Instead they trained to lower the time it took for them to reach that limit of running quickly They changed their running form to maximize their results They lost weight or gained weight or changed their diet to sculpt their bodies all towards this goal of not pushing the boundaries but moving closer to them
But she had a point Randidly admitted At any time he could raise his stats But to make him utilize his stats more skillfully That would require a concerted effort And it was undoubtedly worth it
Setting those thoughts aside Randidly turned to his next bracer But as he picked it up he didn’t yet use the Engraving Needle Instead he closed his eyes and breathed very slowly seeking something He looked deep within himself for moments where he was truly content
Struggling under Shal moving with him through the dungeon
Fighting at night during those early monster hordes being unstoppable amongst them
Letting Agony burn away his excess thoughts fighting outside Franksburg
Challenging all of Donnyton’s Classers holding up that final Inspired Circle of Flame preparing to unleash it
Repeatedly using his new found mastery of Footwork of the Spear Phantom to dodge Lyra’s birds of mana
Randidly grinned Who would have known that he took such joy in training to the point that he felt extremely powerful Although he supposed it really wasn’t that shocking Everyone desired to feel important and capable
Now that he had gotten here he sure as hell wasn’t going to slack off and let go of those feelings
Randidly lowered the needle and began to Engrave
When Alana walked into the low ceilinged hut Devan was already there arms folded and Kiersty and Nathan were curled up in the corner on a cushion An old woman sat in a rocking chair watching them her hair black her ears droopy and greying at the edges But Alana froze as she entered into the room looking at that woman
Since fighting for so long she had developed a pretty reliable ability to look at an opponent and guess their strength This woman was at the level of the Ghosthound maybe stronger
She turned and looked at Alana her face a labyrinth of wrinkles as she smiled Bert The guests are here Bring some drinks
An extremely elderly turtle shambled out of a side door carrying a tray with several mugs Alana blinked the aura of the elderly woman washed away by the tide of bloodlust that sprung from this new arrival His expression was bored but Alana could not avoid the vicious realization that this man could kill her as easy as breathing The edges of her vision began to darken and she couldn’t muster enough strength to even breath
Bert stop that These are guests
It was like that oppressive aura was a bad smell and the woman’s words were a breeze lightly brushing it away Which in a way was even more intimidating The woman smiled at Alana You have questions I’m sure But I don’t involve myself much in the affairs of the other totems Instead I’d like to talk about our village’s Kith Klark’s gift for Donnyton I’ve taken a look at that plant the girl brought over and it is quite unique Useful and attractive I haven’t seen something so intriguing since Bert here was a young man
She smiled good naturedly at Bert who had given Devan and Alana a mug Bert simply glanced at the woman his face inscrutable
I don’t mean to be rude but who are you I don’t understand much about your kind but You don’t appear to be either a Rabbit or a Turtle Devan spoke slowly his eyes locked on Bert the entire while But it made Alana take a second glance at the woman and she realized it was true her ears were smaller and more angular and she could see the curl of a tail around the back of the chair
Excuse me Where are my manners I’m Hess And yes you are correct Typically Kiths in our world have 3 totems each Usually two are dominant while the third takes on a special role in the village Yes I am neither a Long Footed Hare or the Grey Shelled Turtle I am the current Spectral Lynx
Hess put her chin on her fist looking at Devan and Alana with glittering eyes But I did find it extremely interesting that the girl spoke of a Ghosthound It is perhaps fate that ectoplasmic cats and dogs are at each other’s throats constantly is it not
There was only silence to answer her
But then Hess laughed slapping her knee Oh come on did you really think I would push our villages towards war just for a dumb coincidence like that Jeez you don’t have a very optimistic view of the situation now do you That old hare might have as much sense as a barrel of gunpowder and the turtle have as much foresight as fashion sense but I’m very wise I assure you Despite the events I have allowed this past week
Devan looked sheepish but kept his eyes on Bert Alana rubbed the back of her neck Yes well it hasn’t exactly been sunshine and butterflies between us The welcoming party for us
When the Turtles tried to kill the Hare Elder’s grandson Quite an unfortunate choice that But I think it will ultimately prove beneficial to you
Alana regarded the woman flatly I see
Chortling Hess turned to Bert Bert fetch those newcomers before they cause any trouble I have an idea
Nodding Bert ambled to the door all but disappearing as he rounded the corner Hess turned back to Devan and Alana and made small talk speaking of small matters explaining the details of village life asking about Donnyton At first Alana hesitated but it truly seemed as though the cat woman in front of them possessed no guile she was simply curious
So they began to open up slightly in regards to facts about the village Based on what Hess was saying Donnyton was much much larger than this village which they called Kith Klark They were not the village prior to the system with the strongest warriors but a lucky series of events let them become the first village in their zone to reach the level of Trainee Village Since then they had been struggling to survive and had to withdraw most of their villagers to the inner part of the village There were simply too many Raid Bosses spawning too quickly
Although it hadn’t occurred to her before Alana was forced to admit that Donnyton was much better off than this village even though they hadn’t been forewarned about the approach of the system
It was all because a guardian Ghosthound was there to protect them until they had their legs under them
Randidly leaned back barely suppressing a grin
Engraving of Dragonfly 20% © Wearer of the armor has a small chance of moving more quickly when moving with the wind
It wasn’t all that impressive of an effect but it was a successful completion Randidly’s first even after 3 hours of work He supposed that in the old world this learning speed would be prodigious but now it was slightly disappointing
But then again the point of the training was to make things seem more like the old way of training thereby shifting expectations and results So it made sense that Randidly wouldn’t have been able to take advantage of some of the system assistance from Skill Levels
Randidly brought the finished product over to Sam who looked at it then blinked C C Common rarity
Turning to Randidly Sam glared daggers at him Randidly shrugged helplessly What did Sam expect It was only his first try He had figured an achievement at this level was to be expected
Snorting Sam muttered to himself Probably a fluke Then directed Randidly to return to the bench and keep practicing until he could do three in a row Although Randidly wanted to train some other things Randidly supposed it was fair
But secretly for the rest of the night while he was trying and failing at Engraving he kept a tightly packed ball of Pestilence under the table controlling it very carefully
Randidly’s head throbbed painfully as his attempt cracked another bracer Grimacing Randidly rubbed his temples for a few seconds but then picked up another bracer Although it was difficult the only way to get stronger was to push