Chapter 953 (2/2)

What are my goals?

Randidly shifted into a cross-legged position and closed his eyes. The small noises of nearby animal life, wind through the drying leaves, and the babble of the spring faded away. He no longer possessed the Meditate Skill, but it had become part of the Yggdrasil Skillset.

Taking great care to control the image so it didn’t manifest itself physically, Randidly felt the myriad golden roots spreading downward from his position. He then felt the invisible Emerald Leaves springing from his body to gather the energy of the sun that drifted overhead. With his body as the core, an invisible tree made of humming Skills formed around him.

Moisture flowed upward while energy flowed downward. His extremities gathered air and purified it. Guided by his Skills, three threads of energy wove themselves together inside of Randidly. As he allowed nature’s cycle to play out through his body, Randidly tasted a hint of something… powerful.

Profoundly powerful. So powerful that Randidly felt immersed in it for several seconds without even noticing it. It was an intoxicating and vital energy, even as it was composed of exceedingly dense images.

It was only a faint whiff, but immediately Randidly had to suppress the urge to follow it back to the source. Time for a reset, not time to follow this natural connection...

With a sardonic smile, Randidly allowed his meditation to end. Looks like I brushed against the image of ‘Earth’ humans hold. Being able to observe it would undoubtedly be helpful to images, but… not right now.

Instead, Randidly considered the things that he felt he had to do.

Prepare to meet the final Judgement, due to him because he had been labeled a Heretic by the System.

Figure out how to subvert the designs that the System had on the Earth.

Create a countermeasure for when the Creature inevitably came back to interfere with the Calamities.

It was ultimately a short list, but one filled with problems that were difficult to grapple. Just the lack of information was debilitating enough, but Randidly also had to fight against the forces that actively wanted him to fail.

Beyond those few goals, there were several things that Randidly wanted to do.

Grow stronger.

Understand the warning given to Randidly by Lyra, that someone inside the System became aware of his ability to subvert Cohort Five.

Foster a certain type of images on Earth.

Address Tatiana’s continued complaints about competitors buying up suppliers to forcefully buy out Erickson Steel.

Build that promised body for Ghost.

Check in on the Order Ducis.

Find out what had happened after Shal had proceeded through that portal.

Maintain stability in his Soulskill.

Understand what significance Citizenship in the System had…

Very soon, Randidly was chuckling to himself. The more he thought, the more the list of things he felt he should accomplish grew. Even with his capabilities, it would be difficult to manage so many disparate goals. Yet Randidly believed that he would be able to accomplish several of these at once if he arranged his schedule correctly.

Mostly, it seemed smart to temporarily locate himself in the area of Erickson Steel headquarters. While he focused on forging and Engraving, Randidly could definitely grow stronger and build the body that he owed for Ghost. Plus he could call that kid Naffur to bring the Order Ducis troops down. Randidly doubted that he would have to personally act against the businesses eyeing Erickson Steel of the Order Ducis threw their bodies at the problem.

After all, if the people trying to isolate Erickson Steel had any real power, they wouldn’t have been so simply defeated. A rich fool was dangerous, but not difficult to handle.

Activities within the Soulskill could occur anywhere, so keeping a watch on those developments wouldn’t be the problem. But it was just a matter of how much time Randidly would put into it. Which made Randidly wonder how much longer he would be staying here.

Sighing deeply, Randidly used his Domain to check where Helen was. Immediately he could sense that she was within Donnyton proper, likely delivery the farewell gift Randidly had decided to give Donnyton.

What you do with that gift… that’s up to you. But I cannot help you more than this.

Saying goodbye was a hard thing, Randidly reflected. After the heat of anger and battle had faded, he didn’t even have the heart to go give the news himself.

Then his emerald eyes flashed with intensity. Still, he had other business to attend to.

At long last, Randidly looked at his Skill growth that had occurred over the last several days.