Chapter 1044 (2/2)

In that split second of that reflective thought, Randidly focused less on the actual bone spear of his right arm and more on the image of heaviness. Rather than physical strength, all of his effort spiraled together to form an image of unstoppable weight. And as Randidly concentrated his Willpower to go toward that point, he felt strength flooding into him. Strength that wasn’t just originating from himself.

No, the weight that condensed into the tip of Randidly’s bone spear was the strength and vehemence that he had siphoned off from the images of those who followed him from the Eidolon Crucible. Individual, it was an infinitely small amount. They likely wouldn’t notice the difference in their image, aside from the bitter truth that they had lost. But to them, that truth would only drive them to reach more desperately to grow strong.

That weight only had meaning when aggregated. And then when it was combined with Randidly’s already significant determination.

When Randidly smashed into it, the jellyfish of Nether popped and exploded like a soap bubble. Black inchor spewed everywhere, drenching Randidly and the surrounding arena in viscous sludge.

In addition, a howl of fury emerged from the creature’s previous position as it began to eat directly into the image of the surrounding area. Randidly’s mouth twisted in distaste. This fucker didn’t know when to give up. And then the pain hit.

For a split second, the agony of that Nether eating into his image directly left Randidly's face warped in hatred and wrath. His breath came out in an explosion of steam as fury and his pounding heart kept the sizzling antipathy of Nether at bay.

It was strange, as time seemed to travel in bits of filmy pictures across Randidly’s mind. The pain was something that he could see eating away at him. Not at his body, because that was a luxury that Randidly didn’t currently possess. No, when Nether and Aether met directly the two forces crackled and spat and parts of him began to blur and diminish.

‘Don’t lose yourself,’ Zagnal had said with a tired expression of one too often disappointed, and finally, Randidly saw with absolute clarity why Zagnal would feel disappointed from even having the smallest bit of hope for his success.

That expression was motivated by the same reason that Lord Miln was willing to toss away what amounted to little more than ghostly images in an offensive. Because in those moments of filmy time, Randidly felt a strange pivot opening up before him. The Nether Jellyfish hated him, hated his very existence. They repelled each other like magnets and pressed together that rejection became mutual destruction.

And as Randidly felt bits of him being destroyed, he could have easily panicked and allowed the damage to worsen. But some instinct honed through a year of carefully refining his images roared to the forefront of his existence. It buckled down and brought every shred of his Willpower smashing against this influence that invaded his body. It would not lose to this strange darkness.

It was a burning desire to live. And Randidly suddenly suspected that regardless of how deeply rumpled or shellshocked all those images were after being ripped out of their bodies, no amount of preparation would have gotten them ready to endure that agony. It wasn’t something that preparation could equip you against, so why bother to prepare?

You could either handle it, or you couldn’t. And among the recruits who came here unusually, not due to the Fourth Calamity, it seemed that most simply couldn’t handle it.

“Chimeric Avoidance,” Randidly hissed in agony, and he felt the pain immediately lessening. More than the Skill itself, Randidly used every iota of his Willpower to picture himself as an inviolable entity that simply avoided the dangers of this contact with Nether. He had no true shield but the firm belief in himself.

Honestly, what followed was somewhat akin to the Eidolon Crucible that Randidly endured the prior day. Except where those images had demanded a portion of Randidly’s strength, this being of Nether demanded that he cease to exist. It completely denied his ability to avoid this damage, and instead wished him into oblivion.

Steam hissed upward from the spots were the jellyfishes black ichor pressed against the skin of the Grim Chimera. The emerald light in Randidly’s eyes brightened. That strange ringing was back in Randidly’s chest, too. The globe in Randidly’s hand flickered as the Aether Key attempted to keep the surrounding space stable while Randidly clashed directly with the monster of Nether. The ground quaked, causing several small pebbles to drift upward into the air.

Randidly raised his head and bellowed with such violence that spit flew out of his open mouth. The veins across his body were bulging out of his skin as the agony continued to pound against his WIllpower. Some inner fire was burning in Randidly’s chest, refusing to give in to the agony. More and more of the Grim Chimera was beginning to flicker, but with that rising ringing in his chest-

Then something clicked within Randidly. Abruptly, the pain took several steps backward, so it was still extremely painful but not so existential in nature. A very familiar feeling rose up in Randidly’s hand as the Nether still maliciously tried to eat into his body.

...Nether Resistance… Randidly thought blankly. Nether Resistance activated! After being exposed to it for so long, I was able to trigger the Skill!

A Skill from the main body… that I shouldn’t be able to use if I was simply the Grim Chimera…

To lend credence to Randidly’s theory, a notification popped up in front of him.

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Resistance has grown to Level 75!

Then Randidly pushed away all his shock, wonder, and excitement. Because for now, he had a fucking black jellyfish to annihilate.