But that didn’t mean that the time he had spent training with Lyra in mana control had been in vain He had learned how to approach delicately settling his perception down so even though he was unsure if he really had a strand of that energy he had confidence it was there
Aether was special too It was hot and cold to a dangerous degree It was volcano and glacier sliding through his veins pulsing with the beat of his heart
Randidly’s eyelids twitched but they did not open On closer inspection of his inside he was almost sure that the energy within him had spread very slowly He had felt it pulsing while he trained yesterday but wasn’t sure what to make of it If then Aether really was the work of the system on his body if stats and skills all came from Aether Then more Aether settling in his body meant he had gotten stronger
But that also didn’t feel right Randidly did his best to follow those thin strands of spider silk energy back to his core Because the Aether flowed like water from a spring he held inside of himself
As he struggled and followed it back Randidly could feel fiery runes flare up around his throat and immediately cool to deathly cold His heart beat a little faster sure that this was a sign he was heading in the right direction but that small bit of excitement threw off his concentration and it all fell to pieces
Sighing Randidly shook his head He did not need to rush it even this much was an improvement Once he found the source of Aether inside of himself if he could affect it if it could vastly increase the rate at which he gained strength
Smiling Randidly stood and walked towards Mrs Hamilton who was beckoning him over towards a very strange looking contraption
Chapter 114
There are obviously harder versions of the previous exercises Mrs Hamilton began But today we are going to get the final two that we have currently designed a good test and then start to address areas that I believe can be improved The first exercise will be one focusing on Weapon Accuracy and Fitness
Randidly glanced around Will Lyra not be joining us
Mrs Hamilton smiled sweetly She has her own exercises and training although she is a village spirit she didn’t lose access to her stats and skills As such and considering how weak all of the survivors we found from Turtletown have been it seems prudent that she improve as much as possible so she can survive
Snorting quietly Randidly followed Mrs Hamilton to two strange new additions to the landscape The first reminded Randidly quite a lot of the mobile they used to train vision and weapon accuracy but this one had rings of varying sizes hanging down from it rather than wooden disks The other training ground was a strange series of wooden pillars their heights varying They appeared to be segmented and small pieces of wood stuck out of the sides of them
It was funny to Randidly that Mrs Hamilton had considered Lyra to need more help surviving Out of everyone Randidly had encountered only when he looked at Lyra’s impish face did he feel that she was the only one who wasn’t constantly in danger
Even when he first saw her in that strange moment they first met there was something eminently practical about her A lot of people paid too much attention to what she said and never watched what she did or how she did it She had taught herself how to control mana She had grinded up alone until she could control birds of mana that could rip through the hardened flesh of monsters like it was paper She had learned to teleport she had enough knowledge to attempt to teach others what she did although it hadn’t gone very well in Randidly’s case
And more than anything else Lyra had tracked down Kim Lath and struck when it was weakest usurping the spot as Village Spirit from both it and Nul Randidly was about as powerful as he could be but these were not feats that he could have accomplished They were on very different paths hers esoteric and strange and his
He smiled sardonically Well he was discovering his own path every day But he couldn’t help but wish he possessed a bit of her strange genius so he could master the use of Aether
We will start with Fitness and Weapon accuracy To start simply stand in the center and thrust your spear through the hanging hoops in order Use this spear She pointed to a ugly black stick of metal on the ground that Randidly knew Shal would barely consider worth of such a designation before continuing Once forward once backwards then switch arms Speed doesn’t matter as long as it is consistent This is meant to be a marathon You must finish without any breaks or you need to start again Start whenever you are comfortable
We aren’t waiting for Mrs Hamilton or Sam Regina asked frowning
Only Regina Daniel Donny Glendel and Clarissa sat around Decklan and Dozer were out working and Ptolemy had allowed Clarissa to take over his spot on the council with relief The immigrants from Franksburg didn’t yet have a representative although Regina was of the opinion that they would swiftly integrate into the already established groups and be represented in that way
Which was why Mrs Hamilton’s absence was a problem Without her the NCCs didn’t have representation If they protested
But then Regina shook her head ruefully No need to get ahead of herself It would just be better for Mrs Hamilton to appoint a 2nd in command who could handle stuff in her absences
Glendel blinked and then spoke Mrs Hamilton is still off with the Ghosthound and Lyra helping get the training started Sam is currently testing or torturing the production focused individuals from Franksburg it’s hard to tell
Regina waved her hand surrendering and Daniel straightened his papers and spoke As per the recommendations of the council to this point SP has primarily been used to upgrade our shops and build defensive structures We have also expanded Donnyton’s influence sphere’ which prevents monsters from spawning inside of the city perimeter In addition Mrs Hamilton’s suggestion of the increased energy density zones we could use was a good one it was used on the farming areas and crop yields have increased by 20% as well as some of the crops showing signs of interesting mutations Now that all of these goals have been accomplished we have less of a pressing short term need and still a sizable pool of SP
Clarissa yawned Regina’s eye twitched The former librarian was really playing up her lazy witch’ persona Not that it was harmful but still if she could have a little bit more respect
Seeing that no one interrupted Daniel puffed up his chest and finally got to the point Since that is the case I believe this is a good opportunity to invest in two new buildings The Adventurer’s Guild and the Communications Array
Oh Didn’t you really want to save up for the Cathedral Donny asked curiously
Daniel hesitated and then nodded Yes I did But the Cathedral’s cost keeps increasing It is currently at around 15k SP It seems to be tied to the number of Classers a village has Not only is that a lot of SP its more than we’ve ever had at one time I think it’s better to buy these two other buildings right now
Even though we don’t know what they do Regina said coolly
Daniel stiffened but nodded
Regina knew that Glendel would vote with her and Clarissa supported the building of both of these buildings So it all came down to what Donny wanted
Once more Regina regretted the process by which the council was run They needed a more sophisticated system Everyone else at the table appeared to know this too so everyone remained silent while Donny looked at his hands On his chest a fresh new breastplate sparkled made by Sam with a strange rune carved into it Sam had thrown it away claiming it was Trash and scrap but it was better than anything else they had so Donny had claimed it
It was honestly quite intimidating too There was a strange ferocity about the rune on the breastplate and the longer you stared at it the more it seemed to vibrate with ferocity Shaking her head Regina looked away