Shal took the spear and spun it It hummed strangely in the air then settled into his hands naturally like a hug from an old friend
There was a gleam in Shal’s eye that Randidly had never seen before he had always been slightly morose sardonic and even dismissive in the way he had spoken to Randidly But what was in Shal’s eyes now was joy And hunger
The guards rushed forward 20 men who looked just as talented as the man that Randidly had killed to earn their place in here and Shal was silently laughing raising his spear
Then it began to blur and Shal simply walked forward Randidly following with an awed expression in his wake
Whereas the original Spear Phantom focused on death as the source of his image and Randidly had chosen the inevitability of time Shal was something different Shal emphasized pursuit and adaptability His was a Phantom that could float through walls and under doors chasing you to the ends of the earth in order to finish the attack His spear bent and twisted almost like the wind working around spears to slash off arms and slice off feet
In their wake they only left a trail of moaning bodies Randidly did notice that Shal was very careful to not kill any of the guards and that probably made sense This prison was meant as a punishment but the jailers did not pursue anyone who escaped from their individual cages After all they would be forced to return to use the portal or else be stuck here forever
That might change however if a spear user went on a murder spree while they were leaving their cell Prisoners killing each other was unfortunate and against the stated goal of protecting talent but ultimately acceptable It was just proof those prisoners weren’t strong enough to be worth protecting Killing guards was another slight on the First Spear of Tomkat which would be met with equivalent force
So they left without any fatalities and were curiously undisturbed after meeting the first group of guards Together they once more descended into the badlands which would be Randidly’s home for a long while
Chapter 157
Shal seemed to possess some understanding of how the badlands worked and had Randidly lead him back towards where he had managed to achieve equilibrium As they returned to the Southeast area the disgust on Shal’s face grew but he said nothing
They settled down in Randidly’s camp after driving off two of Randidly’s weaker rivals with a glare from Shal and Shal instructed Randidly to prepare for the true training would start after he rested
This did not include a time but Randidly knew he would have some time to himself he usually did in times like this so he took his time to brew mana potions and sit under the Weeping Cloud without moving allowing the strange recuperative qualities of the cloud to influence him It really was a profound ability and one that he relied on both to break Shal out of prison and to Engrave at the height of his strength Hopefully he could improve it to the level that he could receive a path for it because Randidly knew that it would benefit him greatly
After he had recovered his peace of mind he looked at his notifications The most exciting one was the notification that the created skill based upon Bert’s leg movements had reached 90% That meant some concerted effort on his part would push it to the next level But at the same time Randidly was willing to take his time and really refine the image for it without pressing forward They would be here for a while after all so there was no need to rush to finishing
Shal would be very annoyed if he wasted this effort which even Shal acknowledged could lead to a useful skill Then he looked over his stats throwing his PP into the unending pit that was Path of Carnage Lately it hadn’t even given him anything for putting PP into it it was just a black hole In his heart Randidly realized it might be better to take the 500 PP reward from the most recent Path of Carnage V and leave but there was a part of him that wanted to stubbornly refuse He had been gaining quite a lot of PP recently and it looked to continue for a while although his growth was slowing down somewhat At the same time
