Randidly was also aware that he was not training his self taught skill currently and wondered whether that was a good thing He consulted with Shal who just shook his head in disgust
One thing at a time my idiot disciple You are not a genius You simply have good teachers
So Randidly let it lie for now Besides Shal was right The entire reason he had grown this strong was due to Shal Which was why he would put himself through such hell in order to help him They had been in the Prison for so long that Donnyton had faded from his mind mostly Lyra was just a pretty face he had difficulty picturing Meanwhile his life as a normal person before the system began to fade into the shadows at least partially
As his life faded away some parts of it began to stick out His relationship with his parents Sydney and Ace His loneliness and frustration
For much to Randidly’s surprise that loneliness was beginning to come back They had been in this prison for too long with a lifestyle that was too austere He had radically changed his situation but his body and soul weren’t so easily swayed During his brief breaks he reminisced fondly of those days when porn was readily available It would be nice to have some sort of relief from the constant training
But although he allowed small indulgences Randidly never swayed from his path forward Strength was always moving further away Everyone else was reaching for the same survival you were There wasn’t time to waste
So he worked towards having the Judgement descend in a controlled fashion He slowly began practicing the moves taught to him by Bert He was a little rusty at first but he swiftly regained the tempo for those exhausting moves He focused on the powerful images of roots inside of him even going so far as to create huge roots to look at and feel adding detail Slowly and surely he felt the Aether within him beginning to pulse
In order to see the changes he stopped taking the black potion for a week working tirelessly on the move It was coalescing in his chest and just as he received a notification that the self made move was 99% finished a notification popped up
Warning you have long walked upon the path of the Heretic but you are rapidly approaching a crossroads That path lies through a Judgement of greatly increased power
This gave him hope but he knew that this was just the first of two warnings If he truly wanted to be sure he needed to get to the second So Randidly threw himself back into training this time focusing on Engraving and spells especially Incinerating Bolt still in order to deal with the Judgement
Marco Polo returned during this time with positive news telling of a few individuals who would be willing if Shal would demonstrate his strength as proof it was possible Shal snorted but went along with Marco leaving Randidly alone The small spark of loneliness inside of him grew but he continued to ignore it instead throwing himself more violently into fights with nearby spear users
There was something about battle it was peaceful It helped him come to terms with his situation or at least work off some of the related aggression from being stuck in the same place for all this time During those fights Randidly started to realize that everyone else was the same They fought and fought with almost a crazed gleam in their eyes but it was because the alternative was shutting down and just losing yourself to the unending boredom
Randidly wasn’t sure if this imprisoning punishment would do much to teach spear users what they did was wrong but it would surely act as a deterrent
And it would drag out the ferocity and potential of those spear users thrown into the lion’s den that was the badlands
There was a strange moment once while Shal and Marco were gone Randidly maintained his camp along the inward circle of the badlands nearest the prison although the competition was more fierce here A group of people escaped from the prison 4 of them and hurried away with light pursuit from the guards behind them
As they ran towards his area Randidly glanced over and activated Eyes of the Spear Phantom looking to his North As he thought the individual above him Teliph a man with bandages over his eyes and an annoyingly firm defense also saw the escapees and also turned to look at Randidly They smiled at each other
Fresh meat needed to be taught the ropes
So when they arrived Teliph and Randidly moved towards the 4 walking casually towards where they were hyperventilating The 4 quickly noticed them and scrambled to their feet
Randidly doing his best Shal impression lowered his voice and growled Produce your spear and take a stance
And for effect he removed the huge obsidian spear that once belonged to the Devourer The four just goggled doing nothing Randidly hesitated unsure of what to do but Teliph stepped forward and struck with his weapon cracking the sternum of the closest one That man fell backwards moaning but the others produced their spears and leapt to their feet Randidly rushed forward using a simple stab and the leader stepped up to meet him
It was a beautiful counter that man used and had their weapons struck it definitely seemed like the counter was so powerful that it would have overwhelmed Randidly and dealt him a grievous wound But Marco had taught Randidly that was not how the game was played
So instead Randidly twisted his attack and used Ghastly Slash causing the other’s counter to miss and shearing off the man’s leg
The rest were easily dealt with and Teliph coldly explained that the weak gathered in the South the strong in the West and how the circle worked and then left Randidly left too but he couldn’t help but notice the bitter tears those men cried as half dead and sleep deprived they were forced to get up and leave
Back at the camp Randidly sat for a long time remembering everything that had happened to him since the system came And even though he had come so far there were still many individuals in the North and West more powerful than him But he couldn’t deny that flash of joy in that fight defeating an enemy who had superior Skill Levels
He liked this strength
Stoically Randidly resumed his training Because the other thing that those men reminded him of was that failure was not an option right now Losing a fight sometimes meant losing your life and that was everything
Chapter 163
It was another few weeks but Randidly finally received the notification he was waiting for although it came in a form that was a little different than expected
Warning you have long walked upon the path of the Heretic but now the cusp of the crossroads lay before you Proceed directly to the nearest Village for assistance Should you proceed Judgement shall descend in all its glory
Also available to you is the option to proceed down the path Heretic XI Doing so will transform you but still allow you to exist within the realm of the system Please see the nearest Village Spirit if you have any questions
Randidly frowned The last part was new although it was basically information that he had already intuited about the Heretic Path The only question was how this transformation worked It almost seemed like it was not a class but something else
Either way Randidly wasn’t willing to give in and find out at this point Especially because preparations on other fronts were proceeding so well for the breakout 2 men and a woman had returned with Shal a small slight man with a mustache a woman whose skin was a brilliant golden color and a scarred man In addition to them Teliph approached the group and asked to be a part of it offering to be Randidly’s Spear Attendant in exchange and Shal shrugged and left the decision up to Randidly
Picturing the brutality with which they attacked those new arrivals Randidly nodded and gained himself another spear attendant Later when he was alone with Marco Randidly asked why Shal seemed ambivalent about Teliph’s presence
Marco chuckled That one is very close to the Artisan level without the benefit of a Style behind him Taking him with us if he survives the escape and giving him access to some sort of teachings would produce a powerful ally in the future