essentially what had occurred and would be very very mad about it If this foe had been a casual one in the past he or she would be radicalized by the loss of this image

Even so Randidly struck again with his hand that continued to burn the surrounding moisture from the air and scattered the image into remnant details Then he breathed deeply with Cursed Appetite of the Wraith and Tide of the Void to gather those details within himself He isolated them inside of his Soulspace to study and experiment with in the future

Randidly withdrew his root dome into the ground allowing the engorged organic matter to smolder there and eventually enrich the soil Then he walked over to the waiting Helen How much could you sense of our fight outside of the dome

Helen shrugged Basically everything no one ever accused your images of being subtle Even if my image muffled it a bit more I believe every recruit is capable enough to observe a portion of that fight Word will get out about what you did here

Randidly nodded slowly and chewed on his lip Meanwhile Helen tilted her head over toward Djark Quewn who continued to shiver on the ground What about him

Kick him out As quickly as possible Randidly said simply It was perhaps a cold response but Randidly knew that keeping him here would only put the young man in more danger Reporting that he had accepted the individual of a hostile foreign party into his body and brought it onto the Rally Station

The cruelty of Commandant WickÆs response to such a report could be imagined

Chapter 1540

Raymund Ballast squeezed his hands so tightly that his arms shook with the strain His knuckles ached Two responsibilities warred with his chest the first toward his morals and the second toward his people After his experience in the Nexus and then today feeling the frightful conflict of images as the Head Drill Sergeant fought against the infiltrator Raymund had stared directly into the unforgiving truth of his current situation He was not strong enough to find Techetadore alone

He was weak Raymund blinked slowly and looked around him at his shabby shelter He was incredibly weak

yet I cannot guarantee that what I offer will tempt the hearts of the Overseers Something within RaymundÆs body disengaged and slowly began to relax at that thought His shoulders which had been so tensed against this momentous decision could gradually ease as he acknowledged that his off might not be enough The true responsibility would lay with Advisor Zauna All I have is my own body and what meager potential I possess

Raymund was currently weak In the wider Nexus this weakness had severely restricted his movements But at the moment his weakness was reassuring Because as soon as he acknowledged his inability he understood the responsibility wasnÆt something that he alone could bear He needed assistance to move forward

For some reason Raymund smiled He raised his head and nodded decisively Yes this is the correct decision I was always the one who would prepare the way for Techet Therefore my own wishes are unimportant If I am able to liberate my brother from whatever current circumstances bind him achieving success in that endeavor is worth any price

With resolve in his heart Raymund marched out of his shelter and toward the Northern portion of the training grounds Most recruits were resting at the moment but the Vulpine didnÆt want to miss this opportunity The sooner the training started the better the result That was something that Overseer Helen had drilled into him

Today would be the day that his life changed again

When he arrived at the Overseers building he informed the guard at the door that he was here to see Advisor Zauna She came out soon after her heavy eyes on Raymund With his two tails excitedly swishing back and forth behind his back he announced to her that he had resolved himself he would accept her advice regarding how to change his image and utilize his Legendary Skill

He then went on to explain that his reason for earning the top examination score and coming to the Nexus was to find his brother In exchange for Advisor ZaunaÆs assistance in locating Techetadore he would make whatever changes were necessary to his image to reach his full potential

Zauna moved slowly after RaymundÆs speech reaching up and running her thumb over her chin Her face made it difficult to read her expression And this new resolve to change your image this new form is what you truly desire

It is what is necessary Raymund said with certainty He performed a short bow toward his Advisor My hesitance in the past oof

Advisor Zauna slammed her fist into Raymund’s stomach Then as he bent all the way over she brought her other hand down upon his back Gasping weakly Raymund fell forward with bulging eyes He sat on his knees and struggled to breathe Zauna had struck him directly in the diaphragm with her first strike briefly paralyzing the muscle group

Zauna spat off to the side You are foolish Have you truly listened to my advice The problem was never that you didnÆt use your most potent Skill I suggested that you focus on that because it is definitely powerful whereas your current image is definitely not But what your image is missing is not anything specific but the presence of a personal desire You as an individual must identify a clear goal for your image

As long as you treat your image simply as the executor of a foreign responsibility you will be weak Advisor Zauna turned away Her heavy footfalls seemed to shatter all the fragile optimism Raymund had come here in his heart Go rest recruit See if you can meditate away your stupidity

Sulfur hummed in concentrated as it gradually began to stretched its body across the ground to mimic the shape of the Grim ChimeraÆs new image RandidlyÆs lips twitched as he tried not to smile at the plant armorÆs struggles Are you sure you donÆt want any help I can strike you a few times so you build up some kinetic energy

Sulfur resonated with annoyance practically shouting through their mental connection that it didnÆt want to bother Randidly with something as trivial as this It was more than capable of adjusting its form to resonate with his images

Truthfully Randidly appreciated the sentiment behind the glacially slow shift from Sulfur The fact that his armor was trying to help in his own way was kinda adorable But realistically

Shaking his head Randidly turned away At this rate it will take a couple of weeks for Sulfur to ooze into the correct shape With my assistance that time would likely be shortened to only a few days Well I should be safe in the Rally Station for a while at least Two more weeks until the next recruit challenge two months until I will be leaving for the frontlines I suppose we have the spare time

So Randidly left his armor to its business and found a comfortable position on the floor He cast a forlorn glance at the empty plate where his roast pig used to sit but that could wait until later His attention turned inward His three images stirred each with something on its mind The Grim Chimera wanted to refine its shape The Stillborn Phoenix whined that it wanted to devour more emotions Yggdrasil wanted to strengthen its dominion over the surrounding area in case another attack was incoming

For now Randidly ignored the three issues that were raised and focused in on the form of Yggdrasil He passed through the emerald leaves the rune covered boughs and arrived at the sturdy trunk of the World Tree He was engulfed in a sea of rustling creaking and shifting as the invisible wind tousled the canopy around him In his mind he reached up and touched his hand against the thick bark Even through his fingertips he could sense the raw vitality beneath the rutted surface

Releasing a breath Randidly focused further on that life energy that seemed to pulse unceasingly from the core of this mythical plant As he sunk more deeply into his vision golden light filled his vision Sprinkled into that grand vitality was elements of purification that Randidly had incorporated early and now he focused on that purification and expanded it As he began to work that energy released a pulse of overwhelming light Shade and color were eliminated and only illumination remained

Gradually that light faded Orbs of white fire blazed and slowly dyed the surroundings white a lighter tint of gold Ripples began to run through the powerful life energy

With gritted teeth he endured the feedback from his own image Then he continued to tune the details The color gradually shifted around him Randidly wanted to completely transform the manifestation fo the Inscrutable Mien of Genesis and he believed that would start with the energy at its base The golden sea of life energy was his focus for now

The force and weight of the image came from the concept of genesis For Yggdrasil that genesis came from the sheer amount of natural growth was spurred on by the ambient energy it released This nurturing energy was the seed of that genesis Refining the energy further would lead to a cascading series of changes through the Skill

Randidly raised his hands above the golden sea and gently lowered them The waterÆ flowed up to his fingers so the tips just lightly brushed against the surface With the added layer of purification present in this energy the sensation was almost painful Energy that was very similar to electricity jolted up from the pure spring of energy and made the muscles of his fingers reflexively tighten

But of course energy was a very amorphous concept Simply by refining the substance of the energy Randidly would probably struggle to make any transformative change Which was why he intended to cheat

With great care Randidly reached out into his Soulskill and seized a portion of the image fragments he had taken from the image with the bandaged eyes They gleamed with a pale green light tumbling end over end in RandidlyÆs palm He tightened his hand slowly gradually destroying the ancillary details until only the portion that Randidly desired remained In this case what Randidly isolated was the sense of intentÆ

The image had moved with such purposeful force that its attacks could cut through space with an admirable efficiency Randidly didnÆt want that damage but he did wish to cause a small shift in his vital energy In the past YggdrasilÆs energy was simply an ambient encourager It was just as much fuel as it was the impetus for the growth But if he could shift so the energy was more purposeful

As a subconscious natural force the Inscrutable Mien was near divine It was the sleeping perfection of natural beauty like a thundering waterfall WIth consciousness and purposefulness Randidly had no doubt he could reach an oppressive level of power with the Skill

Inside of his downward facing palms those pale green motes appeared above the sea of life energy His fingers continued to spasm as Randidly seized it so directly but it was within acceptable levels With a soft gesture he diffused those sparkling pale green lights into the core of his life energy Boldly releasing their light they sank within the endless waves of golden energy

