In terms of Tier III citizenship EdraineÆs expression turned somewhat bitter as she looked at Randidly She sighed and shook her head As hard as it is for me to admit you should be the one that uses it I believe I could still defeat you right now But for how long will that be the case In ElhumeÆs fist I saw a way to improve but your speed of accumulation is ridiculous We need two more Tier I tokens in order to make the III but we have enough genuine articles They can just be the more mundane variety which we can buy if we head back to the Nexus
So train for now get Tier III citizenship when we head back to the Nexus Randidly released a breath His skin tingled Finally some time to firm up my foundations
Chapter 1893
Raymund Ballast stood in front of whole of the Vulpis Squad with his arms folded behind his back He felt the moment building on his lips even before he opened his mouth On the one hand he knew he didnÆt have to do this He could live other lives be other people On the other he had become entirely convinced that this was the life he wanted to live A life where he paid his debts
The individual who lived this life wouldnÆt have failed his younger brother And more than anything else that was who Raymund Ballast wanted to be
The Ghosthound has seen fit to give us a reprieve He said slowly He felt the turn within himself Perhaps even now he wasnÆt the individual who could save his brother from the expectations of the elders But he could force himself into the sort of situations where he would have no choice but to become that person or die That is what he intended to do now His timeline is slow but he has some projects that need to be completed before his return to the Nexus During that time all members of the Vulpis Squad are welcome to take something of a vacation in the Alpha Cosmos To enjoy themselves to the best of their abilities considering their connection to the Nexus will be cut off The Ghosthound suspects that upon our return to the Nexus we will be under intense scrutiny and pressure He will have no margin for error
They might finally realize IÆm a threat the Ghosthound had joked when they met on his skyisland But Raymund Ballast having watching Randidly Ghosthound grow just since he taught the Elite Squad knew that it was 100% true
From the hard look in the GhosthoundÆs emerald eyes he had known it too
Near the front of the column Charlotte Wick closed her eyes Jieu Ronault stood smartly at attention his elemental body nearly under his total control Vizzeret Clamman shook his head release the oppressive pressure of an apex beast The other recruits’ eyes began to burn Perhaps they too could sense what he built toward
Some of their thoughts seemed to mirror his own Already a strange haze appeared in the wide blue sky above them
Of course as leader of the Vulpis Squad Raymund tried to keep his voice even as he spoke but emotions began to choke him up The heaviness of this choice pressed against his shoulder He thought of the look of exhaustion on the GhosthoundÆs face when he came to talk to him He thought about Techetadore still missing but also that strange certainty Raymund carried that his little brother was still alive I cannot help but observe that the Vulpis Squad has been required to do very little in the recent months In fact it was Randidly Ghosthound himself that handled the dangerous situation We have run drills Naught else has been placed on our plate
Which makes it feel quite queer to take a break right now
After observing the way KharonÆs image could weave together Raymund had some ideas of how to improve the Vulpis Squad He put those into practice now using his blazing emotions to guide the surging communal agreement of the Squad They all had been the favored but ultimately forgettable favorites and descendants of upper class residents of the Nexus They had been cobbled together into the Elite Squad to be tucked away and ended up under Randidly Ghosthound just by chance
Underneath HelenÆs and the other instructorsÆ tutelage they had rapidly grown They had been shown the way effort and hard work could change their fates as favored playthings And then had been forced to witness unable to help in those tragic hours while Helen had stoically endured torture to keep the Ghosthound out of harm’s way
After everything that he and his subordinates had done for them the Ghosthound had only asked them for a small portion of their rewards from the Nether incursion Then when the real danger had manifested itself the Ghosthound had protected them and gone on his own to face down Commandant Wick
The fact that he had eventually overcome that challenge was irrelevant to the shame Raymund felt That WickÆs image had been broken brought no one but perhaps Charlotte any joy All they understood was that when their benefactor had needed their help they had been useless to him Not once but twice Perhaps the old versions of themselves would be able to move on from these moments of helplessness able to press forward and pretend they werenÆt filled with guilt and regrets but Helen and Heiffal had forged them into warriors Warriors didnÆt shy away from danger
Yet even that wasnÆt enough Now they craved to be more than simple warriors
The tension in the air around the Vulpis Squad crackled Raymund raised his eyes giving each individual time to make their own decision To dip their toe into the shifting current and decide whether they would throw the whole of themselves into that pursuit He could practically see heat waves rising from the group as more and more firmed their resolve Emotions flowed up into the collective and gave it shape underneath the wide sky Their pure desires became fuel for it to burn hotter to settle upon the shoulders of each willing individual firming into a presence that would goad them onward to accomplish their goal
He flicked a wrist and produced the strangely textured teardrop Even now even when he used Sulfur contact with it filled him with an invigorating tingle He held the item close to his chest measuring the illumination that flickered in the core of the crystal Then he pulled a long and thin thread of Nether and ran it through the crystal
The Penance accepted the energy easily The Nether flowed out the other side relatively unchanged despite the satisfying feeling of connection that emerged Randidly pursed his lips he supposed it would be too easy if such a noncommittal effort could achieve a boost in significance
He licked his lips and sighed Then he pressed the Penance against his chest Leaving a chill in its wake it sank into his flesh and floated down to take up residence in his Nether core The crystal began to pulse like a heart superimposing itself over the rotating energy source It still remained inert and Randidly carefully examined its functions afraid to activate it prematurely Having an item given to him by a powerful force in the Nexus that didnÆt abruptly activate in an unexpected relief was almost just as shocking as the rest of his conversation with Solomon
Aside from that final lie about Alymian of course
Randidly soon found the functional portion of the Penance waiting patiently for him to pour Nether into it His attention brushed itself along that pulsing heart of light Randidly released a breath Then he shifted the Penance and his Nether Core into position settling into the one second per minute Penance
His Nether Core accelerated just slightly Cool ripples spread through his body riding along with the wave of newly refined Nether The energy felt glittering and fresh running through his body sparkling like snow runoff on a sunny dawn The strangely pleasurable sensation forced a breath out of his body
Something within him relaxed His Nether Core accelerated forward seeming to be filtering out a strange flavor that had grown heavy across the surrounding Nether
Ah the First Authority RandidlyÆs eyes glowed emerald as he looked down at his hands Then he raised his head and glanced around at the whole of the Nether storm he had created to cover the island beneath him
A portion of him acknowledged the subconscious clock that formed in his Nether Core measuring the time that he spent As minutes passed he built up a debtÆ of seconds which he would need to eventually pay The payment seemed straightforward he simply needed to relax and let his thoughts drift away For that time he would be completely inert But for the moment the shift in the surroundings interested him far more