Chapter 936 (1/2)

As Paolo and Kayle fell, Ace sat very still with his hands folded in his lap. There were several seconds of silence as those brief, blurred images repeated themselves before his eyes. Had he truly seen what he believed he had seen…?

Unfortunately, that moment of clarity passed like a dream. Immediately, his senses distracted him with information about the curious woman from Zone Seven and her minder sitting next to him, but he ignored them for now. Ultimately, they were a diversion. But this… what Ace had just seen was the real deal.

It was powerful enough to fill him with dread. Powerful enough that he couldn’t move while he was witnessing it.

So instead, Ace sat in the dark space of his mind and did his best to replay what he had just seen a few more times. He repeated that vision that he had barely managed to catch. Even with his Perception Skills revolving as forcefully as they could, Randidly had simply moved beyond what he had been capable of perceiving. Barely beyond, but the speed was enough that Ace would bet he could count on one hand the people watching that were able to truly see what happened. A smaller portion still could understand it.

Mrs. Hamilton, Alana, and Annie definitely would have, but Ace wasn’t sure any of Donnyton’s other elite specialized in Perception. Still, would those three reveal the truth? Or would they silence it?

Certainly, the crowd had no idea what was going on. Well, they knew the result and generally the method; Randidly had finally overpowered Kayle and Paolo, two of the most popular fighters in the town. But they didn’t understand how much the method of his actions changed things. How different that last attack had been.

If they did understand… would they feel fear?

Could a bug truly understand why it must fear the fickle whims of man?

“...how could one man move so quickly?” Yazhu muttered blankly, staring at the stage. Ace’s smile widened. That small spark of joy was enough to shake him out of his concentrated state, but he didn’t mind. It was enjoyable to feel superior to others immediately after Randidly had outclassed them all.

Heh, fool. This is the world stage. This is the pinnacle. And even with it occurring right in front of you, you cannot see it…

Am I jealous? Ace thought, watching as Randidly turned and walked away to find a spot to meditate. Is that why I enjoy the weakness of these two?

“I didn’t see anything at all,” Xia admitted, shaking her head. “But what I don’t understand is why the ground wasn’t destroyed by the force. If he was moving as quickly as he must be, and he returned to his starting position, how much control must he have…!”

That gave Ace pause. For the first time since he had met her, Ace examined her thoroughly once more. It seems this one isn’t for show. Sharp.

Because Xia was right and wrong at the same time. Randidly, for all his capability, would not be able to control his momentum enough to protect the arena. More so, there was no reason to; destroying it was par for the course for him. He had done it repeatedly thus far in his challenges.

It was one thing to know that, it was another thing to realize something was strange when it didn’t happen. For her to notice this when the rest of her senses were so blinded… well, perhaps Zone Seven wouldn’t be so weak forever.

Because Randidly hadn’t truly moved when he attacked. Ace reflected as he watched the healers hurrying out to Paolo and Kayle. The high-intensity fight between Helen and the group around her slowed to nothing as they realized that the fight was over. His feet were planted the entire time… He had simply grown.

At that moment, Randidly’s body had evolved into something monstrous. So quickly that Ace hadn’t been able to follow what was occurring at all. His limbs had stretched and scythed outward, cutting Paolo and Kayle down.

Interesting. Grinning, Ace got up and stretched. Very, very interesting.

*****

Randidly sat on the ground, meditating. Or at least putting up the front of meditating. What he was actually doing was frantically using Golden Roots of Yggdrasil and Monstrosity’s Appalling Physicality to heal the damage that Randidly had done to his own body with the last move.

It was… hard to describe what had happened in those few seconds. Where Randidly had been expecting something grand, what he ended up experiencing was ultimately just extremely strange. As he activated All Else Succumbs, Yet Time Whirls the Earth he had been very careful to monitor his own condition. Yet even with that careful observation, he was still unsure exactly what had happened.

First his heartbeat. That had risen to become a dominant feature of his body. It filled his body with a strange power, one that was reminiscent of Randidly’s early images of the Inevitable Phantom arrives. But that was just the prelude. As his blood continued to pump, his whole psyche began to twist, like a spring being wound.

Finally, as the pressure inside of his body continued to build, Randidly’s formidable Willpower coalesced into the thought ‘Strike’. And he had lashed out and attacked both Paolo and Kayle at such speed that neither could react. Yet the damage he had done to himself was just as horrifying.

Looking at the Skill description was similarly unhelpful to determine what exactly had occurred in that tense moment.

All Else Succumbs, Yet Time Whirls the Earth (M): A Skill with great destructive power and infinite potential. The Chimera is a being that lived with suffering, forced to seek the pinnacle of adaptation to avoid the multitude of threats that would delight in the chance to snuff its life out. Time and time again, the Chimera was forced to evolve or die. In terms of survivability, none rival it. Yet, even the Chimera cannot resist the currents of time. Death, as with all things, would inevitably beckon. To the Creature that thrives on growing, this final end is its greatest fear. For this reason, out of all creatures, a Chimera accepts that ultimate invitation most unwillingly. Such is its blessing. Such is its curse.

But being dogged by such a dangerous enemy as time has given the Chimera vast insight into the world’s mysteries. By drawing heavily on the power of time that will inevitably destroy it, a Chimera is briefly able to travel through blurred Paths that it has not taken and will never take. All possibilities are open to it.

Warning! The further afield from its own Paths the Chimera wanders, the larger the damage it receives will be. Warning! Some damage may be permanent. Power of the effects gained vastly increases with Skill Level. Damage received marginally decreases with Skill Level.

Randidly grimaced. At least it's clear that the effects are powerful and grow quickly as the Skill becomes more powerful. It’s just unfortunate that the damage received is so slow to grow to compensate...

The state of his body was currently a testament to that. Even now, Randidly relied on the physical reinforcement Skills he received from both the Descent of the Grim Chimera and Yggdrasil to withstand the force. Even then, all Randidly had been able to do was make sure the damage was something he could cope with after an hour’s rest.

Unfortunately, this would be one of those moves that Randidly wouldn’t be able to use often. As such, the growth might be stagnant…