From there he began using his insights into Nether to subtly weave some structure into the way the golden energy was diffused outward from the core Prodded by his will those motes of pale green intention spread their radiance through the sea of golden energy as it steadily shifted its basic structure to a more considered flow

As small flaws and inconsistencies emerged between the golden energy and the pale green motes of light the bolts of feedback coming along RandidlyÆs fingers grew stronger The magnitude increased to the point that the muscles of his forearms began to cramp

There were obviously dangers with incorporating foreign images into oneself One was that you might inject something dangerous into yourself that you didnÆt immediately notice Randidly wasnÆt so worried about this for two reasons he could directly annihilate any offending image with Nether and because his three images mutually restrained each other preventing a problem from getting out of control before he could restrain it

In reality the one reason that Randidly had hesitated wasnÆt related to the specific images themselves but the fact that he was pretty much marking himself by accepting these image remnants Even if he reduced the image to its component parts Randidly was willing to bet the original owner would be able to recognize the pieces that were now incorporated into Randidly directly He would lose all access to plausible deniability this way

But Randidly was willing to take the risk His interaction with Wick had lit a fire in his chest He needed to increase as strength as quickly as possible This role as Head Drill Sergeant was an opportunity to gather resources for RandidlyÆs mission with Edraine but it was also making him plenty of enemies in the process simply by his association with Military High Command He couldnÆt waste this time

When the three months of training ended Randidly would need to be ready to defend himself Counting on Commandant WickÆs favor to protect him seemed like an easy way to end up dead in a shallow grave

Or a way to be somehow improvedÆ by the CommandantÆs madness so that the individual Randidly Ghosthound was irrevocably warped beyond recognition

After shivering Randidly banished those thoughts and continued thoroughly reworking the flow of his vital energy through Yggdrasil His fingers continued to twitch The motes of pale green light were steadily being diffused into the spring of golden energy but some hint of that color remained Occasionally Randidly would pause and open his eyes peering at the way Nether flowed between the recruits and overseers Then he would return to his Soulspace and imitate that organic shape with the vital energy

As part of the newfound purpose every bit of growth caused by Yggdrasil would be intentional In addition there would be something almost unmistakable about those beings touched by YggdrasilÆs energy Randidly didnÆt want the effect to be too egregious lest his ability to heal unaffiliated parties was negatively impacted but he did want the energy to possess a signature frequency

Those who were raised beneath the shadow of the World Tree would always recognize their own

And speaking of shadow Seeing that the process of refining his vital energy would take more time RandidlyÆs attention shifted He pulled his hands out of the sea of energy and shook his numb extremities lightly he would need a few more sessions before he had achieved the desired effect

So he raised his gaze and let himself fade back out to stand before the World Tree He twisted around and looked a the deep shadows cast by the thick layer of emerald leaves But before he was able to locate the Implacable Price of Exodus he received a message from Helen

We received a message from Superintendent Xeruth ItÆs clear that he is quite conflicted but risked offending you to deliver the message Apparently there is a man who wishes to come to visit you on the Rally Station His name is Velio Dunn And he says he wants to fight you

Chapter 1541

Blessedly Octavius Shrike responded very quickly when Randidly reached out for information regarding the mysterious Velio Dunn Honestly that should have been the sign that the content of the message was not good news RandidlyÆs expression quickly turned serious as he read through the message

DonÆt become involved with this man under any circumstances Do not attract his attention From what I gather he claims to have originated in the Second Cohort but some records indicate he was active even before then Reports are conflicting but there are two easily ascertainable facts he is overwhelmingly strong and has a nasty habit of killing individuals with high potential

His behavior is notoriously erratic but in the past several hundred years its been relatively common for larger factions to hire Dunn to fight against talents from rival factions All of those individuals have died tragically in their combat

Let me emphasize once more Overwhelmingly Strong

Upon reading that message Randidly very decisively replied to Superintendent Xeruth to tell this Velio Dunn that he was very busy training the recruits and couldnÆt meet with him Suddenly some of the SuperintendentÆs sudden backbone by reporting this message made sense it wasnÆt that he was no longer afraid of Randidly but that he was just as afraid of this new arrival He dare not fail to pass on the message

Randidly pressed his lips into a thin line as he looked down at the callouses on his hands It seems like the sharks are already gathering Heh but I suppose this wouldnÆt be the Nexus if there werenÆt dangerous individuals lurking everywhere I was pretty lucky to have come so directly under the militaryÆs wing at the very least access to me wonÆt be easy for two more months

But after I head to the frontlines

After releasing a breath Randidly considered his next move At this point there were simply so many areas that he wanted to improve that he wasnÆt sure the best way to proceed All of his images needed attention as well as his subtly accumulating problem with how much Nether density he possessed In addition he had a plethora of tools available to him that gave him an overwhelming number of possibilities All three of the Fatepieces he now possessed were relatively interesting although the Visage of Obsession appeared to possess some latent dangers

For the moment Randidly opened his menu to put himself out on a limb and send a message to a brief acquaintance Randidly believed it best to get the ball rolling on that front as quickly as possible He scrolled through the individuals whom he had recently encountered his eyes glazing over as he looked at the unfamiliar and complex names there simply had been too many random individuals within his sphere of influence at the funeral

Some of the naming sense of these Nexus citizens are a bit Randidly rubbed the back of his neck Then again maybe I donÆt have room to say anything

But after searching for five minutes RandidlyÆs emerald eyes began to glitter with a growing suspicion He returned to the beginning and checked through the difficult to read names with a bit more care But it didnÆt end up mattering

In terms of messaging the System was extremely helpful in its construction It made a note of all other Aether beings that passed near you allowing you to go back and contact these individuals any time you wished However when Randidly looked for the name of Neshamah Rex

SheÆs not here Randidly pursed her lips ItÆs possible that Neshamah isnÆt her true name but I feel like that isnÆt the case

Randidly could think of two other explanations for this absence The first was that he had met a double who was simply posing as Neshamah at the funeral But that seemed unlikely considering the very real and very sophisticated organization of Nether that Randidly had witnessed around her body He didnÆt sense within Neshamah the same harmony that Randidly possessed between his own Aether and Nether but Neshamah clearly had been able to balance the very different energies within her body

Plus the artistry with which she had balanced her Nether

The second explanation was that she could somehow block the System from displaying her name or sensing her person Considering her use of Nether that wasnÆt such a surprising realization just a bitter one

Does that mean that she will be the one to reach out to me regarding usage of Nether Or RandidlyÆs mind stirred toward the recruit who bore the name Rex Annoyance creased his features Either way he didnÆt have a good ability to seize the initiative for this method of improvement He could lay some groundwork to communicate through the recruit but

Randidly sighed And learning to utilize Nether is definitely the way I can completely transform myself still no reason to be down about it There are plenty of other ways to train

After sending a message to Helen regarding an arrangement for the recruits Randidly returned to his position sitting on the floor He spared a glance for SulfurÆs continued efforts but shook his head and turned away no need to open that can of worms again His armor was surprisingly testy about this issue So once more he closed his eyes and sank into the realm of his images

Randidly stood on a thick branch of the world tree his hand on the ancient bark Beneath his fingers golden runes sparkled and seethed with secrets about the universe But Randidly turned away from that light and looked toward the deep darkness in the surrounding canopy The emerald leaves released their constant tinkling notes And although the invisible wind around the World Tree constantly rustled the leaves there were some places within that layered darkness that stood completely still

From within those deep shadows a figure stirred at RandidlyÆs gaze With a hiss the figure slowly walked forward until Randidly could just make out the details of his image through the haze of layered leaf shadows

The Implacable Price of Exodus possessed relatively normal if dirty legs But above its waist its torso erupted into a dozen arms that ended in sharp nails These brutal limbs stretched in every direction like a blooming flower Those hands constantly seemed to be reached and grasping seizing the ambient life energy in the air for itself THe knuckles were gnarled and misshapen Of course this image was extremely small in the grand scheme of the World Tree But still it was a rather constant drain

Hidden amongst the myriad of joints that attached to the torso was a massive fanged mouth and two bulging eyes All in all the figure was a shadowy monster that lurked within the World Tree Its existence wasnÆt necessary but it had woven itself somehow into the fabric of the image

Randidly didnÆt conveniently have any image fragments to grind up and sprinkle through this Skill to improve it but he didnÆt think he needed them for this transformation He was somewhat inspired by his interaction with Commandant Wick truly the greatest monsters did not look their parts

This many armed visage was a beast The grand villain of the world tree was much more sinister than that

Randidly walked forward along the branch enjoying the sensation of his bare feet against the bark As he neared the Implacable Price of Exodus the image hissed once more and took a step deeper into the shadows Randidly ignored the SkillÆs warning and continued forward As the monster withdrew further Randidly snorted and simply reached out and seized the Skill directly

