BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM
Congratulations Your Skill Dodge has grown to Level 359
Randidly sidestepped following his tingling instincts The next moment another four holes were torn in his storm leaving the whole thing teetering on collapsing Luckily he could unleash a pulse of fresh energy that Randidly had absorbed from below quickly filling in most of the holes and keeping the whole operation from falling to pieces
The wind howled above him muffled by mist to the point that it sounded akin to the moan of a giant
Damnit if only I had a way to counter the force spikes directly Randidly groused watching a nearby specter being blasted to pieces by the invisible and hard to predict attacks But he could only shake his head Theoretically he had some ideas about how to make folded natural energy bombs that would detonate to counter the spikes when they struck
However he set aside those plans for two reasons First including tightly folded bundles of force within the network of energy flows inherently weakened his own storm Not to the point of being unable to persist but it was a step in a dangerous direction Even more worryingly his predictions had exact in order for the two explosions to cancel each other out If he missed an even larger hole would be ripped in his defensive array
IÆm starting to get the general pattern but there are either minute variables IÆm missing or the force spikes incorporate natural randomness Randidly looked at his left arm which ended at the elbow and smiled bitterly Which is why you
Stop looking so gloomy The spectral woman commented still staying near Randidly as the whole ground moved up the slope Her steps looked as sharp as a chefÆs knife as she shimmied diagonally to avoid force spikes What have you got to be sad about We are the ones dying over and over again not you Damn just what the hell is your body made of anyway
The rest of you well thank you for your service
RandidlyÆs heart pounded and the energy began to churn His eyes flashed open and he began to take even steps forward He couldnÆt slow now Nether spun outward and anchored the shift as he adjusted his maelstrom on the fly Wild and woven energy floes rampaged outward and then were twisted and tucked back into the pattern The wind blades cut into its flaws and made the process messy but the golden energy Randidly absorbed through the soles of his feet was enough to stabilize back at his original size
Congratulations Your Skill Philosophy of the Boundless Deluge has grown to Level 451
Congratulations Your Skill Aureate Arteries of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 480
The force spikes continued to bombard the area but now RandidlyÆs storm rebounded quickly He licked his lips and lowered his shoulders But next to him the spectral hand of the woman patted him on the back
You really take things too seriously IsnÆt it fun to improve Raise your head and enjoy the view LetÆs conquer this damned summit and have a grand party
Influence +101
There was a brief hitch in RandidlyÆs step Then he followed her advice and raised his head His senses receded somewhat from the convoluted loops of natural energy he manipulated and he simply looked upward The mist in front of him churned and writhed Near constant force spikes drilled down through the restrictive barrier leaving the mist impediment looking like swiss cheese And through those holes Randidly occasionally caught a glimpse
Sunlight He said to himself And not just any sort of sunlight but a well of power that mirrored all that pure golden radiance he absorbed from the base of the mountain A hint of the deep power of this place sitting both deep in the ground and in the sky
Despite himself Randidly smiled His feet carried him forward dragging the rest of him and his cloak like storm upward The summit huh
But eventually even his feet paused
In front of Randidly the mist parted and revealed a wide stone path around the edge of the mountain He raised his head and laughed the sound echoing behind him on the slope Despite the barrage he had endured from the force spikes he had made it he had completely passed through the Third Step
He could barely move his arms and his feet were numb But he had made it
Yet just as quickly as he experienced the clean joy of triumph he also sensed something was wrong with the situation The conducive fake Nether immediately stopped at the edge of the mist The pathway that Randidly could see was another transition area untouched by the Grand Pattern He turned around and found all the specters relying on his Nether looking at him with expressions of fondness
Like the woman the longer the other shades had stayed near him the more their features had returned So an eclectic mix of humanoids beast people aliens demons and minotaurs bowed in thanks for what he had given them They stood within the coiling strands of mist just outside of the reach of the sunÆs rays
RandidlyÆs mouth is dry as something finally occurred to him You canÆt move on to the next Step
Of course not The woman remained cheerful even at the end As her features returned her hair had turned silver and luminous Or perhaps that was just the effect of being a specter Our Path is to struggle here due to our prior failures YouÆve been a big help though I canÆt ever remember actually reaching the limit of the Third Step before
You canÆt remember anything at all damnit Randidly bit his lip His chest was tight The parting was unexpected and sudden They didnÆt know each other with any sort of depth but they had worked together toward a goal Had it not been for the remnants here RandidlyÆs ascent would have been much more difficult
But he knew that the nameless woman would scold him if he let any of his sadness show So he offered them a wide smile and a half bow Thanks for your assistance IÆll take it from here
Wave at me from the summit Randidly Ghosthound The womanÆs features began to fade as though she had released her grip on the Nether foundation he provided Her face became smooth and blank even as her voice still echoed IÆll be waiting
Randidly turned away to hide the ache in his heart and walked out of the mist Immediately the bombardments stopped and his natural energy melted away The physical restrictions slowly started to grow But he didnÆt dwell on those things He simply walked forward moving until the natural curve of the path blocked off his view of the path he had taken to get here
After about ten minutes he couldnÆt help himself He stopped and turned around hoping that he had made a mistake But he found exactly what he expected he had traveled so far that he could see nothing around the bend of the mountain His convoy had vanished fading back into the realm of memories He could only look down off the cliff and see the churning mist below the lingering sign of the strange shared experience he had in the Third Step
Randidly wiped away a tear and refocused Alright this time I have twenty four hours before the shift from 30% restriction to 40% is completed In that time itÆs time to consolidate my understanding IÆm not sure whatÆs waiting in the Fourth Step but I gave my word IÆm making it to the fucking summit
Chapter 1814
The breath came in through his nose and out through his mouth finishing its existence as a powerful jet of steam over the sharp mountain cliff Despite the seething storm Randidly just left he found himself at peace The sensation of sunlight on his skin as he meditated on the grey cliff was oddly relaxing
Randidly had his activities in this longer recovery window all planned out The restriction progression was much slower than the prior iteration he had a full 24 hours to adjust before moving forward And truthfully as the physical restriction coiled around him and accumulated toward 40% he was quite uncomfortable Randidly Ghosthound embraced discomfort willingly on his journey to the summit
He reviewed his plan as he circulated air through his body and released another powerful breath After resting to rid himself of mental fatigue he would spend a short stretch operating through each of his images working them more fully into their new interior restrictions and also examining how each interacted with his strengthening image physicalizations