As the first exosuit rushed out of the base with a raised plasma rifle RandidlyÆs main Lava Golem simply tackled the other smashing them to the ground Almost instantly the person inside was writhing in agony as the metal melted and their flesh began to burn away With a sharp gesture Randidly used the Lava GolemÆs powerful Strength to drive its fist into the skull of the other killing him instantly
LetÆs begin Randidly said calmly
Chapter 567
Hank watched as Alana considered the land before them
ItÆs a trap Dozer rumbled calmly Alana chuckled but said nothing
Before them lay the borderlands And not just the borderlands but it was the borderlands that lay directly between the two Zones The path previously uncovered was a path out of the Northwest of one Zone to the Northeast of the other But as the surrounding area was slowly pushed back that path was moving Southward
At least in theory As it was no one had really explored that area as far as Hank could tell The people of Zone 32 were too busy and the people of Zone 1 didnÆt even care They barely put much thought into the diplomacy aspect of HankÆs mission They seemed content to just keep him and his party there in order to keep an open channel of communication and to watch for any strange movement of troops
Perhaps that was the reason he went with the group to hunt the Undying Hero that had committed an obvious murder and then fled West It was the right thing surely but also
Hank had grown restless There was a wildness in the air that he felt now after his Soul Skill changed He had a sense of endless adventure in the world around him
His father had beaten his sense of duty into Hank But what about his duty to the wider world Surely if he owed a debt to his country he owed a larger debt to his world Therefore it made sense that
His watch beeped derailing his train of thought and attracting a glance from Alana and Dozer Hank smiled lightly
Pardon me seems I have a call
When he picked up he was surprised that it was a female voice on the other end of the line And what she said
HankÆs eyes widened
What the fuck is Alan
They were numerous but they were weak The exosuits gave them almost superhuman strength and reaction time but compared to Randidly compared to Tykes compared to Dinesh
These were just children
Even though Randidly wasnÆt able to use his spear for fear of being associated with his actual identity his fire based spells were more than enough to destroy clumps and he was so much more physically dominant than any who came close to him that they were ripped to shreds Even with numbers they didnÆt possess anything that could damage RandidlyÆs group
So they died
The lumber yard was now pitted and marred and charred to a completely unrecognizable state His spells had ripped through both the opposition and the outside of the compound So while the lessor golems Dinesh and Tykes mopped up the remnants of the exosuit users Randidly descended into the darkness
The innards of this facility were a lot like the one he had visited previously on a larger scale Randidly walked down a long hallway and saw living quarters operating rooms and gyms But this time there were also blank rooms that reminded Randidly of the stereotypical room from an insane asylum The walls were blank and padded with simple lines that split the room into squares
But there were different varieties of these rooms Some had black squares some yellow some pale violet Other rooms seemed to be surrounded by speakers large and small As Randidly was pausing in front of a strange chamber that seemed to be filled with different squares of fabric the ceiling opened and an insectoid machine dropped out
His eyes flashed but then Randidly paused because the insectoid backed slowly away from Randidly and then stood on its back legs It was the size of a full grown dog so even when it stood it was shorter than him But it gazed at him with intelligent eyes
How inappropriate that you would be the one to find this place
There was a ringing in RandidlyÆs ears he recognized that voice It was tinny and full of distortions but that voice that was the Creature
Narrowing his eyes Randidly reached forward Grasp of Lava
But the insectoid spun and dashed away scuttling on the ground The Grasp missed and Randidly roused Lucretia almost trembling with something akin to excitement For so long he had wandered through this Zone getting whiffs of her But now finally
He broke into a run following after the strange metallic insectoid He was annoyed to see that it was entirely mechanical so he couldnÆt just wreck the runic boards that ran it like he could with a drone Instead he had to physically overpower it
For a second he hesitated as Lucretia rushed to join his consciousness and spread around for signs of the CreatureÆs Aether Then he gritted his teeth and the entire pathway for the next 30 meters was crushed by a flood of plants that wormed their way into the facility Now isnÆt the time for subtlety If he could catch it now
Randidly I canÆt I don’tÆ feel her Aether Lucretia said sounding puzzled ItÆs almost like could this be a trap Someone understands your fixation and
Who would know aside from the Creature Randidly growled back Then he leaped forward ripping through the plants to follow the insectoid with the Lava Golem hot on his heels By some miracle the insectoid had squirmed its way through the crowded passage But then it disappeared down a side hall and it was up into a vent Each time it turned Randidly smashed its path with plants But each time it accelerated moving even faster towards the center of the facility
Fury building in his chest Randidly seized his Mana and prepared to completely destroy the entire middle of the facility but then he realized with a start that he wasnÆt able to His plants scrabbled for purchase but there was a dome in the center of the facility where they could find nothing In addition the metal there had a strange electromagnetic charge that destroyed his plants when he pressed them against it for too long
Fine letÆs do it the hard way Randidly grunted and his Lava Golem sprinted forward Without the insectoids knowledge of the facility it took some time to work his way through the labyrinth of operating rooms and lodgings But it a short four minutes later Randidly was standing in front of a sealed door
Randidly glanced at the Lava Golem It began smashing its hands against the metal of the door tireless and mindless Very quickly the strength of the blows and the heat conspired to render the door structurally unsound and it was broke open As it did so there was a puff of stale air out of the inner room
Randidly frowned This place hadnÆt been opened in quite a long time
But finally
It was the CreatureÆs Aether It still wasnÆt strong but it was unmistakable It was flowing weakly out of the opening After the Lava Golem had ripped a large enough hole in the wall to step through Randidly followed with his senses on high alert
The inner area of the room was dim but not dark At the center there was a glowing cylinder that went from the floor to the ceiling 20 meters up in the area The entire room was about the size of a football field with plenty of smaller desks and monitors along the sides of the room Even now the displays were filled with numbers and readings monitoring what was occurring in that cylinder
The cylinder itself was teal and the glow was constant As was the humming
From the base of the cylinder there were thick cables running out into the wall These cables were so thick that even Randidly felt shocked when he saw them There was no sign of the insectoid at all or any being The Creature was nowhere to be seen The room was filled with dust as if it had been quite a while since anyone had been inside of this room
This is Randidly paused looking around The buzzing the cables the strange displays a power plant
Before Randidly could consider further he received a message from Dinesh Increased enemy presence A different variety of exosuit but similar make Likely same faction Much more powerful Are we holding