He hadn’t kept the Skill active for long enough to have an effective answer but it did occur to Randidly that it might be useful to talk to some people who were involved in weaving mundane materials while he was still on Earth He had been rather busy practicing weaving with Nether but it couldn’t hurt to have some actual experience as a base
But that can wait for later For now
Yggdrasil spread its leafy branches over RandidlyÆs head to begin the steady erosion of the headache that had taken root in his temples Waves of calming energy flowed up through the Earth and then through YggdrasilÆs pulsing golden roots The leaves rustled releasing a relaxing noise Randidly stood and stretched allowing the soft and invisible radiation of his image to soak into his skin
Congratulations Your Skill The Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil has grown to Level 231
As the pain eased Randidly could gradually focus on the small details of his image around him He stood with his eyes closed in the shadowy valley and felt the golden roots tracing the edges of the stony ground and squirming their way to complete domination of the area Even in darkness the leaves were almost luminously vibrant with life Yggdrasil became the center of an ecosystem of energy spurring the entire valley toward new growth
Randidly hummed as he observed the way energy cycled through the Earth and sky through the branches roots and trunk of the World Tree Then that energy became a part of the winding inscriptions and radiated back outward richer and more potent It sank into the ground and clouds and enriched the surroundings Yggdrasil became a natural filter for energy in a way that made him smile Randidly allowed the process to continue his attention turning to the details of his image
He adjusted the shape and noise of the leaves His consciousness followed the slender stems of the leaves as they stretched outward from the branches Randidly carefully heightened the rough surface of YggdrasilÆs bark He wove the growth and joy he had tasted during the tournament into the radiated energy
More than just filtering energy he added the slightest hint of that amorphous human concept of homeÆ
Detail by detail Randidly continued to work toward an image that could match the monsters he had met from the Nexus YggdrasilÆs branches stretched high up into the air seeming to hold up the shadow that covered the entire valley Dawn still dithered allowing Randidly to continue without rest
Releasing a breath Randidly moved on to the Grim Chimera As he focused on this other image the musculature along his body flexed and shifted Perhaps due to the new additions of the Nether veins running through his image body the physical manifestation had intensified
As Randidly became the Grim Chimera he felt the limbs of his arms and legs crack and shift Gritting his teeth he endured the pain as his limbs lengthened and thickened Tremors continued to run through his torso as small adjustments were made Organs were rearranged By the end of it Randidly was hunched over slightly with his newly elongated left arm reaching the ground With his bone spear of a right arm he drew small circles on the ground
The two tails Randidly possessed lengthened as well the lower tail thickening significantly as well In the past he could have used it like a whip but now the tightly interlocking segments of bone could smash as well as they could cut He took a tentative step forward and marveled at the way it naturally flicked to the side to keep him balanced
Yet the most striking change was his breath When Randidly breathed out a semi luminous fog flowed out between his lips In the dark valley his new breath immediately illuminated the cracked and warped surroundings with a sickly glow Like a broken glow stick the light of his breath slowly faded into nothing But for a few seconds the wicked curl of the Grim ChimeraÆs smile was visible to anyone watching
Chapter 1467
Miss Gertrude Collins was having an extremely wonderful twenty four hours The previous night she had met with Derek Moss and had a lovely steak dinner Afterward they had gone on a walk with Tim and allowed the pre teen to talk excitedly about his training with Randidly Ghosthound Apparently they would soon be traveling far to the South to choose a small chunk of land for Tim himself to engrave So Gertrude had delightedly answered TimÆs questions about the most aesthetically pleasing landscapes
At the end of the date Derek had squeezed her hands a little too tightly and given her a lingering peck on the lips that had Gertrude practically floating home Along the way she scolded herself playfully for behaving like she was one of the children she taught but couldnÆt shake the stupid grin from her face
One unexpected positive about the System was that you werenÆt obligated to even make an attempt to fall asleep in order to be functioning the next day you would probably function fine with or without sleep So then Gertrude allowed herself to experience a hormone fueled explosion of lesson plan production that often deviated into slightly scandalous daydreaming The lesson plans were a project that had been half finished for several weeks so she was quite pleased to make a sizeable dent in it
And the reason that Gertrude stopped working on that project was not that she ran out of steam but rather that the smell of raspberry scones from the bakery next door wafted in through her open window early the next morning She then went to the window and leaned out of the street breathing deeply through her nose A few passing moss spirits noticed her and made a beeline for Gertrude spinning playfully around her head
So with moss spirits in tow she walked down and bought herself several fresh from the oven baked goods She kept them in a wicker basket until she left the shop and then began to rapidly devour everything she had bought
By the end of the street her basket was empty and Gertrude shook her head ruefully An unexpected negative from the System was how quickly you could finish an amount of food that would have been perfectly satisfactory before the System But still she supposed it was balanced out by the fact that your body was impossibly efficient at burning fat
Then she toured the parks where KharonÆs huge throng of students was being taught pleased to see that engagement had tripled from its previous levels based on the recommendations she and other education experts had given to KharonÆs government Teachers put on demonstrations and the students gathered around to watch and ask questions Gertrude had walked around and helped where she could finally feeling like what she did here truly mattered
Then she had a lovely lunch of cucumber sandwiches with Tatiana at which she had confessed that she still sometimes felt a little starstruck when she was interacting with Randidly Tatiana had rolled her eyes poured Gertrude a tall coffee and then began to tell her the story of the night that she and Randidly first met
I donÆt mind admitting that at that time I was the head of a group of high end escorts servicing Zone 1Æs elite Tatiana had said And Randidly was making big waves in the metal smelting circles across the entire Zone So I was brought in to try and schmooze him I had planned to make conversation with him but he stayed locked up in a sunroom with two of the older metalworkers and just talked about chemical reactions and melting points for most of the night By the time he had finished the party was winding down and most of the other people were spreading apart And then right as I try talking to him
Tatiana gestured like she was throwing something underhand Somepne attacked with a Mana grenade And RandidlyÆs attention switched so fast from me to that bomb that I knew exactly how little of an impression I had made on him And the intensity of his gaze as he looked at the grenade Calm as a cucumber Randidly grabbed the unstable bomb out of the air and tossed it into the pool we were at a penthouse suite The resulting explosion destroyed the pool and ruined several of the floors of the building The owner was livid
And Randidly Ghosthound walked away as though this was the most normal thing in the world At that time violence wasnÆt quite as normalized as it is now So while most people were still fleeing and in shock from the explosion he had returned to work I think the next day he developed the schematics for a new drone The attack didnÆt even register on his radar ThatÆs just who he is