Randidly delaying for several months was an extended form of mental torture for the monsters The constant unpredictable threat of doom left some of them unwound
Without bothering to interfere Randidly left his Riders behind They could handle this rabble well enough And if they couldnÆt
Randidly sighed inwardly as he accelerated across the plateau ItÆs not a soft world that IÆm making but thatÆs just my Path My world is large enough for other credos to exist safely That is my greatest weapon
There were a few monsters remaining on the plateau but they hid as Randidly streaked past them Most of the forces appeared to have been concentrated on the Western edge of the plateau waiting for the Riders Which simultaneously made RandidlyÆs job much easier and also made Randidly quite suspicious
As he proceeded Randidly scanned the surroundings constantly Although the arrows had been a clear sign Randidly didnÆt want to rush forward quickly enough that he would run into a trap Randidly followed the flow of the sloping cracks and slopes He read the surrounding Aether multiple times a second looking for minute changes that could indicate an impending attack
For almost an hour Randidly found nothing And then all at once he took a step forward and froze There is Aether here ItÆs System Aether but itÆs been modified
As soon as Randidly detected the modified Aether he proceeded forward with a much larger degree of caution The windswept plateau stretched out before him almost stubbornly boring despite the presence of the foreign Aether But RandidlyÆs eyes did catch the glimmer of a distortion spiraling upward to the Southeast
Still cautious Randidly adjusted his direction and headed toward it When he arrived it was immediately clear that this was what he was seeking Someone had drawn him here deliberately and had not been subtle about it
A huge hole stretched downward in front of Randidly Honestly he was shocked that it took so long for him to spot it Based on the size of the hole and his understanding of the plateauÆs size the hole was probably one fourth of the total size of the plateau Even when Randidly strained it was difficult for him to spot the far lip of the hole
Although Randidly thought of it as a hole it was perhaps closer to a giant crater At the edge the slope angled sharply down but it was still a distinct slope Not comfortable to walk down but doable Around the edges of the crater there were several beaconsÆ that were the source of the strange Aether warping the nearby air Holding his breath Randidly approached the beacon expecting the worst
Are you fucking kidding me Randidly muttered Of course what he found pissed him off
The beacon was another arrow and an Engraving that shot off Aether in order to attract attention Like the arrows underneath the dome this arrow was built on a platform that had been repeatedly engraved to withstand the test of time
Without much choice Randidly followed the direction the arrow was pointing around the circumference of the hole Every ten minutes or so Randidly would find another beacon pointing in the same direction and producing Aether After encountering a few of these Randidly increased his speed
Soon the blurred form of Randidly had gone about one fourth of the way around the huge hole For the longest time there was just Randidly the rushing air scrub grass to his right and the hole to his left But eventually Randidly discovered a change
Breathing out through his nose Randidly stopped next to a series of tall stone pillars Just like the stone monolith next to RandidlyÆs original base in the Dungeon these possessed a palpable aura of timelessness In fact the aura here was much stronger than the aura that Randidly had been using for his training
Randidly felt a small impulse to stay here for a bit and train his World Tree image but he suppressed it Even if the image was helpful Randidly wasnÆt comfortable training here without understanding what was going on Someone or something had taken great care to lead him here Before he found out why Randidly wasnÆt going to let down his guard
With even steps Randidly walked between the four stone pillars Immediately a huge stone staircase that led from the edge into the depths of the hole drew RandidlyÆs attention But there was also a small stone table between the four pillars
Likely it had been impressive at one point but now it was just a few fragile pieces of slate But there was something extremely strange about the small stone table Randidly hadnÆt been able to tell when he was farther away but the aura of timelessness spiked upward as he approached the table Or more specifically Randidly could sense with Aether Detection that there was an object within the table that seemed to be the personification of that timelessness
The staircase or the table first Randidly thought with a frown From the look of it the table had once been covered in writing Perhaps it included some instruction what the maker had desired But time simply was too powerful Now the message was barely traces on the stone surface
Even so Randidly reached out and touched the top of the table with his eyes closed Although he wasnÆt able to see the writing his fingers were extremely sensitive Unfortunately Randidly had overestimated the integrity of the stone table The slight touch sent fractures racing across the top of the table
Instantly RandidlyÆs face twisted into a snarl The ground beneath him cracked as he threw himself backward The table was definitely weak but it also triggered off of the ambient Aether Randidly was producing colliding with the timeless image that it was shooting off That friction acted as a key that released something within
The vicious aura of the Grim Chimera gathered around RandidlyÆs right hand Even though it was painful his fingers began to glow with Molten Fang of the Pariah But as he glared at the stone table nothing happened Slowly Randidly rose out of his combat stance Then feeling rather foolish he walked back over to the stone table
Sitting within an alcove was a glove that was gushing with the image of timelessness With a root Randidly retrieved it
Randidly shook his head after examining it Of course itÆs a left handed glove I should have repaired my arm before I came here but still what the hell is an item like this doing here
Chisel of Chulroon Lvl 99 The personal weapon of Chulroon Made by a talented artisan from the Nexus Slightly damaged from heavy use followed by an extended period of disrepair Can build and destroy in equal measure All Stats +100 Strength evolves into Primordial Strength while the weapon is equipped Warning Weapon possesses a small amount of intelligence and might reject the user The rejection will have consequences
Randidly scratched the back of his head There was so much wrong with this glove that he didnÆt even know where to start Not the least of which was the fact that it referred to itself as a Chisel A chisel that was forged by someone from the Nexus
RandidlyÆs eyes slid to the staircase Was this a lure Well even if Randidly knew that was the goal of leaving this item here he couldnÆt resist his own curiosity now Shaking his head he brought the glove with a root and began to walk slowly down the wide stone stairs Still Randidly had no plans to directly touch the glove for now The warning about rejection made him wary
Although the staircase itself had been reinforced with heavy engraving to resist the passage of time those Engravings had slowly dimmed to nothing Now it was simply stone and the corners of most steps were cracked and chipped But luckily the maker of this grand hole had taken care to make the base extremely stable
Plus as Randidly processed downward it became clear that the staircase was in better shape it seemed that somehow this area had to endure the elements somewhat less In addition the Aether in the area thickened even further It was getting to the point that it rivaled the thick torrent of Aether that Randidly was throwing off constantly