Tree branches creaked with the wind in a noise that sounded strangely like laughter Tatiana watched the tree manipulate its roots and bind its prey more tightly Casually the tree and the shadowy whirlpool seemed to be bickering Then somewhat helpless the tree used its golden root to jab in a certain direction Even Tatiana couldnÆt help but allow her gaze to be guided by the sentient plant image
And she realized with a start that the root was indicating the lumpy shadow of Randidly Ghosthound At first Tatiana was confused but then the shadow began to ripple and grow before her eyes It stretched outward from RandidlyÆs motionless form growing a shade darker for ever inch it grew outward Then it twisted and shivered before detaching itself from the ground and reaching up through itself as though it was a portal from another realm
With a great exertion something dangerous hauled itself out of RandidlyÆs shadow
By this point the shadowy whirlpool shrunk and seemed to plead with the tree but the tree just rustled lightly and refused to loosen its grip Meanwhile a monstrous and powerful figure that Tatiana recognized as RandidlyÆs Grim Chimera image completely manifested the tails at its neck and waist flicking side to side It stalked forward with a wide grin on its face its left arm stretched out to gleefully seize onto the shadowy whirlpool as though it was plucking a ripe apple
A second later both had vanished and Tatiana was rewarded for her trouble with the strange sight of the tree in front of her creaking as it forced its thick trunk to bow slightly in TatianaÆs direction With its golden roots it opened up a clear path to Randidly
Slightly bemused and still a little nervous after interacting with RandidlyÆs images Tatiana walked slowly forward Only when she was right next to her leader did she cough lightly Randidly
Huh The bubble around them popped as Randidly seemed to wake from his reverie The tree and grass vanished They were simply at the edge of his island on a dirt patch RandidlyÆs eyes were still slightly misty for several seconds as he looked at Tatiana Then he blinked and flinched Ah IÆm late arenÆt I Sorry I was just thinking about something
Tatiana bit her lip Is there a problem
What Oh no nothing to do with the Earth Randidly waved his hand Then he slapped his thighs and stood up Alright time for the preliminaries How big did this tournament end up being
Tatiana secretly released a sigh of relief Falling back to facts and figures she knew she was able to put the casual display of RandidlyÆs power out of her mind for the moment Ten thousand And thatÆs only after several exacting investigations to rule out those who were too weak to meaningfully compete
So five thousand teams Randidly rubbed the back of his neck This might take
Ah my mistake for being misleading Ten thousand teams We figured a round number was best So twenty thousand people Tatiana could only shrug helplessly Basically everyone powerful on Earth who isnÆt the head of a Zone is here to participate
shit So yea this is going to take a while Randidly sighed
Chapter 1436
Randidly stood on a wooden board that he had hastily covered in Engravings to support his weight He tapped his foot twice on the board to test it and then smiled when the Engravings began to glow emerald this would do After releasing a light breath he floated down from the edge of Kharon to hang over the sea of people who were waiting below for him to speak
It was the first day of the tournament The goal was to push through today and finish all the preliminaries
Although the number of participants had been cut down by Tatiana to only twenty thousand there were almost ten times as many people waiting below bright eyes Even if they didnÆt plan to compete far too many people came for the spectacle of this first world tournament At the edge of the vast crowd were tall platforms topped with powerful cameras Tatiana had jokingly informed Randidly that his tournament was going to be the first difficult test that the recovering broadcast companies would need to handle He was going to be a television star
The demand to see the fights and watch the most powerful individuals on Earth was extremely high Even if there were a lot of people currently who still felt that the pre System Earth was an infinitely preferable alternative to the violent present they couldnÆt deny power had become necessary They could only thrive when they could overcome the threat of monsters Subconsciously the values of the world gradually shifted under the weight of necessity
RandidlyÆs gaze swept over the crowd Compared to the immense weight of bodies below him and the size of Kharon behind him he was a relatively small figure floating between them Plus he didnÆt activate his images at all He just looked down in wonder a human standing before the weight of humanity
These people hold the future of this planet in their hands
With RandidlyÆs senses he very quickly had an accurate impression of the capability of the gathered people And what he found within the whispering sea of bodies surprised him Although he had largely been disappointed with the capabilities of the average population after scanning the Orchard the group in front of him was different
But that gradual separation of power made sense These were truly the EarthÆs elites They embraced RandidlyÆs call for images and had spent the last two years frantically training Probably more than that considering the recent bustle surrounding Dungeons There were several images present that Randidly didnÆt recognize but would be able to put up a good fight against someone of AlanaÆs caliber
These people would rag up the mean strength of Earth even while the Median remained weighed down by the majority of the population that was content to be protected
Almost instinctively Randidly bared his teeth The Nether Nebula that he had so carefully suppressed while he was within the Dungeon spun freely around him Heh although no one is a match for me individually if all of them combine their power it will be very difficult for me to win
should probably leave them with some confidence with them heading straight toward the First Calamity But still six months of image training has me itching for the chance to fight ItÆs almost become a habit
RandidlyÆs heart began to softly pound The weight of all the gazes of the people below him became weight that spun into his Nether After being thoroughly and purposefully strangled within the Dungeon RandidlyÆs Nether greedily absorbed this ambient weight until a tiny void appeared at the center of the nebula The edges were tinged with grey causing Randidly to highly anticipate how his Nebula would continue to grow If it could reach the weight of the innocuous grey bubble
But right now I have other business Randidly abruptly refocused his gaze on the light reflecting off of the lenses of the distant cameras I wonÆt be here to fight against the First Calamity I canÆt stick my fingers too deeply into this tournament that will capture the imagination of the entire world
Welcome Randidly said softly But with that word Randidly also included a wave of his imageÆs strength It wasnÆt a concrete thing Randidly didnÆt suppress the surrounding area with either the Grim Chimera Stillborn Phoenix or Yggdrasil Instead only that formless potency that made those three images terrifying spread out to cover the waiting crowd Combined with the subtle touch of RandidlyÆs Nether the weight he released on his audience was enough that he could clearly sense which individuals had hidden their powers from his initial scan
Before that weight the lurking predators subconsciously reacted before they could help themselves His eyes flashed side to side marking the people of interest below During the process RandidlyÆs smile widened This will be an interesting tournament