Chapter 1054 (1/2)

“Relax, we aren’t the type that harasses lone images wandering the camps,” The azure haired woman said with a surprisingly gentle wave of her gauntleted hand. The subtle grace in the movement was enough to impress Randidly; despite her slender arms, she had perfect control of her heavy gauntlets. “We are all here to fight against Nether, right? It doesn’t matter who you pissed off in the past.”

Well, I suppose it’s good enough that I learned that there are people who harass images for the fun of it, Randidly thought rather bitterly as he eyed the trio. He specifically looked at the woman with suspicious eyes, wondering why she decided to approach him during his exercise. And so purposefully, too.

Although Randidly was truly caught up in the process of training, it was extremely disturbing that he hadn’t noticed the group until they were very close to him. It was difficult for Randidly to accept that they hadn’t purposefully approached using stealth. And yet…

The woman continued to smile at him. She waved softly with her heavy iron gauntlet, as though she wasn’t sure if he saw her. At her sides, the two men’s ill will toward Randidly became almost comically obvious as he had no response to the woman’s words.

Slowly, the tension in Randidly’s shoulders relaxed. In most cases, like called to like. That hostile and fear-driven suspicion that Randidly blazed with in response to their approach should have brought out similar emotions in the woman and her companions if they possessed them. Just like the no-nonsense cruelty of Abiodun had brought out similar emotions in Randidly that he normally kept under tight control.

But now, the woman just studied him with a friendly smile. Randidly stared stoically back at her, trying to understand what her goal was for approaching him. And although the woman’s companions were growing increasingly irate, it wasn’t ill will toward Randidly. They simply wanted to protect the woman.

As the seconds ticked past and Randidly continued to glare at the woman, her smile started to falter.

“Plus,” She added finally as she twisted awkwardly in place. “I… ah, admire your spear form. It seems very… dangerous and powerful. And you already are near to condensing your first star? You must be a veteran of man battles. And… with your powerful body...”

Randidly looked down at the long protrusion of bone that stretched out from his right arm. It was covered in dried blood and much of the point on the end came from the jagged remnants left from a time immemorial where the bone was snapped off. He looked at his scaly and oversized left arm that ended in five extremely sharp talons. Then he looked back up at the azure haired woman.

Well, certainly it’s easy to kill people with these limbs.

She suddenly seemed to be blushing. “M-my name is Vualla, by the way. Vualla Meteo. We were just patrolling here. And I guess… when you patrol, you finish a whole round, right? Right guys…? ...so I think it’s probably time that we get back to it…”

“My name’s Randidly Ghosthound. It is… nice to meet you,” Randidly said slowly as he frowned at Vualla. Abruptly, it seemed like the woman wanted nothing to do with him. She fled quickly back across the expanse of dirt toward the camp immediately to Iellaya’s right and her two companions followed her while glowering at Randidly.

After they departed, Randidly shook his head. For a few seconds, he had seen a strange hunger in Vualla’s eyes that made him believe that he would need to fight. It was a relief that it hadn’t come to that, but the strange and sudden conclusion to an equally unexpected meeting left him a little uneasy.

Were they perhaps sneaking toward me? Did noticing their approach throw off their plans to attack? But I really didn’t notice them at all until she spoke… If they had intended something malicious, then I…

Randidly likely would have continued to pick apart the strange actions of the woman, but a notification popped up in front of him that stopped his heart for a split second.

Congratulations! You have finished the Nether Adaption I Path! By pushing your body beyond the limits of the physical, you have begun to slowly incorporate aspects of the Nether into your existence. It is an unstable Path you walk, but it is not one that will not lead you forward. Do not slow in your advance, for this strange combination will have unpredictable effects that could possibly benefit you.

Endurance and Resistance +50. Your Skill Nether Resistance has evolved into Nether Acclimation ®! The effect of each Skill Level in the Skill has slightly increased.

In addition, your ability to learn Skills relating to Nether has slightly increased!

A tingling wave of numbness ran across Randidly as he felt something shift in his body. Abruptly, he had the vaguest sense that he could feel the slow flow of Nether through his body, drawn out from the substance of his image and into a complicated pentagram array to form the star. Of course, he could see the results before, but now it seemed to him that the entire process was becoming clear. He could feel himself slowly aligning underneath the influence of the grand array that covered the camps.

The Nether was so different from Aether. Where Aether was shape and space, Nether was aura and core. It seemed to Randidly that he slowly stretched and warped as that slowly coalescing star made him straddle the line between existences.

Of course, it was difficult to tell if this was just his imagination or not.

Did I complete that Path unconsciously? Randidly wondered. Or is it the main body, doing what he can? It would certainly be rather boring to just sit, isolated, and look at the Status screen for a long time… he is probably ecstatic when PPs come in so he can at least enjoy the sensation of spending them.