It was then that Randidly realized these people were moving on a central path that wound between the two rows of portals on either side Randidly took another quick glance around People of all different shapes and sizes were trooping dutifully forward along the path appearing to know their destination The lines of portals seemed to to stretch and curl like ribbons meaning that the surroundings were a maze like network of portals tightly packed portals During that one glance Randidly could sense at least thirty portals beginning to activate in the surrounding fifty meters Across from Randidly the light popped and an officious looking lizard man walked purposefully forward and joined the flow of traffic
The uniformed man’s gaze began to harden and Randidly felt the Engraving beneath him beginning to heat So he walked several steps forward and looked around Once he was off the platform the worker seemed to lose interest in him turning to glance casually around at the rest of the portals Meanwhile Randidly solemnly looked up at the sky above A man with snakes for arms sauntered past him chittering in annoyance as Randidly simply stood in his way
His Grim Intuition fed him more information about the surroundings slowly transforming the expression on RandidlyÆs face Above him was the milky way highlighted in wide golden strokes Two absolutely massive stars lingered overhead each taking about as much space as Randidly’s fist if he held it up toward the sky shedding yellowed light across a glittering space that was filled with asteroid debris cosmic dust and the remnants of what clearly were destroyed worlds The destruction was so close to his current position that Randidly could see the wreckage and broken rocks tumbling end over end suspended eternally above these teleportation relays
Because the location on which Randidly was standing on was just one of six hundred floating platforms that were covered in serpentine lines of teleporters Randidly’s platform was part of a massive ring that stretched in both directions The flow of bodies was toward a massive teleportation Engraving at the center of the relay where groups of five hundred at a time were sent forward to the Nexus proper That train of thought had Randidly slowly pivoting and looking toward what sat coiled at the center of so many teleporters
Randidly’s emerald eyes narrowed as he gazed at the hazy form of the Nexus It was so distant that even he with his powerful Grim Intuition couldn’t make out any of the details There was only the massive form hunched and shadowy in the distance Although perhaps perspective was playing tricks on him the Nexus appeared even more massive than the stars coloring the nebula It was lopsided and heavy with only vague lines indicating the towering buildings that dominated the Nexus proper
Yet despite that Randidly’s gaze was pulled down to the deep darkness sitting below the Nexus The lines around Randidly’s eyes tightened and his Nether Nebula briefly stalled in its eternal churning Even from here Randidly could sense the massive concentration of significance
If it’s this horrifying from this distance Randidly gritted his teeth But he forced his feet to move forward joining the flow of bodies around him It makes sense why someone would be driven mad by it That power
Randidly followed the path for about ten minutes of winding walking The sparse stream of people became a rapid river of bodies as the portals around them continued to activate and add their passengers to the flow A massively muscular humanoid stepped directly in front of Randidly blocking his path His rather undersized and bald head looked down at Randidly from between his massively over muscled shoulders The effect was a bit like an apple sitting between two cantaloupes Then the humanoid sneered at him and strode forward
Perhaps because he was busy internalizing all this new information about the Nexus it took Randidly several seconds to realize that he had just been insulted When it finally hit him he blinked and snorted out a gust of laughter at the humanoids back
But now that he had noticed it he could start to sense that there was an increasingly competitive edge to the crowd around him As more people arrived there was less space for them all Especially as they approached the plaza with the large scale teleportation formation the various figures seemed determined to make themselves out to be the top dog on this relay one of six hundred similar relay platforms
Perhaps the sheer scale of the two golden suns above them made these ants try their best to feel meaningful At the edge of the horizon the dark and hunch form of the Nexus sat like a disapproving moon
Around Randidly there were several lightning fast collisions of images as various individuals postured against each other And ultimately Randidly was rather stunned all of the people around him were incredibly weak Basically any of the individuals in the top eight duos of Expira would have been a dominant force here Which was perhaps proof that RandidlyÆs attempts to strengthen ExpiraÆs development worked but wasnÆt this a little much
How did these people use images like this to pass the Calamities Or were they special cases like me that were invited before the Calamities No that seemed even more unlikely
A few aggressors came for Randidly and the comfortable bubble of space that he maintained around himself but unlike the first humanoid who seemed completely oblivious the traces of RandidlyÆs physicalized image meant that most challengers quickly balked and backed off Randidly grinned Although most people here were pretty weak their Perception wasnÆt too bad
When they finally arrived at the platform there was something of a queue for the massive central teleporter Randidly would have been content to wait but he caught sight of that muscular humanoid strutting forward toward another uniformed NLC employee at the front of the line Hey you Do I really need to wait for this WhatÆs to stop me from just flying toward the Nexus myself
The employee didnÆt seem impressed at all by the humanoidÆs bluster He simply chuckled Heh If you have to ask whether you can do it you cannot ItÆs just one of those things
The humanoidÆs expression darkened You
But further conversation was cut sharply off as a figure flashed downward and slammed into the crowd Most people were taken completely by surprise so Randidly had to use his metal left arm to guide bodies lightly to the side as they were blown back toward him The muscular humanoid was knocked forward toward the employee who grinned wickedly and brought his arm around in a brutal hook that slammed into the humanoidÆs stomach
The humanoid slumped to the side almost insensible from the pain The employee laughed Like I said if you have to ask you cannot
A violent place Randidly observed
Meanwhile the figure that had slammed down amongst the group resolved itself into Octavius Shrike His rhinoceros horn gleamed coolly in the golden light it was clearly freshly polished The officious looking Rhinoman cleared his throat Apologies Mr Ghosthound I didnÆt mean to make you wait If you would please follow me
Everyone turned to look at Randidly with wide eyes
Chapter 1493
Randidly examined the piece of Aether Architecture that Octavius Shrike used to navigate them directly onto a deeply hidden Nexus Way on the relay platform and buoy them quickly toward the Nexus It was much more sophisticated than the minor thing that Lyra had given Randidly it seemed being the Overseer of an entire Cohort came with quite a few perks But unfortunately the structure was too delicate for Randidly to try his hand at adjusting his own
Congratulations Your Skill Aether Detection has grown to Level 228
Randidly was somewhat disappointed that he didnÆt have much of view as they moved quickly toward the Nexus along the Way but supposed the sightseeing could wait until later The two didnÆt talk much after Octavius had told him they were heading to see the original Vualla who now went by the name Edraine they both understood that once they arrived there would be a lot to talk about