Chapter 855 (1/2)

Before Helen and Alana’s party left, Randidly pulled Alana, Dozer, and Annie to the side and had a brief talk with them. Luckily, it seemed that whatever Dozer had done to Annie after carrying her off had vastly improved her mood; she was practically beaming while Randidly explained some of the messages he wanted to pass on to Donnyton.

“I shouldn’t be more than a week, but it's hard to say,” Randidly admitted. Then he frowned in frustration; he wished Neveah would be more specific, but she had been rather avoidant since he returned to Earth. She just demanded he check in on a few places before proceeding to join her in the South. “So if I take longer, pass these things onto Donnyton: as much as possible, we should be focusing on creating high-end weapons and armor and moving for the Danger Zones.”

They all nodded.

Dozer folded his arms across his check. “It is known, but there has always seemed something… more pressing. But we will let them know to focus on it.”

“The experience boost to everyone would be a godsend,” Alana added. “Plus, Donnyton’s squads view it as a point of shame that they haven’t been either of the cleared Danger Zones-”

“Another Danger Zone was cleared?” Randidly asked with a frown.

After a hesitation, Alana nodded. “I assumed you knew. Yes, the World Crater to the South. We aren’t sure who exactly did it, but they selected all the benefits for themselves. That is, I believe, what Neveah is handling right now. From a report from Drake to East End, the Undying Hero was active in the area. So he is the prime suspect.”

Randidly grunted. Even with triple stats, Randidly had a hard time that anyone from Earth would be able to rival Neveah; she had higher raw stats than even he did. Why then was she so dodgy and unresponsive?

Randidly’s memory of the Undying Hero was rather fuzzy. He knew that Ace was fascinated with the man, for whatever reason, and had somehow revived him. They had also crossed blades once; Randidly had won without much effort. Yet somehow the lack of impression was more disturbing than if the man had been more overtly evil.

It gave him a bad feeling.

More than ever, he resolved himself to hurry and meet Neveah. If there were any real issues, she wouldn’t be so silent on the matter, but…

“Alright fine. In addition…” Randidly scratched his cheek. “This message is somewhat selfish; but tell Sam that I’ll be heading back to Donnyton soon, and I need new armor; just no foot coverings. If he has any requests for materials, just send them to me. I can gather them on the way.”

They spoke about some other small things, and then the group split off from Randidly. Very quickly, he accelerated to the North and West. The first task given to him by Neveah was checking in on a certain individual; she had informed him that she had named a peculiar boy to Randidly’s Order Ducis, and he had performed admirably since then. But the kid tended to get into trouble beyond his depth, so Randidly should check on him.

What made Randidly grind his teeth was that she was decidedly vague; just that he would be around the Northwest above the monster city. So Randidly just blurred across the landscape, scanning the countryside.

It was mostly rolling hills with thick pine forests. It did not make it easy to search. Still, the temperature was somewhat brisk. To the point that the cool air felt wonderful after loping across the countryside.

He didn’t find anyone who looked like this Naffur, but he did find dinosaurs.

While passing through the area West of where they settled the ogres, Randidly encountered a herd of Level 62 Wild Raptors. He didn’t really consider them much of a threat, so he ignored them and simply continued to search. But the group of scavengers responded with a few short chirps and within seconds they began to stalk him.

Randidly stopped abruptly. Fine then, it’s your funeral.

They came at him like a bolt of lightning on a clear day, without any sort of small noise giving them away. Honestly, their stealth was rather impressive even if the attack pattern they used was a bit predictable.

But they picked the wrong individual to ambush.

The ones that attacked Randidly from the front were seared by Eruption of the Blazing Leyline. No sooner had they leapt snarling out of the brush that the Skills exploded beneath them. The emerald flames ate away at their legs and melted their scales. Screaming, those raptors somehow managed to push through the pain and tried to slam into Randidly.

Randidly bared his teeth. If nothing else, their commitment was admirable. But foolish. Acri sliced two in half, and the third-

-slammed into Randidly’s chest. He blinked, then frowned like a thunderstorm was brewing behind his eyes. He had meant to reach up with his left hand and throw the other to the side, but of course, his left arm wasn’t there anymore. He had just… reacted without thinking.

I’ll need to work on that, Randidly noted.