Chapter 882 (1/2)

Congratulations! You have reached Level 42! +8 Stats distributed between Vitality, Perception, Resist, Intelligence, and Control, +20 Free Stats! +1 Stat to a Mental Stat. +1 to a Physical Defense Stat. +1 to a Mental Support Stat. +2 Control. +36 Health, +40 Mana, +40 Stamina, +3.5 to all Regenerations! +1 to Health and Stamina Regeneration!

Due to Guidance of the Wraith Adder, +4 Agility and +2 Bonus Stats!

Randidly sighed ruefully and stretched. It would be a long road to Level 49 at this rate. Already, he was starting to feel the diminishing gains for killing monsters below Level 50. If he wanted to improve further, he would need to hunt a lot more or hunt those at a higher Level.

Of course, Randidly would easily transition to more dangerous prey. The reason so many people became stuck at this tier was that they didn’t have the ability to hunt monsters over Level 50. There was a sharp rise in stats at monsters of that Level, and most of them weren’t just above Level 50, but they neared Level 55. That gap was too much to overcome with hard work.

Yet this sort of barrier wouldn’t stop Randidly at all. His images and Skills were at a level that had made Levels irrelevant when he was Level Twenty-five. Now that he was closing in on Fifty, it wouldn’t take long before Randidly was completely invincible at this Level.

After scanning the surrounding area for any more monsters that he could easily find and kill, Randidly gathered up Acri and began to move. They were almost at his destination, and it was time to find some answers.

Randidly had quickly made his way South after finishing his arm to catch up with his Riders. Although the connection to them was still too distant for him to be sure of their location, Randidly had paid rather close attention to the direction that they had departed when setting out from Donnyton. With that information, he had a pretty good idea of where they had gone and why they refused to return.

After all, Neveah was operating in that direction. If anyone would be able to usurp control and inspire rebellion in his Riders, it would be her. It made him chuckle.

Of course, it would be her.

He had briefly considered simply sending her a message and asking about what she was doing with them, but Randidly suspected that she was trying to hide something from him. That was why she wasn't able to leave and return to Donnyton to see him, even when she claimed the state of that portal to another world was ”manageable”. Therefore, surprising her might yield more information than he would get by giving her time to predict his arrival.

It was a slightly immature tactic, but at this point, Randidly was annoyed. Although maybe it was unfair to blame her for the Riders continued absence. Perhaps she didn't know that he had ordered them to return?

Maybe she had needed bodies, and their noncommunicative asses had arrived. She simply was making use of the tool that came to her.

Shaking his head, Randidly extended his flesh and blood arm and allowed Acri to slide up his limbs. The weapon comfortably settled around his neck, warm to the touch. Then Randidly continued to lope Southeast

There was only one other group of monsters that he encountered on the journey, aside from the grizzly bears. There appeared to be a rather well established Tier II Raid Boss that had been able to gain a foothold and now had four lieutenants accomplishing its bidding. A powerful force, to be sure, but not one that Donnyton would normally have trouble eliminating. Which meant that this area was either past their sphere of influence or that this group was purposefully left alive... perhaps as a way to train weaker Squads?

That made a certain amount of sense. Monsters would continue to spawn in the world in absentia as long as Earth remained on this portion of the System's tests, but there was a danger to fighting against an organized foe that couldn't truly be compared to fighting one giant monster.

After all, such combat would more closely resemble what it was to battle against humanity. Even if it wasn't necessary in today's world, it might be in the future. Practicing those Skills was valuable. Such a controllable monster grouping was something that Randidly could see Mrs. Hamilton supporting. Plus, the growth of Raid Bosses was relatively predictable; even if left alone, Tier II Raid Bosses wouldn't grow infinitely. There was a soft Level cap that would keep them in the perfect sort of punching bag area.

Despite the fact that Randidly understood the uses of such a monster presence, he didn't bother to control Acri as the spear greedily ripped its way through the whole settlement. The strange four-armed giants ran for their lives, but their Levels were only in the early thirties. They weren't able to deal with Acri at all.

Which made Randidly idly wonder how indestructible Acri was. He was hard enough to resist blades and sharp enough to cut through the armor of the high-Level Masters of Tellus, so the plant being certainly possessed extraordinary survivability. Honestly, the fact that the Wight forces had captured Acri and hadn't just been able to break it into kindling was probably a testament to the spear's power.

When a gleeful and blood covered Acri slithered back to Randidly, he barely suppressed a shiver. Perhaps he should treat the spear with more respect moving forward. But Randidly's point about selfishness was definitely correct…

Their experience fighting Aegiant was a lesson, but it would not do to allow that lesson to warp them with fear.

At the end of Randidly's long road Southeast was a rough looking city on the edge of the great sea that constituted Zone 32's Southeastern neighbor. As most of the Zone’s population was scattered in the diverse group of islands that dotted the sea, there were few places that actually served as a gathering place for this Zone's people. One of those places was the City in the Clouds that Randidly had heard rumors about.

And then there was this place.