Chapter 112 (2/2)

There were some things, keeping the insects he summoned, or the roots, under control, or in a specific shape, that were hard. But if he pushed, and focused, he was able to keep them on track, or at least extremely close to what he wanted.

There were other things, like keeping the insects in a ball, or lifting a boulder with the roots, that were impossible, either because of the skill level, or his current stats, Randidly wasn’t sure. But it did mean that there were a lot of places that the utilization of his skill was sloppy.

If he could succeed on all the “hard” tasks, pushing himself to the limits of his potential, he didn’t doubt that his skill level would rise, giving him even more potential to draw out. It was an endless cycle of intense training for small gains, a path of tiny steps. But for some reason, Randidly couldn’t help but grin.

This was exactly what he wanted. If there was any benefit of the system, it was that it was infinitely easier to see your own improvement. Of course, by the same token, it was possible to see the vast gap between yourself and someone else. Which could be discouraging, but it could also be motivating.

Idly, Randidly wondered what the villagers had thought, watching him fight against their squads. But he supposed it was pointless to wonder. From now on, he planned on staying away from the limelight whenever possible. Perhaps, given a few months of intensive training on Randidly’s part, the village would gradually forget about him, leaving him in peace.

He supposed he would always consider this his base. When other Newbie Villages formed in the zone, he would probably go, just to check for signs of Sydney and Ace, and also to slowly connect their villages into some sort of trade organization.

But until then…

Randidly closed his eyes, and concentrated. He was starting to get a finer sense of mana and stamina as well. It was strange, how he could feel their relatively minor influences over the strange pulse of Aether in his chest, which had become a constant companion, but he could. And he could feel how he could burn more of the resource to have an extra effect when he cast his spells. It was a small thing, extremely small. But this was, after all, an endless path of small steps.

Eyes springing open, Randidly pressed, burning as much mana as possible, a Ring of Flame exploding outwards around him.

The heat scorched the nearby ground, leaving charred parts of the ground. Grinning, Randidly flexed his fingers, and began moving back through the 20 steps of the Footwork of the Spear Phantom. Intermittently, he would release Rings of Flame, blowing damage outward. Dawn was rising above him, but Randidly did not pause, he did not tire. Because he craved to see the end of this path he was on.

So he would tirelessly continue forward.

*****

“Excuse me.”

Alana looked down, surprised to find the small, strange girl that was always hanging around Arbor. As always, her cheeks were smeared with ash. Her brother, as he always did, was hanging around with a worried look on his face.

What was strange was that in her hands, the girl appeared to be holding a glowing seed of fire. And there was an anthropomorphic rabbit standing next to her, looking at Alana nervously.

Alana coughed into her hand so as not to stare. “...Er, yes?”

The girl nodded seriously. “We’ve been given an important mission by the Ghosthound. I need to escort this Ambassador, and this gift, back to their village. Will you call one of the squads over to guard me?”

Frowning, Alana looked at the Ambassador Rabbit. He smiled weakly back at her. Alana’s eyes returned to the three individuals in front of her. “....an Ambassador…? Where is he from?”

The Ghosthound’s name gave her some pause, and this strange girl certainly had some connection to him due to her relationship with his plant, but… Alana was still slightly suspicious. Why, exactly, did this person look like a rabbit…?

The girl pointed towards the Classer compound. “It’s right this way; follow me.”

Bemused, Alana followed the determined girl. As they walked through Donnyton, Alana saw Devan and his squad, and flashed him a hand signal. Due to their long hours together during their trip to Franksburg, they had hashed out some basic silent communication. Not that it ended up being necessary, because they were so much stronger than the people there. But it was a good way to pass the time.

Instantly, Devan said a quiet word, and his squad moved forward to surround Alana.

When he arrived at her side, he asked. “What is it?”

Alana ruefully gestured to the girl. “Apparently we are on a diplomatic mission, a la the Ghosthound. Guard the weird rabbit man, bring a gift to his village, something like that.”

Much to her annoyance, as soon as Devan heard the Ghosthound’s name, his face eased, and he nodded tranquilly. His whole squad followed suit, and they spread out further, surrounding the two children and rabbit in a protective formation. Abruptly, she regretted bringing up the Ghosthound. After all, she had no evidence that this was actually a mission from him. If they ended up going on some wild goose chase…

Embarrassed, Alana wasn’t sure whether to speak up. While she was struggling inwardly, they marched into the Classer compound, and headed towards the center. Multiple squads were training, but they parted quickly after seeing the group of them. After all, Devan and Alana both had quite a bit of influence, and the girl’s face was known around Donnyton as being related to the magical tree.

But the second looks they received were because of the floppy eared man glancing around nervously. Still, although it was an unusual sight, after exposure to the system, people weren’t moved enough by the rabbit man to investigate further, and they swiftly refocused on their training.

They swiftly arrived at the zone where the entrance to the kept dungeons were, where a line of people waited, but the girl lead them past that. As she walked forward, she approached a strange circle of stone on the ground that Alana had never seen before. The girl turned around and smiled.

“It’s right through here.” The air shimmered behind her.

Then she turned forward, and took another step. The air rippled like water, and the girl disappeared. The Rabbit followed her a second later. After a small glance between themselves, the two leading members of Devan’s team followed, stepping forward and disappearing.

“Uh…” Alana began, but after a few seconds, one of those two reappeared, gave the all clear signal, and then stepped back into nothingness. Devan and his squad quickly marched into the strange void, disappearing before her.

“Uh………” She looked around. No one appeared to have noticed their group had vanished. Donnyton was a busy place, with squads constantly coming and going, training and disappearing into dungeons. So their actions would probably not attract much notice…

Should she report this to someone…? But if the Ghosthound really did send them to do this, perhaps everyone already knew…?

Feeling something was out of place, but unsure of what to do, Alana stepped forward, and was teleported to another world.