SheÆs not my kid Bethyl said weakly Clearly lacking the strength to look up Her head lolled sideways Just A responsibility
The guard waved the bloody dagger lazily Alright whatever Sorry kid but oh you brought breakfast
He scooped the bacon out of RandyÆs hands and stuffed two of the strips into his mouth He talked with his mouth open nudging Randy back with his hips and lifting the last piece as his expression brightened into pure pleasure Hey Bets you want some breakfast Getting me Skill Levels must be hungry work
Randy stumbled backward still unable to process the blood and the casual denial from Bethyl The guard closed the door in their face RandyÆs lungs didnÆt seem to work leaving huge and hot gulps of air stranded in their throat
Randy stepped down from the wooden steps feeling dizzy So much blood had pooled on the wooden floor beneath where Bethyl had been pinned All they could picture was the guard hunched over like a pig lapping at the life giving liquid Their emotions began to surge at that image making RandyÆs entire body tremble
Randy felt the Skill activate but there was nothing that they wanted to do about it It was too much all of it It would be better if they could rip away a portion of what they had seen If they could just cleanse everything leaving the area spotless and pristine If the Skill would rip away Randy too
Congratulations Your Skill Thirst of the Charcoal Predator has grown to Level 101
RandyÆs eyes were glazed as the ground beneath their feet began to lose its color The air felt heavy and thick as though inhaling it expended more oxygen than it restored There was a weird ringing in their ears and everything swirled together
The world felt like the damp clay that Randy found in the hills Their hands mushed and pressed squeezing all of the details together
Congratulations Your Skill Thirst of the Charcoal Predator has grown to Level 139
The crackling of curled emerald lightning finally brought Randy back to true awareness Their face twisted in horror several meters around where they sat on the ground the red brown dirt had been leached of all color It was a stark and monochrome circle of grey a throne of unassuming bland
Above their head the small cloud being spun humming with power RandyÆs Skil scraped and scraped continuing to rush around and activate like a wild horse shown a thin strip of daylight Thirst of the Charcoal Predator demanded more and more pressing against the world and somehow stripping everything away It took the color of the ground and it sometimes took the flavor from the bacon and Randy suddenly became horrified that it would strip away those beautiful emerald lightning bolts around the small cloud Even this strange being that took pity on them would be crushed by RandyÆs presence
Yet despite RandyÆs fear the Skill was relentless in its attempts It pulled
And pulled and pulled and pulled sucking down the power and life that flowed out of that small cloud Yet even after several minutes passed even after RandyÆs vision filled up with notifications about the Skill increasing in Level even after the Skill grew tired and stuttering that thirst no longer able to suck so constantly the cloud was unaffected
What sort of timeline are we looking at How bad is the deterioration Randidly asked The clockwork gears of his mind worked weighing the possibilities That regal portion of Yggdrasil spun around him adding weight to his bearing but also grounding him After the clash with Wick he left the Nexus for the chance to grow At the moment he had no confidence that he could return and survive if Devick changed her mind and wanted retribution for her son
Because while he empathized with the Patrons he also had responsibility to the whole of the Alpha Cosmos
Right now we arenÆt exactly sure We just noticed the shift Neveah responded But from what Lucretia has said the damage shouldnÆt be permanent if the time that the Patron of Feathers remains apart is only between one and three years
Randidly blinked One to three years Well ThatÆs not as bad as I feared
After chatting a few more ancillary matters Neveah left Randidly looked over the three part island and took a deep breath He had come to train and he was definitely making progress But he had several goals and hadnÆt thought too deeply about how many he needed to accomplish before he felt comfortable returning to the Nexus
However those distant goals had been replaced with a timeline The life of a Patron hung in the balance perhaps even a key to the history of Elhume and the Nexus an explanation of the sudden shift in attitude toward Pine Some truth about the strange confrontation in the shadows of the Nexus one side headed by Elhume the father and the other by individuals like Solomon Rex who wished to protect the strange life on which they all relied
Randidly pressed his eyes closed Already he could feel significance stirring Having a looming threat tightened the spin of Nether through his body He had been making improvements in his various areas but he knew he wouldnÆt improve enough at this rate He needed to press the gas down to feel the thrill of necessity by his side
Continue with the idea IÆll leave the base of the shaft in time to save the Patron of Feathers Randidly told himself Figure out the rest later For now I need to train
So Randidly threw himself into the same tasks and time began to flow past He created Nether Patterns he refined his images he pushed through the Hierarchy of Burden he plugged himself into the grand Nether Ritual
At the same time the world spun around him He helped the strange child Randy develop their powers and comfort Bethyl when her wagon was broken into and stolen and the Ulysses and his two guards left in the night He simply provided money through Takeyhands as Randy grew more proficient with cooking
To the point that people began to purposeful make a stop at that strange corner of the badlands on their journey curious about the genius child chef
Randidly ignored Delilah creeping onto his island sneaking around the periphery and talking to some of the trainees trying to figure out a good gift for him He ignored the preparations for the tournament where the strongest of Expira gathered together He ignored the jibes thrown at Heiffal and his group by arrogant humans who thought they refused to participate in ExpiraÆs tournament out of fear
He even ignored when one of those arrogant individuals proved to have some genuine clout to back up his words and defeated Isabella Cortez of Donnyton to win the tournament He didnÆt listen to the challenge shouted by the man using his bloody hands to heft the tournament When no response came the man mocked the name of the Ghosthound
Randidly also turned a blind to a massive Frost Dragon Spire Prince stalking that young man until he left the island and then viciously thrashing him
Training consumed all of his focus With the pressure of the weakening Patron of Feathers and his own feelings of inadequacy he could push himself to his very limits
Then About eleven months after Neveah came with the news something finally distracted Randidly enough that he paused in his training he had earned enough PP to trigger his next Tithe
Chapter 1926
Randidly earned a few extra PP without even thinking about it He was so deep in the Nether patterns that he didnÆt even recognize the significance of the notification at first He just continued following the insights to new understanding
It was only after when he floated back down to himself with a sense of exhaustion and satisfaction that he looked again at the notifications in front of him and began to grin His skin tingled against the cool air
Congratulations Your Skill Motif of the Hungry Deep has grown to Level 904
His awareness filtered down to a huge turning alignment His Soulskill was a fisherman having let the net drift down into the sea of the Alpha Cosmos and lay for so long that the denizens had forgotten about it Then as soon as that final PP was earned the Soulskill shifted into readiness Adrenaline flooded through his body