But at the same time Sam wheeled around and glared resentfully at the bin filled with poorly executed materials It means that IÆm stuck in here with these failures staring me in the face and no one to be mad at
Sam Have you got a minute Regina knocked and then allowed herself into his workroom without waiting for a response
Sam put on an aggrieved expression it was a rule that they werenÆt allowed to do exactly this in their house However he inwardly felt a flush of warmth as he looked at his wife He coughed to hide it Hum What is it I just finished up And you know our rule
I know I know Regina flapped her grease covered fingers Then she gave him a bright smile a smile that had made him fall in love with her She sucked in a breath and spat out her new idea How would you like to take a little vacation to the South Sea
Chapter 1895
Sam examined his wife closely His lips twitched when she used the word vacation as a pretext for some adventure how is this going to be a vacation YouÆve heard the rumors the crazies are heading down there for training which you know is going to become some sort of tournament and I heard that the Purity Movement will be gathering to run a demonstration against the Ghosthound Even worse is the announcement from the Order Ducis that the connection to the Nexus will be cut off merchants were just getting comfortable enough with the exchange to really feel the sting This journey will be anything but a vacation We are walking toward heaps of work
Regina pushed up an elegant eyebrow and put her hand on her hip So Are you trying to say you arenÆt one of those crazies That you wouldnÆt do anything even ignore your family to improve
For several seconds Sam sputtered trying to get his thoughts in order He was quite tempted to head South and talk to Randidly to experience the Nether aura he created but he stubbornly resisted the urge to admit it Besides recently she had been just as quick to absentmindedly miss dinners in favor of her work
Then he looked at Regina again the glitter in her eyes and his expression softened He looked at her leather toolbelt and her greasy fingers and the fire that animated her burning through her expression in a way that she had lost in recent years now returned to its former glory Despite being one of the greatest healers on Expira she felt unfilled for a long time the System took care of most serious diseases usually reducing all other healing to a matter of available Mana to reuse a Skill over and over again
Obviously she could heal more efficiently but without purpose she had lost her sense of direction Even her various friends in Donnyton had privately come over to say a private word to Sam about it Yet after she had finally pestered Sam to teach her about forging and had begun tinkering in her own workshop
Well fine I donÆt have much choice do I Sam grumbled He wondered if he could get his hands on any of the rare seashells he had heard whispers about
Regina laughed and shook her head Not really Alright letÆs leave tomorrow You tell Sunan to pack up his things Oh have you seen him lately Sometimes I think if we donÆt keep on him he wonÆt even eat meals
Nah the boyÆs fine But IÆve been working for the last few days so IÆm not really sure where he is Have you Sam could only chuckle when Regina gave him a blank look that morphed into one of motherly worry Likely she had gotten lost in her work and forgotten
Well Sam rubbed ReginaÆs shoulders feeling the knots of tension curling themselves into small bits of muscle in the fetal position while he touched her HeÆs just twelve right How far could he have really gotten
From the way she pressed her lips together Sam understood this hadnÆt come across as reassuringly as he had meant it He cleared his throat Everyone knows heÆs related to us He promised to stay in the area around Donnyton IÆll send him a message IÆm sure heÆs fine
Randidly raised his arms and spun his fingers tracing them along the interior of the Nether Storm that hung across the island like a grey drape covered dipped in buzzing bees He sat in a pillar of pure sunlight streaming down through the clouds but the rest of the island was submerged in a shadowy half light At this point the difference in environmental significance brought clouds that churned fitfully in the sky overhead The Nether flows generated a literal storm which added a new thread of significance to this already morphing area While Randidly sat in the eye of this literal storm the rest of the island experienced the near constant embrace of shade and a soft drizzle
Congratulations Your Skill Nether Sensation has grown to Level 693
In a way Randidly could grow to enjoy the discomfort The way it felt like it had such intense luminosity that it shined through everything reducing him from flesh and blood to a simple pane of glass unable to stop the light All his other worries vanished he was just a material to be examined Or at least thatÆs what Randidly told himself as he gritted his teeth and allowed his powerful physical body to adjust slowly to the light
Tragically Randidly couldnÆt activate the Penance while maintaining the Hierarchy of Burden Otherwise he would simply allow his organs to be baked while sinking into oblivion hopefully waking up before he was orange and wrinkly on the inside He wistfully imagined such a world while doing his best to keep his movements small
Of all my Stats its my physical defense ones that leave the most to be desired Randidly thought as he examined the small moments of trembling weakness as he endured the light Endurance is still the base Stat and Uncommon Metabolism is only Uncommon Serviceable for now but IÆm only 40% through this Fatepiece I will soon need more of this Maybe thatÆs how I should spend my next haul of PP
If I could get my Endurance to something above Legendary
Shaking himself so his drifting thoughts would gather Randidly squeezed the pyramid until the sharp edges cut into his hand All his soft innards continued to burn and sizzle under the unrelenting attention of that light but it was manageable So RandidlyÆs attention moved up the pyramid into the middle the sapphire layer
He squeezed his eyes shut and forced himself forward He clenched his jaw so hard it popped His senses were stretched to the limit searching for a taste of this next challenge while also barely handling the light radiation
Congratulations Your Fatepiece the Hierarchy of Burden has grown to Level 41
In that teetering moment of experimentation Randidly felt a gulf open up in front of him The jagged edges of the opening were so shredded that he took a step back He initially panicked thinking that some powerful being had somehow drilled into his Alpha Cosmos but it became clear that it was just the Hierarchy activating And due to the fact this dangerous rift didnÆt rip a hole in the side of the volcano he knew that only he could be affected by it
Looking at it you can start to see how this represents the dangers of reaching the Pinnacle You generate an image so perfect it warps the world convincing the surroundings that it is real RandidlyÆs head throbbed that familiar sensation of his mental energy being sucked away His eyes remained fixed on the rift a small gash of darkness hovering a few meters in front of him This is the cost of that A hole ripped in the very fabric of existence an emptiness that
Randidly abruptly sat up coughing He pressed his fingers into the dirt and shifted his weight into a more comfortable position His head throbbed and he groaned as he brought a hand up to rub at the bridge of his nose Sulfur felt pleasantly cool almost heavenly so easing away the tension headache that pounded at his consciousness
The pain from his mental energy being drained was just as bad as it had been forcefully learning patterns while struggling against Devick Randidly released a long breath and waited for the surroundings to stop spinning His expression was grim as he looked down at the Hierarchy of Burden which he had dropped when he blacked out
Did it suck away my mental energy Randidly muttered His voice sounded groggy and distant He groped for the Hierarchy of Burden with his right hand and missed