Chapter 1074 (1/2)

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Acclimation ® has grown to Level 134!

Randidly did his best to catch his breath as that terrible destruction that Vualla held so close to her heart raced outward from her body with all the terrible momentum of a wildfire on a dry summer day. Nether Beasts were eradicated and the blue veins unlucky enough to be in the surrounding area were forcibly shattered. What remained in the aftermath was only an ominous silence.

The action struck him as even more impressive after Randidly had gathered some context by joining the body possessing soldiers to fight against the Nether Beasts that were harrying the group as they rushed headlong toward the Nether Wells. From his first battle, the quality of Nether Beasts here was several tiers higher than he had encountered previously. To see Vualla treat them like nothing after tasting their strength firsthand…

Honestly, I’m pretty near the end of my rope already. It’s honestly sorta a miracle that I’ve maintained as much clarity as I have… Randidly thought as he stared at Vualla’s back.

Had he not discovered how to manipulate the bubbles he had obtained from the stars, there was no way that he would have been able to keep up with this pace. Even with his newfound control over the faux-Nether in his body, he was battered and bruised after three run-ins with Nether Beasts. His edges were charred and bloody. He could only watch as Vualla threw her punches and annihilated everything in her path.

At least my admiration toward her isn’t unfounded… Randidly shook his head. Then he remembered the main body’s spoken warning against being close to her, and he reflexively barred his teeth.

Even if her Aether is old and familiar, that doesn’t prove anything. She grew up in the Nexus; just the fact that her Aether feels ancient means nothing.

However, Randidly couldn’t deny that the warning from the main body took on a less aggressive and superior tint in the context of the attack that Vualla just unleashed. It instead seemed more cautious. If Randidly were to become antagonistic with Vualla-

Then Vualla swayed and Randidly snapped back to the situation at hand with a pang of guilt over his previous train of thought. Although Randidly’s own image body groaned in protest, he stepped quickly up behind Vualla and pressed a steadying hand against her shoulder. He tried to keep the touch of his claws gentle, so they wouldn’t pierce her unprotected skin. “Hey, Group Leader. Now’s not the time to take a break.”

Vualla turned and looked at Randidly sourly. “Yeah well, now’s when I want to take a break. So be a good subordinate and prepare my reclining couch.”

Grinning, Randidly responded. “I’ll send for the manservant immediately. But what about the mission?”

Vualla released an aggrieved sigh with all of the energy of a forgotten closet swinging open due to the wind. But before their banter could continue any further, Kel’ev and his permanent glare aimed at Randidly stepped up beside the two of them. He pursed his lips at the sight of Randidly’s claw on her back. “Vualla? We must continue. An attack like that will attract-”

“Yea, yea,” Vualla waved a gauntlet warily. “On we go. There is more work to be done. The reclining couch will have to wait.”

But Randidly couldn’t help but notice that she stood still for several seconds, leaning back against his supporting hand before she finally took that step forward. As the group slowly regained its previous speed, no Nether Beasts appeared to harry them. Rather than being relieved, Randidly felt a tight knot forming in his chest as they hurried forward unmolested. Looking around, it was clear that the other soldiers felt the same; no more ambushes could only be bad news.

It only took a scant thirty seconds to arrive at the entrance of the Nether Well area. Vualla slowed down, clearly confused by the dense web of blue veins that formed a halo around the entrance. But with the image of what he had to do clear in his mind, Randidly pushed past her and raised his hand toward the blue veins.

All he needed to do-

“Look out!” Vualla bellowed, but it was too late. Almost a hundred Nether Beasts appeared in front of Randidly, one less than a meter away from him. All oozed the deadly sort of Nether that meant they weren’t just average Nether Beasts. These were meant to be their heavy hitters.

But although Randidly was ambushed, he did have a flash of insight as he watched them suddenly materialize in front of him. That’s how they teleport. They don’t teleport really; they move along the veins. They become the bubble and the blue veins are the core and they shift themselves.

Just like I manipulate my bubbles, they simply make their bodies focus elsewhere. It’s probably not an easy thing to move the self across such vast distances, but if you have enough Willpower-

Randidly’s thoughts were interrupted by the bear-like Nether Beast in front of him ripping into his shoulder with its claws. Feeling a bit foolish that he had allowed himself to be distracted, he spun away to avoid letting the bear make the wound worse with a brutal rend. Randidly’s eyes narrowed as the bear then swiped with its other limb to complete the evisceration.

Chimeric Avoidance.

Congratulations! Your Skill Chimeric Avoidance (L) has grown to Level 206!

It was a close thing, but the movement was enough to avoid a matching serious wound on the other side of his body. Randidly wasn’t interested in matching wounds at all. From the edge of fuzziness that he felt slowly drifting over him, he knew that he was finally nearing his limit once more. Truly, his volunteer trips into the Great Rift are one of the worst habits that Randidly had developed.