Compared to me Randidly showed his teeth

As soon as he touched the image his hands began to blister and sizzle In truth the Implacable Price of Exodus was an extremely dangerous concept that Randidly had managed to conjure within himself It possessed the power to even damage its fellow images Which was why Randidly fully intended to weaponize it further

Congratulations Your Skill Stigma of the Stillborn Phoenix has grown to Level 306

Heh Randidly grinned at the squirming monster in front of him It was clear that the creature wanted to use its many arms to push Randidly away but didnÆt want to exacerbate RandidlyÆs pain by creating more contact points between them You think something like this is enough to scare me You should know me better than that And that kindness of yours you are a natural disaster and you feel pity for those that are steadily destroyed by your existence Your power is almost regretful

That is what we need to change

Although Randidly didnÆt have new image fairy dust this time he had a reliable source for this transformation the Alpha Cosmos He hadnÆt been particularly involved in the Alpha Cosmos in quite some time which was a testament to how stable things had been since Yystrix was no longer around to periodically invade

However that didnÆt mean that life in his Soulskill was perfect There were heroes and villains self righteous monsters and quickly forgotten saints To generalize greatly the Alpha Cosmos was rife with individuals struggling with their own humanity Occasionally Randidly would give himself a break by just watching the people within the world going about their lives

Before him the Implacable Price of Exodus whined as its form began to melt and shift like wax before a furnace

Perhaps the original prototype for this sort of character was Alta Bounty who sought to destroy the Alpha Cosmos for the sins of its creator She was an individual who had sacrificed everything to achieve her goal And she had felt such destruction was justified the entire time Because she had truly believed that there was no other way to escape the cycle of pain

That was why she had been so dangerous That was the crazed certainty Randidly had seen within Wick That was the monstrous rationalization that he wanted to be at the core of the Implacable Price of Exodus

As his hands continued to sizzle against the SkillÆs skin Randidly steadily built an altar to the hubris and narcissism of humanity

Of course Alta wasnÆt the only such individual There were hundreds of people who had hurt others within the Alpha Cosmos because they believed that the ends justified the means There were people who sold their family or their bodies or their souls to accomplish their goals Sometimes these journeys were brutally short other times they were painfully extended Either way there was a thick layer of bitterness that accumulated in the dark places of the Alpha Cosmos

Not to say that this was the dominant emotion Currently the Alpha Cosmos was doing quite well There were bright spots of hope that periodically would cleanse some of this bitterness just as there were times that the light of hope would falter and dim before the harsh weight of reality Such was the balance of the human condition

Such was the weight of a true world

Randidly channeled that bitterness that helplessness that craving for change He also pulled from outside the Alpha Comos drawing from the determined figure of Kaan Swacc The man who was so sure that Randidly had been a Nether spy that he would stop at nothing to try and eliminate him

For several minutes Randidly was a conduit to these complicated and dangerous emotions That holy sense of necessity made motivations irrelevant It was a towering monster that demanded obedience and silence During that time he didnÆt panic or really react to those emotions He allowed them to rage within himself lashing out against him but doing no permanent damage And gradually they began to organize themselves The stronger more volatile ones settled to the bottom hiding in the depths

Randidly opened his eyes The monster in front of him was gone Instead Randidly was holding the shoulders of a lovely young woman with gold skin like she was constructed from pure metal She had long lashes as she slowly blinked consciousness and understanding blooming in her eyes

Then she gave Randidly a deep look as he released her

Meanwhile Randidly looked at her back where strange lengths of metal stretched back into the darkness behind her The way they were arranged made it seem like she was held in place by some sort of restraint but Randidly knew that was a lie Those were her greedy arms made as inconspicuous as possible

A second after he released her she pulled herself back into the dark places of the World Tree quickly vanishing Randidly shook his head lightly That figure is now something that genuinely believes destruction is the answer She will be an unstable element within the image but that is why it will become powerful

It was a risk

Randidly took it without hesitation He would walk without regrets toward the Pinnacle

Chapter 1542

DiOrtho Vant ignored the soft rain falling on his exposed feet He had never gotten around to making a shelter large enough to cover all of him and at this point he didnÆt see the point of making any extra effort Apathy lay heavy across him His horns itched but he didnÆt even bother to reach up and scratch

He laid on his back with his left arm behind his head letting his eyes unfocus as he stared at the roughly hewn wood of the ceiling Meanwhile he made the Darkstar Coin dance across his fingers

The noise of the rain generally hushed all of the surrounding sounds In addition the slowly rising mist pushed away other physical presences Therefore DiOrtho felt like he was floating alone in those noises He was adrift

A part of him was furious at his current indecision urging him to stand up and lash out The well trod path of breaking rending and destroying called out to him singing its familiar tune And yet there was a deep unfamiliar hum rising from his chest DiOrtho pressed his eyes tightly closed

A larger part of him was blank and numb as it had been since he had woken up from his brief coma after being exposed to the GhosthoundÆs transforming image He didnÆt like it but it was necessary

His eyes flashed open DiOrtho flicked the coin up into the air and caught it with a sharp swipe a few seconds later Why havenÆt I used this coin If I had it a few days ago

He would have immediately challenged the Ghosthound He would have gleefully fought and likely been crushed similar to how decisively that dog Vizzerrett had been smashed into the ground He would have embraced those possibilities confident that the experience would spur him to greater growth

I feel nothing DiOrtho announced casually to the room The whirring inside of him gradually slowed Even though it was small this place was his Somehow he found comfort in that So much comfort that he had no desire to leave this place ever again

Of course as soon as he said that DiOrtho felt a ripple in the nearby mist that filled him with annoyance Because someone was walking along the meandering path toward his shelter This time when he flipped the coin end over and watched it catch the light he simply allowed it to fall down into his waiting palm His finger squeezed the coin feeling the sharp edges of the metal If he had squeezed tightly enough he might be able to slice open his palm

DiOrtho placed the coin into a pocket and pushed himself up into a sitting position His sharp eyes recognized the figure of his Squad Leader Raymund Ballast approaching him

That aggressive part of DiOrtho wanted to sneer at the thought of this weakling being his squad leader but he frowned instead The air around Raymund was just as heavy as DiOrthoÆs heart felt

That finally ignited some fire in his chest Am I really as mopey and useless as this fool What the hell is wrong with me

The machine god image began to roar His image stirred without DiOrtho even spurring it onward I could just kill everyone and everything IÆll end it all

DiOrtho hissed He clamped down on his emotions and immediately suppressed the faint buzzing that rose from the machine horror in his chest There was an intermittent clicking as the infinite clockwork of DiOrthoÆs image seemed to come alive but all of that was quickly smothered by DiOrthoÆs Willpower

Damnit you are my image DonÆt you dare rebel against me Horror and hot fury seethed through DiOrthoÆs veins But those powerful emotions just seemed to fuel the machine horror he now housed The clicks once again rose in intensity as the sinister engines at his imageÆs core began to fire on all cylinders Once more DiOrtho was forced to suppress his emotions His hands were trembling

When DiOrtho was younger his father was the tribal leader of the ram demons He often stayed with his uncle while his father was away warring against rival demon tribes leading their tribeÆs crusade Even though they had passed the Calamity and had a powerful ancestor sending Aether to their world DiOrthoÆs people did not settle down peacefully They fought and bled for their dignity and status Such was their way of life

DiOrthoÆs uncle was different He was weak a historian who studied ancient religions and cultures of the demon tribes And before DiOrtho could participate in training he would sit and listen to his uncle talk about some of the more interesting cultures Even to this day one of those cultures stuck with DiOrtho the worshippers of the Machine God

For most of his life DiOrtho had considered learning about this ancient religion to be the great blessing of his life But now

During a particularly long campaign for DiOrthoÆs father his uncle had taken him to an ancient temple Or more accurately it was the site of an ancient crash landing on the demonÆs homeworld upon which those ancient people had built a temple The walls were lined with strange gears and mysterious constructs The shape of the chairs was bulbous and exotic

DiOrtho had walked around the temple with wide eyes The demonÆs world was a primitive one relying primarily on the strength of their superior bodies The strange workings of metal were a revelation to him In his quiet voice his uncle explained the theorized purpose of many of the machines Then he took the young boy down to the core and showed him the engine of the ancient construct that had crashed and devastated an entire island

DiOrtho had never forgotten the glittering gears and angular sheets of metal he had seen that day Those shapes were the seeds of his ancient machine horror that he used to rise to power

