Chapter 453 (1/2)

This is a trap, Lucretia whispered, as Randidly smashed another one of the guards to the side with roots. He said nothing in response, his attention focused on the delicate task of incapacitating the man without killing him. Although it probably wasn’t super important to be gentle with these enemies, Randidly still didn’t have an easy time killing them.

He had, a few, those that surprised him with their physical capabilities, leaping out in ambushes, and the hard, harsh part of Randidly took over in those frantic seconds. He eviscerated them with roots, the damage, turning their bodies to swiss cheese. But then he could almost feel their spirits float up to him, sinking into his soul, becoming a part of the bitter weight of his responsibility.

The ire of the dead was a hard thing to handle, but Randidly bore it stoically.

It made sense, that their strength would be that of his fellow Raid Party members. In terms of straight physical capabilities, they might even be superior. It was only in the variety and rarity of Classes that Randidly felt confident in his compatriots. And also, in the tenacious ability to stay alive.

Although these individuals were freshly Classed, there was something… profoundly dead about them. Their eyes were dull, and as their live drained out, they said nothing, as if everything that needed to be conveyed was already there.

In one instance, a man shot an arrow at Randidly, which was deftly dodge in an offhand sidestep. Frowning, Randidly directed his attention, causing Spearing Roots to rip upwards through the foundation of a house, heading up towards a female archer on the 6th floor.

The arrival of his skill was extremely loud, and the female archer looked calmly down at the floor before continuing to knock an arrow and aim, even though it was clear to her that death was rushing upwards towards her from below. Her aim was true, in the sense that the arrow sped rapidly towards Randidly, only to have him dodge again. This time, there was a bright glow about the arrow, and when it crashed into the building behind it, there was a loud clap of thunder, and the whole thing was ignited in a second.

But, a second later, as she was aiming her third arrow, the roots arrived, lashing her apart.

Her gaze was cold, and not unfriendly, but somewhat resentful in a way that set Randidly’s teeth on edge. Her expression, one of eyes brows knit together over a tight-lipped mouth, remained with him as he continued deeper into the strange city, towards the seashell construct.

Randidly wasn’t bothering for stealth at this point, bursting through ambushes, crushing resistance, boring holes right through buildings to arrive at his destination in the quickest possible manner. Because although the Creature had hundreds of years to prepare, it only had 9 days since the Village was founded to leverage its advantage.

In Randidly’s opinion, the important steps had already been taken, must necessarily have been taken, by this point. But there would be a refining process, one that would be expedited by hundreds of years of preparation, but not skipped over entirely.

In a nice surprise, Randidly lopped the head off a particularly rapid assassin with his spear and received a notification.

Congratulations! You have reached Level 15! +5 Stats distributed between Vitality, Perception, Resist, Intelligence, and Control, +3 Free Stats! +1 Stat to a Mental Stat. +1 to a Physical Defense Stat. +1 to a Mental Support Stat. +1 Control. +20 Health, +24 Mana, +23 Stamina, +.5 to all Regenerations! +1 to Health and Stamina Regeneration! +20 Progenitor’s Influence. You have gained the Skill Aether Understanding (A) Lvl 1. The “Path of the Patron 0/500” is now open to you.

Aether Understanding (A): Aids in the understanding of Aether. Will be able to identify and understand Aether constructs created by others. Effects increase and become more varied as Skill Level increases.

In a very straightforward manner, the other reward for this Level was a Path, one that Randidly had some intriguing possibilities surrounding it but one that was likely something he would put off for a while. Although with the way he kept obtaining interesting paths… who knew when he would finally have the time and Skill leveling available to work through them all.

But the more eye-catching reward was the Aether Understanding Skill, both because of its use, and because it confirmed a deep, dark fear that Randidly had held in his heart for a long time; that the Creature had been involved in the creation of his Class. Randidly could think of no other natural way for him to have access to Aether related Skills. He had done his best to ignore that possibility, focusing on the tasks at hand, but the process of moving through this city was oddly mindless, giving his mind the chance to dig as these insecurities.

Because what did it mean if the Creature was the one who gave him these Skills? If it was responsible for even this, then-

Abruptly, Randidly thought of something, and asked Lucretia, “Did you give Tziech the package I asked you to?”

Yes, came her response, and Randidly nodded sagely. It was a gamble because now he was banking on his Soul Skills success against the invaders, but it was probably worth the risk if it paid off. It might finally get him the answers that had been so desperately eluding him…