Behind the first man were a dozen more left unable to react due to the speed of RandidlyÆs acceleration Their gazes stared blankly forward intent on their duty In their eyes Randidly saw fear and excitement
This isnÆt a game The System isnÆt here to make our lives better RandidlyÆs expression twisted ItÆs here to work us until we break If we forget that the entire Earth whatÆs left of the Earth
Then Randidly activated All is Ash and allowed the swirling ash around him to form into blades that cut left and right ripping deep holes in the armor of these Squads Sharpness and the weight of the image created a blade with almost double the power that could be expected from the All is Ash Skill
When Squad members began to fall down blood spurting out from their wounds RandidlyÆs momentum had already carried him further His eyes were creased and filled with an old memory
The bodies stacked in piles the soft splashing of the river The sound of RandidlyÆs shovel repeatedly digging shallow graves next to the Hallat
The ash spun after him dissipating and reforming into a new set of blades that ripped their way through those that stood behind initial wave of felled individuals
Such was RandidlyÆs momentum that no sooner had he blinked than the last line of melee fighters were toppling over bisected by his ash blades If no one was going to challenge his dominant image of ash he would simply rip these people apart His Skills were already superior enough With an uncontested image this challenge wasnÆt fair at all
In front of him the long range fighters realized something was wrong as Randidly punched through the front lines and appeared before them There was still about ten meters of distance but Randidly was eating up that space very quickly Acri hummed with pleasure
The two groups on the sides wheeled around forming up to face Randidly while struggling to decide what to do next It seemed that whoever was in charge couldnÆt believe what they were seeing They had Randidly surrounding but with the speed at which he was moving it was difficult to know how to respond effectively
Randidly was perfectly happy to take advantage of that opportunity
Not that he planned on being predictable about it
Now that Randidly had pushed past the front lines his trailing ash gathered back to Randidly covering him in a vague haze Then he narrowed his eyes The next part was the most difficult of the tricks he had developed against Helen
With every bit of strength that Randidly could muster he planted his right leg and pushed himself to the left All of the forward momentum Randidly possessed transitioned through the tendons and muscles of his knee forcing his motion in an abrupt new direction
Such was the suddenness of the movement that RandidlyÆs ash cloud continued forward unable to keep up with his abrupt change of momentum The roiling smog continued further rapidly slowing as the connection between them stretched and tightened Which was the entire point
RandidlyÆs Mana expenditure shot up as his body and the entire world around him became ash Yet suddenly the elastic connection that had been stretched to its limits between Randidly and ash was suddenly pulling on a much lighter version of Randidly A Randidly that was just a few motes of ash in the endless sea
A Randidly that was much lighter than the thick cloud he had built up
With a soft sound Randidly disappeared The extremely tense Squads of Donnyton blankly looked at the swirl of ash he had left in his position
Careful A voice from the left group shouted out Although Randidly disappeared he had been rushing right toward them Some brave soul who had been able to follow RandidlyÆs movements warned the rest of them of his impending arrival
The motes of ash that were the remnants of Randidly smirked
Randidly appeared in the right group blades of ash popping into existence and slicing through all of the mage Classers that were nearby Randidly took special care to rip through the two healers that he identified after briefly sampling the Aether of the group
They fell screaming even as their faces were covered in confusion
By stretching that connection between himself and his ash to the limit and then transforming himself into motes of ash Randidly was able to launch himself along the vector between himself and his ash cloud And even quite a bit past it if Randidly spent the Mana to remain as ash for that long He could dissipate the ash that started the tension and untether himself There was an extremely high burden on his knees to withstand the initial cut but it made him almost unbelievably mobile
After all if Randidly didnÆt want to be flung to the side he could just have continued rushing forward Once the elasticity reached its apex the ashen aura would have just been yanked back to his body
Because this challenge wasnÆt just to show off It was a chance to try out his Skills on real opponents
Well barely real opponents Randidly thought almost sadly Even as he stayed relatively inactive the Ashen Phantom above him continued to slash widely with its dagger hands creating blades of ash that cut down everyone from the right group who was struggling to turn around and put up a guard
In terms of Stats Skill Levels and image Randidly dominated everyone here Such was the difference that they couldnÆt even defend
Still it was a valuable experience so
We concede A man said stepping out of the remnants of the middle group
Slowly the Ashen Phantom regretfully lowered his hands Blood dripped off of its fingers leaving small drips on the arena ground below it Although Randidly rationally knew that was impossible he couldnÆt help but blink at the sight Then he felt a surge of pleasure
As I thought it grows fastest like this
Randidly scanned the surrounding area Although the sudden concession came as a surprise he supposed he understood why it had happened Randidly was playing in a different league then these people There were one or two who were above Level 50 but no one was above Level 52 They couldnÆt cope
Of the first group that Randidly had broken through twenty three of thirty were laying on the ground slowly bleeding out Of the second group that Randidly had hit only a single woman was still standing the ashen blade that was cutting toward her dissipating instantly after the group conceded
Almost fifty percent of their fighting strength wiped out in an instant The remaining group might have been able to put up more of a challenge now that they understood RandidlyÆs moves but the leader was more concerned with saving those who were seriously injured than achieving any merit in the battle against the Ghosthound
After he spoke Randidly watched the man shiver and turn away from Randidly rapidly moving to help other people toward the healers that were streaming onto the arena
Randidly felt a flash of bitterness at the devastating familiarity of the awkward air of a battlefield I well it doesnÆt matter what they think does it This is a lesson they need to remember They
T thank k y y you for your g guidance
Randidly looked down A short woman who had been hit in the thigh sat up with a grimace Her hands glowed with light green energy and the wound mostly closed on its own When she looked up toward Randidly there was no fear in her eyes just awe
Randidly turned away He felt his face twist but he couldnÆt be sure what his expression was at that moment He spoke while looking back toward Helen who was tapping her foot impatiently On the battlefield you only have one chance DonÆt forget it
I wonÆt the woman whispered After she finished recovering her ability to walk she hobbled over to her squadmates to assist them
Randidly walked slowly back toward Helen not looking at the bodies laying on the ground along his path toward her
HelenÆs gaze was sympathetic The point of having a knight is having someone elseÆs hands to stain with blood you know
Randidly just waved a hand To them IÆm the great benefactor of this town No matter what theyÆve heard I need to show them what IÆve become in order to achieve that They need to see the Path the Earth needs to walk