That combined with the stats he gained from his Soul Skill gave him a solid boost of 125 stats
It would have been more but one of the most peculiar and disappoint of his Soul Skills rotation came up The one that gave him nothing
His Soul Skill was extremely powerful Randidly mused as the background blurred around them Scrubland gave way to forest which gave way to swamp and then rolling hills But there was currently this one drawback to it that every 7th rotation he would get nothing The seven rotations were in order
In the fourth land of the Spectral Tree a solitary champion stands tall against all comers His spirit is yours and your spirit is his Willpower +35 Resistance +10
In the fifth land of the Spectral Tree a history is written of strife and betrayal but also of progress and growth In it you find solace Intelligence +35 Vitality +10
In the sixth land of the Spectral Tree there is curiosity and peace A people grows complacent and fat But in a way it also paves the way for future growth Only with when there is excess can great change occur
In the seventh land of the Spectral Tree there is silence Something waits here Control +60 Reaction +35
The seventh rotation was likely boosted due to the silence of the sixth but Randidly believed that there was more to it He expected whatever great change was hinted at in that sixth land to occur To that end Randidly had Lucretia monitoring the different lands within his Soul Skill but the confusing part was that they didnÆt seem to match up at all to the bonuses that he received from the Soul Skill
This was something that Lucretia had struggled over for months so much so that Randidly was relatively amused by her frustration But he felt it too At some point something was going to shift in his Soul Skill for things to make sense or perhaps he would realize he was missing the point of his Soul Skill to begin with
Thinking about his Soul Skill Randidly sighed It was a part of him sure one that he swore in the past to take more time to investigate And Randidly had not done that at all It was a combination of things but mostly it was the fact that it was very easy to forget how necessary it was during that inner battle against the Creature Other than that and the bonuses from using PP there was little concrete benefit from spending time investigating the Soul Skill
Sure he could grow closer to his people but Randidly didnÆt like how reverent people were of him Lucretia seemed to enjoy the attention but to Randidly it was too much He much preferred to be a peer than a deity
Thinking of his newly acquired Yggdrasil Skill the corner of RandidlyÆs mouth quirked up
Then his frown returned The other thing that thinking of Lucretia and his Soul Skill made him realize was that he was slowly approaching the deadline to return to ShalÆs world He would need to hurry up and resolve this issue with the Unity Church in the meantime Also Randidly would need to finally take the time to confront Lucretia and figure out what her thoughts were of returning to her world
She was trapped inside of him but Randidly suspected they could figure out a way for her to return to a physical body on ShalÆs world Would she prefer to remain there
It was a question that Randidly didnÆt like to admit made him upset but it did He had grown to rely on her there inside of him for all that she had done to hurt him while she possessed her liberty
Chapter 572
The Beast was tall and as Hank gazed up at it he could feel the sweat dripping down his back slowly freeze into tiny spheres of ice
The Beast was smiling too down at him as it stood above Hank It spread its hands and as Hank watched he realized that was what the Beast was it was a thing of 1000 hands They looped their fingers together and used thumbs to form joints until it was a whole body of hands
Some of the hands had been there for a while They were rotten the flesh sliding off the bone the more they moved to follow the motion of the body Soon they would become only bones Somehow Hank knew it wasnÆt good for the hands when they became bones There was something vital about the flesh even rotting and desiccated as it was Without it the body would slowly become nothing
The Beast wouldnÆt let his body come to nothing
Alan was there laying with his arms across his chest His suit was white and his eyes were closed Beneath those eyelids there seemed to be a crimson fire something that was burning its way out of its body Alan had been betrayed by himself leaving him injured and furious His heart refused to beat
Hank blinked That was true For some reason that heart of AlanÆs was refusing to beat ThatÆs why they were all here gathered around Alan Everyone wanted to figure out what was going on with AlanÆs heart
Well everyone except the Beast The Beast was here to take AlanÆs hands
Abruptly there were hundreds of people walking back and forth in front of them They were blurry silhouettes curved and soft at the edges They were more like throw pillows than people the type of thing that was thrown to the ground when anything really happened They were a backdrop
The Beast was closing in on Alan and Hank began walking forward as well He narrowed his eyes His hand reflexively went to his waist but there was nothing there Hank swore quietly and brought his hand to his mouth He bit his right pointer finger hard A fat drop of blood welled up swirling upwards
Miming holding a gun Hank kept his crimson bullet trained on the Beast
The Beast noticed HankÆs attention and was amused
Yyoouu ccaannoott kkiill mmee lliikkee tthhaatt The Beast whispered II ccaannoott ddiiee aass lloonngg aass ssoommeeoonnee ccaallss mmee
How are ya called
jjuusstt ssaayy mmyy nnaammee
HankÆs tongue was swelling in his mouth as though his body was struggling to stop him before he went too far Whaa WhatÆs yur name
Iii aamm CCCaalleeDD fear
Then both Hank and the Beast were in front of Alan When the Beast spoke its name Alan twitched His eyes opened The orbs were pure crimson
Did someone call my name
Hank opened his eyes as the train stopped Wincing he straightened He couldnÆt believe that he had fallen asleep when Alan was in the hospital for all that the manatech train was as familiar as a lullaby to Hank
Without even taking the time to grumble to himself Hank pushed his way out of the train into the bright sky But no matter how much light there was HankÆs heart was heavy and clouded If Alan died
Hank shivered Something terrible would happen Something that their Zone couldnÆt survive Although the details of the dream were fading quickly that certainty was lodged in HankÆs heart In a way he was glad that Laurel hadnÆt returned with him to Zone 1 She would want to stop and think about what the dream could mean She would want to think about why Hank was always the one who dreamed when Laurel was the one with the Skill
It was exactly for this reason that Hank never mentioned how frequent the dreams were Mostly they seemed harmless But this one
Did someone call my name
Feeling cold even in the direct sunlight of the afternoon Hank shook his head Then he began walking briskly towards the hospital where Alan was resting When he got there he was quickly let into the back section of the building where the VIPs were kept
With the advent of the System long term stays in the hospital began almost unheard of You either survived long enough for your HP to recover or you didnÆt There were few injuries that wouldnÆt heal with the raised Vitality Most terminal illnesses of the past were defeated outright by the human bodyÆs newfound power There were some exceptions like rare curses or dangerous poisons that would affect an individual for an extended period but most visits to the doctor involved drinking health potions until you could get into surgery
Often times you would be right as rain 24 hours later
Alan had apparently been attacked three days ago He remained cloistered in his room according to his wife Luckily the wife had Jane out at the park when Hank arrived because what happened next was not something he wanted his niece to see