Chapter 187 (2/2)

His lips twisted wryly as they finally finished the walk through the long tunnel of the huge walls, and emerged into the city. Immediately they were assaulted by the yells of merchants from all sides, and to Randidly’s surprise, Claptrap stepped forward, his expression easing. Instantly, he barked several answers to the merchants, shooing them away, and the group was able to proceed without being harassed.

They followed Claptrap, who stated that he knew a place they could stay. The buildings in Deardun appeared to be what Randidly thought of when he pictured a medieval city. Brick and stone between wooden beams, but it appeared that the buildings here were of two varieties. Normal buildings that stood squat with 1 or 2 floors, and strange buildings reminiscent of mushrooms, that were normal at the bottom, but rose higher past the normal buildings and had a large upper floor.

Randidly supposed this must be used for spear training, which was a rather space intensive activity, which might come at a premium within the city.

Due to a nagging in the corner of his heart, Randidly glanced at Helen. Although he hadn’t realized it at the time, he had probably powered that glance he had given her by his Battle Intent, which was slowly growing in level. It was not something that he should use on… a compatriot.

A friend.

Again, Randidly’s mouth twisted. Helen was just staring at the ground, appearing thoughtful. She probably had already forgotten about the look he gave her. Why had he gotten so strangely aggressive about it…? But Randidly knew. It was a male thing. To be emasculated is never a fun feeling, even when it is partially in play.

But of course, Helen didn’t play so much as harass.

They passed restaurants and vendors and armor sellers and Randidly watched with interested eyes. He still wanted to obtain some equipment of his own. He had some haphazard pieces that he had gathered on whims back on Earth, but he was looking forward to seeing the quality of armor here, on a planet that had had the system for a long time.

Still, that could wait.

They finally arrived at an inn type establishment where Claptrap knew the owner, and they were all given rooms. While Claptrap hurried away, to check on the exact start date for the Regional Tournament and to contact some locals, Randidly was finally left alone in his room. He grimaced slightly, and opened up his status menu.

He hadn’t been looking forward to this, but it was probably best to do it before the Regional Tournament started. Based on what he had been told, the difficulty would be such that it would very quickly drive up his Skill Level. And doing too many PP at once…

Over that past 5 days, Randidly had gained 7 levels in Battle Intent, 1 in Struggle, 2 in the Golden Roots of Yggdrasil, 1 in Root Control, 3 in Weeping Cloud, 7 in Extract, 4 in Cooking, and 2 in Grace.

Dutifully, Randidly poured the points into the Weeping that Falls like Rain path, moving him slowly closer to completion. It wasn’t a large jump, but it was helping. The addition of the PP caused his soul skill to stir slightly, making his chest feel decidedly uncomfortable. But there were no other ill effects.

Struck by a sudden notion, Randidly closed his eyes and pictured himself in the world of the soul skill, as the rot and ash still spun and the ground was thick with those emerald crystals, containing a strange energy. Then, he reached down and tried to use a skill in his Soulskill world. He used Extract, targeting the crystals.

After first there was nothing. Then, slowly, as if an engine was turning on, Randidly felt the skill inside of him flicker and engage, as if it was initially unsure of what he wanted, but was slowly getting the hang of it. Randidly felt his spirit blaze around him, his will pressing, holding in his mind a very clear image of what he wanted.

Remove this energy from the stones. Purge the Soul Skill. He could figure out what to do with the energy later, but for now, he just wanted to see if this was possible. He was only focusing on a tiny shard of emerald crystal, in a veritable sea of it. But it was hard, incredibly hard, as if he was reaching through thick wool with his fingers. It was hard to focus the skill to the small shard.

But Randidly struggled and pushed, narrowing his eyes, and finally he had it, and the skill engaged. Randidly’s whole body trembled, and he ripped a thin wisp of the emerald energy out of the stone. The energy wiggled contentedly, spinning around his finger, and Randidly felt a strange pleasure coming from it. The emerald crystal darkened, becoming a strangely heavy and empty stone.

Then, Randidly felt a strange trembling, and then a vicious rushing, and then blinking, he found himself back in his room, no longer in his Soulskill. Hurriedly, he looked inward, and found the Soulskill was still there, but now it was locked.

By a golden lock with a small bell.