Laying in his shelter DiOrtho grimaced He didnÆt like it but his exposure to the GhosthoundÆs image had changed something fundamental about his image It was as though there was not an unfamiliar soul housed within his body The sensation was disquieting

Shaking his head he turned to look at Raymund Honestly he could use the distraction The VulpineÆs fur was messy and his eyes were downcast You look like shit

Advisor Zauna humbled me with her fist Raymund chuckled weakly There were deep bags under his eyes It appears my actions have deeply affronted her My weakness is my own fault I understand that But all the avenues to improve myself that I have taken appear to have been the incorrect decisions

Huh DiOrtho said noncommittally The Darkstar Coin was heavy in his pocket

They sat in silence for almost thirty seconds before the emotionally exhausted DiOrtho began to get annoyed by the fact that Raymund Ballast just stood next to his shelter with his head bowed Raindrops the size of pins continued to tinkle downward rustling the grass and gradually soaking through RaymundÆs fur

Honestly the fucker was horribly depressing DiOrtho was horrified at the thought that he had appeared similarly while he was considering his own problem

The ram demonÆs mouth twitched why the fuck are you just standing around here then Go nap or something We have physical training in less than an hour With how feeble your attitude seems heh ItÆs going to be a rough session

To DiOrthoÆs surprise Raymund just nodded But then he raised his gaze and huffed out a breath from his nose spraying away some accumulated rainwater on his snout That is that is why I approached despite the fact I understand my presence troubles you DiOrtho On the subject of desire I have met none who indulge themselves as fully and truthfully as you do There is a purity to your actions that I well that is your strength I hope you can offer me some advice on this matter Please

As he listened to Raymund’s talk DiOrtho gradually tensed You wish to learn about desire from me

Kill them all Then end yourself Return to oblivion start again The cycle is endless

Pah You really are a fool DiOrtho hissed As his emotions stirred the machine horror seemed to click with excitement It was an extremely aggravating feedback loop Made much worse by the water logged annoyance standing in front of him

Right when DiOrtho resolved himself to get to his feet and beat the shit out of his Squad Leader to work off some steam there was a pulse from the central training area the Overseers had something to announce

DiOrtho gave Raymund a look that was dripping with venom but the Vulpine didnÆt seem to notice through his clouded eyes His squad leader was clearly still too deeply concerned with his own issues to even recognize how close to being smashed into the ground he had come And that obliviousness only served to trigger DiOrtho further

which only increased the joyful calls for destruction from his image which forced DiOrtho to calm himself lest his image rise unbidden in his chest Snorting he shoved Raymund roughly We are summoned DonÆt just daydream

Huh Ah yes Raymund mumbled

With a vein throbbing in his temple DiOrtho led Raymund back toward the central training area Most of the recruits had already gathered because the physical training would begin soon Despite the previously somber atmosphere cast over the group after Djark Quewn had turned out to be some foreign spy the recruits were all talking excitedly with one another

Glancing around DiOrtho ascertained that no Overseer was present especially Overseer Helen He could release a light sigh Somehow he sensed that her antagonism would only worsen the state of his image And without her present he felt no qualms about letting loose a bit

DiOrtho harrumphed releasing a bit of his barely controlled image in the process Those nearby winced and stumbled backward opening a path for him to simple noticeboard that had been erected He strutted forward with his chin raised while inwardly examining the image pulse he had released Whatever the Ghosthound did it certainly made my Skills stronger the only problem is that itÆs that much more difficult to control fuck and it keeps making me think about ending myself

Raymund drifted along behind DiOrtho like a malevolent specter with business in the mundane realm His eyes were blank and bleak staring at nothing DiOrtho did his best to ignore his soulless squad leader and quickly scanned the announcement The more he read the more he barred his teeth

Heh good news for you DiOrtho spat out over his shoulder at Raymund Gradually the man blinked and looked upward DiOrtho inclined his head toward the announcement Two tournaments individual and Squad The winners will be tutored by the Ghosthound himself guided on the use of images If he can straighten you out no one can

And heÆs the one that caused this fucked up change in my image DiOrtho pressed his lips together He better be able to fix his mess

Chapter 1543

Randidly Ghosthound scanned rapidly through the typically extensive message from Octavius Shrike Unlike last time this message took a bit longer to return it was now about a week after the funeral for the deceased Commandant and Randidly had asked his question the day that Velio Dunn had tried to visit The tournaments for his recruits were scheduled to occur today Still Randidly read through this message carefully As he did so he gradually frowned

Octavius was able to determine that Tellus was one of the few planets from the Fifth Cohort that wasnÆt completely cut off from Aether support after last week Mostly it seemed this decision was made because Tellus was still doing its job as an Aether refinery The System pumped rough Aether into the atmosphere and the planet was quite explosively producing a refined product Likely due to the devastation of the Second Calamity these few years had seen rapid growth from the survivors

They had managed to pass a Calamity They were rebuilding after a catastrophic population loss

But there was one thing that Octavius could not determine the location of Shal

The records clearly indicate that he was given an opportunity to approach the Pinnacle and failed OctaviusÆ message listed This isnÆt a surprise to approach the PInnacle in that manner you essentially fight all those who approached the Pinnacle ahead of you on a straight Path It would be a miracle if someone was able to survive in such a gauntlet In addition it is clear that the Swacc Family made special arrangements for Tellus afterward These are publicly recorded events

However it appeared that the Swacc FamilyÆs assistance was contingent on some agreement with Shal And the Swacc Family refuses to talk about their own business with outsiders Using some of the functions of the Nexus Ways I can determine that Shal is still alive wherever he is But he is cut off from the other portions of the System

Sighing Randidly turned his attention back to the task at hand He floated in the Web rubbing his chin with his right hand The emotions that the Stillborn Phoenix had been refining over the past few days wound out of him like thread from a spool and spun upward buoyed by the currents of Aether Randidly watched the densely flowing emotions with a complicated expression Is this what a spider feels like as they spread their webbing ItÆs not like anyone should be captured by the emotions but they are steadily infiltrating other places within the Nexus

Randidly shook his head lightly There was a strange sense of connection that was growing as Randidly released more and more emotions up through the Web into the lower portions of the Nexus The one upside of this was that Randidly definitely felt some of the pressure from his Nether Nebula ease With a larger baseÆ to distribute the strain even slightly the enormous density of significance he was gathering slowed him down less

He didnÆt overlook the unique way that a portion of Aether was assisting with a portion of Nether The two energies complemented each other Emotion and connectivity could achieve a strange balance in a similar way to significance and shape could reinforce one another Unified the two energies were overwhelmingly powerful

Which was why Randidly was still so annoyed he had heard nothing from Neshamah Rex in the past few days In fact as he floated in the Web he was starting to be so disgruntled at his helplessness that the emotions Randidly was releasing began to sputter and spread out strange infectious tentacles through the air The emotional energy changed color and the surrounding space seemed to be tinted by the intensity

With a twitching eyelid Randidly calmed his heart by snorting out a blast of steam The emotions unwillingly faded back to their normal state Seeing his emotions taint the surroundings reminded him of Commandant WickÆs madness but Randidly tried to reassure himself again that his work with the emotions could be considered a public good They were much easier to parse apart than the chaotic emotions that flowed up from below even if they were a tad more insidious

Chuckling to himself about being an environmental hazard Randidly flipped out his PhilosopherÆs Key and returned to the Fifth Cohort Rally Station After grabbing a few pieces of smoked boar on the table Randidly began his normal routine

After cleansing his emotions he sat in a meditative position and continued fine tuning the Inscrutable Mien of Genesis and the Implacable Price of Exodus As he enriched YggdarsilÆs life energy and continued to guide the consciousness of the treeÆs new monster Randidly steadily accumulated the relevant Skill Levels Currently he felt like both Skills had sharply increased in potency even if neither of their details changed

Such steady development was a function of RandidlyÆs current prodigious strength but he couldnÆt deny that it was somewhat less satisfying than the explosive changes he used to so frequently experience But such gains were few and far between now Another wouldnÆt occur until the next Soulskill Tithe

After working on his Yggdrasil Skills Randidly headed down to his personal training array and continued his version of physical fitness Helen frequently complained that his sessions rendered most of the nearby training pods unusable because of RandidlyÆs wide image reverberations and Superintendent Xeruth sent very mildly worded queries about the increasingly frequent tremors running through the Rally Station but Randidly believed that this was also a necessary avenue of improvement

His body continued to accumulate overwhelming Nether Brawn within his limbs With his enemies slowly revealing himself the process of training his greatest asset was extremely reassuring Randidly flexed his hands with enough force to produce localized sonic booms This is the way that I catch up despite how many years head start they possess I have to make use of every tool available to me

