But that remorse could also be transformed into envy and hate With a simple motion Randidly cut forward with his hand
The ash craved And what it craved it took for him
A three meter blade of ash slashed forward shooting forward twenty meters to cut down a dozen trees before dissipating
RandidlyÆs eyebrows rose What ended up limiting that attack was not the attackÆs limits but that RandidlyÆs Mana expenditure had escalated and he had ended up cutting it off before it could suck away too much Mana from him
It seemed that the cost was increased by moving the ash under his control further away from where he was standing He passively lost Mana to produce a constant supply of ash but the actual manipulation of the ash within the surrounding area cost basically nothing at all Therefore
With a bit of pressure from his Willpower Randidly surrounded himself with a dozen blades of ash spinning them rapidly around his person When this didnÆt test his mental or Mana reserves at all Randidly doubled the number of blades When that still seemed manageable Randidly focused on the image of Sharpness to up their attack power
At this point he began to feel a hint of strain But someone standing outside of the circle wouldnÆt even be able to see Randidly all they would see is a dense forest of rotating grey blades And this was without even applying his images to the process
Randidly dismissed the ash All at once Randidly was standing alone in a wide space that had been cleared of trees Kindling and scrap lay on the ground around him in a thick covering Grinning Randidly once more returned to his hut doing his best not to glance over at his little volcano
Randidly did his best to assure himself that the fact he could continue to hear its constant bubbling was only due to his high Perception
After eating a quick lunch of monster meat stew Randidly turned his attention to engraving He really wanted to spend an hour or two considering the possibility of merging his Mana Engraving Skill into his Yggdrasil Skillset
Ever since he had the idea it had been sitting in the back of his mind demanding his spare attention
The trick was making it so that Mana Engraving was the language of the World Tree Or rather the World Tree was only Yggdrasil because it was covered in these extremely intricate engravings Yet the functionality of these engravings was what wasnÆt clear to Randidly
What were the writings
Were they the source of the treeÆs power
Were they a recorded history of those who had lived with the world tree grown into mythic proportions over time
Or where they another natural phenomenon a portion of the ancient power of the tree made physically manifest
The gravity of the issue lay in that this decision would have powerful ramifications for what the Skill would become Depending on what Randidly chose the evolution paths for his Mana Engravings would go in very different directions More than that what his Mana Engraving could accomplish would change
Randidly tapped a finger against his jaw considering There was a low line of stubble there reminding Randidly that he likely needed to shave But he ignored that for now and focused upon the Engraving
It was doubly important to determine this now because he was finishing up the Advanced Mana Engraving Path Although Randidly couldnÆt be sure that it would matter having the image present before he finished the Path would likely affect the reward
And of the choices
Making the Mana Engravings on the World Tree the source of its power would likely make the Skill the most powerful but it was also dangerous Randidly was worried that it would weaken his World Tree Skills in the long run
Meanwhile making the Engravings constitute just a history was a bit bland And with his most recent experience with a strange continent appearing in his Soulskill Randidly was a little leery about allowing another obvious path for similar shenanigans
Which just left the Mana Engravings as a natural expression of the laws and powers held within the World Tree Also a bit worrying because it meant that the Mana Engravings themselves werenÆt necessarily powerful But it did mean they were intimately connected to the powers held within the World Tree
It would just be a matter of figuring those out
After quieting his mind Randidly focused his efforts toward imagining the concrete image of what this was
Infinite strength a powerful and boundless lifeforce communicating with the world with these ancient symbols That was what Mana Engraving was It was a language of energy speaking of things beyond the understanding of most mortals
It was the oldest language in existence So old that no one even remembers who first spoke it
To seek to understand the symbols was to approach godhood Because those symbols had the ability to channel the natural forces of the world
Randidly felt the vast tree its golden roots spread through the world He felt the beat heart of the planet aligned with this towering tree The bark was deep and rutted having endured the weather for millennia But when one looked closely at the deep brown bark they would see glimmers of gold
These glimmers could be seen when looking up toward the vast canopy of the world tree when sunlight filtered down through the verdant leaves Tiny motes of gold seemed to dance on the undersides of the leavesÆ veins
These motes then were infinitely small engravings made by the natural laws on this tree
Although RandidlyÆs eyes remained closed his vision in the dream world expanded The whole of the world seemed to be before his vision the spinning air currents and ocean currents and geothermal energy and solar waves and drifting tectonic plates
Everything was slowly moving There was no true stillness in the world All things were in a state of change Such was existence
Yet when Randidly looked at the tiny lines along which these powerful forces move
He saw small glimmers of gold The writing of the future the channeling of the great forces directing everything like an unseen conductor
But to call the Mana Engravings a conductor was wrong It was more akin to the force of destiny upon the world It was the karma of each bit of energy A promise that it would not betray its nature and act outside of its purview
Something shifted in RandidlyÆs chest as the image slowly coalesced For almost an hour he sat simply savoring the sensation of his image of Mana Engraving shifting and settling into what it would now be There were rumbling changes from his Yggdrasil Skillset but these were much less comprehensive
Finally Randidly opened his eyes and stretched He had another headache but he was very pleased with himself
It was a small thing this shift in image But Randidly believed it would guide him in a new direction somehow
Coughing lightly Randidly stood He must have been shifting his image for longer than he had thought because the sun was sinking behind the horizon Deep maroons and mauves crisscrossed the sky seeping slowly into royal blue
I guess all thatÆs left Randidly said lightly Is to create my Ashen Phantom
Chapter 916
Randidly was rather surprised when he walked down the path into Donnyton on the morning of the challenge and saw the absolute sea of people milling about There were so many people talking and laughing in the square that Randidly was able to slip into their midst unnoticed After all very few of the average people of Donnyton knew him well
He was just a normal traveler here for the challenge In that this entire crowd was united in purpose
Plus he wasnÆt wearing any of his new pieces of equipment and stored Sulfur and Acri within the space of his belt He was a simple individual dressed in worn leather and wool like everyone else Randidly had a small worry that if he walked up to the gates of the arena dressed like this he would be asked to pay for admission