KerrarÆs face flushed For whatever reason he was extremely sensitive about the treatment of his Skill I have detected danger in the direction you have indicated Normally we would ask a guide about the local currents in order to navigate around the impediment but because you refused to pay for
DonÆt worry Randidly said lightly He removed a wooden block from his interspatial ring and tossed it into the water next to the boat IÆll handle it
A pulse of Aether illuminated the surrounding area to RandidlyÆs senses and a second later thorny vines ripped out of the block and slithered down through the water toward the squid creature that was approaching them from below Some part of Randidly was tempted to use the boat as the base for his attack as a small spite toward this man who doubted him but Randidly refused to let someoneÆs livelihood smolder to ash just because of disrespect
He was not so mad with power to think such a reaction was reasonable Not yet at least
But that didnÆt mean he wouldnÆt tease the man
Kerrar was frowning looking at the block that was bobbing in the waves What is that
Shaking his head Randidly turned away Better to show than to tell It was difficult to see from the deck but there were already three dozen thick roots heading downwards to deal with the squid Full steam ahead captain Problem solved
After a moment of internal turmoil Kerrar turned and exchanged a long glance with a silent man named Mack who was the only other member of his crew who Randidly had begrudgingly allowed Mack spat over the edge of the ship and shrugged as if to say in life you can only have money or sense never both Did you expect anything less from your patron
So they sailed forward
The squid was killed easily as the thorns punched large holes in its thick skin and allowed it to bleed out in the unforgiving waves Then because he wanted to make sure they wouldnÆt underestimate him in the future Randidly slowed pulled the large corpse of the monster up toward the surface
Inwardly Randidly wondered what would have happened if he hadnÆt intervened and there had been guards to handle the thing it was Level 39 and possessed an extremely large body Although it would likely be possible to beat back its long tentacles very little real damage could be inflicted on its main body from the deck
So how would they have handled it
In RandidlyÆs mind it either meant the guards were more capable than he had given them credit for or that Kerrar and his ilk possessed more methods than he was showing Randidly It was likely a mixture of both Still probably wasnÆt worth the effort to root out that truth
Fuck Mack swore Randidly chuckled impulsively that was the first word that he had heard the morose man say
Quick as a flash Kerrar crossed the deck and peered over the side When he saw the eviscerated corpse he blinked several times It seemed that Kerrar had a lot of these moments when faced with new information where he simply stayed completely still and allowed himself to process this sort of information
Sometimes such breaks could be dangerous but Randidly also knew that the small window of weakness compensated for itself by providing a large benefit Because those moments of stillness meant that Kerrar could shift instantly
Such was the life of seafarer Randidly supposed Always ready to be drawn out of harmÆs way by a strong current
You did this And brought it up here on purpose Kerrar said slowly as he turned to look at Randidly
Because there was no point in hiding it Randidly nodded
Kerrar shook his head helplessly then turned to Mack Hey bring up a fishing line A strong one Pulling up this body He turned back to Randidly Will defray some of the cost of your passage Hell if you could bring enough of these your trip would almost pay for itself
Kerrar trailed off as a bright smile bloomed on RandidlyÆs face From his tone Kerrar had been joking about such a possibility But to Randidly
Besides Randidly justified to himself as a pale faced Kerrar and Mack hauled the body aboard and expertly extracted the usable parts The experience it gave wasnÆt terrible About three hundred at this Level and IÆll hit Forty Three
Plus Randidly was pleased to note Kerrar pulled a few of the ropes of the rigging and adjusted the sail of their boat Instantly they surged into motion heading toward Neveah as if drawn by a magnet Their speed was incomparable to before
When Randidly gave him an amused glance the man coughed into his hand Err I was taking a cautious track But if your power truly can guard us I see no reason why we canÆt proceed more expediently
Randidly would likely have continued to tease the man but he received a message When he opened up his menu his frown deepened as he saw the sender Lyra
Heya I got some juicy info for you which IÆm willing to give to you as long as you answer a question of mine honestly
Instantly Randidly was wary On the one hand Lyra had very rarely sent him a message That she did so now so soon after their previous discussion meant that the information was probably sudden
Or perhaps because of the rather amicable parting she was now advancing a plan to manipulate him in some other way
Randidly grimaced But she did have a line on information through the System framework that he could not get access to any other way Even if it was ultimately aimed to be a manipulation there were quite a few possible benefits that Randidly could obtain from hearing her out And all she wanted was his answer to a question
WhatÆs the question Randidly replied
Could you give me a Class
That caught RandidlyÆs attention Because instantly his mind started racing as he considered the implications of that statement He had scanned Lyra briefly with his Aether Detection and idly inspected her System structured Aether form but largely there were portions of that architecture that kept him from being able to view the important sections
Therefore he had satisfied himself that she simply wasnÆt an incarnation of the Creature at the moment her Aether was pure Without wanting to dig any deeper and risk setting off any sort of warnings Randidly hadnÆt pressed the issue at the time
But whether he could build a Class around that without fucking up the System stuff and pissing off Octavius Shrike That was a more difficult question
Still RandidlyÆs expression cooled to a frown quickly Kerrar at whose back he had inadvertently been glaring jumped and looked around wildly
Slightly embarrassed Randidly turned away and thought about the question more generally It was not will you it was can you likely to encourage Randidly to think about it and normalize such an option in his mind It was a pretty straightforward framing to get a positive response Some part of Randidly was annoyed by that but he didnÆt let that emotion take root
Maybe I would have to do a lot more thorough examinations of you It is theoretically possible But I was already warned by Octavius about interfering overmuch with the System So extinguish your hopes I will not be giving you a Class
There was no response for a while so Randidly stood and looked at the squidÆs blood being sluiced off of the damp boards of the deck by an efficient Mack There was something oddly detached about the whole thing It made Randidly realize that in a lot of ways boats are an omen of death for creatures of the sea
Finally the answer came
Interesting Anyway the information someone above is moving to find out more about you And very proactively theyÆve interfered with your Judgement Be careful
Randidly slowly released a breath One thing at a time
So his Judgement would be even harder His Heretic Path had slowly been evolving toward Fifty That just made the coming Judgement that much more imposing It was a looming shadow that was slowly stretching above Randidly
But also another question swam around in the front of RandidlyÆs mind
Why does Lyra want a Class
Chapter 886
Donny cracked his neck He had been called out of bed early because there was a warning about a woman staying so long in a Dungeon that she had developed Aether Sickness but it turned out to be a false report