Every now and then during the week Randidly would check in on Sulfur watching the armorÆs continued progress However he had to be very circumspect about it these last few days He had apparently checked in a little too often with Sulfur and now the Soulseed was rather huffy that Randidly didnÆt believe it could accomplish its task Anytime it noticed his attention it would get all surly

Not that I donÆt know that youÆll eventually do it itÆs just IÆm wondering about when Randidly thought with amusement But he tried to be a little less micromanaging Besides he had so many other things to do

Randidly had attempted earlier in the week to cheat into contact with Neshamah by using his Dreamcatcher of the Long Night going back to the meeting with the mysterious woman and studying her more aggressively But overt observations caused her to clamp down Nether defenses around her body laughing in the alternate memory at RandidlyÆs attempts much to his chagrin And a slower examination was about as effective as trying to figure out how a car worked while staring at the exterior he could glean nothing at all except it was what he was looking for

So his Nether progress mainly consisted of continued observations of the Nether System in his training area As it continued to develop patterns were emerging that Randidly could identify and extrapolate to broader truths about Nether In his estimate five years of such observation would be very beneficial to him

but five years was too long a timeline People wanted to kill him now

To increase the effectiveness of such observations Randidly poured a bit extra Nether into his Alpha Cosmos to establish a similar organization there But he needed to be careful about how much significance he accumulated the grey bubbles continued to be a strange pseudo physical strain on his Nether Nebula

Randidly rolled his shoulders and slapped his hands against his cheeks Even if there isnÆt any easy Path forward IÆm still progressing IÆve gathered quite a lot of PP again Soon IÆll be able to take another Path And about 1000 PP beyond that should be the next tithe from the Alpha Cosmos

Randidly probably wouldnÆt be able to earn that much PP before the three month time limit was up But hopefully his actions on the frontlines would gather a huge amount of PP to him and accelerate that process

Congratulations Your Skill Absolute Timing has grown to Level 172

Randidly glanced toward the window Checking the time the recruit tournament would begin soon Although Randidly wasnÆt going to be helping with the administration he should begin to pay attention to the recruits some of them were starting to show serious potential Plus Randidly needed a little bit of a break to refine his thoughts regarding All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth He had decided that he was finally prepared to address the Grim ChimeraÆs ultimate Skill

Yet just as Randidly walked through the door he stalled out in shock at the message he had received His hand reached for the doorknob and missed A split second later Randidly forgot about his plans to leave as he reread the message Instantly a grin covered his face

Did you miss me Randidly

I donÆt know why you would when IÆm an objectively ignorant fool IÆve been so busy I couldnÆt even manage to send a single message to you My bad IÆm not so good at this you know

Randidly couldnÆt help but chuckle the message was from Vualla Although he couldnÆt reach out to her with his Nether Rituals the messaging would work when she was in Aether controlled space

I did feel you try to reach out to me previously but the Xyrt Brigade been rather constantly active since we came here destroying these Nether nodes as quickly as we can ItÆs gotten better since the new Commandant came to the frontlines to assist us but itÆs still quite rough I could use a nap Some of the people trained with me have been slaughtered right in front of me The Nether Gatekeepers we have encounter are different

They arenÆt just cookie cutter beings They have individual traits and the equivalent of Skills When pressed they can transform into a super form that will last for a few minutes But before we identified this capability we were getting ambushed by it every day Heh some bastard even dared to rip out my intestines Not that it was serious but certainly a cavalier way to treat a lady right

Gradually RandidlyÆs excitement over hearing from Vualla disappeared His expression grew serious His three images pulsed with tightly controlled fury If Vualla mentioned a wound to him then Randidly knew that it was much more serious than she let on

But what I wanted to tell you is that the upper echelons of the Xyrt Brigade are scared They hide it well enough but itÆs clear that they havenÆt fought against Nether like this Especially because we havenÆt yet been able to figure out why the Nether King is sneaking around setting up these Nether Nodes A lot of our resources are put toward destroying them but the upper echelons wonÆt commit to eradicating them completely

Some of them are beginning to suspect these nodes are simply a distraction But no one has any idea what they are supposed to be a distraction from The opposition currently has the initiative in the Fifth Cohort This Nether King is making the Nexus seem like a much more mortal foe eh It doesnÆt help that after the previous leader of the Xyrt Brigade was killed there has been a lot of infighting behind the scenes

If the Nether doesnÆt kill us soon we might just fucking do it ourselves I get that what I want to see is a dismantled Nexus but itÆs frustrating that it feels like IÆll be on the frontlines of those losses

But in other news IÆm more powerful than ever Want to spar We are being sent back to the Nexus to debrief and rest for a few days IÆll come find you even if you try to hide

Stay safe IÆve heard some strange rumors about you The Xyrt Brigade doesnÆt know what to make of you But they deeply fear Commandant Wick

Chapter 1544

Congratulations to our winners Overseer Helen announced in a crisp voice that cut through the cheery atmosphere DiOrtho Vant just looked down at his hands There was some dirt underneath his nails He was so exhausted that even emotions seemed difficult at the moment And especially congratulations to our Squad Number Three which was able to achieve victory in the Squad tournament and its Squad Leader won the individual tournament outright Certainly fitting for an individual who was taught by the very best Heh

Standing in front of the crowd of dirty and bloody recruits Jieu Ronault already appeared to possess a regal stature due to the fact he didnÆt possess a physical body that could be contaminated by the mundane filth of the ground The fire elemental nodded sagely at his victory Truthfully this would not have been possible without your training

DiOrthoÆs lips twitched and he was forced to suppress a mild nausea in his chest With more energy he definitely would have sneered at the elemental But he had lost decisively so Even his misbehaving image remained silent in front of JieuÆs modest display What could he say to someone who had so thoroughly crushed him

Nothing

And he had not even lost to him in the finals DiOrtho had been defeated by Jieu Ronault in the round of 16 And fighting against others to determine final placement DiOrtho had ended up 11th overall

11th DiOrthoÆs bile tasted bitter as it crept up his throat

Yes yes no need to butter me up Overseer Helen responded But at the same time a smile that invited more flattery stretched across her face When Jieu remained silent she huffed in disappointment and shook her head Well anyway the winning Squad and the top five individual fighters will be trained personally by the Ghosthound Meanwhile ah the most concerning individuals by far have to be Recruit Vant and Recruit Ballast Tsk tsk after how impressively you two started to end up being ranked 90th and 11th And I bet in another week youÆll be 199th and 200th Heh everyone else disperse These two need some special training

The recruits looked at DiOrtho with gloating gazes finally lighting a spark of fury in his chest Yet at the same time he was helpless

Overseer Helen was right What the hell had happened The tournament had started so well but by the end

Gradually his sneering fellows walked away from the duo of losers leaving the two failures to stew in the approaching judgment of Overseer Helen Even through the haze of numb failure DiOrtho was slightly nervous about what might be coming Considering what he had been capable of accomplishing previously compared to his performance in the tournament

What went wrong Why did this image of mine

Soon the mustering area was deserted They stood on the packed dirt with Overseer Helen surveying them with her sharp eyes She shifted her weight pursed her lips Got anything to say about your performances or should I say it for you

We will accept whatever punishment you deem fit Overseer Helen Raymund Ballast said with a bowed head If DiOrtho was lightly spattered with mud the foxman was caked with it His losses had been even more desperate and fraught

To both their surprise Overseer Helen just chuckled Honestly we donÆt mean to punish you In fact the two of you seem to react negatively to our methods As far as we can tell you are too softhearted to handle the training So we are giving you a break to try and recover from your over strained brains WeÆve arranged for a weekend getaway at a beach for you two softies

What the hell are you saying DiOrtho Vant snarled From that initial spark his emotions exploded into a conflagration For the first time in a while the machine horror in his chest aligned specifically with his own desires he would attack the Overseer in front of him with as much force as he could muster Pity was not something that he would stomach even now

Yet just as DiOrtho was about to pounce forward he was pinned to the ground by Overseer HelenÆs words the fact that you couldnÆt tell that was a joke demonstrates how addled your brain really is You performed like shit do you really think we wouldnÆt punish you for that Ha And Recruit Vant I think we both know that if you had been willing to so fully embrace your image during the tournament you wouldnÆt have been pushed down to 11th

DiOrtho twitched With a growing smile Overseer Helen continued to speak I think the most embarrassing part werenÆt you extremely dominant right when the tournament started Yet as the other competitors fought through the ranks under the watchful eyes of Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound they strangely started to experience epiphanies during their fights Their image was steadily refined Meanwhile the discord between yourself and your image heh Honestly itÆs rather impressive that you were able to desperately hold onto 11th place even while completely unable to improve

