Today he would need to take it a bit easier
So for the first time in quite a while Randidly lay down for a nap letting his eyes shut as the winds over Donnyton swirled tightly above
I donÆt have much time Randidly thought with a sigh but he was also frustrated because there seemed too much to do There were a thousand small tasks that he needed to see to so that he was somewhat infuriated by his current options
Yet at the same time that lack of sincere goal could be considered a blessing After all the type of thing that would usually be treated as his main goal would be something that could threaten Earth
Not having an obvious threat of that caliber was a positive thing for the world It just complicated RandidlyÆs course of action immensely Options taken would mean other objectives unaddressed resulting in consequences
Consequences Randidly thought idly That was the word that he couldnÆt get away from His Crown hummed in sympathy
But Randidly quickly refocused himself as he took in several deep breaths to calm down his overtaxed mind First IÆll plant the seeds here in Donnyton by showing them the direction in which they need to improve Then IÆll handle this Judgement and use any time leftover before the First Calamity arrives to work on Engraving and metallurgy
Yet that wasnÆt all RandidlyÆs head went up and pressed against his right temple But that also I need to leave time to work on more Danger Zones and keeping the people of my Soulskill happy
the political situation with Donnyton and the other Zones
Need to keep an eye on the Ogre Gorge too
plus there was the warning about someone from the System interfering with my Judgement
Very quickly Randidly was scowling at the ceiling of his hut His eyes flicked open in annoyance After releasing a breath Randidly did his best to let go of all of his worries Instead he simply lay with his eyes closed and sank into darkness
There he found the familiar prison which was the location where his images took that definitive leap forward to the realm of Pontiff Being there was almost nostalgic even if this prison was just one of his own making This place would always symbolize something close to rebirth or evolution That was how changed Randidly had felt after emerging
The inky blackness was familiar and welcoming Without senses all that remained was images So Randidly stewed in the darkness until the images came rising out of his chest to fill the air around him Many of these so called images that emerged were actually just snippets from his fight with the Nemesai or from his training today in spear styles
Randidly continued waiting The images that were the first to flee out of his mind to the surrounding world began to warp and bleed into one another Soon the color was sucked out of them and they were slowly devoured by the darkness
Very quickly it was like those images had never existed at all No mark remained to prove their existence Still Randidly waited alone in the darkness
Next came Helen of all people Scorched and lightly wounded she held a spear aloft and glared into the middle distance like she was staring down a dictator She was provocative and proud confident against all comers Hers was the type of beauty of capability that refused to be ignored
Chuckling Randidly let that image pass too What had been between them it had passed due to his actions When Randidly had won that duel in the under 25 Tournament he was forced to face the realization that he was moving on to participate in a higher realm
Therefore a romance between them
Randidly sighed and soaked in the tepid darkness
His core images were slow to emerge so RandidlyÆs mind wandered The throbbing pain in his head slowly departed gifting him with renewed clarity and understanding
Aside from his encounter with Helen almost hell was it two years ago now Randidly had largely gone without any sort of romantic interest There was the initial thing with Lyra but that swiftly gave way to suspicion as Lyra chose to ally herself with the Creature Therefore Randidly had been alone for quite a long time
Maybe these powerful images have a cost Randidly thought bleakly With them my ability to feel something like passion has
Luckily the thought seemed to summon the images that he was waiting for right before Randidly was prepared to finally examine the growing loneliness in his chest
But right on cue the skeletal Spear Phantom appeared strolling out to join Randidly in the darkness The skeleton smiled at Randidly or tried to But its jaw bone clacked awkwardly against its skull Randidly watched impassively ItÆs not just you that I need To handle the image part of this you will both need to work together
The air in the darkness began to taste sour as a burning ember appeared next to the spear phantom Ash flaked away falling like flower petals from tall trees in spring They burned briefly and brightly in the darkness adding some small illumination to the room of images But Randidly didnÆt bother to look around His eyes remained fixed on the two images as the slowly drifted closer to each other
The distance continued to shrink until there was only a meter or two between the images Electricity crackled and spat conjured from the edges of the images rubbing against each other Instantly Randidly felt the strain of keeping both images coexisting near each other Because they werenÆt related they instantly began to wear at the fabric of each other
Grimacing Randidly redoubled his efforts to find a way for the two images to coexist in the same spot If he could combine his two most offensive images
Yet at one meters distance the smoldering piece of ash had started to glow with a blinding light and the spear phantom had begun to clack its jaw constantly Both seemed like a warning although Randidly couldnÆt tell if it was to him or to each other
Either way Randidly let the pressure drop and sighed His eyelids flickered for a second before he could leap from the deep darkness of the prison to his hut once more The brown wooden walls looked surprisingly drab after the vivid world of images Sitting up slowly Randidly took stock of the situation
At the very least his head felt much better than it had previously A lot of the strain had worn off But Randidly could tell it would come back quickly if he pushed himself right now RandidlyÆs smile was sardonic he had gained quite a few Levels in Visualization and in the two spear based Skillsets but he had made no progress on his actual goal
As such Randidly couldnÆt help but be disappointed It wasnÆt like he could miss either of the two unities either Both were necessary He needed his Skills to be complimentary so they could be used together And the images needed to be united so he could shift between them quickly
Missing either of those prerequisites would be enough to sink this plan altogether and make it a rather large waste of time
Shaking his head Randidly stood and stretched His shoulder popped lightly and his back cracked in a very satisfying manner Then he calmly strolled over to his workbench for Mana Engraving
Randidly had a strange idea as he lay in the darkness waiting for his images to arrive earlier What if he could unite Mana Engraving with one of his images To empower his ability to engrave without relying on Mana And also give him some assistance in the finer details of Engraving
Likely either Yggdrasil or Ignition Essence would work but Randidly was leaning toward Yggdrasil It made sense that the emerald energy would be the one to actually inscribe the engravings but then Randidly had this image that the entirety of the World Tree was covered in extremely small golden engravings that
Randidly paused and looked up from his work Then his face split into a grin
Sam was early
By the time Randidly had washed his face and walked out of his hut Sam had made it up to the hill and was waiting This time SamÆs smile was filled with easy confidence IÆm early but more practice is better Here there are four pieces One for each of the Blessings you gave out to us