Chapter 880 (2/2)
His heart slowed the speed of its beats. Still, Randidly’s gaze remained fixed in the middle distance, his eyes unfocused.
The skeleton wrapped in shadow was a small figure. One that wasn’t going to intimidate another physically. Instead, its strength stemmed from the fact that it was unavoidable. Inescapable. All things would eventually arrive before the skeleton. It was a phantom of judgment. Of time and of death. It was a wild and fickle creature by human understanding. Its schedule erratic and its arrival unpredictable. It took and took and offered no solace to those that remained.
But all Paths would lead to its Inevitable Arrival.
Randidly released a breath he hadn’t realized he had been holding. His hands were trembling. Immediately, his gaze snapped back into focus.
Even though his Mana pool was fine… his Willpower was growing strained and blunt. That came as quite the shock. Did I really tire out so quickly…?
Releasing a surprised laugh, Randidly paused after finishing the most recent metal disk and took some time to simply watch the unpredictable shapes that emerged from the fire. It wasn’t ideal, but it was enough. Because Randidly’s Ignition of the Emerald Essence was special. It was the light which accompanied the genesis of humanity.
Fully fifteen minutes later, Randidly blinked. Then shook his head. Alright, back to work.
With a refreshed psyche, Randidly continued to draw the lines of engraving across the hoops. His fingers moved with methodical precision. By this point, he knew his strokes by heart.
A frame for control. Followed by the thin and violent lines of the phantom; this was the step that drained the most of Randidly’s mental energy. Then there were the functional runes of control, within the frame and flanking the phantom rune. Followed by a detailed rune for Mana to Aether conversion that tied the whole thing together.
Piece by piece. Time after time.
And then Randidly started, looking around to find that the ground was covered in bits of metal that glowed with the power of an engraving. Grinning, Randidly conjured some vines to pull the disparate pieces together. Starting with the largest, the pieces of thinly wrought metal were brought together and threaded through each other.
With the assistance of plants, the process was over very quickly. It was bulky, perhaps twice as thick as Randidly’s normal arm, but it was complete with working elbow and fingers.
Watching with an expression of wonder, Randidly stretched out his right arm and touched the engravings. They instantly flared to live, a spider web of glowing blue lines that crisscrossed the silvery metal.
Like a jellyfish's drifting tentacles, Randidly carefully alighted upon the metal arm mentally. The fingers twitched and then flexed. The elbow bent inward slowly, like a door blown open by the wind. The forearm twitched.
As a smile grew on his face, Randidly moved the arm more actively. It twisted back and forth, gripping the nearby roots that held it aloft. Then Randidly pressed harder, forcing the hands to squeeze. With a crack, the metal had ripped through the root and dropped splinters as the supportless arm crashed to the ground.
Randidly chuckled. Good. This is the sort of force I’ll need.
Randidly produced the leather binding given to him by Sam and put it on. Then he raised the metal arm to the shoulder and twisted through the groove. Then he put down the clasp, locking it into place.
Although it wasn’t intuitive… Randidly raised his newly created left arm, looking at its Status.
The Left Arm of the Baleful Wood’s Lord (L) Lvl 75: A powerful mechanical arm that is controlled with intricate runes. Although the item was designed to compensate for a weakness, there is an air about the weapon that indicates this will quickly become the Lord’s Strength. Possesses the overwhelming ferocity of the Wild Phantom within its material. Strength and Reaction +25. Stamina +100. Touch of the Baleful Wood V. Runic Elegance II. Wild Phantom’s Raucous Finale (L) Lvl 74.
Touch of the Baleful Wood V: Made with the blood and sweat of the Lord of the Baleful Wood. All Class Skills will cost 25% less when used through this arm.
Runic Elegance II: The engraving upon this equipment was done by one who is quickly approaching the abilities of a master. As such, the effectiveness of all engraving is moderately improved. Activating the effects of the Engravings will require moderately less energy.
Wild Phantom’s Raucous Finale (L) Lvl 74: A powerful strike that calls to mind the cackling laughter of the Wild Phantom. Possesses such force and power that the cost is significantly increased and the user sustains some small amount of damage to his/her muscles in the limbs used to move. Will ignore a significant portion of the target’s defense. Amount of defense ignored increases with Skill Level. Power increases with Skill Level. Speed increases with Skill Level.
Randidly raised his two hands and clapped them together. The metal felt warm to his real hand, almost like his old left arm was back. After twisting his hand to and fro, Randidly reached out and dropped the veil of roots that surrounded his hut.
To his shock, it was already midday. The sun was high overhead. Birds chirped pleasantly to each other, gossiping about these strange plants that appear and disappear overnight.
But Randidly was done. His arm was back. Once more he could use his spear Skills to practice.
In addition…
Randidly’s expression became thunderous. It might be a bit early, but his Riders hadn’t returned. It was time to go find out why. His metal hand clenched into a tight fist.