Luckily the rest seemed to be too caught up in regarding each other warily to notice her lack of faith in their abilities The Patron of the Abyss was a pulsing purple amoeba that both the Patron of the Sun and the Patron of Blooms regarded warily leaving only Velio to step forward and speak
Now that you are all free I think itÆs time to talk about the next steps Velio said His expression began to twist As we discussed earlier there is never going to be a better time than now to strike the forces of the Nexus are in disarray Those that havenÆt yet will soon begin fighting against themselves to jockey for better position in the aftermath If we strike at some of the aggregate Aether pumps we can cripple the Nexus
Touching the Aether lines will draw the attention of Elhume without delay The Patron of Blades said quietly His eyes were intense with an obvious desire to act but he shook his head at the prospect Despite everything else perhaps because of how he betrayed us itÆs obvious that we cannot face him directly Without a better plan than hacking at the Aether supply we should remain in the shadows and gather information
Still we wonÆt have another opportunity Velio urged but he was stopped by a raised hand from the Patron of the Sun
Truth be told none of us quite knows what happened back then We were betrayed yes and very quickly Elhume gave the rest of us Patrons up to appease the other factions but we were not there when the betrayal happened ThatÆs why
ThatÆs why we still live The Patron of the Abyss hissed Small orange sunbursts of orange light radiated out from its body
For several seconds there was a heavy silence Then the Patron of Blooms cleared her throat During my examination of the Nexus I discovered traces of some of our previously liberated fellows For whatever reason the Patron of FeathersÆ trail was particularly strong I believe that before we attempt to plan anything we should get a better understand of what occurred Hopefully we can capture her and figure out the current situation The Patron of Feathers was there along with the Patron of Truth and the Borrowed right at the end of the ritual
Edraine cleared her throat and spoke for the first time since they had liberated the Patrons Her curiosity moved her even as she tried to find a few concrete details that she could use in the future May I ask what do you think happened
The Patron of the SunÆs face darkened The Patron of Blooms flexed her wrapped vine body The Patron of Blades sighed
The Patron of the Abyss answered her Elhume must have run out of power He felt his limits and considering his pride likely panicked So he devoured the Patron of the Borrowed the weakest of us and the Patron of the Truth the most trusting of us to accomplish his mad desire
Congratulations Your Skill Natural Insight has grown to Level 401
Congratulations Your Skill Cutting Tides of Amenonuhoko has grown to Level 515
Congratulations Your Skill Natural Insight is absorbing your insights Synchronicity detected
Congratulations Your Skill Natural Insight has evolved into Philosophy within the Boundless Deluge Skill Levels will be maintained Your ability to recognize patterns has greatly increased Your touch has the slightest hint of charm to loose natural energy Effects increase with Skill Level
Congratulations Your Skill Conviction of the Celestial Cataclysm has grown to Level 570
Randidly cackled he couldnÆt help himself He had closed the distance between himself and the storm The feeling of having the capability to resist directly was a good one
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BooM BOOM
He jogged forward standing in the middle of his hijacked wind blade orb His hands and tail were in constant motion orchestrating the waves of natural energy that resisted the constant bombardment from the storm At this point the clouds had darkened to a pure black It lingered above him like an inkblot The consciousness at the core was totally focused on Randidly unleashing a constant rain of triple wind blades
Congratulations Your Skill Philosophy within the Boundless Deluge has grown to Level 402
But Randidly didnÆt mind As he proceeded forward his understanding of his of the Grand Pattern deepened and he could use his mobile maelstrom to match the attacks from above Even with the physical restriction from being forced from the path he made a steady pace However
Randidly grimaced at the space in front of him even as he continued to battle against the constant attacks Time to step onto the third tier huh
A gorge ran through the mountain in front of him The other side was cloaked in a thin mist As it had previously his perception was almost completely blocked A thin rope bridge swayed across the gap completely free of wind blades Even though it stunk like a trap Randidly refused to back down He had built up plenty of momentum
He was ready
He stepped onto the bridge that divided the second and third tiers
Chapter 1808
RandidlyÆs carefully constructed maelstrom of force melted around him as he stepped off the edge of the cliff and onto the bridge The wind blade orb dissipated as though it had never existed The remaining natural energy he had gathered seemed to melt and seep through his fingers Behind him the attacks from the consciousness slammed into the mountainside cutting deep gouges in the stone However none of the attacks came close to the moorings of the bridge
Some strange barrier divided the space based on the same principles that seemed to animate the ominous grey storm looming above him
An actual break Randidly muttered as he took several steps forward and no attacks came But as he proceeded across the creaky structure he felt the pressure on him steadily growing From the 20% physical restriction he had felt since leaving the path it began to steadily edge upward
Randidly pursed his lips If itÆs really based on the tier it might go all the way up to 30% in the next area
A 30% total restriction on his body especially considering his high Stats Several more steps forward didnÆt change or accelerate the rise in restrictions Which gave him some freedom to examine the surroundings a bit more closely
Randidly could feel the consciousness above him its animosity curiously wiped away churning within the confines of the rumbling ceiling Just like Randidly was being steadily restricted the storm seemed to be going through some changes as well He strolled forward inspecting the situation of his body
Absolute Timing continued to insist that he had only spent a few hours traversing through the upper portion of the second tier while his growth in already high Level Skills seemed to hint that the true time was closer to weeks Clicking his tongue Randidly continued forward to the middle of the bridge watching streams of mist pour off the opposite edge and into the gorge like the mournful ghosts of waterfalls
In the middle of the bridge there was a small sign that caught RandidlyÆs eyes It sat above a miniature square filled with the tiles that supposedly represented the Grand Pattern
For reaching this point you have earned a break In the Third Step the restriction will advance to 30% at minimum However additional time in the transition stage beyond your allotted break result in a heavier burden moving forward
Feeling the gradual increase in restrictions across his body he could understand what the sign was getting at lingering too long would increase the restrictions in the future Based on the pace of the tightening grip an individual had a full six hours to rest before they moved forward to the Third StepÆ
Randidly sat down and got into a meditative position in front of the Grand Pattern tiles IÆm not exhausted but I can feel the first signs of strain Since I have this chance IÆm not going to miss it Especially since my Grim Intuition will be restricted in the Third Step actually understanding the Grand Pattern will become paramount
although it is a bit difficult to see how this rhythm game format was developed from this fucked up storm
There was a buzzing flash as the Dungeon activated in one of the more deserted perimeter asteroids orbiting around the Nexus Despite the powerful principles at play no one noticed there was not a single soul close enough to sense the shift