Chapter 480 (1/2)

Randidly watched the sunset over Donnyton, his expression neutral. He had arranged for people to meet him here at twilight, but for now, he had some time to think.

The more he considered how his... attempt with Lyra had gone, the more that Randidly could only shake his head helplessly. That girl just... wormed her way under his skin. And he couldn't exactly blame Lyra for that, he did the same thing to her. When they were with each other, they just couldn't help regressing to the versions of themselves they were when they met: He couldn't take her seriously, and she couldn't stop teasing him long enough to have a real conversation.

And just like he held it against her that she was barely more than a child, she held it against him that he couldn't see anything deeper than her age.

Still, Randidly didn't mind the final result. Something had broken between Lyra and himself, which was dangerous if they both remained here, acting in the same sphere of influence, butting heads. But if they were apart... Space would make these differences, smaller, Randidly believed.

And he realized that he was looking forward to it somewhat. Having the freedom to leave Donnyton and exploring the new border areas in their Zone. When 6 months had passed and they were connected to the wider world, he could then range even farther, pushing the boundaries of their world, finding and fighting the most powerful monsters that this world could throw against them. Not in the attempt to protect Donnyton any longer, but to push his strength up as quickly as possible. He now had a Class, and a new Soul Skill and Randidly didn't doubt the combination of growth he would receive from these two things would eventually raise him to a tier all of his own.

But it became obvious after his time in the Raid Dungeon that his Levels took significantly more experience than other Classers’ Levels. And it only seemed that effect was increasing as time went on. It was likely a function of the size and scope of his Class, but Randidly would need more and more fuel it seemed to raise it upwards.

A point there for the System, that its Classes were efficient, but...

Randidly grinned. He had some ideas of how to work on providing Classes for people that wouldn't be connected to the System.

Dinesh and that haircutting woman Tanya were the first to arrive, winding their way up the path to the outlook where Randidly stood. He glanced at them when they arrived, taking note of Tanya, who was panting as she made it to the top.

It was something of a wonder to see her, simply because she seemed so... nostalgic, in a way. She had barely experienced a week's worth of the System and hadn't even raised most of her Stats to above 15, as of yet. Randidly was slightly dubious of her inclusion of his new group, but Dinesh vouched for her, and Randidly could tell that the man felt responsible for her.

After all, it was only due to his interference that she was brought to Donnyton to stay, rather than being sent to Franksburg. Although she was clearly going to be a liability in the border areas, especially at the beginning, Randidly reflected that he couldn't very well do experiments regarding Class creation without NCCers, so it was a necessary evil.

Tanya seemed to be very often defaulting to a nervous titter during the few times he had been around her, but she seemed kind and genuine and was basically 5 days old. This was important, only because it meant she treated him like a normal person, rather than some fleeting incarnation of a god.

”Oh wow, it's beautiful,” Tanya said, huffing. ”But I HATE hiking.”

Dinesh's face shifted to a very strange expression. Randidly simply chuckled. She would learn very quickly to endure it, Randidly expected, even if she never grew to like it. In Donnyton, she might have been able to rest on her laurels, making a living cutting hair and grinding other odd Skills in her spare time. She likely would have gotten a unique, if uninteresting Class in that manner. It might very well be that Dinesh's sense of responsibility would end up punishing Tanya, as she was forced to adapt to situations far beyond her ability to handle alone.

In a way, Randidly was curious as to how she would handle it.

The next individual to walk up the hill towards Randidly and his growing group was Nathan. The boy had a backpack that was clearly very recently salvaged from the border areas because the plastic Power Ranger outside was crisp and bright.

The view struck Randidly as somewhat strange because he had grown so used to interspatial rings that a more typical variety of pack was... somewhat disconcerting. Even more eye-catching was the pot that he was carrying, which contained a small, seemingly fresh planting of Arbor. Even this new planting shook its limbs excitedly when it caught sight of Randidly with whatever strange senses trees possessed. Randidly smiled.

After steadying himself, Nathan placed the pot on the ground. ”A gift from Kiersty, for wherever you go.”

Randidly shook his head. ”I expect we will move around a lot. I don't-”

Pointing to the trunk of the small planting, Nathan said. ”That's what the spiderlings are for.”