Chapter 1050 (2/2)

Ultimately, Randidly couldn't seem to reproduce that sensation no matter how long he waited, so he shrugged in let it go. If it's me connecting with another Skill, I hope it's Absolute Timing. Just so I know I'm not going crazy with my perception of time out here...

Then Randidly turned to the exhausting task of doing more in-depth repairs of the Grim Chimera image. He had taken the time to rest, and now it was time to add some polish to his earlier efforts.

One thing that became immediately clear was that the relationship between his current body and his image wasn't exactly direct. The ruinous damage that had been inflicted on his body hadn't exactly damaged his image. It was more like that his body and his image were always trying to shift to align with each other. So possessing a damaged body had begun to degrade his image as the image attempted to shift in his mind to match the body’s damage.

And the damage to his image as it quickly degraded was already so extensive that it seemed clear that Randidly had spent a significant amount of time alone in the Great Rift while unconscious. Yet somehow, Randidly scowled as he knew that he would be soon brought back to the base of Iellaya and they would say something like, 'What? No, it's only been four hours. Why are you complaining?'

While keeping a wary eye on those distant batbeasts that were drifting through the Great Rift in his direction, Randidly took his image inch by inch and repaired the damage. And then, as Randidly finished, he sighed and started again as portions had degraded once more as his body affected the image.

And then when he finished for the second time, he did it again.

Because there was no way for Randidly to forcefully repair his body. All he could do was perfect his image and allow the image and his body to slowly align with each other in the right direction. Once the sorry state of his body had degraded his image in their slow alignment, Randidly had to repair his image again to increase the speed of his body's improvement. Which led to Randidly having to repair the image again and again to keep the speed of recovery reasonable.

The improvement was noticeable, at least. But it also was a constant struggle to keep the quality of the image high. Even worse, the constant mental exertion meant that the headache quickly returned. This work was not easy.

If not for the extra oomph that Randidly possessed after overcoming the Eidolon Crucible, it likely would have been something that beggared him mentally.

The only silver lining of the whole ordeal was that Randidly became intimately familiar with the image of the Grim Chimera. Although he had spent quite a bit of time refining it before, Randidly had never been required to go through the minutia of the image, again and again, with such an exacting focus. The constant repetition of the repairs meant that some part of the knowledge was tightly branded in Randidly's psyche. For better or worse, Randidly would never have the luxury of forgetting the-

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Resistance has grown to Level 104.

”Fuck!” Randidly swore as his skin began to hiss. When he opened his eyes, Randidly realized that the aura of ash had shrunk to the point that his slowly regenerating legs were sticking out of the ash sphere of Aether and into the Great Rift. Such were the wounds already present that his body immediately began to warp and shiver.

Grimacing, Randidly split up his already overtaxed attention and began to regulate the remaining Aether around him. He couldn't increase the size of the Aether bubble he possessed, but he could stabilize its slow dissipation. In addition, there was no need for the Aether to be shaped in a sphere. Randidly spread out the remaining energy he possessed so it covered his body like a suit. Then he willed the presence of ash into that suit, giving it the little bit of weight that Randidly could manage right now.

Which was all well and good, but then Randidly had to return to the monotonous task of repairing himself.

Time crept past. The batbeasts drifted closer. That strange mass of Nether that Randidly could distantly sense seemed to be rotating, but Randidly had no idea what it meant. Azure veins ran through the Great Rift and twined around Randidly, leaving him unsure whether it was worth it to expend the effort to destroy them.

And again and again, Randidly would feel that strange feeling in his chest of a resonance occurring. But every time he focused on it, it disappeared. Whatever Skill he was brushing up against, it was certainly shy.

Randidly gritted his teeth and tried to focus on the repair of his body. As his form neared a serviceable state, the difference between his image and his body narrowed to an amount that would be easy to overlook. Therefore, both his image and body slowed in their shifts.

Which was good because the repeated repairs took much less time, but it also meant that the speed of his body's recovery was much slower.

This is probably why there is so much attrition at the front lines. Randidly frowned down at his hands. Once you are damaged, you need to spend so much time and effort to recover... and by then, you have another mission. And this is what happened to me even with Nether Resistance at Level 100...

As the repairs became easier, Randidly focused more attention on making sure the Aether surrounding him stayed stable. The last thing Randidly wanted was to deal with additional damage to himself.

At this point, enough of the dull pain from his wounded form had faded that Randidly had finally realized that he had been in constant pain for quite a while. However, the aggrieved pain of a warped body was so minuscule compared to the mental strain and the memory of the existential pain of Nether that he had hardly noticed until now.

Fuck, I’m getting too old for this… Randidly grumbled.