Chapter 1108 (1/2)
As Randidly watched, the image in front of him reformed into a muddy training ground. To his great relish, it seemed he had begun watching the scene in his Nether Ritual right as a large group of people was nearing the image stones that Randidly left for the Order Ducis to use to train. Even though Randidly had continued to periodically face the Eidolon Crucible, he still worried that his people would fall behind in terms of image without him present to prod them forward.
It seemed, however, that Randidly’s worry was in vain.
Naffur seemed to be explaining the image stone to a new group of people who stood somewhat apart from the older potential inductees. The reason that the difference between the two groups was obvious was their garb; the individuals that had spent the past two months as part of the Order Ducis recruitment camp seemed more like refugees than well-trained soldiers. Their leathers were ripped and worn from long hours of fighting without the chance of a break.
In addition, the Order Ducis aspirant’s legs were slathered with mud like they had already trooped to the training field once today already and had done more violent work than that besides. Faded bloodstains were clear on their armor and their eyes looked extremely unfocused as Naffur faithfully recounted the information Randidly had given him about the stones. It was almost like the Order Ducis aspirants were taking advantage of this explanation that they already understood in order to recover some mental strength.
Randidly’s focus quickly shifted to the individual he had focused on to see this spectacle, Vye. Randidly had considered Naffur as the target, but he didn’t really care about what large scale actions the Order Ducis was engaged in right now. After seeing the strength of Mjolnir, what Randidly wanted most was to confirm that the Order Ducis had continued to furiously train itself while he was away. To that end, Randidly considered Vye the best target.
Vye currently stood at the front of the crowd of people who had clearly been a part of the Order Ducis for a long time. Next to her stood two men, one of which Randidly recognized as someone Naffur considered to have the highest potential in the camp and the other was someone who Randidly was pleased to see didn’t wear any shoes.
It’s good to see that some people understand the simple pleasures of mud on bare feet, Randidly grinned. Then he released a breath and calmed his heart. As he forced his own Perception to slow down, the actions of the figures he was watching steadily accelerated to normal speed.
But instead of using this chance to listen to Naffur’s words, Randidly inspected Vye more closely. It was hard to see the image through the lens of Nether, likely because of its antagonistic relationship with Aether, but Randidly could definitely feel that there was a powerful image slowly taking shape in Vye’s heart.
While he had been gone, the Order Ducis had not been idle.
However, Randidly could tell that this momentum would very soon peter out. As he looked at the image stones, it was clear that a lot of their potency had faded. These people had been forced to grow from exposure to his powerful images, but they were not permanent items that could hold his image; they looked to have depleted to only half of the original power.
If only he could send-
Randidly blinked. Because as he earnestly wished for something he could do, Randidly suddenly felt that he could do something. The Nether Ritual whispered in his ear some sort of instinctual explanation, but he couldn’t quite understand what it was saying. The sensation… the sensation itself was quite similar to what Randidly had felt when he had been watching Vualla. There seemed suddenly to be an obvious path between him and Vye that Randidly could use to reach and affect the situation.
There was a humming connection hanging between them, built of inky black darkness and lined with pulsing blue veins.
But why do I feel this now? Randidly wondered. I didn’t feel it with Mrs. Hamilton. If I hadn’t felt the sensation with Vualla, I would just assume it was because of my Aether Connection with Vye. But this…
Shaking his head, Randidly didn’t worry about it any further. He wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth now. He could figure out why later. For now, he reached.
*****
Vye blinked dully as Naffur continued to explain the use of the image stones to the group of people from Zone 19 that had gathered around as Kharon, the Wandering City, settled down next to their Village. After understanding that the city was part of one of the rumored ‘Orders’ from New Earth, there had been quite a bit of interest in applying which had led to a staggering amount of travelers heading to Kharon’s temporary resting place.
Considering that the eight hundred or so applicants that had gathered over the last week for the trial had been narrowed down to two dozen, Vye assumed that Naffur hadn’t really bothered to adjust the entrance difficulty to match the fact that these individuals only recently passed their Raid Dungeon.
Honestly, Vye was a little disappointed she hadn’t been able to witness it. After two months of hard training to be a member of the Order Ducis, Vye was tired. She possessed a lot of pride being a part of the Order Ducis and raising her Level to 49, but to Ajax, Naffur, and Helen. This was nowhere near enough. To them, Vye had much more to accomplish before her body was allowed to give out and they used her as such.
Vye’s dull eyes looked up at the sky. I always understood how difficult it would be… but I guess I thought about it as struggling against individual enemies. I didn’t realize how much of an Endurance game it was to so unrelentingly pursue the dream of independence. And I…
Hesitating, Vye bit her lip. She still wanted to walk to the cusp of the world and look over the edge. She had taken up sketching to maintain her sanity, and now she had a secret dream of mapping the entire world. She had already begun to use her precious spare time to make composite drawings of the landscape they passed as Kharon moved.
Perhaps these actions just exacerbated the problems, but Vye felt… wrung out. There wasn’t much substance left to her. There was just wariness.
Maybe it was better that most of the people had been rejected by the Order Ducis. She was also certain that many had a very rude awakening when they realized-
Don’t let this be all you ever accomplish.
Vye took an unconscious step forward as her fist clenched in burning desire. Then she shivered it felt like someone had struck her with lightning. All of her wariness disappeared and suddenly the rather washed out surroundings popped into sharp relief.
For a split second, it seemed that Randidly Ghosthound had stood right beside her and placed his hand upon her shoulder, sending electric thoughts through her body. The imaginary spot on her shoulder where she had believed he touched was still warm. Vye shifted uncomfortably as those strange currents of energy continued to spark through her limbs.
Aldo’s eyes refocused as Vye began to twitch in front of her. Folding his arms, Aldo unleashed a big yawn. The trio at the front of the group from the Order Ducis was currently the top three ranked in the camp and had spent all night hunting entrenched Raid Bosses in the surrounding area as a way to win favor with the local. It also had the added benefit of attracting talented individuals to the recruitment. Certainly, it was a better activity than training with Helen, but that was only because that woman was a taskmaster.
It wasn’t necessarily hard to kill the Raid Boss, but sometimes it was exceedingly tiresome to cut through enough of the subordinates to find the progenitor.
Especially so since these Raid Bosses had several powerful lieutenants that possessed superior growth rates to even the Raid Boss itself. As such, Vye, Aldo, and Valor were using this explanation time as a chance to recuperate a bit before they approached the image stones. Even if image stones had lost a lot of their bite, they were not simple things. The fact that they continued to hold so much power even two months since Randidly had left…
Yet suddenly, all the exhaustion in Vye’s body was gone. Her hands flexed.
Don’t let this be all you ever accomplish.
Again, the shocks spread through Vye’s body. She glared up at the heavens, unsure of why the hell she was feeling this right now but absolutely sure it was Randidly Ghosthound’s fault. I’m not going to just accomplish this. I’ll keep improving. My weakness… its just a passing thing. But if your training tools wear down, what am I supposed to do? I want to find the power to freely explore the world, but-