After he had leaped up and launched themselves off a skyscraper Viking had calmly landed and began stepping with such speed that they were quickly whisked off into darkness Trees blurred as they streaked past And it didnÆt even seem like Viking was breaking a sweat
The other thing she noticed on their journey was that Viking was avoiding the typical drone patrol routes Tatiana had investigated them thoroughly so she could protect the girls at the compound but it seemed that Viking knew them even more intimately
When they stopped Tatiana needed several seconds to recover herself Then she looked up at Viking And then blinked
There was something different about him They were standing in the darkness but she could see him in profile Or believed it was him The figure in front of her seemed distinctly different from the Viking that she remembered Taller yes but also sharper somehow and more dangerous Inwardly Tatiana had to remind herself that he was an engineer more than anything else He wasnÆt WasnÆt
But he was more than that wasnÆt he He could grab plasma out of the air He defeated HollarÆs goons in less than ten seconds He
The figure stepped forward and Tatiana stilled This was not Viking
Sorry about that it was a little rough The figure said scratching his ear In the darkness his features were still blurry Except for his eyes which burned emerald But once it started
The figure trailed off Before Tatiana could understand what was going on two figures appeared out of the darkness One of them was Tykes the other was Bruya All Tatiana saw was a slight frown on BruyaÆs face and there was a rush of air The figure took another step and suddenly it was Viking next to her He spared her a quick smile and then he turned to Dinesh
Any change
None Dinesh replied Viking nodded
Alright Thank you for the wonderful night despite the ending Tatiana But now I need to go
Tatiana smiled in spite of herself You were dozing off for half of it donÆt lie
Viking winced The man wearing the mask of Viking winced Was the entirety of Baloo Erickson a facade Yea well I suppose cocktail parties arenÆt my thing
Then the man who was a man who she thought she knew was off into the darkness But he was a fake Probably Likely
Typical
Before they attacked the base Randidly paused and focused on his Skills The Lava Golem Skill was extremely useful as both an attention sink and as a tactical existence But the problem was that much of the commands it could understand were general It would fight where he directed and as he directed It seemed that it had a template of combat experience that was based on his own
But the problem with that was that the Lava Golem was not Randidly in both good and bad ways It did not have the deft utilization of the spear that he had Meanwhile he was essentially indestructible because his body was made of molten metal Physically he could rip through the opposition with just his heat and Strength in a way Randidly would never attempt
So Randidly focused on his Skills and considered the shape of Lava Golem inside of himself He felt its energies and vibrations inside of himself Then after he used Plant Dominance to clear a small cave to hide the light he summoned a Lava Golem
The thing pulled itself up out of the ground a humanoid composed of pure lava Very rapidly the heat in the cave rose However to a Randidly who had both Chosen of Fire and Fire Resistance the heat meant little He peered at the creation with a powerful intensity They were bonded by Mana and Randidly reached out and pressed with his Willpower to seize control of that bond The binding trembled but did not shift
Randidly frowned and pushed harder Then he poured more Mana into it but the Mana simply splashed and trembled in the air The construct he had created wasnÆt able to handle the increased Mana and it simply went to waste Annoyed Randidly kicked the dirt
Mana behaved too much like water for this to work It flowed into the path of least resistance When it was shaped it also provided power but it had no substance for him to seize on After a pause RandidlyÆs gaze towards the Lava Golem intensified If Mana wouldnÆt work then
Aether was much much easier to manipulate than Mana and it snaked towards the Lava Golem At first it swirled around the construct as if unsure of what to do But then Randidly focused and it stabbed into the Lava GolemÆs body For a second nothing happened
Then the Lava Golem began to tremble
Congrat
Congratul
Congratulations your
Congratulations You have created the Skill Blessing of a Avatar Lvl 1 Would you like to learn this Skill Y/N
Randidly blinked The Lava Golem was trembling harder now its body positively buzzing with the Aether that had been thrust into it On its surface the molten rock began to bubble
Initially Randidly reached to press no It sounded like an interesting Skill but it would take up one of his remaining Skill slots and it had a very specific application Setting aside the strange blanks an Avatar generally was a physical manifestation of some greater entity Likely it also allowed Randidly to have the control over his minions that he desired But at the same time how often would he use such a Skill
The bubbling grew more pronounced as Randidly paused
The worst part was that he wouldnÆt be able to see the details of the Skill unless he chose to learn it There were perhaps other benefits it was a Legendary Skill after all but without knowing them Randidly didnÆt think it was wise to spend one of his slots on this Skill After all controlling minions was useful but ultimately his own body was the ultimate weapon for him Having Avatars seemed unnecessary
But as Randidly reached to press no he felt something inside of him tremble The Skill Weaver of the Threads of Fate activated It wavered subtly pressing against him Taking this Skill was a good idea it seemed to suggest Frowning Randidly considered the feeling
There was a danger suggested that felt present Did this mean this attack on the base would be much easier with this Skill But the suggestion from the Threads of Fate was such a nebulous thing perhaps
Randidly moved his finger farther towards the No The feeling of imminent danger grew stronger Randidly gained a Level in the Skill He sighed theatrically How far would this push it he wondered
He moved his finger closer and abruptly he was sweating The air seemed to be screaming at him It was like a radio had just come into focus and suddenly Randidly could see a fraction of the distant future This Skill was vital Without it
Still it irked him The whole concept of the Skill irked Randidly That it could shape his growth was frustrating A part of Randidly just seemed to sigh at the weight of it all For the first time in a long time due to this strange Skill Randidly felt afraid It was an existential fear like without this Skill his chosen Path will amount to nothing So RandidlyÆs hand shifted towards the Yes
But there was another part of Randidly one that he had learned from Shal It was the part of him that enabled him to persist despite the fact that he was alone in a Dungeon when the System arrived It let him fight and fight and fight and struggle when Shal threw him into an otherworldly prison where time blurred It let Randidly form a Skill able to match one of the most powerful people in ShalÆs world if only for a moment
Randidly paused and moved his finger back to the No He would not learn this Skill His instincts screamed against him His finger moved forward It moved forward until the trembling in his body held him still He would die If he pressed this the Weaver of Fate screamed he would die There would be terrible consequences He couldnÆt Honestly he physically couldnÆt His very being fought against him going along with the will of the Skill
Fuck you Randidly said Instinctively he activated Indomitable Will of Yggdrasil Then he formed a claw of Aether and ripped the offending Skill to shreds