Chapter 474 (2/2)

It had been a varied attack too, so just when Donny was starting to get the hang of fighting against one of Randidly’s attack types, he would switch it up, keeping him on his back foot. That area when the body was struggling to find and teach itself rhythm was the fastest growth, after all. Randidly was likely the only person with enough Skill variety to do it for so long.

He had started with hand to hand combat, then moved onto using Roots, using root avatars, then fire Skills, then different Summons, then spear Skills, then Spear Phantom Skills, then Randidly’s own Class Skills, before finishing out with a period of 8 hours where Randidly relied only on the crushing superiority of his Yggdrasil Skills.

All in all, it had been remarkably beneficial to Donny, in terms of his Skills. After all, he hadn’t gone into the Raid Dungeon with the group, and wouldn’t have that huge amount of growth from that experience.

It was also a great stress relief for Randidly. Donny made a great punching bag.

That thought made Randidly’s smile widen, albeit sadly. “You know, you remind me of someone I used to know.”

“Huh?” Donny asked, stripping off his ripped and ruined armor. “Someone from before the System?”

“No… after. He was…” Randidly cast his mind back, trying his best to recall. “He was… so confusing. He seemed so weak, constantly. He was blustery and full of talk, but when it came to the actual fighting… he generally just got beat up on. So much so that it became easy to forget he was there. And while I wasn’t paying attention, he became really good at being beaten up, without letting the opponent finish him. Phenomenal even.”

“He died?” Donny asked.

Randidly nodded, feeling strangely emotional about it all. Shaking his head, he tried to dispel it.

“What was his name?” Donny asked, tilting his head to the side.

Randidly almost had to chuckle. Thankfully, Donny was relatively good-natured, because Randidly had just told him he reminded him of someone who was at an almost professional level of being beaten up. “That’s the funny thing, I don’t even remember it.”

Now Donny gave Randidly a look, and Randidly burst out laughing. “No, no, I remember it. It was Roger Kingsley. He was… he was a close friend. A follower, for a long time.”

Nodding, Donny sat on one of the benches outside the training area, looking at his hands. There was a silence there, and to Randidly’s surprise, it wasn’t as morose as he expected it to be, based on their conversation topic. Instead, it shifted to something closer to companionship. It was likely true that they had both seen people die, and in that way, they could commiserate.

That was the reality of the System.

Still looking at his hands, Donny said. “I really wouldn’t be able to do this, any of this, you know. If it wasn’t for you.”

“Ha, I don’t handle many of the important bits,” Randidly said, in an offhand manner, feeling somewhat wary of Donny’s serious tone. To his chagrin, Donny pushed forward, looking up at him.

“No, really. You’ve said your piece, and given me this training to push my Skill up, and now it’s my turn to say mine. We do different things, you are right. But you…” Donny closed his eyes and shook his head. “How would a farmer even tell the clouds how thankful she is?”

Randidly opened his mouth, not even sure what to say, but Donny stood. “Look, I know you feel like what you are doing now… leaving Donnyton… is a betrayal. You feel guilty for that. But I don’t think that’s right. You’ve never made a promise directly to Donnyton, to protect it; you’ve made that promise to the entire human race. We here in Donnyton are just closer to you and can see the effects more easily. So even if you leave… you will still protect people. That won’t change.

“So…” Donny said, flushing abruptly red, as his mind caught up with his mouth. He floundered for several seconds, unsure of what to say, but then he raised his fist, offering it to Randidly. “Good luck.”

His fist was bloody and bruised. As it hung in the air, it trembled slightly, even Donny’s System empowered body weakened from so much exertion in such a short time. His muscles were struggling to keep up with the demands upon them, and they were spasming slightly, unsure if they should be clenching or not.

Randidly bumped his fist into Donny’s, feeling strangely at peace.