If Randidly cast Earthquake on the lake and a monster fell into a resulting crevasse he would get credit If the monster fell survived and then was ground to death between rocks Randidly would get credit
But if Randidly caused a monster to fall into a crevasse and it was able to climb back out he wouldnÆt get credit even if it bled out and died If a monster was in a crevasse and a rock tumbled down and crushed it Randidly would only get credit if something else didnÆt cause that rock to fall
Basically there were ways of making sure he wouldnÆt be responsible for the death but they were flukey He still had some leeway to Leveling but killing even 10% of the monsters that were likely living in this rather large lake would be a dangerous prospect The half decade experience spike was nowhere near what happened at the end of 10 Levels
Which was why Randidly planned on gathering Tykes and Dinesh and heading down to the lake His short turn strategy was to cast Incendiary Eruption on the lake bottom and see what surfaced It would take a lot to heat the water enough to make a difference but the vaporized water would likely scare a lot of things up It would at least give them an idea of what was occurring in the lakeÆs depths
Unfortunately it didnÆt seem things were going to be that easy Randidly traveled through his tunnels to the underground fortification beneath TatianaÆs farming commune and found about two dozen people arguing upstairs Dinesh appeared to be out patrolling for more locations and Tykes was likely upstairs making puppy dog eyes at that delicate blonde girl that had brought in last week
Sighing Randidly went to see what the fuss was about To his surprise the normally confident Tatiana was visibly torn At her back was as expected Tykes and several other important women in the commune Opposite her was RandidlyÆs grandfather Kulwort Shaw He was glaring imperiously at Tatiana with 15 robbed men and women behind him Then he turned his attention to two figures that appeared to be the source of the commotion
The one figure Randidly recognized it was the young woman with the fiery orange hair She was holding the wrist of a teenage boy who was low key struggling with her
Let me go The boy growled glaring at the young woman
Honestly the young woman seemed more distraught than the boy Kenneth why donÆt you recognize me IÆm your sister After the System hit weÆve been struggling to survive together this whole time
Bitch I donÆt know who you are but I just was saved by the Unity Church from the Borderlands If it wasnÆt for them I would have died The teenager shouted pulling away Then he walked over towards Kulwort
Kulwort smiled frostily at Tatiana As you can see Miss Yosef he called us of his own accord and wants to return to the Unity Church facilities We mean no harm coming in such force but it appears one of your number has kidnapped him It appears to be a mistake but
Now KulwortÆs eyes narrowed and his smile was vicious As we have had our disagreements in the past we are no longer willing to give you the benefit of the doubt My men will be performing a sweep of your little farm I hope there are no hard feelings
RandidlyÆs watch beeped He looked down swore quietly and then looked up with a small grin at what was unfolding between these two
Tatiana stepped forward with clenched fists I donÆt think thatÆs appropriate As he wants to return with you we can do nothing but searching our compound
Kenneth The young woman sobbed falling to her knees At her neck was the modified cross of the Unity Church and she still wore the robe of an initiate IÆve looked for you so long why
Miss Yusef DonÆt make this more difficult than it is Kulwort said shaking his head But his snide grin seemed to beg Tatiana to resist more Inwardly Randidly shivered When he was a child he wasnÆt able to sense it as much but to see his grandfather now he could understand how his mother turned out so temperamental and vicious As you are an unaffiliated business over IÆm afraid your Tier 1 citizenship isnÆt enough to offer you protection I am well within my rights to examine your base especially with the backing of such damning evidence
All eyes turned to Randidly even those of the robed individuals It was a small warning that Randidly had spoken to Tykes primarily who looked like he was about to crush KulwortÆs face Randidly had no doubt the man was capable of it but it would do more harm than good at this point Besides even if he was an ass Randidly still felt hesitant to strike family
Even a sadistic asshole like Kulwort
No what was shocking was that everyone had heard his whisper meant for Tykes That meant their Perception was at least 100 likely closer to 150 Still if they were all looking his way he might as well play this new card
Tier 1 Citizenship is insufficient you say Randidly said slowly He pressed a button on his watch and the notification he had just received was displayed for everyone else It seemed that Henrik had looked at the modifications to the Porpoise and was impressed But what if I a Tier 2 Citizen vouch for them
There was a tense silence But what Randidly enjoyed the most was the slack jawed astonishment from Tatiana The woman was absolutely floored that he had citizenship It was honestly quite pleasant to see her left speechless While Kulwort scrunched up his brows and considered it Randidly gazed deeply at the man called Kenneth Then he looked back at the young woman
no matter how he looked at it Randidly would be shocked to find out that the two werenÆt related Why was he acting like he didnÆt recognize her Was it really just a case of mistaken identity
But while Randidly was looking at Kenneth he caught a whiff of it His eyes narrowed
The silence was broken again by the young woman Why why
Kenneth glared furiously at this young woman I donÆt have any fam
But then he paused His eyes went blank for a second and there was an internal struggle without him He opened his mouth then closed it He fucking stunk of the CreatureÆs Aether Still nothing pure but it was about 20 times as condensed as Randidly had seen it in other places so far Like a delirious man given sight of water he locked onto it
It seemed that Kulwort realized something too when Kenneth became confused Well since you vouched for them
But Randidly already acted Lightning quick he caused a root to shoot upwards smash the back of KennethÆs head and then drop back into the ground Because he was standing sideways most of the movement was covered by his body the robed figures would likely only see a blur And even if their Perception was 200 they wouldnÆt be able to clearly tell what was going on By the time they saw the movement Kenneth was collapsing
Mildly Randidly said It seems the stress of the situation was a bit much for that man Tykes why donÆt you go fetch him and take him to the first aid hut
Then he turned to Kulwort I beg your pardon but it appears this man isnÆt in a state to travel Perhaps he has recently experienced a traumatic event That might explain his possible amnesia
Luckily Tykes understood the only way this would work and he moved fast With deceptive quickness he was beside Kenneth and picked the thin teen up A few of the robed individuals took steps forward but Kenneth was already in TykesÆ arms and the black man probably had six inches and 40 pounds on even the biggest of them
DonÆt you dare Kulwort began furiously but Randidly just smiled at him
YouÆll understand if we are hesitant to release him into your care Randidly said After all he spent only a few seconds under your protection and he appears to have suffered for it
Kulwort Shaw opened his mouth and tried to speak but he could find no retort that made sense Instead he snorted and said You IÆll look into you and this matter DonÆt think that your connections will protect you If you dare harm a hair on the boyÆs head you will pay