What if it went on forever
Randidly took a view of his full status screen
Health(/R per hour) 556/1010 (+8) (377 (+12
Mana(/R per hour) 12/1249 (118 75)
Stam(/R per min) 601/1140 (148 (+4
Vit 111 (+4)
End 56
Str 88 (+12)
Agi 109 (+12)
Perception 82
Reaction 77
Resistance 53
Willpower 79
Control 149
Focus 104
Paths Newbie 7/7 P Def 10/10 M Supp 10/10 Risk Taker 15/15 Basic Physical Fitness 20/20 Trainee 15/15 Wandering Survivor 20/20 Pathless I 5/5 Pathless II 5/5 Pathless III 10/10 Pathfinder 15/15 Disciple of Shal 37/37 Pathless IV 10/10 Pathless V 15/15 Pathless VI 15/15 Pathless VII 20/20 Pathless VIII 20/20 Pathless IX 25/25 Pathless X 50/50 Pathless 100/100 Mana Bolt Path 25/25 Phys Fitness 25/25 Evasion 35/35 Phantom Thrust Path 40/40 Spear Mastery I 50/50 Monster Slayer I 1/1 Monster Slayer II 3/3 Heavy Blow Path 20/20 Monster Slayer III 6/6 Monster Slayer IV 12/12 Monster Slayer V 25/25 Potion Making I 25/25 The Monster Slayer 100/100 Entangling Roots 40/40 Meditation 35/35 Frontrunner 100/100 Apprentice Path 50/50 Fireball I Path 50/50 Potion Making II 35/35 Spear Mastery II 75/75 Phantom Thrust II 75/75 Empower I 60/60 Root Manipulation I 75/75 Advanced Phys Fitness 100/100 Fighting Proficiency I 80/80 The Lonesome Spear 100/100 Path of Carnage V 415/500
Skills (Soul Skill) Cycle of Rot and Ash Lvl 901
Combat Spear Mastery Lvl 96 The Inevitable Phantom Arrives Lvl 47 (Un) Spear Phantom’s Footwork Lvl 79 Eyes of the Spear Phantom Lvl 59 Phantom Half Step Lvl 29 Heavy Blow Lvl 36 Dagger Mastery Lvl 10 Iron Skin Lvl 42 Dodge Lvl 53 Fighting Proficiency Lvl 66 Block Lvl 40 Haste Lvl 56 Phantom Onslaught Lvl 25 Sweep Lvl 36 Spear Deflect Lvl 10 Empower Lvl 53 Calculated Blow Lvl 30 Roundhouse Kick Lvl 31 Edge of Decay Lvl 32 Ghastly Slash Lvl 29 Pierce the Skies Shatter the Earth Lvl 15 Battle Intent Lvl 34 Struggle Lvl 19
The 7 Kata of the Ashen Spear The Spear Advances Ash Trails Lvl 13
Spells Spearing Roots Lvl 17 Mana Bolt Lvl 28 Mana Shield Lvl 24 Root Control Lvl 73 Arcane Orb Lvl 22 Fireball Lvl 30 Magic Missile Lvl 4 Healing Palm Lvl 12 Pollen of the Rafflesia Lvl 18 Summon Pestilence Lvl 33 Mana Strengthening Lvl 38 Wall of Thorns Lvl 10 Soul Seed Lvl ® Agony Lvl 37 Inspiration ® Incinerating Bolt Lvl 27 Circle of Flame Lvl 24 Plantomancy Lvl 25 The Weeping Cloud ® Lvl 23
Crafting Potion Making Lvl 37 Farming Lvl 20 Plant Breeding Lvl 9 Mapmaker Lvl 7 Analyze Lvl 24 Refine Lvl 17 Extract Lvl 6 Mana Engraving Lvl 53
Auxiliary Physical Fitness Lvl 59 Meditation Lvl 56 Running Lvl 25 Sprinting Lvl 19 Sneak Lvl 43 Acid Resistance Lvl 22 Poison Resistance Lvl 21 Pain Resistance Lvl 23 First Aid Lvl 16 Equip Lvl 25 Pathfinding Lvl 18 Mental Strength Lvl 17 Curse Resistance Lvl 15 Fire Resistance Lvl 14 Sewing Lvl 11 Cutting Vegetables Lvl 2 Manual Labor Lvl 6 Digging Lvl 5 Cooking Lvl 29 Grace Lvl 38 Bacterial Regeneration Lvl 35 Superiority Lvl 14 Mental Fortitude Lvl 29 Second Wind Lvl 15 Weather Affinity Lvl 19 Clockwork Mastery Lvl 8
His list of skills continued to grow and it was getting extremely monstrous The amount of PP he could gain over the course of a battle was extremely high simply due to the breadth of skills he could rely on True he had spent several months in here training his spear skills in battle and raising Mana Engraving to above 50 His gains in Battle Intent were also paying dividends Now he was starting to see how Dian could have her intent be so powerful that it could devour his inspired spell
Randidly looked up sharply and was surprised to find Shal standing there
It is time He said simply Nodding Randidly stood and followed him
The next 3 weeks became a blur of pain Randidly never had a chance to fight anyone else in the area because he was constantly dueling against Shal who would harp on his every weakness in his stance and never hesitate to strike at it Time after time Randidly was knocked to the ground his bones shattered