Chapter 1126 (1/2)

Despite Randidly’s worries, it seemed that things had been relatively peaceful in the Soulskill. Under the Monster Prince’s guidance, it seemed that the denizens of Randidly’s old Soulskill were almost entirely integrated, at least theoretically, into their new home country of the Shelly Kingdom.

Of course, the looming threat of war with the neighboring Armgrast Empire was a danger, but it wasn’t an existential one that Randidly felt needed his involvement. He obviously couldn’t completely eradicate war in the Alpha Cosmos, nor did he want to spend the time to do it. His only job was to determine whether the undercurrents in his Soulskill were the result of someone else meddling or simply the inhabitant's ambition.

Yet, to Randidly’s great irritation, there was more than enough present in the report from Wendy to make Randidly suspicious that something unusual was happening. Mostly, his suspicions were based on the state of the lighthouses.

They had, at least historically, always existed in this world that was the Alpha Cosmos. But Wendy noted that ‘presence’ was largely theoretical and ritualistic in nature; they hadn’t provided the functioning Classes before Randidly became connected with the Soulskill, a little over a year ago.

Since then, nine had been discovered. And due to the Classes strategic worth to the countries, they were generally hotly contested. Three were present on the new continent that Randidly’s people arrived on, which now served as the land the Monster Prince ruled. In addition, there was one in the far South, high in a snowy mountain range that was largely considered too much trouble to try and monopolize by either of the two major powers of the Shelly Kingdom and Armgrast Empire.

Aside from those, three belonged to the Shelly Kingdom while only two belonged to the Armgrast Empire. And the reason that this fact caught Randidly’s attention was that less than a month ago, a Class Lighthouse was discovered with the rather vicious Class ‘Warrior with the Grim Smile’. It was even on the border between the two major powers.

Yet the Armgrast Empire had not dispatched more than a token force to contest it. Some political figures were saying it was a gesture of goodwill between the nations, to not constantly feud with the Shelly Kingdom over every little thing, but Randidly thought that smelled like bullshit. Even if the relationship between his Soulskill’s refugees and the people of Shelly Kingdom was less rosy than everyone said, there was no way that this Armgrast Empire would allow the Shelly Kingdom access to six of the total Class Lighthouses.

At the very least, the Armgrast Empire should have supported Halio, a minor city-state located between the two superpowers and right on top of the Class Lighthouse, in their bid to declare that the Class Lighthouse belonged to them. The fact that they didn’t meant that there was something very strange going on in the governing of the Armgrast Empire. And it wasn’t just the weird impression that Randidly had of Lazareth Armgrast, the lion-headed man that had tried to impersonate a diamond merchant to get close to Azriel.

Luckily enough, Randidly suspected that if anyone could give him the information he needed, it was Azriel. Which was why, for the second time, Randidly was sneaking into a courtyard in the capital city of Armgrast Empire as the last light of dusk faded.

There were a few reasons that this visit was different than his first, however. First and perhaps least importantly, the courtyard Randidly was infiltrating was much nicer, filled with vivid violet blues and warm oranges. Plus, the courtyard was part of the sprawling central palace at the center of the Armgrast Empire’s capital. It seemed Azriel was moving up in the world.

Second, and also relatively unimportant, was the fact that the guards were now Level 51 and 52 around the courtyard. And despite the only eleven or twelve Level difference, these individuals were much better at their jobs. It seemed that people were finally realizing the importance of Skill Levels.

But even if they had higher Skill Levels, they couldn’t compete with Randidly’s.

Third, and most amusingly, Randidly arrived to see that Azriel and strung together a rope by tying sheets together and was repelling down from a third-story balcony. Which was such a strange visual picture that he couldn’t control his laughter.

“What the hell are you doing,” Randidly chuckled and stepped out of a perfectly manicured treeline as Azriel alighted on the ground in front of him.

She glanced at him sideways with a familiar an amused smile on her face. Then she raised her hands above her hand and spun lightly, causing her floor-length black dress to spin playfully around her. “It’s about sending the right message. A disappeared lady without any signs of a struggle… their imaginations will run wild. But a rope of sheets hanging out from a balcony? I’ve obviously run away. And manipulating their perceptions is very important, so…”

For several seconds Randidly just blinked at this version of Azriel who stood in front of him, one who was just as frank and forward but much more feminine. Smirking at him, Azriel lowered her arms.

“Jeez, couldn’t you be at least a little surprised to see me?” Randidly said with a shake of his head. Chuckling, Azriel threw her bone-white hair over her shoulder and shrugged. They both came together on the manicured lawn and hugged each other, then took a step back. “But what I really meant… why did you actually climb down the sheet? For someone like you, a jump like that should be nothing.”

Azriel gave Randidly a frank stare like he was being an idiot. “Randidly, I have never had the opportunity to climb down a rope from a balcony before. Experiences are the building blocks toward the future. Besides, it turned out to be surprisingly enjoyable. The sheets were quite fine, and provided a more than adequate grip.”

Randidly could only laugh at Azriel’s frank answer. “It’s… good to see you. To talk to someone who is so direct and honest. I’ve had… a tiring few months.”

“Who hasn’t?” Azriel said dismissively. With practiced delicacy, she reached down and pulled up the train of her gown so it no longer trailed on the grass. She leaned her head forward toward the wall. “Now, can we talk while I flee?”

“Azriel.” Randidly could only roll his eyes as he examined the black lace gown lined with pearls. Which, Randidly couldn’t help but notice, Azriel seemed completely at ease while wearing. “You cannot seriously expect me to believe you plan on fleeing while wearing that.”

“Randidly,” Azriel replied, mimicking his semi-disgusted tone with remarkable accuracy. “This is a disappointing mistake to make. As with the other novel action I took tonight, never have I had the chance to flee a city while wearing-”

“Okay, I get it,” Randidly said with a wave of his hand. He began to walk toward the far wall and Azriel followed with quick steps. Both barely had to exert themselves to leap over the rainbow-colored garden and reach the walls. “But I have to ask- does this have anything to do with the fact that the Armgrast Empire didn’t bother to fight for that last Class Lighthouse?”