As it was Han would need to be satisfied that the gulf of blackness that abruptly opened up in the wake of the final explosion consumed the entirety of the quarry The nearby cliff collapsed down into the darkness of the hole but the mountain on which DonnytonÆs residential district was based was ineffable In the face of oblivion it stood firm
From what Han could tell there was some small damage to the North portion of the production district but it was all slight Some of the lands had sunk about a foot or two but more people werenÆt swayed by that They only felt fear over the possibility of this event occurring again in the future
The shockwaves of battle had weakened the bedrock under the town and healing such wounds were difficult But most people couldnÆt believe that the battle above could have really caused such deep damage below More likely there was already structural weakness that the battle exacerbated
Yet when Han used his Perception Skill to view deep within the whole he saw a series of inexplicable tunnels
Or the network that would be created by a vast tree Han reflected inwardly But he didnÆt dare vocalize that theory If it were true
During the course of the few hours that Han observed the hole the strange rock mage that Donnyton employed was revived from the dead by Surgeon Northwind and given gallons of high quality Mana potions He then proceeded to dutifully reinforce the area around the sinkhole and investigate how deep the damage to the ground went
Han dispassionately watched the man run ragged circling the crumbling edge of the sinkhole It was an unenviable time to be a rock specialist in Donnyton He turned to Xia We should not be this close It is still dangerous If something were to happen
Frowning Xia didnÆt even bother to turn and face him as she spoke You know as well as I that we both have enough mobility to avoid anything dangerous But canÆt you feel it There is something in the air around this sinkhole It carries a trace of him If we return we must carry with us a hint of that trace
Han kept his face neutral even as he was cursing his luck inside Of all of the three pieces of Xiang Le it was his own rotten luck that saw him babysitting Xia She was the most willful and unpredictable of them making it difficult for Han to toe the line between giving her the respect she was due and preventing her from getting herself killed
She did not seem to realize her own fragility Even now Han suspected that her low strength made her unable to understand how disastrous the power displayed in that final fight was to Zone SevenÆs hopes of becoming a superpower
In this case Xia was likely correct on both counts It appeared the spread of the sinkhole had reached its high water mark In addition several of DonnytonÆs Squads were nearby preventing them from approaching any closer No one wanted someone to go into the hole unprepared for how deep it might be There would be no imminent threat of danger to them today
In addition Han could feel it too Part of Randidly GhosthoundÆs image still lingered here Yet Han Yazhu did not believe that copying that power would be easy
The System gave people power but it was still a small thing before the might of a whole world
What Randidly Ghosthound was able to do was to capture the power of a world the power of a story It could not be earned through special actions The System would not provide that mastery
It is a power one has to bleed for Han knew
As for the feel of the air HanÆs expression stiffened It was heavy with blood and humid air The huge hole seemed to breathe producing a strange vibration that sounded like faintly audible from their current distance Likely it was almost deafening when one stood right next to the hole
Rather than a natural phenomenon it almost seemed like this whole was a scar inflicted upon Donnyton by Randidly Ghosthound Similar to this sinkhole Han recalled the empty blackness of the monsterÆs maw covered by the thin layer of skin Shivering Han turned away I believe we have gathered all that we can Is there any more meaning to remaining here
Xia ignored his question and asked one of her own What is DonnytonÆs stance on what happened Will the final rung of the challenge still occur
Han shook his head Donnyton has announced that this rung was RandidlyÆs win However due to the arena being destroyed they had no choice but to postpone the final rung Therefore the status of the challenge sits at an indefinite draw
A draw Who are they kidding XiaÆs tone was bitter No one who watched that battle believed it to be a draw
It is surprising she understood enough to see that Yet she has no fear of the future of our Glorious Zone Han wondered Then he inwardly shrugged Truly the actions of Xiang Le were unpredictable They were the head while he was just a lowly ambassador Perhaps there was no need for his earlier panic
Folding his arms Han considered the teams of Donnyton elite moving slowly to the edge of the sinkhole It had been a few hours since it appeared meaning that it was likely around midnight Yet they were already making preparations to explore this new arrival If nothing else Donnyton certainly was tenacious
And Randidly himself Xia asked If possible I would like to arrange a meeting with him Considering the status of his relationship with Donnyton
But Han shook his head The woman he fought alongside Helen went to speak with DonnytonÆs leadership But from all of our spies in Donnyton there has been no sighting of Randidly himself After the final attack he unleashed it is like he vanished off the face of the Earth
Xia rapidly tapped her fingers against her leather belt If that is the case I suppose there is no more reason for us to remain here We must return as quickly as possible and begin research on images Were you able to capture the essence of this technique
HanÆs expression became aggrieved Capture the essence of this technique The people who executed it are barely capable of being described as human How could understanding it be so easy
Even now air rushed out of the sinkhole and filled the air with a faint moaning Han gritted his teeth I have witnessed this technique and IÆm sure our brightest minds will be able to do something with the knowledge we obtained
Xia gave him a sidelong glance but said nothing to that She likely understood that this was the best he could do
After being healed by Regina Alana sat alone in a dark tent with her gaze fixed upon her hand
The feeling was something like this
Her gaze on her hand intensified She gritted her teeth The thin muscles of her jaw stood out in the dim light of the tent The air around her hand began to ripple Faint swirls of orange air gathered around her fingertips before vanishing almost immediately AlanaÆs gaze sharpened and she pressed harder
The air around her hand shook a little Then there was nothing Like a broken down car engine revving but unable to start
With a sigh Alana sat back in her canvas chair
I didnÆt realize how much of what I had managed to achieve was due to circumstance Alana thought bitterly as she regarded the wisps of an image that she was able to manifest If I use a Skill I can easily empower the effect by wrapping my image around it But to actually have the image without a Skill
That was what still floored Alana even hours later Had Randidly been using Skills in that last portion of the fight Those final three strikes they werenÆt like the ways he had attacked earlier The image of the Grim Chimera as Helen had informed them it was named had completely replaced his body When it struck
he had to have used a Skill right Those werenÆt just strikes of pure image
Alana stretched and stood Helen had informed them that Randidly was isolating himself to recover before the next rung which was a fine bit of irony after the Skill Beryl had used against him and would be ready whenever they wanted to finish the HoundÆs Ladder Mrs Hamilton had the good sense to play dumb in the face of the threat and say that it would be entirely impossible to continue at the moment
Not just because no one would have the heart to try that again Alana thought Without the surprise most of what we can do became moot And my ability to use images