The matches before even to HeliosÆs casual observation had been rather straightforward But truly these last sixteen individuals were overwhelming
well fifteen individuals and a horse
Still Helio was not someone who enjoyed violence The tournament was simply a necessary evil That was the sort of world they now lived in
But Zone 32 is pretty much the clear winner Evater said with pride We have six out of the top eight spots
Liam grimaced Yes well five of those six are duos with ties to Donnyton And Donnyton is special
IÆm honestly surprised no one from a bubble city made it even to the top 16 Evater rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke They are supposed to be pretty powerful arenÆt they People said they would move into the Zones and push regular Classers out of military roles But where the hell are they now
People from the bubble cities come in two types Liam announced His sausage like finger hit the table Murderers and layabouts Neither has any real sense of morality The strong ones are the criminals so the Order Ducis crushed them without any restraint as soon as they scuttled into civilized lands The rest are too lazy to make anything of themselves oh Helio you are a special case You do pretty well for yourself running this shop right Keep up the good work
Helio smiled politely but didnÆt comment He had come from Mexico City before moving to the Orchard And more than anything else he was a professional He pulled down the sugar and added a handful to the bowl of lemon juice
Mark my words Cleary said again ignoring LiamÆs prior comment Her narrowed eyes flicked to the door The door remained shut Zone 7 will get a spot in the top four That attack was breath taking They can make it
No Ning raised her head slightly She met HelioÆs eyes and shook her cup Then she turned back to the other three at her table and shook her head Paolo and Kayle
With those words and the sight of Helio once more returning with the pitcher she returned her focus to the task of annihilating the remainder of her lemonade The others looked at her with sympathy Paolo and Kayle had faced and defeated the representatives of King Phirun in the prior round and Ning had lost quite a lot of money
But privately Helios agreed with her assessment Paolo and Kayle are very strong
The table considered that Finally Evater sighed They might be Legend tier too I bet their images are strong But donÆt you think the winner will be Lucifer That GiulianaÆs no slouch either
I just want to know why the hell they put Alana and Hank on the same side of the bracket Cleary grimaced They were my picks for the finals right when the tournament started How dumb can the Order Ducis be Did they think someone on the other side of the bracket can rival them
Paolo and Kayle Ning said again Slurrp
Helio poured more lemonade into her cup with a completely straight face
Chapter 1452
Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 279
The notification was a welcome indication of RandidlyÆs tireless progress on his most recent ploy to dismantle the System pilfering the weight of this tournament by being better than the Nexus at its own ancient game of copying Nether That glee was somewhat diminished by the realization that he would be relying on the small scale of the theft to keep the System from noticing and by the fact Randidly didnÆt know what the System did with the weight but it was still a good feeling to be legitimately working against the Nexus
But despite his general optimism his face creased into a frown as he looked at the working before him He waved his hand and dismantled the sweeping tapestry of Nether that he had been creating for the last several hours the project was ultimately a failure The inky threads ripped and dissipated in only a few seconds as he steadily recalled all the Nether into his body
Randidly looked toward the east where the veil of night was rapidly lightening toward a dreary grey morning and sighed Below both Kharon and the Orchard were slowly humming to life in preparation for the four matches that would happen today Restaurants opened and gambling halls adjusted their odds for a few last minute gamblers
I didnÆt make it in time Randidly said to the air The weave of the Nether still isnÆt tight enough The result is too thick Damnit I hate time crunches
Grumbling to himself Randidly stepped off the side of his island and dropped silently down toward the ground Even if he didnÆt yet feel confident stealing away the weight of the tournament he wasnÆt displeased with his progress over the last day Even if it was just his familiarity with Nether the repeated experiments and attempts were drastically transforming his understanding of the mysterious energy The more he wove with the substance of Nether the more Randidly began to have some ideas about how he could create the Nether equivalent of a Class
He didnÆt have anything concrete yet But he at least had some viable ideas worth investigating
Congratulations Your Skill Hallucination of the Bloodless Heart has grown to Level 276
Right before Randidly smashed into the ground like a human sized bomb the Stillborn Phoenix spread its imaginary wings and released a silent cry toward the sky ItÆs twisted will warped space decelerating Randidly and letting him alight almost gently against the ground without any disturbance to the surrounding area Randidly narrowed his eyes breathed deeply through his nose then set off along one of the side paths around the arena It was only about 5 A M but it seemed that the air here was already thick with the scents of food
Which was good because Randidly felt like having breakfast
In a raw lack of self control RandidlyÆs stomach rumbled What was even worse was that his physically enhanced body produced a noise that was closer to a bearÆs growl than to a usual stomach gurgle The sound was so unexpected that Randidly could help but laugh He felt somewhat lucky that no one else was yet on the street with him
He picked up his pace as he strolled toward the nearest source of a good smell while simultaneously checking his messages
He had received three messages that required his attention The first was from Tatiana continuing her dutiful tailoring of all of KharonÆs news so that Randidly could skim through and make key decisions regarding his city It was almost too easy to understand the issues from the reports Truly her dedication to her role was somewhat humbling to him This time the specific focus was the first ever Kharon Board Election which would occur tomorrow the next break day
In case Randidly missed her general opinion of the timing by her framing of the concerns Tatiana laid it out very clearly at the end of her message Having the election now is begging the Zones to take a swing at influencing us A government should above all do its best to provide healthy and intelligent options for its population and allies not expect such decisions to be made irrespective of the options available
Randidly grinned as he walked up to a wooden door leaking a particularly compelling smell having the Zones try something was kinda the point
When he opened the door the scent within was even more appetizing than he had anticipated Randidly couldnÆt help but lick his lips and smile widely Which he did at the exact moment that the slender tanned man standing behind the stove glanced up and met RandidlyÆs gaze Then the manÆs entire body twitched as though he had been doused with a bucket of partially melted snow
Randidly rapidly pulled in his leaking image and shifted his expression to something more neutral The combination of the hunger and the thought of these Zone bastards trying something I need to be more careful Well honestly he endured exposure to my image better than I would have expected
Ah sorry about that Randidly cleared his throat The small restaurant only had two tables and both were currently deserted Randidly stepped forward and sat in one of the cramped wooden chairs at the left table I was distracted and let a little bit of my image slip through Are you alright WhatÆs your name