She continued forward past several tables bearing casually strewn brass instruments heading toward the far corner During their journey they passed the familiar form of Sam who was bent over a table and scribbling furiously Even from a distance of about ten meters the image of obsession that surrounded Sam was potent Before Elmer could get a good look at the messy scrawl on the paper in front of the man they cut along a side path and suddenly a large pile of metal ingots blocked SamÆs figure from view
So even the great Sam is worked to the bone by the Ghosthound Elmer reflected Considering all the free time that he would soon have Elmer realized that perhaps losing this job wouldnÆt be so bad
Eventually Helen brought Elmer to a small alcove in the very back of the workshop Already waiting there were Ajax and a boy that Elmer recognized named Nathan Both smiled as Elmer walked into the room
IÆm sure you can guess why we brought you here Commissioner Helen began with her signature bluntness Immediately the vague friendliness that was in ElmerÆs heart was plunged into cold water
Elmer sighed I mean yes Based on the people assembled I think I have a pretty clear idea of what is going on And honestly I have been expecting this conversation for a while IÆm not unaware of my situation
Eh Really Helen blinked in surprise which in turn caused Elmer to be slightly thrown by her reaction He didnÆt think that he had ever seen Helen caught off guard before Even when she was fighting the Ghosthound Then Helen released a light laugh Not as humble as you appear to be eh Well thatÆs a good thing Images require certainty
That does make things much easier though Nathan said with a sigh Do you know how many times IÆve had to do my job basically without any support from the individual in question Making the arrangements as a third party complicates things immensely no one knows the images and themes that make up your Skills better than you
Even Ajax seemed somewhat pleased by ElmerÆs response Heh good The more quickly I can get back to training the better
Abruptly Elmer Arrietti became aware that something very strange was going on around him The words they were saying did not sound at all like the sort of things you would say when someone was being let go
Just as Elmer was clearing his throat to test the waters with a vague question Nathan spoke again I mean if you are all ready we can start the planning immediately Do you have any ideas
Ideas Elmer narrowed his eyes Now even his confusion was hesitating Was he perhaps right and they were now asking for his input in training the next Commissioner It was somewhat emasculating to train the next generation but hohoho this just went to show that he did possess some value for the Order Ducis hum ideas well those sorts of things are somewhat hard to put into words and I am not really a man of words I think doing it personally would be best
NathanÆs eyes widened You want you want to make your own Class entirely by yourself Without anyone else’s input I mean it is possible but I suppose I can provide you with the energy
Eh Well this Elmer Arrietti began to sweat Wait what had Nathan just said
One by one Clarissa Ed Dugg Ajax and Sam wandered out of the dining hall on the pretext of going for a stroll Then when they were sure that none of the Riders or police force had followed them they turned sharply away from GhosthoundÆs peak and loped through the darkness
A few miles away in an unassuming stretch of forest there was a cleverly disguised cabin Inside was a table and four chairs On the table was twelve columns of chips three white three green three red three black
As they arrived each individual stretched to loosen their muscles and took a seat Ed Dugg began to professionally shuffle the deck Sam brought a sheaf of papers with him that he stared at and muttered
Clarrisa sorted the chips into four piles Then she smiled around at the other people in the cabin Why not make things interesting tonight The buy in will be one favor to be accomplished while still within the Dungeon
Everyone nodded with serious expressions
Chapter 1429
As RandidlyÆs chest rose and fell steam wafted up from his overheated body His breath left his partially opened mouth in a whoosh more akin to the activation of an industrial release valve on a steam engine than any sort of human noise The whole area within RandidlyÆs reverse engineered Xyrt BrigadeÆs reflection chamber was thick with steam giving the place a strange sense of mysticism The effect was somewhat hypnotizing Outside of himself there was only the steam and the soft light from the glowing Engravings as they were poised to activate at the slightest stray thought
And within himself RandidlyÆs three images raged No other thoughts could exist at the moment or else they would be weaponized and reflected back at him by the chamber around him Randidly Ghosthound was totally focused solely on those images and keeping them only within his Soulspace Not even his mind could brush against them before he was prepared His emerald eyes were heavy and determined Before he unleashed everything he must be totally controlled
After he released another steaming breath Randidly raised his right hand Two images and Skills moved together at once Stigma of the Stillborn Phoenix The Chimera Weeps But Man Mourns
RandidlyÆs right hand was instantly covered with strange patterns as the painful stigma of the fake phoenix egg he held physically descended upon his flesh The abrupt pain forced even the experienced Randidly to twitch slightly but he did not flinch from the task At the same time his Grim Chimera Skill unleashed a lightning fast barrage of blows in the surrounding area
The light from the reflection chamber grew brighter In response to RandidlyÆs thoughts and images the chamber produced a reflection of his disturbance and threw it back at him Both sides unleashed a dozen blows in a split second
Congratulations Your Skill Stigma of the Stillborn Phoenix has grown to Level 274
Congratulations Your Skill The Chimera Weeps But Man Mourns has grown to Level 197
The blows smashed against one another and were equal in force such was the effectiveness of the Xyrt BrigadeÆs Engraving It could replicate this amount of power without difficulty But almost immediately the reflection from the sphere around him shuddered and then stopped all at once A flaw had emerged when the chamber was placed under stress The difference between the base materials between this imitation and the original was simply too great
The stone sphere that Randidly had painstakingly carved with Engraving crumbled beneath his blow Compared to RandidlyÆs physical body that had been slowly improved by his images over the last 70 days even the stone that had been nurtured by dense Aether for a week simply couldnÆt compare
Still Randidly looked down at his hand and grinned That was two images at once One step at a time IÆm getting there
Pleased with himself Randidly walked down from his peak to get some food Perhaps he should encourage Ed to shake up the mess hall menu a bit
Sam rubbed his hands with glee At this point almost the entirety of RandidlyÆs peak was covered with those chime trees They spread rapidly and eliminated any other foliage in the surrounding area creating a qualitative change for those trees at the core of the mountain The noise of their leaves became a constant companion in the valley The size of the trees increased too as the area they covered expanded so that the originally squat trees right next to the peak were now about ten meters tall
With height came lengthened shadows Toward those shadows Sam also held quite a few expectations
In order to test the depths of the chime treesÆ abilities Sam had some of the Riders gather monsters and herd them back toward their base The Riders then pushed the unwitting sacrifices into the chime tree forest and left Sam to watch the result And he was not disappointed
Compared to the stronger humans who walked amongst the trees with their heads held high the lurking six armed raccoons sensed much less of a threat from these confused monsters and struck decisively to maim and kill Then they dragged the corpses back within the chiming branches Although Sam couldnÆt exactly see what was happening he could clearly hear it