Chapter 190 (2/2)

But it did reassure Randidly that refusing the System was the right thing. It was pretty clear that although the people of this world revered and embraced the change, a lot of their potential was being restricted by the System itself and its insidious Aether. Just like at this very moment, within his chest, his Soul Skill was still sealed off to his perception…

The other thing Randidly did was learn some things about the strange emerald wisp of energy that had taken up residence inside of himself.

When he turned his attention inward after an extended period of time training and studying, he found that the emerald light had grown exceedingly dim, and had faded to a tiny spec. It also responded very lethargically to Randidly’s ministrations for a long time. But the longer Randidly focused on it, poking it and cajoling it, it slowly revived itself, burning with a slightly brighter light. After a half hour, it had returned to its previous bright self, and danced around happily.

Curious, and with nothing really to do at 1 AM, Randidly continued to play with it, pushing it forward. It grew brighter and brighter, moving faster and faster around him, becoming a sizzling, burning line. It was impressive, and slightly intimidating.

Also, while his attention was focused within himself, Randidly was able to confirm that the small locks remained around the cold energy he should have received for the Path of Carnage, and the other drop of energy that remained from his Lonesome Spear Path. In addition, although he could produce a blurry image of his Soul Skill, it remained isolated, away from his influence.

It was infuriating.

Luckily the emerald streak was distracting, or else Randidly would probably dwell on this issue and begin to brood on how he would get the person who did this back for what they have done. As it was, he was able to stay away from those thoughts, barely.

Then, something very strange happened: the streak stilled, trembled, and then split in half. Randidly simply blinked.

The light immediately faded, and Randidly leaned closer to see what was going on. But it just seemed like the wisp had really split in two, and two very dim wisps floated around, listless. Rolling his eyes, Randidly slowly touched and prodded again, nurturing them back to health. They were, Randidly admitted to himself, extraordinarily adorable, as their droopy and dim selves slowly livened.

Then, to his amusement, they began to chase each other around his inside world, dodging through his skills. Shaking his head, he left, and opened his eyes. It was a nice distraction, and he made a mental note to check in on them periodically, but it was of secondary importance.

Some of Randidly’s anger towards Shal abandoning him had cooled, but it simply left him extremely confused. Why had Shal simply left…? Sure, he was likely trying to address his Aether Poisoning, but wasn’t Randidly’s performance here just as critical. Based on Shal’s attitude towards him, Randidly was dubious that Shal had left because he was confident that Randidly could handle himself. That didn’t sound like Shal at all.

But there didn’t seem like there was any other option. Perhaps something pressing arouse…? The more time Randidly spent with Shal, the more he realized how fickle and intense his teacher was. Not just in his brutal training style, but also personally. He was harsh, and then he was laid back. He was apparently so weak willed those shamans held him back in that dungeon, and yet now he had the ability to fight against Adepts.

Randidly did know that his all rounder capabilities weren’t the typical path people tread. Each stat was valuable, and Shal only had around 50 Willpower, or at least he had when they were in the dungeon originally. Shal also didn’t have room in his skill list for any mental skills, so he could only rely on his raw stat totals to resist it. And to be fair, the issue wasn’t surviving the attack, it was surviving the attack while withstanding the mental attacks from the Shamans.

All these things Randidly knew. It was just…

Then he sighed and shook his head ruefully. Who was he to judge Shal? Randidly too had a problematic childhood, and his was apparently very peaceful compared to Shal’s. Besides… although Randidly had a hard time believing that Shal trusted him… in his mind…

He really could succeed. He would. That was his promise for all the assistance Shal had given him, which just seemed to grow and grow. He was definitely transformed from what he had been previously. For that… Randidly would earn the top 8 finish and maintain the Spear Phantom Style’s high status.