A low growl came out of DiOrthoÆs throat but he couldnÆt deny what Overseer Helen was saying At the beginning of the tournament even though he was still disturbed by the sudden unbidden will present in his image he had gradually relaxed as he looked around and saw that many recruits he could still suppress

However as the tournament went on they grew Rapidly It was almost as though the Head Drill SergeantÆs presence spurred them on to a previously absurd level of growth As the Ghosthound sat with his chin in his hand and watched things just began to click for many of the previously mediocre recruits As the corner of the Head Drill SergeantÆs mouth curled upward DiOrthoÆs pride had taken several severe hits He could only watch as others began to surpass him

And you Overseer Helen rounded on Raymund Ballast You are even more disgusting IÆve never seen someone so confused about what the fuck to feel At least Vant here knows what he wants even if it is a steaming pile of poo You Recruit Ballast are a coward who isnÆt able to confront his true nature

So this is whatÆs going to happen You two will no longer be joining the normal recruit schedule In fact for the next week you will just be doing physical fitness training At a degree higher than in the past because you wonÆt need your image for anything else but moving ThatÆs basically all they are good for Your mind may be reheated vomit but your bodies are at least honest Overseer Helen pointed toward the far end of the training area where a new training pod had been erected Congratulations you were so unfortunate that the Ghosthound felt it necessary to intervene in your lives

Just physical fitness Raymund muttered DiOrtho turned and looked at the Vulpine with wide eyes Did this fool really have the gall to sound relieved that we would be only doing physical fitness Fuck how much did I mess up to end up lumped in together with this empty headed fool

The physical training was already brutal to exclusively do such training for the next week DiOrtho shivered

After that we have a new type of training lined up for you in a bit of a sensitive location Overseer HelenÆs smile widened Should be fun I havenÆt been able to run wild recently

Hmm I think IÆve seen enough for today The overwhelming voice of Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound boomed out over the assembled recruits Even with just him speaking a sense of weight accompanied every word that made it difficult to withstand He pressed and folded the surrounding space making him the center of it IÆll think a bit about your training regimen In the meantime you are dismissed

Then as Charlotte Wick was bowing with her fellow recruits the Ghosthound spoke again Except for Recruits Ronault Wick and Clamman You three stay for a bit

Although Charlotte was shocked by his sudden words she was nothing compared to VizzeretÆs reaction The shaggy grey dog literally popped off the ground like he had purposefully hopped such was the suddenness with which his entire body tensed Meanwhile the other recruits exchanged a few looks and then steadily retreated from the training room

Once they were gone an ominous silence descended over them Charlotte looked up at the Ghosthound wondering why she had been chosen to remain Meanwhile the Head Drill Sergeant was looking down at his metal left harm studying his fingers seriously The silence began to stretch

Only Jieu seemed completely unaffected by the heavy note in the air although Charlotte had basically never seen the flame elemental display any sort of discernable emotion She sometimes wondered if he was truly mortal at all and not some construct

Eventually the Ghosthound raised his emerald gaze and looked at each one of the recruits in turn Heh You three have my attention IÆve already designed a specialized training regimen for the three of you When you return to your shelters you will find an object that has been touched by my image waiting there Expose yourself as you deem appropriate I believe there to be synergy between you three and my images but it is not a guaranteed process If you can incorporate my image The Head Drill SergeantÆs lip curled upward perhaps displaying how unlikely it was in his mind that any one of them could survive his image Charlotte wouldnÆt disagree with him either This was a meaningless gamble from his perspective IÆll have further pointers I can give you as well Any questions

The silence arrived once again sudden and heavy The power with which the Ghosthound spoke made breaking through the silence seem simple but without his voice the darkness of the training area turned thick and restricting Yet despite that heavy taboo that seemed to exist Charlotte forced herself to clear her throat Sir why me

The GhosthoundÆs emerald eyes zeroed in on Charlotte What a pathetic thing to say recruit If you donÆt believe you deserve this opportunity feel free to withdraw

CharlotteÆs blood seemed to freeze in her veins Directly experiencing the Head Drill SergeantÆs ire she could barely breathe No I thatÆs not these two are just

Most disappointingly havenÆt I already answered your question You The Head Drill Sergeant folded his arms His eyes continued to burn holes in CharlotteÆs chest As I said the true reason you were selected was because of synergy between my images and the three of you These two were coincidentally the first and second place finishers in the tournament while you were fifth

The air around the Ghosthound began to buzz Truly a disappointing showing considering I felt some small amount of potential from you recruit I hope I wonÆt come to regret this decision Dismissed

Almost blinded by the hanging afterimage of the GhosthoundÆs emerald gaze that had been seared into her mindÆs eye Charlotte Wick stumbled out of the training hall behind Jieu and Vizzeret Both looked at her with sympathy but they didnÆt stay to commiserate both made beelines toward the recruit living area They would only have so much time to rest as it was and an item with the Head Drill SergeantÆs image was waiting for them back in their personal quarters Of course they would like to investigate before anything else

Even as Charlotte hyper ventilated for a full minute outside of the training building she couldnÆt help but also get excited Aside from her grandfather the Ghosthound was the most powerful man she had ever met She had personally felt how overwhelming his images were And considering how much she had already improved with the help of his subordinates

Charlotte sprinted back to the well constructed shelter and threw open the door But as soon as she did so Charlotte went pale and began to tremble

In the middle of her inner sanctum a small rock sat releasing a powerful aura of growth and life energy It appeared that the Ghosthound had given her his tree image to combine with CharlotteÆs Primal Force

But whoever had been here had rummaged through her drawers The hundreds of freehand sketches she had made of Overseer Helen were strewn across the floor Even some of the more explicit albeit tasteful depictions were included And along the far wall a line of text was carved

Very bold Recruit Wick Show me your resolve or IÆll show everyone your hidden talents Heh

Charlotte felt tears welling up in her eyes as she slumped to the ground The sneering face of the Head Drill Sergeant was so vivid before her eyes that she began to tremble Those emerald eyes hung over her like a guillotine

Chapter 1545

RandidlyÆs mouth twitched in amusement as he glanced sideways Another week had passed and now the Overseers and Randidly were finalizing their plans for the second challenge against the other Drill Sergeants which would mark the halfway point of their stay on the Fifth Cohort Rally Station They had already sent over the details of the challenge to the Superintendent but now they were doing some last minute strategizing for the various squads

Or rather the Overseers were Randidly was having a hard time keeping his eyes away from Helen who flushed red every time he glanced over at her He wouldnÆt have been surprised if steam began coming out of her ears

Heiffal nodded sagely at something one of the other Overseers said We will go with your suggestion And I think thatÆs just about it Even if the other Drill Sergeants have really managed to train up their recruits since last time I think our preparations are more than enough Especially considering the fact that three of the recruits have begun incorporating your images Randidly

And theyÆve been so enthusiastic in their absorption of the images as well Randidly said lightly Helen lowered her face toward the table to hide the shift in coloration as her skin flushed His lips twitched the other Overseers could sense that something else was going on behind RandidlyÆs slight jabs but they didnÆt know the details

Helen had been the one to deliver the image object to Charlotte WickÆs She had been the one who had gone through all the drawers finding the hidden drawings the recruit had made She was the one who had been so shocked that she had immediately run and told Randidly And then later when he visited HelenÆs room

As the silence slowly turned awkward Randidly twisted his lips and spoke he didnÆt want things to become too strained That should be enough then right Give the recruits two hours of rest before we form up for one last hour long physical training session Then we will head over

Muareth rapped her legs against the table What about Vant and Ballast Will they be participating in the challenge

Randidly glanced at Helen again this time for a legitimate reason But of course Helen didnÆt know that and her face turned as red as a tomato This is like the boy who cried wolf This time I legitimately want your input But considering how much significance is stagnating around the two of them

Sighing internally Randidly shook his head They will skip the challenge We need them to get over their issues before coming back to the group Anyways letÆs end here for today Helen stick around We should talk about our two miscreant recruits ItÆs time to take off the kid gloves

Helen was so upset that she kept her head hung low and STILL didnÆt even glance over at the aromatic roast boar sitting on the table And when every other Overseer had filed out of the room and returned to their duties Helen looked sharply up at Randidly LetÆs not talk about this at all alright I donÆt fuckign know why I did it And I fucking regret it So stop stop being such a dick about it okay

Perhaps because of how raw HelenÆs voice was Randidly carefully controlled his voice and decided to let one little detail of the Charlotte situation go Because it hadnÆt been the discovery of the drawings that had Randidly had stumbled across that led to this strange imbalance of emotional power Helen had come forward rather directly and informed Randidly about it It was only later by coincidence that Randidly had discovered that Helen had taken a particular picture drawn in rough strokes and showing her with her spear raised and ready to strike and hung it on her wall

