Chapter 446 (1/2)

The Weaver request was the weirdest. The small spider brought Randidly to a cave, filled with hundreds of its kin, and gave an extremely strange request: “Please give us the history of this world, so it won’t be lost.”

“...Are you sure that’s what you want me to help you with?” Randidly asked uncertainly, looking around. All of the Weavers were looping the thread around their arms as if they were ready to leap into action at the drop of a hat. “There are some Skills-”

“It is true that our current predicament is a dire one,” The Weaver admitted. “But win or loss, a people need a history to know themselves. If we give up our truth to win the battle, have we truly won?”

Randidly had some very choice things to say about whether the choice the Weaver presented to him was a fair one, whether it was really that black and white, but he acknowledged there was a lesson there, one that he shouldn’t forget. Knowledge was power. If anything, one thing Randidly should do to prepare for his battle with the Creature was to review their previous encounters-

Just like that, Randidly’s eyes brightened, and he smiled.

“...let me tell you my story, then.” He said slowly. “So you can see my hand in the world, every step of the way.”

The Weavers were fascinated to hear as he described his world broadly, before launching into the System. This took a bit more explaining, not because they didn’t understand the System, as they lived with some version of it (Randidly made a mental note to investigate the details of this at a later day), but because they didn’t understand life without it.

But after that rocky start, he took them on his journey. His start in the Dungeon, then the meeting with Shal and the escape. The founding of Donnyton. Turtletown, then Franksburg. Lyra and the Tribulation. Moving from Green Spear Mastery to the Cycle of Rot and Ash. The challenge against the renewed strength of Donnyton.

The Creature, and its insidious plots.

The creation of his current Soul Skill, the Four Shaded Clockwork World

Then there was his time in Shal’s world, which spanned most of his experience with the System. Tournament after tournament, ad nauseum, although Randidly didn’t bother to explain how tiresome their culture was, and their focus on spears.

Here, he took some time to explain what he remembered of the rotation of the inner world, and the changes and political upheavals that occurred. Especially, he mentioned the different times the Weave was lost, in the past, and for what reason.

His great battle, and his broken return. Recovering with Simon. Meeting the Wild Rider, understanding Champions and Regalias. The battle with the Skeleton Knight, and the interference of the Creature. The threat of the Raid Dungeon.

The interlocking web that the Creature had made in the Raid Dungeon, its twisted paradise. The approaching battle, both inward and outward, against its marshaled forces.

The Weavers moved furiously, only a few listening intently, the rest moving in a complicated dance that Randidly would have sworn was coordinated, but he knew it wasn’t. By the end of it, almost 10 hours had passed, and before him, covering the wall was a glittering tapestry. There was no clear discernible meaning that Randidly could see, but it was condensed and filled with filaments from every shade of the rainbow.

At the end, the Weavers bowed as one, thanking him.

If the Weaver request was the weirdest, the Monster King’s was the most awkward. The man, monster, with orange horns introduced himself as Zeke, or something similar sounding, and then proceeded to demonstrate his forms with the spear.

Honestly, Randidly was impressed. It wasn’t anything close to his own Style, and he could still see some areas of improvement, but it was well rounded, and had very clear tradeoffs that appeared to emphasize Zeke’s strengths and minimize his weaknesses. That part was fine, and Randidly gave his advice as succinctly as he could manage.

It only became weird when Zeke finished and looked at Randidly with hollowed eyes, full of expectation.

“...perhaps it shows my foolishness that I must ask, but…” Zeke said slowly. “Why are you helping… me?”