Chapter 551 (2/2)

“Mr. Ghosthound, thank you so much for your advice, I think that my new ice cream…”

And so on, over and over, a stream of people who came to thank him and provide new examples to Randidly. It was overwhelming at first, but soon Neveah began to speak, feeding Randidly the information he needed in order to respond to the people and make them feel heard.

Only four minutes after this stream of people arrived, a gaunt man with a large beard arrived, and he took Randidly away, heading to a construction site. Very soon, Randidly was raising metal beams and assembling a 20 story apartment building. It was honestly impressive because all of the work was done by men. They were so empowered by the System that they were able to reproduce the mechanical power of machinery from before the System arrived.

After all, most of the heavy machinery from before the System was lost in the initial chaos. It was now much cheaper to just have System empowered individuals work than to purchase one of Ghost’s expensive pieces of machinery.

With Randidly’s help, the building seemed to grow before his very eyes, assembled one piece at a time. By the end of it, everyone was cheering as Randidly held the steel beam aloft as two men on either end slide the nuts and bolts that would serve as a placeholder until the braces could be prepared.

Afterward, the gaunt man shook Randidly’s had and left without a word. The men and women who had worked on the project patted Randidly on the back and departed as well, leaving him alone in the strange half built district. It was now close to sunset, and the light filtered through the bones of the building in an exceedingly strange way. It came in beams and glow, so the whole place was suffused with an orange-red half-light.

And in that glow, Randidly saw a small boy.

The boy stood in the half-light, oblivious to Randidly’s presence. His cheeks were dirty and his clothes were worn, but it was clear that the clothes themselves were of high quality. And without sort of ceremony, the boy was punching a stone wall.

Pat. Pat. Pat.

His expression was scrunched up enough that Randidly knew the experience was not pleasant for the boy. But still, he had an unyielding determination. It was clear that in his mind he had to continue this action.

“You learned it from Shal, I learned it from you… and now with your face, I am teaching them.” Neveah said, walking up next to Randidly. She was still in her true form, and in the half-light, she seemed more like the Raid Boss that she had inherited the body from than someone who had created a safe haven for thousands of displaced people.

Randidly turned back to the child. That determined look on his face… it truly reminded him of himself, struggling all those years ago under Shal’s wing in that first dungeon. This was the change that Neveah was working; she was giving people hope and tools to seize it.

Could Randidly do the same…? Perhaps. But he would need to sacrifice his other life, and he wouldn’t be able to do the same things that Neveah could. Her patience and endless energy to help people and try things far surpassed his own. Still…

“It was never a matter of whether what you were doing was productive,” Randidly said with a sigh. “That doesn’t matter to me. What matters is this engagement. After that comes marriage. Neveah… you cannot marry this girl. And I’m profoundly uncomfortable with you marrying her with my face.”

She regarded him carefully, but all she replied with was “Why?”

“Because it feels like she is not marrying you, she is marrying me,” Randidly said.

Neveah shook her head slowly. “I had hoped you would get a taste for Tia and understand why I went along with her misunderstanding. Or, at least I hoped you would get a feel for what I was doing here and want me to continue. But it appears we see things from a different perspective. That is okay. It is only because of the way you are that you accomplished so much. But now I must tell you something Randidly,”

Here Neveah paused and took a step closer to him, looking down at him.

“Although you are Randidly Ghosthound… you are not the pen that will write the legend of Randidly Ghosthound.”