Chapter 388 (2/2)

Nexus Traveler Cohort, Experimenter I, and the Steps of the Godling II Path were other Paths that although they seemed useful, they were permanently moved to the back of the Path queue. Which was unfortunate, because they were ones that he had had for quite a while. It just always seemed like there was a more pressing and useful Path. And as time went on, the difference between the useful paths and those that weren’t was growing larger

System Transgressor was an obvious no, which left Randidly with Path of Control, the Phantom’s Embrace, Fighting Proficiency III, Basic Soul Bond, the First Legend, the Road to Mastery, and Seed of Yggdrasil.

Path of Control was a strong contender, especially because when Randidly got access to it, he also got a +1 Control per Level bonus. There was possibly another boost like that available at the end of this Path, which would make leveling that much more desirable. The 200 cost was annoying, but it would likely further raise his Control Stat, which was one of the main reasons that he had been able to utilize such a strange fighting style thus far. His implicit control over his body allowed him to shift cleanly between magic and spear, to the point where even Azriel Blanche, the most talented monster Randidly had ever encountered, was slowed somewhat by his antics.

But at this level, there really weren’t any bad answers to what Path he should choose next, just better ones. Phantom’s Embrace was still the Skill he relied on most often in close quarters battles. Randidly just hadn’t been forced into many of those of late. Fighting Proficiency was similar. It would give him the sharp boost in fighting power that Phantom’s Embrace would, but it would provide an increase in efficacy probably that was more general. It also probably contained a Skill…

And now that his Skills had been consolidated, that was a much more valuable option…

Basic Soul Bond was the cheapest, and it also would likely provide benefits to his connection to Neveah, which was one of the pillars he relied upon for this whole creation of the Class thing, improving that was not a benefit to sneeze at.

The First Legend was a reward Path, and Randidly believed that the Road to Mastery was the final in the long line of “Main” Paths offered by the System. It would provide bonuses for leveling, which was something that Randidly wanted in the future, but it was harder to tell whether either would be as initially worthwhile, especially as he attempted to create the Class. In that regards, although both of these might be better long term, Randidly leaned towards the Path of Control and Basic Soul Bond.

The final option was the Seed of Yggdrasil Path, which Randidly thought was extremely strange. It was obviously a response to his consolidation of his Skills, and the Yggdrasil theme that emerged. It was slightly annoying to him that he had created all these high ranking, themed Skills, and a Skill set hadn’t emerged. One possible explanation, supported by the presence of this Path, was that an additional Skill was required, to bring them together.

Perhaps this Seed of Yggdrasil Path was exactly the Path to do that. Creating a Skill set was something that Randidly wanted very much to do, even though he already had one. After all, progress on the other Skill set had stalled, ever since the second Skill in it had shattered… And that was another problem that needed to wait until there was more time to deal with it. It was not something that he could take care of with his attention divided.

The reward Paths would have to wait, Randidly decided. The combat Paths too; at least on Earth, Randidly was reasonably confident in his ability to defeat most opponents. Which left Basic Soul Bond, the Path of Control, and the Seed of Yggdrasil.

Grumbling to himself, Randidly put his PP into the Basic Soul Bond. It was the least exciting of his options, he supposed, but that also meant that the benefit was more guaranteed, which is what he really should focus on right now.

After putting 10 PP into the Path, a notification popped up that raised Randidly’s eyebrows.

Due to increased Synchronicity, benefits have been obtained from your bonded partner! All Skills relating to Aether have increased!

Just…. Just like that…? There was a strange sensation of tightness, and then it was gone, and as Randidly looked at himself, he noticed the Aether Detection, Aether Manipulation, Living Aether, and even System Interference had gone up by a Level. This was… unexpected.

Would it really happen every 10 levels…? That would end up being quite a lot of free PP… Randidly supposed it made sense, since that was the main benefit that he obtained from Neveah. The body she had, that was so powerful and even now still growing, was one that she had received from him. That strength wasn’t what was flowing through their Soul Bond. It was just this, this powerful ability.

And at the rate it was growing… Randidly allowed himself a small smile. He supposed he shouldn’t be so negative about this, after all.