After two days to familiarize themselves and shop around Hank and company really needed to depart from East End Apparently there was plenty of political deadlock in Donnyton so there was no real rush for the diplomatic meeting But they couldnÆt keep stopping places for Hank to learn new Skills
They had arrived and spent time shopping in the mall talking with the people of East End Although they werenÆt as big as any of the other Villages initially they took in quite a few of the displaced people from the expanding Zone Plus several months ago they had made a concerted effort to support the one Elementalist Class they had Under her careful care wild elementals had started appearing near the city A lot of mages interested in studying them or attempting to become an Elementalist themselves had migrated into the city
A large apartment was being thrown up next to the mall now that they had run out of room beneath the mall They hadnÆt communicated at all with the leaders of East End as they were away but one of them was in constant communication with Donnyton so it didnÆt seem necessary So after he had familiarized himself with having an elemental and Laurel had time to shop they were prepared to move on to Donnyton
Unfortunately fate wasnÆt with them
As they were about to depart a voice spoke from the roof of the mall
Mr Ghosthound Is that you
Ezekiel stopped turned around and looked up He had been rather bitterly walking in the countryside around East End recently because no elemental had chosen him At first Hank had been worried the bastard was hunting people down to eat but JJ was also excellent at scouting His investigation had yielded nothing which was a relief
When he saw the person who spoke his eyes widened Is that Sydney Harp
Chapter 533
Oh wow how many years has it been Sydney said with a laugh pouring two cups of tea Then she raised her eyebrow at Ezekiel Still enjoy rum
EzekielÆs smile was sharp as he examined the young woman in front of him who had once been his sonÆs playmate She had certainly matured into a confident young woman but that was not unexpected Even when she was just a toddler Ezekiel could tell from the way that Sydney led his son around that she would be a force of nature when she grew up He just didnÆt expect that to be such a literal statement
There was a frigid dangerous air around Sydney now Ezekiel couldnÆt figure her out He also had to focus for a very long time to figure out how old Sydney was if she was the same age as Randidly 25 Or at least he thought so Sometimes it was hard to keep track
Especially when you werenÆt a part of said sonÆs life truly
Of course I do ItÆs probably been at least 10 years right Ezekiel said feeling strangely old and out of place She produced a glass bottle from underneath her desk and poured a little in both teacups Ezekiel nodded graciously and took a deep sip Then he leaned back in his chair
yea about that long I believe She sipped her tea then too and to EzekielÆs surprise she took a much deeper sip than he had And as he watched she finished the cup entirely and poured herself another Ezekiel kept his face still Hank was slightly annoyed that they were dwelling here for a while but wouldnÆt say anything because Sydney was apparently the leader of East End Politically it was a free in that they could desperately use The longer they took in their discussion took the more annoyed Hank would become Which suited Ezekiel just fine
She took a small sip from her knew cup and set it down I assume youÆve seen Randidly
Ezekiel nodded cautiously suddenly on guard Was there some sort of rift between the two of them It honestly wasnÆt so surprising considering how Randidly had followed her in a very puppy dog esque manner to Rawlands Ezekiel had thought a few times to say something to his son but what was there to really say The kid had a crush
yes Is there something going on between you two
Sydney barked out a laugh which was a big relief Then she shook her head No of course not I havenÆt changed my outlook on that Although I was surprised to find that he had moved on But thatÆs the System right It gave us room to grow IÆm just amazed that your family managed to survive Do you know
Ezekiel shook his head feeling a flash of distaste Andrea was in a different area She likely ended up in a different Zone It will take a while to see whether things will work out so perfectly
Then he coughed into his hand and asked So does Randidly have a Class We were only able to talk for a brief time Does he belong to your Village Oh and how is Ace did he
Well yes Ace is fine But Sydney was now giving Ezekiel a very strange look Randidly does have a Class although what it is exactly is the biggest secret in the whole Zone You didnÆt know who he is Or what rather
Ezekiel tilted his head to the side Ruefully Sydney finished her cup of tea and then poured herself another This time Ezekiel didnÆt miss as she lightly tapped her finger on the side of her cup and the burst of mist as she rapidly lowered the temperature of the brew That was how she made the mixture so cold
HeÆs someone important then Ezekiel said slowly confused by her reaction I knew he had to be strong because he was just in the borderlands a day after they opened But we
What could he say They hadnÆt seen each other consistently for years before that and they had no idea what to say or talk about So they had basically stayed silent
ItÆs understandable We both know how communicative Randidly is Then Sydney paused and sighed HeÆs well itÆs hard to explain You are aware of Donnyton yes He
Oh so heÆs at Donnyton ThatÆs certainly impressive Or heÆs not The look that Sydney was giving him was even stranger now
After a brief hesitation Ezekiel said Is he the leader of Donnyton
Ha If only it was that simple Sydney looked down at her cup now and fell still HeÆs much more that than But without a doubt heÆs the most powerful person in our Zone And honestly I donÆt believe there is much of a chance that there is someone more powerful than him in all of humanity He created his own Class you know He didnÆt receive one from a Village HeÆs an independent
Ezekiel blinked What does that even mean
Ghost listened to the soft blips of the hearts of the six bodies that supported him gave him the power to learn Skills and were the fleshy anchors that kept him locked in this facility in West Providence There were a lot of times when he wondered why Dr Karman had seen fit to make him exist only at this stationary location Why had he not been a movable being with a physical body
Even if he could create a true drone avatar it wouldnÆt have the benefit of his Skills as it was far from him Ghost would need to find a way to condense his body into something mobile while maintaining the health of all 6 of the human bodies he was based upon His calculations were all too clear what would happen to the consciousness that was Ghost should even one of them perish
It was a frustration only Ghost knew The reason that he was this way was because Dr Karman had gone into that strange depression immediately after he had created Ghost and turned to drinking to calm himself down After that he had started attending services at the Unity Church in West Providence which was just a small chapel at the time
Within a month several thousand dollars worth of donations had seen fit for it to expand to a respectable congregation It was the night before the grand opening of that church that Dr Karman had been killed at a donor dinner
Ghost forced the eyes of his hologram closed It didnÆt prevent him from being completely aware of the area around him through his sensors but it was a human habit that he had embraced More and more Ghost was growing to rely on and resent his human tics They were so inconvenient in some ways But they were his only way forward
And the drone initiative even his most pessimistic predictions had projected that the drone initiative would be booming at this point while there was currently very little progress The problem was two fold Or rather it was a demand problem which prevented as many resources as Ghost had predicted from being put behind the undertaking