As he had predicted the Sigil did a significant amount of damage if left upon the body of a monster These monkeys were relatively hardy but ten minutes of bearing the weight of the Sigil had them crawling on the ground and moaning piteously The flesh in the area around the sigil began to spasm The veins became starkly visible as the blood appeared to be necrotizing and turning the surrounding vessels black
It was not it seemed a painless way of dying
But still the Mana cost was very high Hopefully after some Leveling it would become a more reasonable amount of expenditure
On the other hand I should just be happy that I have enough Mana to fuel it Randidly thought rather bitterly If anyone else had obtained that Skill god only knew how long it would take for them to grind it up to a reasonable Level
As it was he reached Skill Level 15 by simply applying the Sigil and allowing the monkey in question to flee from him in fear Slowly Randidly could feel the specificity of his sense of direction was slowly growing Even at Level 15 he hadnÆt earned another Sigil But Randidly figured it was only a matter of time before he could maintain two at once
But again the Mana cost Randidly winced Two at once would be a serious drain
With most of RandidlyÆs frustrations from his damaged Class satisfied he returned to his new base And once he was there he briefly brushed his knuckles against the monolith and then returned to the strange stone circle that pointed East For almost twenty minutes he simply stared at it and carefully probed the surface with Aether
If it really was a message it wants me to head up to the Plateau Randidly wondered aloud He had also heard that sometimes Dungeons involved keys or puzzles So perhaps the arrow was somehow related to that If this really was like the low Level Dungeon Randidly had been in previously the boss would wait within the black lagoon at the heart of the plateau
But these mounds hadnÆt been present in the previous Dungeon And Randidly and Shal hadnÆt ever had a time where they couldnÆt find the final boss of the Dungeon Although the area that the high Level Dungeon covered was almost ten times that of the original Dungeon why had these arrows been added
Perhaps the true reason that Randidly was leery was that the engraving at the core of these mounds was so amateurish Rather than the System it seemed like an intelligent being that lived within the Dungeon had made the arrow
Somehow the idea that there was a being within this place that was able to Engraving reminded Randidly of the CreatureÆs attempt to live within EarthÆs Raid Dungeon It seemed strangely sinister to him
There will be time to investigate it later I suppose Randidly said With an effort of will he moved some of the debris from the domes back into place Although it was much more damaged than any of the other mounds were a casual inspection would be fooled into thinking that everything was well with the mound It was only if someone was familiar with the mounds themselves that it would be possible to notice the fact that something was amiss
Rubbing the back of his neck Randidly couldnÆt help but shake his head But perhaps IÆm being unnecessarily cautious This interaction with that being really reminded me why I need to be so careful here And why I need to improve
And with that all of RandidlyÆs focused to a point The air around him rippled and warped for several seconds like the surface of a pond after a stone is dropped into it Then the World Tree appeared tall and resplendent Its emerald leaves rustled softly like it was laughing in amusement
I know I know Randidly said softly He closed his eyes and let that timeless image soak into his body Slowly that hint started to appear in the luminous bark of the tree I canÆt be thankful for the image here and also suspicious of the strange arrow at the core IÆll take this gift gladly
There was a rumbling sound as the roots of the World Tree sunk into the ground Randidly still with his eyes closed couldnÆt help but grin a tiny bit There was a strange sense of release as Randidly let go of the focus on his body and simply became a mote of light floating through the endless cycle of energy absorption that fueled the natural world
Sunlight moisture oxygen energy all in an endless cycle all being processed through Randidly and his image on a scale that was somewhat mind boggling Huge rivers of all of the inputs and outputs spiraled beneath the observation of light mote Randidly
For now he was content to watch The rumbling continued to grow
Slowly but surely the roots of Yggdrasil spread out farther and farther as he fueled the image with his whole being Slowly but surely the image was growing
Chapter 978
Vye looked down at the certificate on the table It glimmered dully in the warm glow from the fireplace It had sat between them for almost a full minute before she could bring herself to address it With great reluctance Vye straightened and shook her head Thank you so much but I cannot accept this
I came here for freedom Vye thought as she struggled to calm the rabbit quick beating of her heart But did Randidly accept charity to earn himself his capability
Wilbur smiled expansively Just as Vye remembered Wilbur had one of the most charming smiles she had ever seen His exposed teeth were uniform and pearly white even with just the illumination from the fire Plus he possessed this sort of beaming positivity that was extremely difficult to resist It seems like a lot but believe me itÆs not so much For an old friend this is nothing
Twisting her lips Vye didnÆt respond to that The real reason that she had come to the Orchard had been because she wanted to achieve so many things but had no realistic concept of how to go about it Strength freedom independence these were the words that seemed to keep sleep from coming easily to her But they werenÆt just beasts she could encounter in the wild They had to be cultivated
And Vye knew very little beyond the fact that she wanted them
After all Vye had spent most of her 6 months since being released into the post System world protected by Erickson Steel She had heard reports about how the world was developing but it was another thing entirely to see it for herself It was another thing entirely to suddenly find that her choices had proliferated to the point that she couldnÆt pin any of them down long enough to choose them
It felt like she was clawing at mist with her bare hands She could find no purchase Nothing was real and there was no one around RandidlyÆs lantern bright emerald eyes had been left behind a whole Zone away
Truthfully Vye and Wilbur hadnÆt been particularly close to one another before the advent of the System They had both attended the Western State but never moved in the same circles or gone to the same parties It was only when they were both hired for a large tech conglomerate that they became anything more substantial than acquaintances
Perhaps even more damning for their relationshipÆ the Wilbur in VyeÆs memory might have possessed an exceedingly charming smile but that was ruined by healthy doses of sexism and entitlement To the point that she avoided extended interaction Although he had sometimes made a pass at her at work happy hours Vye had been exceedingly careful to brush off his every advance
And yet here I am calling him an old friend and coming to visit Vye thought in wonder It was strangely easy to forget who he had been and accept that he was an easy excuse to get out of the smoky cage that had been Erickson Steel Vye looked down at the ticket to the OrchardÆs Lottery on the table between them Another path to escape the mire of their insubstantial relationship Just as strangely he welcomed me with open arms and provided this invaluable ticket
As if sensing the train of VyeÆs thoughts Wilbur chuckled I also want to say that you are overvaluing these lottery tickets Sure in the beginning they were extremely valuable and people would fight over them with tooth and nail We were all refugees after all moved here from different collapsing communities An escape a dream thatÆs what we were all craving