Randidly looked down at his hands as he flexed his fingers The sensation his new Nether Core provided for him was a strange one As his Nether wove itself out into the storm he could briefly transform the disparate pieces into seeds for their own pattern The flood of sensations that resulted was dizzying even for Randidly Then these patterns could unleash new patterns spreading endlessly out into the surrounding air like a virulent plague
Eventually he brushed up against the edges of his Scope but the entire operation quickly collapsed underneath its own weight and his half hearted follow through Again the main problem was that Randidly didnÆt want to grip the surrounding space with the full force of his Nether releasing some of his significance assisted Kharon Academy students but that was a very different thing than weathering the full Weight of RandidlyÆs Nether Core
After the evolution of his Nether Core to Legendary he had a renewed appreciation for how much damage his Nether could do to any substance less durable than his body
However another problem was actually understanding the way the patterns cascaded outward Randidly had believed he understood organic energy systems relatively well but his experience centered on small scale battlefields When he spread his Nether out to the limit of his scope those previously simple interactions became almost self defeating Small amounts of radiation from the patterns began to weigh heavily against certain portions of the whole which could then destabilize everything
Randidly hummed to himself then pulled the flows of Nether back to within his body It was time to meet Claudette he could find a more desolate location and push his limits without worrying about the consequences after
He opened a portal directly to an antechamber as he had been directed by Claudette A man wearing a shroud was already kneeling on the ground when Randidly arrived He raised his head but did not look directly at Randidly as he spoke Master Ghosthound we have been expecting you Please follow me to the tea chamber The rest of the guests have already arrived
Randidly kept his face neutral even while composing a message to Claudette Other guests
Neshamah Rex The reply came quickly Have you spurned her romantic advances or something The woman is desperate to get some face time with you Her political clout is useful but Randidly I hope you know I never wanted you to sell your body for me
Randidly couldnÆt help but snort
Randidly decided to ignore him and walk forward even as Don Beigon cheerily rolled back up the ramp behind him and kept up a constant stream of compliments Truly looking at you is to lay your eyes on the figure of a hero In all my years in the Nexus I havenÆt seen a similarly talented individual Your rise is meteoric
They passed onto an upper walkway with emerald seahorses the size of dogs peeking out of side corridors to look at the pedestrians In front of them Randidly could see a silver pavilion which was probably the location of the meeting
But you know
Randidly paused in his walk The DonÆs tone had changed He pivoted on his heel and looked at the old man in the bamboo wheelchair that had stopped behind him The DonÆs eyes were extremely sharp as he looked at Randidly You are of course invited to my third Mille party I would be disappointed if you did not come considering how successful youÆve been recently But let me remind you of two things
The air around the Don shimmered as intense emotional force gathered with enough potency to warp the physical realm Despite the cool sapphire water RandidlyÆs skin prickled with wariness This is why we spent so much time and effort training Because the top figures of the Nexus are monsters
First you cannot use the debt I owe you to affect the issue of Claudette She will be devoured without the proper protection And as her father I will pay any price to keep her safe Second a Mille is a thousand I have three Skills that have reached one thousand I can only think of two other individuals who have gotten to their third Mille However and dearest Claudette will explain the details of this when you meet her in recognition of her improvement and your efforts IÆve made a small game to determine her fate And all of the competitors aside from yourself and Claudette have achieved their first Mille You are outmatched Randidly of the impressive talent You do not have time to close that gap
Don Beigon wheeled himself around and then head back away from the silver pavilion Yet strangely Randidly felt the intense expression on the DonÆs face even more clearly now that he couldnÆt see it The liquid around the Don began to bubble underneath the pressure of his monstrous emotions Before absolute power no amount of piecemeal accumulation can resist
Randidly grinned despite himself He refused to back down no matter how powerful the images he faced would be No matter how many Skill Levels he would need to withstand IÆve heard that before And yet I m still here So far my efforts have not been in vain
This time the Don paused To RandidlyÆs surprise the old man also had a wicked smile as he twisted around to look at Randidly That dangerous edge of his image dissipated leaving the surrounding liquid tranquil I quite like you Mr Ghosthound And you are right there is no greater accomplishment than surviving I honestly wish you luck Heh the rules of this game are quite special So do your best
With that the old man left However what kept Randidly transfixed for several seconds was the fact that nearly a third of the debt that the Don owed him vanished Randidly pressed his lips together Based on the result he truly gave me a massive advantage in the game He probably believes that the advantage wonÆt be enough to make a difference against the other competitors But the fact that he still talks about his daughterÆs fate as a game
Releasing a breath to calm himself Randidly proceeded to the silver pavilion Within three figures sat in billowing lounge hammocks made of seaweed sipping out of golden decanters and engaging in polite conversation All three looked up as Randidly entered Claudette offered him a small warm smile A man with the head of a tiger that Randidly didnÆt recognize watched him with extreme interest
Neshamah Rex bounded to her feet Then she put her hands to her mouth Oh my Mr Ghosthound youÆve already improved your Nether Core And your aura well thereÆs no need for me to wonder any longer So you are the mysterious Skull Shadow
Randidly blinked in utter confusion Skull Shadow was definitely a nickname he would remember earning
Chapter 1849
When Neshamah didnÆt elaborate on her strange and sudden nickname just kept looking at Randidly with an enthusiastic expression he eventually cleared his throat IÆm sorry but I have no idea what you are talking about Skull Shadow
She laughed and winked at him Of course of course Considering your attitude I shanÆt say any more on that subject How have you been Randidly YouÆve been quite busy recently
Randidly cast a questioning glance toward Claudette Quickly he received a message from her Skull Shadow is one of the two figures who gobbled up a significant portion of the Engraving GuildÆs Nether Lattice Compared to the other person who had been a close disciple of Lathis NÆGick basically nothing is known about Skull Shadow Many are scrambling to find out who it is The Engraving Guild is keeping its mouth shut about the issue
IÆm not sure why Neshamah thinks you are Skull Shadow but it will probably make the negotiations easier
Randidly turned back to Neshamah The most likely reason for her misunderstanding was the improvement of his Nether Core combined with a fast rise of a mysterious figure of Nether it seemed like the two factions who had the capability to form Nether Cores still thought he had utilized the method of the other to do so