Chapter 1054 (2/2)

Randidly’s left claw clenched into a tight ball of bone and talon. Plus, with this, I’ll have an even easier time surviving out in the Nether. Every little bit counts.

Very quickly, Randidly quieted his excitement and returned to the calm tranquility of training. He was determined to continue to push himself and earn more PP that the main body could use. Unfortunately, reaching that same relaxed mental state where he was perfectly in tune with his images was not an easy task. If it was, training would not be an activity that was done slowly over time.

Although he trained for the rest of the evening, his PP accumulation speed slowed back down to normal rates; the special magic of the moment had been lost. Even though he spent six hours training, he only earned 9 additional PP in his Grim Chimera Skills.

Rather disappointed, Randidly returned to the tent and laid down to rest after sweating off his the remainder of his headache. Although there hadn’t been any serious changes in Ignition Essence’s status, Yggdrasil was hopeful that it was slowly stabilizing due to his constant attentions.

Randidly hoped it was so. But to his eyes, Ignition Essence seemed to be getting dimmer each time Randidly returned. Pushing those concerns out of his mind, Randidly focused on recovering fully from his battle the prior day.

After all, he only had a single day more until he had to do it once more.

*****

Iellaya kept her expression mild, even though she was shocked to the core as she looked at the whole and robust image of Randidly Ghosthound. Truly, this image of the three was a being made for war. His claw and spear radiated an aura of ominous energy that was palpable enough Iellaya almost reflexively released a bit of her own image in response.

As Abiodun had dutifully informed her earlier in the day, the image appeared to be completely recovered from his ordeal after responding to the Beacon of Duty. Which should be impossible even for a fresh recruit with a body. In fact, it appeared that the density and clarity of his image body had actually increased from his original form. Suddenly he possessed a long tail from his waist and a rather slender one from the base of his neck.

Such growth should be impossible, Iellaya reflected as she calmly stood and offered the image a warm smile. Which means that perhaps the images of Randidly Ghosthound are the keys to saving us all.

“I’m so glad that you were able to recover so quickly,” Iellaya said as she offered the image her left hand. “Today, I called you in a bit earlier than the usual sortie to talk about the details of defensive battles. You seem to have intuited most of the details, but preparation makes all the difference in war.”

Iellaya breathed in slowly. My face needs to be completely composed when I say this. It is simply a normal statement. Otherwise, all of this is useless. Then she smiled and said. “As you know, as an image, you need to rely on the tether to your body in order to possess enough Aether to stabilize the space in the Great Rift. But there are a few details you can look for in order to have an easier time establishing an island of Aether in the darkness.”

Randidly slowly nodded. Iellaya blinked mildly. She would not respond visibly. She would control her facial muscles. Relying on the tether to the body is correct, but the body has been completely isolated from the System. Are you aware and humoring me? Or does your body have enough ambient Aether to spare that you were able to survive as an image in the Great Rift?

Either way, a Heretic. I wonder who you pissed off enough that they ensured you were isolated then. Usually, only the Heretics who target System roles directly are imprisoned. And you don’t have that feel to you.

“Although Nether isn’t Aether, that doesn’t mean there aren’t defining features that you can locate. We call them Nether Wells. Immediately after you arrive, the best option is to sense the nearest Nether well and head a good distance away from it before establishing your base of operations. The goal is to “defend” the surrounding space with your Aether Zone. Its presence will weaken the Nether wells in the area, and keep the Great Rift from expanding.”

There were three types of Heretics, generally: the Pirate, the Vampire, and the Ritualist. Although the names were rather garish in Iellaya’s opinion, they did serve as a useful descriptor of the process by which Aether was gathered for each variety.

Pirates killed and plundered Aether from the corpses of their enemies. They were also the oldest type of Heretic because when you thought about it, the System was a Pirate that raised livestock that it could cannibalize later. It was the greatest evil that they were all struggling against. Greater even than the threat of Nether.

Vampires, like Iellaya herself, siphoned a portion of other’s Aether, to a greater or lesser degree based upon the relationship and personal preference. There was a lot of variance in the process used. Some took a portion of lifespan. Others learned to leech Skill Levels. Iellaya found it most efficient to consume the image directly, then allowing the original image to exist like a parasite within her own.

But I suppose I am a special case.

And Ritualists… well, Ritualists were the ones who truly mattered to Iellaya. Because Ritualists were smart enough to make the impossible possible. So smart that they could extract Aether from the natural forces of the world in ways that the System hadn’t been able to figure out how to prevent.

Which is exactly what we fucking need if we want to win this war.