Of course Randidly didnÆt have much of a break even when the tournament was paused A majority of those two days was devoured by the bloated schedule of meetings and planning sessions that Tatiana insisted on in order to prepare Kharon for the up coming governmental change So Randidly was running between meetings with Gertrude and Sam talking about the function and purpose of Keystones and then listening to Wolfram carefully explaining the predicted issues for KharonÆs growth in the next two years all the while feeling like he should have dedicated a Skill or two to management
But realistically this might be the last chance he had to deal with such issues for a while so he didnÆt take the time to learn one
After much contemplation and reflection Randidly approved the proposal to recruit more contractors and specialists into Kharon and streamline the probationary process for entering the city His original fear was that his image would be too deeply ingrained in the city and therefore it was best to keep KharonÆs population small but Randidly was gradually realizing that his original premise was not true
Because with the tournament giving him a sense of perspective Randidly realized that the people of Kharon didnÆt necessarily internalize his image Rather than teaching them his image directly it was indeed true that Randidly had been setting himself up in an antagonistic role with the Eidolon Crucible If anything KharonÆs image more closely resembled the remnants of the Redemption Battlefield than Randidly himself It was chaotic and heterogeneous with an oddly pure determination serving as his base
Sensing the waves of those images mixing and mingling in the city Randidly felt oddly lonely He stood at the edge of his island and pushed the surrounding moonlight spirits away so he could look down at the city he had made
Somehow I can understand why Shal took me on as an apprentice even though I was a stranger in that Dungeon With that thought Randidly began to chuckle The steady laughs continued until finally escalating to a knee slapping guffaw
After all the effort I put into creating a place that could inspire the world and not infect it with my images seems like it didnÆt end up mattering Gradually RandidlyÆs smile disappeared Instead he became solemn as he looked more deeply at the bubbling metropolis below People flowed freely from Kharon into the Orchard and vice versa The many merchants of Kharon were ecstatic finally able to reliably sell off their stock of specialty products Some even were pushing for Kharon to set up a permanent location and settle down
And after learning that RandidlyÆs worry that his city would closely carry his image wasnÆt an issue he was slightly tempted to allow that permanence Randidly pivoted slightly his gaze sliding across the construction for the reinforced arena to the temporary restaurants and food stalls to the new construction where the Orchard was erecting a suburb around the base of Kharon There was something reassuring about human settlements More than personal strength these edifices were a physical representation of humanityÆs strength
Randidly raised his gaze higher and looked toward the Northeast The tall buildings of the Orchard were fingers reached up to the sky Cities were the hands with a thousand fingers that allowed humanity to grip the vital levers of the world
Despite the power of the monsters that had come to Earth the people have adapted We have reaffirmed our place on this planet
Looking at the eaves gutters glass windows the hundreds of electric lights the ornate wooden doors and level paving on all the roads leading into the city Randidly gradually shook his head As he did so Yggdrasil the Grim Chimera and the Stillborn Phoenix stood with him This isnÆt enough Being reassured misses the point There are four Calamities coming This I suspect this amount of strength is only enough to defeat the first one
Randidly stood there and looked down As he let his eyes unfocus from the details it was only image that spiraled before his vision The images of so many people even when several people were present that possessed about 100x as much potency as others was a confusing mixture of so many influences that the resulting sensation was neutral It was a landscape of greys and softened edges The images robbed each other of their dangerous cravings and pure beliefs This was a humanity that didnÆt know its future
And although it was a hard truth oftentimes people couldnÆt find the correct Path forward without a concrete threat to whip them away from complacency But once the Earth was named in the eyes of the Nexus things would begin accelerating forward The System would come to collect the interest it was owed
Congratulations Your Skill Conviction of the Smiling Horror has grown to Level 345
Randidly stood at the edge of his island and monitored the images below until Tatiana approached him She glanced around to make sure there was no one else present and then took several sharp steps forward to stand on RandidlyÆs left Her amber eyes were bright as she scrutinized the ground below But then she turned to Randidly and tilted her head to the side Penny for your thoughts
Have I done enough Randidly asked lightly He entwined the metal fingers of his left hand with the fleshy ones of his right Purple black flames ignited in his eyes as he attempted to peer forward into the future and couldnÆt seem to glean any clues from the inert mass of images before him
On the plus side at least humanityÆs current position is stable Randidly mused
Tatiana chuckled You know those sorts of questions can only be answered in retrospect WeÆve done our best to predict the issues but itÆs the most likely the problems that we havenÆt considered that will make or break our efforts We can only prepare and stay vigilant
Our efforts ThatÆs true ItÆs not just me I came with the vision but I could never have accomplished this alone Randidly rolled his shoulders and then nodded slowly to Tatiana so what am I late for now
Sensing the change in RandidlyÆs mood Tatiana produced a clipboard and made several lightning fast notes Technically You are exactly on time But I want to make sure you stay that way Oh and I wanted to confirm that after this the Order Ducis will spend one day administering a round and then one day off until the championship So the final will be in 10 days
Randidly stretched his arms upward He had been doing this with Tatiana for several weeks he wasnÆt going to allow her to lull him into agreeing to something tiresome without good reason DonÆt try and hide it whatÆs up
I know it isnÆt something that you would usually do but since you would be leaving Earth soon anyway I have scheduled something special for you TatianaÆs eyes were glittering DonÆt you want a wider audience This would be your chance
Inwardly Randidly sighed
The two day break finished and the matches resumed
After the match Huang Li stood in front of the bathroom mirror and carefully wiped the blood off of his face His lips were crusted with it around the spot where he had been forced to chew on his bottom lip in order to remain conscious Even now his hands were slightly trembling as he held the damp cloth But as he looked at his reflection and carefully controlled his face to appear neutral he couldnÆt keep the fingers of his left hand from tightening on the porcelain of the sink
He had done it While Huang Shou had been completely aloof Huang Li had been able to win another match and push them into the top 32 duos due to his own strength Regardless of whether they could continue to the next round this result was proof
Huang Li stiffened Then he flexed his hands and rinsed the bloody rag under the cool water from the faucet Pink water was flushed down the drain IÆm inside Grandfather Is there something you need