interesting Randidly said feeling a chill down his spine Just how much information did Ghost have It couldnÆt be too comprehensive or he would likely have been seen through already But that might just be a function of how recently this small steel town had been built There were cameras all through the new apartment areas and several businesses were now opening in the seedier areas outside the factory These all boasted factories
From now on Randidly would need to be especially careful about revealing his strength Hopefully his illusion held
Perhaps he should increase the timeframe of his plans for his other base beneath the forest
Randidly told Foreman Davey he would take a day to think about the possibility of working on drones Foreman Davey chuckled and informed Randidly that it would likely be another 2000 in upfront costs to buy what was needed to start working with the drones
Randidly excused himself to go work for a while in the refinery
While Randidly was walking around Randidly saw Jude receiving instruction from another metal worker To his surprise Jude was speaking fluent English nodding along with what the woman was saying Randidly almost tripped over his own feet
But then Randidly shook his head ruefully Of course he could speak English The System translated everything that they said Basically no matter what language they used the System would shore up the gaps in understanding Thinking back the other man hadnÆt ever spoken another language he just looked blankly at Randidly whenever he spoke to him and only responded in grunts when Maude gave him instruction
Could it be that the man simply didnÆt like him
Feeling slightly put off Randidly went into his area and began to work Truly the longer that Randidly spent here in the refinery the more he enjoyed the work His control with Gravity Affinity was growing increasingly fine and the mixing of the molten metal grew more smooth with every attempt
Likely it wasnÆt a matter of proficiency with the Skill but understanding what exactly he was trying to accomplish when he used it Metals worked best when the mixtures were made in a fixed pattern It was a rigid structure Slowly Randidly learned that making the spread of the powdered monster bone uniform was good but concentrating the bone at uniform points throughout the metal was even better Constantly Randidly was refining his process and increasing the strength of the metal
Or at least Randidly believed so He hadnÆt tested the tensile strength of the metal in any scientific way in order to hide how much his Skills were improving But some very unscientific tests with his hands revealed that the metal was definitely increasing in strength One step at a time
Randidly made about 600 ingots within the first 24 hours within the refinery then took a break to experiment with other methods He tried adding potions directly to metals but that didnÆt seem to work He reduced the red and blue shards to powder and attempted that too but it seemed the effect was negligible Even higher tiered mixtures didnÆt do much
Then Randidly got out some of the bones from the strongest monsters and made a few ingots out of that These came out excellently and seemed to be a third again as strong as his usual fair
All this took Randidly only 4 hours Sighing he lay on the ground of his workroom and stared at the ceiling Although he could turn in the ingots now his speed of production was still too shocking it was best if he could stall for a bit more time So he closed his eyes and turned his attention inward
RandidlyÆs working with metal had given him a new view on how his Skill should function Just like the creation of something was a scientific process a reaction between different forces and energies so was destruction It was perhaps a simpler reaction but it was a reaction nonetheless Randidly had focused very powerfully on the image and forces but he believed that one way of strengthening his image was to go through the concrete processes that would occur as a sun stills
Now Randidly didnÆt have any true scientific background But as far as he could tell the sun was an engine that grew bigger and bigger and grew hotter and hotter as it burned At some point the sheer weight of itself demanded that it burn hotter and brighter in order to continue to function As the sun runs out of fuel more and more of its mass becomes concentrated at its core where the engine resides
Eventually the engine fails under its own weight and it collapses on itself
That was a supernova That was the powerful force Randidly was seeking
Congratulations your Skill has become 50% complete
Randidly smiled
Chapter 537
A knock at the door interrupted RandidlyÆs thoughts Bemused he stood and walked to the door The last time someone had interrupted his work he had been press ganged into the military for a day What could it be this time
To his surprise it was Sonya standing there when he opened the door
What are you doing She asked him with a frown
Randidly opened his mouth He honestly wanted to ask her the same thing A fellow metal worker of all people should understand how annoying it was to be interrupted But there was something in her expression so Randidly just shrugged
Your party is tonight for you becoming a probationary citizen Sonya said poking him in the chest Tatiana made sure I came to check on you because she said you would forget
Forget What party are you talking about Randidly said laughing slightly
Oh we probably didnÆt tell you Well we are using you as an excuse to get well and drunk So Find yourself a clean shirt yea
Later that night Randidly sat next to a wide bonfire looking around with amusement It was a waste of time yes but he enjoyed it Randidly had trained like crazy from the SystemÆs arrival until now All that time he felt the threat of the Creature hanging over him a reminder that he could never slouch or everything he knew would be destroyed
But now in an identity of a different person Randidly felt himself easing up somewhat It wasnÆt like he was getting lazy But rather Some part of him was growing to understand how important times like this were to stop and enjoy life To connect with the people around you
Ideas and images were living things If you isolated yourself they would become weak and anemic only through sharing and understanding can your will build a strong foundation to keep you through the hard times Or at least that was what Randidly was telling himself tonight
It likely helped that Randidly felt somewhat baffled by the details of what the Creature was doing here Without a firm goal he was losing himself in the routine of this fake life he had found for himself There was no real rush to push forward past this
But in defense of his justification he would likely never have thought to examine the steps of a supernova in order to figure out the function of his Skill It seemed obvious in retrospect but it would be like an artist drawing a skeleton before painting a portrait It was a very mechanical inspiration for what is sometimes seen as a mystical process
Tatiana sat down next to him wearing a brilliant emerald dress They were on a row of benches set up to the East of the first out of the blowing smoke About two hundred people mostly steelworkers were getting rollicking drunk to the South of the fire where the food and drink were kept Although Randidly thought the alcohol here was extremely bitter he sipped dutifully on all the drinks he was given Even if he was only a pretext for the hard worked steelworkers they still admired him and congratulated him
And when they spoke to him he could tell they truly were glad that he had managed what they were all struggling for It gave them hope A hope for possibilities In a way the way they looked at him reminded him of how the people of Donnyton looked at him but at the same time it didnÆt Here people saw him as the example of the anecdote they always heard about this being a land of opportunity Randidly proved that it was possible to advance
At Donnyton all they saw was a being that wasnÆt truly human A being that could make anything possible