Chapter 1081 (1/2)

After his careful examination, Randidly decided that there were three specific areas where a little bit of attention would result in quite a bit of effect to his overall image: his arms, his skin, and his tails.

Of the three, skin seemed the easiest to use as the starting point. In addition, it would require the most careful touch of the three areas, so Randidly wanted to start before he had expended most of his Willpower. So Randidly really focused on the skin that covered the body of the Grim Chimera.

As he had slowly incorporated Nether into his body, the skin of his chest had become increasingly translucent while the skin of his limbs became rougher and darker. So now Randidly began to carefully smooth out that transition from translucent to rough. It wasn't that the change in texture was a sudden thing in Randidly’s mind; it was that the skin nearer to the Nether Wells was constantly bombarded with that light energy and purified. Meanwhile, the limbs were forced to endure the hostile elements of the world and had grown more dangerous to compensate.

I've become a dermatologist, Randidly thought abruptly with not a little bit of remorse. Then he shook his head at the strange old Earth joke that manifested in his imagination. But still, creating the right sort of feeling was an extremely delicate process. So much so that it seemed likely that it required an expert’s touch.

Randidly worked with both the thickness and texture of the skin's image. Which, if he was being honest, was not his forte. Both Randidly himself and the supplemental bit of personality of the Grim Chimera weren't exactly experts in softness and smooth skin. Their initial attempts proved to be woefully inadequate.

It was only after several unsuccessful and frustratingly vague attempts that Randidly stumbled across an answer. One that made him feel not a little guilt in his heart.

Well, I'm only copying the soft sensation of skin. Randidly's mouth twisted at the thought that contained a shade of dishonesty within it. But he really could think of no other option at this point. It's not like it's that personal a thing...

So, while anxiously glancing over his shoulder at an invisible specter shaking her heavy gauntleted fist, Randidly used his brief and sparse memory of holding onto Vualla's bare shoulder while fleeing from the Nether Gatekeeper as a source of inspiration for what soft skin should feel like. Even though the nerve endings in his claw weren't as developed as those on a human’s hand, he could still remember the sensation of holding her shoulder in his palm. Even now, even despite the mental damage he received and the accumulated weariness of these efforts, that sensation was crystal clear. With Vualla's soft skin as a base, Randidly rapidly changed his skin to its new form.

Because although the skin of his chest that was most often being purified by the Nether Well's strange light was that soft, his body was swiftly corrupted by the environment and his exterior became the rough and grey skin that was more cartilage than anything else. It came off and flakes and healed with all the quickness and tenacity of a nest of cockroaches.

Which is the balance I need to strike, Randidly thought sadly. Strength... but not so strong that I turn into a stone monster that seeks to kill all threats to my existence. Because... that's just fear. I would be lashing out only because I'm afraid. And... I want to be strong enough to live with fear.

There was a small disgruntled reaction from the Grim Chimera, but it quickly settled back into place without comment. It accepted this truth that Randidly had presented.

Immediately after finishing refining his image for skin, he felt the difference in his body. As he sat breathing in the crowded tent, his skin felt... sensitive. It suddenly tingled as he became aware of the movements of air in the surrounding area and the heat of the Aether runes that lined the tent. Or at least his core felt these things, even as his arms remained completely numb and dangerous.

Which was a good point to transition Randidly's focus from his skin to his arms. Mostly, he was working on their innate deadliness. He lengthened and sharpened the talons on his left arm. He enlarged the forearm muscles to improve the grip strength to the point that he could easily imagine himself crushing a skull. The bone spear of his right arm became more tapered, so the base around his elbow was thicker than the jagged and vicious point.

Then, again and again, Randidly dragged his attention across every surface of the arms and tightened the sensation and muscles connections in the area. As much as possible, Randidly wanted to make his image not just look like a body, but feel and function like a body. That would become a source of strength for him moving forward.

The more reality there was in his image the less his Willpower would need to be spent to make up the mechanical deficiencies of the image he had created.

Lastly, Randidly worked on the tails. After his experience with carrying Vualla and dealing with the headaches from his constant battles, he was becoming supremely fed up with how useless his arms were for normal activities. So Randidly decided to add the same dark skin that covered the outer portion of his extremities and line the tails with muscle. The lower tail could now move dextrously to grab nearby items, and the upper tail had been lengthened so that it could perform most of the deft and reassuring touches to himself that Randidly remembered doing with his body.

After carefully layering the muscles along the tail, Randidly performed an experiment: he used his upper tail to rub the bridge of his nose.

It curled easily around his face and pressed up against his nose. Then the rest of the tail twisted expertly around that area so the bridge of his nose was completely cupped. Still, Randidly could only shake his head and sigh.

Although it looked like he had accomplished his goal, there was no real pressure applied from the tail. Like a real snake, he would need to wrap himself completely around an object in order to possess the leverage to squeeze it with any sort of strength. What Randidly currently possessed simply looked like it was performing those casual human acts.

Ah well, it's better than fucking nothing, Randidly thought bitterly. Then he brought all three of his cores up to touch the bubble and record the image. There were a few more areas he wanted to refine, but as his headache was coming back, it was time to rest.

Randidly eased himself onto the ground and controlled his breathing. Breathe in, breathe out. Allow the mind to loosen its grip and relax. Very soon, his consciousness had dipped back down beneath into that meditative mindset.