Chapter 873 (2/2)

“What… what is this…?” Sam whispered.

Randidly was too deep in his own concerns to answer. He felt every length of the roots that burrowed into the ground as if he had brushed his hand along their rough and knobby lengths. He saw their branching paths and the vital energy that flowed through them to invigorate him. Harder and harder he shoved those images down through the material.

Every second was a struggle as the passage through the material threatened to confuse and weaken the image. Honestly, it reminded Randidly in a terrifying way of the prison that threatened his Stamina and Mana.

Except this time, the focus was images. It took Randidly’s full focus to maintain the world tree image as it passed through the darksteel. Without using images, his strength-

Suddenly, there was a roaring boom in Randidly’s mind and the images exploded outward. Steam continued to waft upward, but thick pythons of golden energy swam through the ground like they were eels in a fish tank. Very soon, a tidal wave of energy crashed against Randidly as it was pulled forcefully up from the ground by his empowered image.

Now that it finally had free reign to move, the roaring image gleefully began to fulfill its purpose. The golden roots bulged as they ripped out energy from the ground and brought it up to Randidly. Such was the force of this sudden flow of energy that he was briefly stunned, simply staring down at his stream shrouded hands. His wrists were trembling.

Gulping down large breaths of air, Randidly leaned back. Then, shaking his head, he took several steps away from the steaming remnants that remained on the ground. Sam was completely mute as he stared at the source of the steam, seemingly mesmerized.

Slowly, the steam died down. What remained was a crumpled and partially melted pile of darksteel. Very clearly were two indentations toward the center in the shape of Randidly’s hands, which had completely burned through the armor.

“What Skill did you use?” Sam asked quietly.

It was difficult for Randidly to speak; he felt exhausted from the mental exertion of forcing his image through the armor. But with the energy flowing in from the roots, his mind slowly relaxed and recovered. “...it wasn’t a Skill. Just images…”

Randidly walked back over to the darksteel and crouched down next to it. Almost in spite of himself, he pressed his eyes closed. Just like that, 1000 Health was tossed to the side…

Even if it wasn’t going to change the course of his life, Randidly had also learned against Aemont how important having sufficient Health was.

But Randidly was confident in his decision to toss it to the side. Perhaps it would have been better to keep the armor and give it to someone else to use, someone who relied less directly on images, but Randidly had wanted to test this “darksteel”. And ultimately, the benefits it provided were nowhere close to equaling the value of what he would lose by wearing it.

Not only did it block his Skills, but it also prevented Randidly from using Aether Detection easily while wearing the armor. More than that, most of the benefits that he had obtained in Tellus were related to the strength of his images. Tossing that aside now… was akin to taking a step backward.

No, while this armor would have been a boon to him in the short term, it was extremely restrictive in the long term. It was better to make that clear now than wait until it was too late.

“I didn’t mean to destroy it completely…” Randidly said slowly as he looked up at Sam. But then he shrugged. “But… my armor cannot be made out of that material. It is strong, sure. But the user is also affected by the stifling effect on Skills. Such armor… will only end up limiting the growth of the people who use it.”

To Randidly’s surprise, Sam laughed. He began to chuckle at first, and then it slowly spread to a complete guffaw that had him slapping his knee. Randidly just watched as the man allowed his mirth to run its course. Very soon, Sam was simply shaking his head and smiling at Randidly. “I am… glad you think so. We discovered it before, but only now are most smiths able to work it into the shape we desire. Now that it has some traction in Donnyton, and everyone is very excited about using it… somehow, I don’t like it. It even muffles my Skills even while I attempt to forge it.”

Sam frowned down at the ruined armor on the ground. “For all that… it is powerful. But it is an external power. I was barely able to shape it into such a fine arrangement. I cannot promise that the armor I will next make for you will be its equal… that is truly the fearsome power of that material… but it will be an armor… that fits you must more specifically.”

Randidly nodded slowly. “Do your best, Sam. It doesn’t look like Donnyton will make it easy for me to challenge them in this contest.”

Snorting, Sam said, “Well it is a fool’s mission. Even if you wish to inject a sense of urgency into the town, getting publicly humiliated is not the way to do that.”

With a grin, Randidly said, “Even you think I’m going to lose?”

“Mmm…. if you had asked me yesterday…” Sam began slowly. But then he looked around at the surrounding ground. It had splintered and cracked underneath the assault of Randidly’s image. Visible holes appeared in the ground that were shoved to the side by the imaginary roots. And at the center of it, the pile of partially melted darksteel remained. “....well, anything can happen. That is the world we live in. But there is one truth I do not doubt; you will definitely lose without me making you the perfect armor.”

Randidly laughed. “Doesn’t that weigh on your conscious? You are one of the leaders of Donnyton. Doesn’t this count as aiding the enemy?”

Sam shrugged. “Making armor is much more fun than worrying about the aftermath. That is why I became the Dawn Smith.”