Chapter 1033 (1/2)

Randidly hummed in pleasure as he walked back toward the exit of the Dungeon with the limping group of the Order Ducis behind him. They drifted behind him like silent, listless ghosts. Currently, he was suppressing the strong urge to smile fondly back over them because they reminded him so much of how shell shocked and unresponsive he had been after some of Shal’s more intense training sessions. To see them now like this… it certainly brought back memories of simpler times.

But recalling those same simpler times made Randidly’s good mood diminish somewhat. I did bear quite a few scars from those rough experiences, but I should have been a gentler hand than Shal had been. But also… now the entirety of Tellus is moving to face the Fourth Calamity. There’s no telling what that means. So Shal...

We both knew that him stepping through the portal to face the System’s challenge was dangerous, but if that ends up being the last time we speak to each other…

After leaving the Dungeon, the empty and soulless bodies of the Order Ducis applicants were blown away by a stiff breeze. Yet as they fled back toward their training compound for their meal, Randidly’s eyes crinkled up at the corner. You might think that compound is a safe haven now… but how long will it be until you fondly remember your time with me in the Dungeon, I wonder…?

Randidly spoke briefly to Naffur to inform him that Helen should be waiting back at the training compound. In addition, he provided a brief explanation about the areas that Wendy predicted would be ‘definitely safe’ as the area became mobile and the areas that Wendy thought ‘should be safe’ based on the geological information they had obtained. Although the System definitely made individuals more powerful, the whole of the Erickson Steel compound weighed thousands of tons.

It would be a bit of a buzz kill if a portion cracked and fell off, leaving the people who had been present on it reduced to a paste.

After all, the plan for the moving city called for a series of heavy steel girders underneath the area woven into a basket-like shape, because it was too difficult to make an entire solid surface underneath the area without affecting the buildings that were already situated above. Honestly, even Randidly was nervous for the initial movements of the project he had spent so much time working on over the past year of Dungeon time.

In terms of image, Engraving, and materials, he had exhausted himself for this. And now it was finally coming together.

But once the compound was finally lifted off the ground, they would know rather quickly whether their preparations had been sufficient to handle the weight. Wendy had driven herself half-mad with calculations and simulations, but still…

I hadn’t realized just how big of a thing I was doing, by just imagining it, working on the images, and gathering the resources, Randidly reflected as he moved off into the wild and untamed land that lay to the West of Erickson Steel. But then, when I went through the hassle of actually Engraving something that big…

The Engraving itself hadn’t been too difficult; Randidly had refined and perfected both the pattern and the image in the prior few days. But the actual work of going across all of the steel beams, the different facilities, the engine room, the innumerable smaller legs, the four larger legs…

Over the course of the morning, Randidly had spent six and a half hours just tracing the pattern over and over again, maintaining a very exact amount of image in mind while he worked evenly across the entire sleeping behemoth. Luckily he had scaled up the size of the pattern significantly so each individual portion was about the size of a dinner plate, or else the work might have taken an entire week to finish.

Even so, Randidly was forced to alternate between the fingers of his right hand, and even then each finger had been sore and twitching in the aftermath. It was with an extremely bleary eyed-visage that he had shown up to train with the Order Ducis applicants a week ago. Perhaps that was why some of his initial trials with them were rather… heavy-handed.

He just didn’t have enough mental strength to wrangle his attacks to be anything other than ‘won’t kill them probably’ levels.

But that week of training gave Randidly almost everything he needed to prepare for his departure due to the Judgment. For one, he now understood generally the images and traits of the applicants to the Order Ducis. From that, Randidly had a pretty good idea of who about half of the finalists were likely to be. All he needed to do now is make a few quick notes to give to Naffur, explaining what he had found.

In addition, he felt refreshed after the rather relaxing level of exertion required to fight against these applicants to the Order Ducis. They weren’t necessarily weak, but there was simply a huge difference in capabilities between him and the applicants; even setting aside Stats, Randidly’s Skill Levels had reached pretty ridiculous heights. And the training had been reassuringly direct and simple, after wresting with so many problems concerned with image and design for so long.

It basically required no thinking; it was glorious.

Finally, it had also given Randidly some time to talk to Naffur more concretely about what Randidly had in mind for the purpose of the Order Ducis. And to be frank, Naffur’s studious seriousness had also cemented Neveah’s choice of putting Naffur in charge of the Order as a stroke of genius. Although Naffur lacked quite a bit of polish and pure physical ability, he definitely possessed a burning desire to better the world, and that had steered the Order right thus far.

After arriving in a vast area of waving grass, Randidly sighed and sat down. Hopefully, that determination endures as the threats become more difficult. And as help becomes scant. Ah, I definitely need to wish him good luck before I actually leave…

Then Randidly focused his attention inward and took stock of the Skill Levels he had managed to gather since spending most of the PP three-fourths of the way through his time in the year-long Dungeon. With all the improvements to his images, spells, and production Skills, Randidly had gained a little over 400 PP. Which was, in fact, just enough to finish his Physique of the Grim Chimera Path.