That was why Helen couldnÆt bear to meet RandidlyÆs eyes

Nodding slowly Randidly said Unless she brought it again he would let it go Sure So how have those two been doing

Helen released a wide sigh Her whole demeanor changed in front of RandidlyÆs eyes She pulled her shoulders back and her image of crimson tides began to swim lazily through the surroundings Overseer Helen was back Well they are definitely improving their bodies But they still have enough spare energy to think about useless things Especially that Vant the fuck has a battery hidden somewhere on his body I swear I agree that we need to up the intensity

Randidly pursed his lips That means IÆll need to be involved a bit I can manage that And if we finally break them down youÆve read WendyÆs reports Do you really think this is a good idea

Helen shrugged Honestly No But Muareth consulted with Lucretia and this is what she recommended They will perform a kidnapping on the crown princess of the Shelly Kingdom and then escape for 24 hours without using their images at all We hope the situation becomes complex enough that they will be nudged toward their own desires

Is twenty four hours long enough for them to change Randidly asked slowly Not that he thought there was much danger in allowing the recruits into his Soulskill they likely wouldnÆt even realize that the location they went to was special To them it would just be a strange world within the extremely wide Nexus The teleportation wouldnÆt make them think twice

Helen tilted her head to the side and gave Randidly a confident smile It was about twenty four hours after I met you that I asked to be your spear attendant Trust me This Crown Princess is an absolute delight SheÆs just the type that Raymund Ballast needs to meet

Fine And if that fails IÆll work them over myself Randidly said with a small smile HelenÆs smile grew a subtle mirror of his own They both had grown up in the shadow of the Tellus teaching style when repetition didnÆt work brutality was the usual tool for forcing a student out of a rut

After bowing Helen left Randidly glanced briefly at his Soulskill menu He had managed to earn himself another 861 PP in the past six weeks centering primarily around his Grim Chimera Skills and physical passives Plus Randidly had earned a rather large chunk a week ago in the Skill the Torch of Fast and Slow Silences During the tournament amongst the recruits his presence gave them a huge boost

They had likely accumulated fragmented insights by being within the sphere of his energy but his presence had triggered all those insights to come together into a tangible form He filled the silences with opportunities and the recruits had largely seized them and improved Aside of course from the two troublemakers who were having such difficulty with fusing their wills with their images

The Soulskill Tithe would arrive after he spent 1750 more PP So this chunk put him halfway to that goal Randidly allowed the ghost of a smile to dance across his face then closed the menu Both of the Inscrutable Mien of Yggdrasil and the Implacable Price of Exodus had reached their limits his improvements for both stalled out So for now he sat and continued to meditate on All Things Succumb Yet Time Whirls the Earth

For the very silly reason that this was one of the last instances of the word EarthÆ that the System didnÆt automatically translate to Expira Randidly was slightly hesitant to try and force a change In addition the effect was already quite powerful If Randidly thought about a desired goal the Skill would separate his fate and move through those parallel possibilities until he found a self where he could accomplish the desired task Then for a few seconds he would possess the power of that alternate self

Honestly Randidly had to assume that the Skill was based upon some Nether principles because he hadnÆt ever seen a similar effect

Randidly paused Then his eyes widened The alternates

Hopping to his feet with a touch Randidly went to his window His eyes were blank as he looked out at the flows of significance connecting all the recruits resting below Very quickly the flows of Nether moved through their bodies and mixed between each other The recruits had mostly grown used to the subtle reinforcement and barely noticed

But now that Randidly was looking he could see possibilities floating around the flows Without knowing exactly what he was doing Randidly wished and pushed against the flows and with a strange meta physical tremor the entire system of Nether snapped into a new position After several strange eddies of Nether circled around for a few moments the energy settled onto a new path The flows were now pointing in different positions with energy flowing to new places for new reasons

There are multiple different pathways And I think they can be layered ThatÆs why NeshamahÆs Nether Randidly whispered to himself He pressed again And then again

Some of the recruits paused in their rest and frowned The sensation wasnÆt exactly painful but the rapid series of shifts was strange to experience Like a noise of which you couldnÆt determine the source Meanwhile RandidlyÆs eyes glowed as he realized that some of the pressure he had been enduring was alleviated further by his significance flowing along new pathways

At the moment Randidly could only find about four different natural Nether configurations But even that was enough He took several deep breaths and watched the Nether flows for almost two hours After carefully studying one of the new ones Randidly closed his eyes and attempted to directly control the way Nether was moving He gritted his teeth and tried to maintain both the original flow and the new one on top of each other The flows would move amongst one another but not hinder the other at all

Two independent systems would be stacked on top of each other

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 329

Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 330

Very quickly friction began to emerge between the Nether flows With a sigh Randidly released his grip on the Nether But he couldnÆt help a smile from blooming across his face He wasnÆt currently in the mindset to work on this but he had finally identified the beginnings of improving his Nether

Besides Randidly had to leave soon for the inter Drill Sergeant Challenge Patting his chest to calm himself down Randidly walked toward the door where Heiffal had gathered up the recruits below It was time to head out

But as he neared the door Randidly paused lightly Even without Randidly turning to look over Sulfur began to buzz with annoyance With a wry smile on his face Randidly left Okay okay no rush on the armor There shouldnÆt be any problems at this challenge anyway

Randidly GhosthoundÆs face transformed into a glower as he adopted his Head Drill Sergeant persona He carefully studied the faces of his recruits and then turned away without comment This time he had obtained the location of their challenge so he marched directly there heading down through the tunnels to the wide underground training facilities Then Randidly walked up to the observation platform and pushed open the door

RandidlyÆs eyes swept through the gathered Drill Sergeants With a smirk on his face his images blasted outward But after a single aggressive step into the room Randidly stopped dead

As soon as his images hit a certain man standing in the back next to LayÆmel Tuuellethe those images were completely devoured There wasnÆt even a hint of struggle they just disappeared The person in question was a tall muscular man with bare arms that were covered in tattoos He had a massive sword on his back that was covered in glowing runes

The man grinned at Randidly as soon as he arrived His eyes began to glow a pale blue Then he reached up behind his back as though to draw his sword

Chapter 1546

Rather than seizing his sword the man simply grabbed the air with a firm grasping motion Then the tattooed man pulled his hand sharply downward in an arc

But despite the fact that the man didnÆt actually grab the hilt of his sword the clear vision of him swinging the massive weapon appeared in RandidlyÆs eyes Image intent created a duplicate as he swung his empty hand through the air Randidly couldnÆt detect even the slightest flaw in the motion His image projection of the massive sword was almost completely perfect

The image created was sublime It screamed that it was created to cut and that was exactly what it would do Some of the other Drill SergeantÆs sensed the ascendant image and slowly turned

An energy slash that hummed with its powerful image ripped through the intervening space toward Randidly The other Drill Sergeants seemed finally to realize something was strange and began to move Randidly watched with narrowed eyes as these unfortunate individuals who were between him and the attack were completely shredded into red mist by the force of the strike

As promised the image cut them to nothing Drill Sergeants began to scream

With a solemn expression Randidly considered the attack rushing toward him The area influenced by the image was small but that intensity he could sense Even he found it slightly difficult to breathe

Randidly clapped his hands together His Nether Nebula began to rotate at full force For the first time outside of practice his three images shifted clearly together His body rippled as his image physicalizations manifested He was the partially spectral Grim Chimera the golden veins of Yggdrasil clearly visible through his translucent body A massive mahogany heart carved with golden runes appeared in the empty space the Grim Chimera made in his heart His two tails flicked back and forth A swirling vortex of darkness appeared in his hollow left eye socket as the Stillborn Phoenix began to hiss its displeasure

ReaperÆs Mantle of Catastrophe Revelation of the Atramentous Threshold Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil

In his body three images moved as one and activated three Skills Nether reinforced his every movement with significance He didnÆt hesitate to reveal all of his cards before that horrifying image

Before that attack these Drill Sergeants were worth less than paper

As purple black energy flashed around his eyes and a swirling cloak of restricting darkness spiraled around RandidlyÆs person a huge wave of empowered roots blasted out of the ground They impacted the rapidly advancing slash but werenÆt able to slow it in the least RandidlyÆs pupils dilated

The slash was simply moving too quickly

Chimeric Impunity Cosmic Necessity Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil

Bracing himself Randidly brought his left left arm around with every bit of force he could muster to meet the slash with a left straight Each of his images flared to life His image physicalizations seemed to become brighter like someone had turned up the contrast on his body The effect was multiplicative meaning that his power

Congratulations Your Skill Yyrwood Flesh of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 300

RandidlyÆs mouth tasted like blood He was definitely falling Thoughts rattled against the inside of his skull His instantly could sense that his Health was low He had been smashed backward with such force that he had briefly lost his bearings The ground reminded him again of where he was

The Head Drill Sergeant skidded back out of the threshold where he had been standing and slammed against the stone wall with enough force to shatter the reinforced stone Each of his joints screamed in agony

Groaning Randidly went to push himself up with his left arm and just collapsed onto his side He looked down in shock his image physicalizations had been broken and his metal left arm completely shattered In addition there was a deep gash in his side His heart began to race as Yggdrasil quickly helped to heal his wounds

Randidly coughed and spat out a mouthful of blood He blinked rapidly then tried to focus on his foe Through the trail of dust and broken ground with the backdrop of a chorus of screams of those who had been near enough to the attackÆs path to be wounded and not just annihilated Randidly looked over at the still grinning tattooed man

If anything the manÆs grin had widened as he sensed RandidlyÆs gaze Ha You survived Excellent Lamel you didnÆt lie about his power Then this is an official introduction I am Velio Dunn Mr Ghosthound LetÆs enjoy this fight to the fullest

Randidly felt a chill in his heart as he looked at this monster that had lived since the Second Cohort Apparently even staying on the Rally Station didnÆt guarantee his safety And this time when Velio reached upward above his head he actually grabbed the sword Randidly really didnÆt want to find out how much more powerful an actual attack of his would be than just the empty air that was weaponized by that image

Fuck RandidlyÆs mind was briefly blank for a split second this was a circumstance that he hadnÆt expected at all Then with all the force of Shal smashing the back of his head with the butt of his spear RandidlyÆs training slammed back into place

As his foe moved to attack Randidly gritted his teeth and thrust his hand toward Velio Dunn He needed to buy himself some time The suppression formation that Randidly had developed to temper his body snapped into place again Velio restricting his movements Anyone with a bit of Aether understanding could easily dismantle the array but perhaps

Oh What an interesting array Velio announced The muscles along his arm bulged instead of attacking the array he forcefully pushed forward directly through it Successfully Which meant that Velio Dunn also had broken through the physical limitation of the System

An explosion even more massive than the first rocked the Rally Station as the small amount of sympathy between Velio DunnÆs body and the entire floating military base saw the military base shuddering and rupturing like it had been cursed with a calamitous earthquake The stone tunnel around them collapsed burying Randidly in a veritable sea of boulders

Randidly ignored the rather harmless debris using Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil to seize Heiffal Helen and the recruits and then carry them out of the underground They would probably be fine but they were his subordinates even the recruits He wanted to get them as far away from this monster as possible

Then Randidly pulled out his PhilosopherÆs Key and opened a portal to the sky above the Rally Station even as he felt a second overwhelming attack eating through the stone to annihilate him With the addition of the sword his images seemed to freeze and shrivel in a way that severely limited his mobility Randidly had to resist the effect directly with his powerful body

He stepped through the portal and into the air above the Rally Station just in time but not before he felt something glance off of the fabric of his Fatepiece

For a brief moment the flash of soul rending pain had Randidly hunched over and clutching his head He began to tumble down through the air toward the crack riddled surface of the Rally Station But with gritted teeth and his imageÆs assistance Randidly forced his head up and opened his eyes He couldnÆt afford to lose focus even for a second

He sent a quick message to Edraine and raised his PhilosopherÆs Key Immediately his heart sank His ability to sense locations and opened portals was slightly off as though his senses were fuzzier than they had been in the past

Velio Dunn burst out of the ground He looked up at Randidly and wagged his finger at him Running away Mr Ghosthound How disappointing Where is your sense of challenge I asked you for a fight

Randidly barred his teeth at the self righteous individual in front of him Even now the most horrifying thing was that Randidly couldnÆt even sense any pressure from him when he wasnÆt attacking His image was perfectly contained Velio Dunn youÆve been alive for thousands of years right IÆve experienced the System for less than a decade Give me five more years and I promise IÆll give you the fight you are hoping for

A change came over Velio DunnÆs face His features began to stiffen Fate brought us together now Mr Ghosthound Who are we to argue with the arrangements of Fate Either you were destined to survive this encounter or you will die

RandidlyÆs heart turned to ice Yet suddenly there was a flicker of movement

No one further will die today Velio A new voice said Randidly released an explosive sigh The cavalry had arrived The speaker was a giant praying mantis standing to Velio DunnÆs right To VelioÆs left there was a humanoid with a completely featureless face Both were wearing uniforms that indicated they were Commandants Military High Command had come out in force

Velio DunnÆs smile shrank as he glanced back and forth What two individuals canÆt even have a fight anymore What is the Nexus coming to

YouÆve destroyed military property Velio And slaughtered almost a dozen of our Drill Sergeants The praying mantis said evenly It waved one of its scythe arms at the broken ground IÆm sure you are aware that the Nexus Council has you on administrative suspension This is grounds for you to be brought in and imprisoned for your deferred sentence of 100 years

Velio Dunn chuckled some of his earlier cheer creeping back into his expression Do you really think you have the votes to do that

And to RandidlyÆs shock the praying mantis fell silent But neither of the Commandants moved from their positions Their images billowed outward from their bodies and formed a cage around Velio protecting Randidly

Ultimately Velio Dunn released an aggrieved sigh For the slightest moment a horribly destructive image spread outward so much so that Randidly gritted his teeth despite the protection of the two CommandantÆs Bah fine fine Another day that officious control freaks stomp out the last bit of fun in the Nexus Then Velio looked toward Randidly Is this really how you want to live Mr Ghosthound Babysat for your entire life

you fucking asshole Randidly cursed internally All three of his images glared hatefully over at Velio Dunn You have the fucking nerve to ridicule me for not walking forward and allowing you to slaughter me Just you fucking wait I wonÆt even need the five years IÆll bury you in two

Seeing that his words had no effect Velio Dunn snorted and turned around Hey Lamel wait where did Lamel go Bah what a hassle

The featureless humanoid vibrated out his speech through his skin IÆll gladly escort you back to your home Mr Dunn

After those two had left the praying mantis looked over at Randidly Its faintly golden eyes swiveled independently of one another both landing on Randidly hmm You survived a casual greeting from Velio No wonder Wick has given you his support

Then the Commandant chittered and turned away I will be staying on the Rally Station in the future as a precautionary measure to prevent Velio from returning You may call me Commandant Keckle Such a talented seedling cannot be left for the elements to uproot

Chapter 1547

Randidly was slightly leery at first knowing that this strange Commandant Keckle would be staying on the Rally Station to watch over him On the one hand he appreciated an extra line of defense to deter Velio Dunn after that brief clash that tattooed man had shown Randidly how little he could do in a direct fight against a powerful monster of the Nexus

Randidly had sensed that truth when he faced the greedy Commandant Wick but Velio DunnÆs attack had revealed just how foolish Randidly had been

On the other hand Randidly also worried that Military High Command would begin to look a little too closely at the structure of his training array Perhaps like the Engraving Guild of the Nexus they would be interested in the various runes that he had learned through Neveah studying the tomb left by Yyxtrix on Expira

However it quickly became apparent that Randidly was overthinking the issue in the day after the debacle caused by Dunn the Commandant was busy replacing all of the killed and broken Drill Sergeants so that the troops would be trained on time Due to the rapid nature of the changes Randidly sniffed the hint of some inter military politics in the new appointees Still that really wasnÆt any of his business His job as Head Drill Sergeant primarily concerned the elite squad

It was enough that Commandant Keckle seemed focused on other issues

Randidly made some quiet inquiries and received the official report from Lady Iellaya regarding the death toll 17 Drill Sergeants were considered to have been lost in the attack Fifteen were killed outright while two had their images destroyed Further a little less than three thousand of the recruits had been seriously maimed in the rapid destruction of the Rally Station A few of the Commandants were floating the idea of having a second wave of recruits trained but there was nothing definitive yet

Due to RandidlyÆs quick actions with Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil he had managed to move his recruits before the VelioÆs image had ripped through the underground tunnels There were a few minor injuries but they rapidly healed due to the recruits’ powerful bodies Really the only true damage suffered was

Randidly grimaced down at his PhilsopherÆs Key that he spun across his fingers as he sat in a comfortable chair The Fatepiece hadnÆt been rendered completely useless but creating a portal now took about five minutes of concentrated effort that left Randidly with a buzzing headache He sensed that the Fatepiece was slowly healing itself but for the foreseeable future it would be an inconvenience