Chapter 1160 (2/2)
Or he supposed he didn’t need to do it that way. But he definitely knew that the outcome would be superior if he continued on in this manner.
And these are just the branches. The trunk itself...
Sighing, Randidly leaned back on the ground and appreciated the silence of his tent around him. He had taken to sending Zauna and Salazar out of his tent while he did his image work, and had no regrets about it; he saved so many moments where he would be shocked into wakefulness by a sudden noise this way.
“...yet there still is the problem of Salazar…” Randidly muttered. Even he couldn’t miss the way that the snakeman was being torn to pieces as he was continually told to shut up by Lady Iellaya’s subordinates while the stress of the constant attacks was getting to him. Some part of Randidly wanted to order Zauna to be the one to talk with him, but he knew that wasn’t the Path he should take.
He was the leader. And he needed to act like it. Especially after receiving the rather concerning message from Naffur about the state of the Order Ducis. Doubly so because he knew that Helen was tied up elsewhere for another few weeks.
But that’s a problem for another day. From my perspective… I’ll probably have addressed all of my images before that developed further.
Still, there were good reasons to go see Salazar either way. Randidly had gained a Skill Level in Visualization during his earlier Yggdrasil refinement that brought him to 3 Skill Points away from the PP motherload. Rather than rushing toward the PP, Randidly wanted to try and get all of his images to the point where he would be ready for a Fate before he started finishing Paths.
That way, the System might recognize the work he had done on his images and make the related Paths even more valuable. And since he was already so close there really was no need to focus on gathering PP.
Right now Ignition Essence was currently digesting another batch of the hiltless blade’s memories, while Randidly had kinda settled on using the whole of the Alpha Cosmos as the focus for the Grim Chimera. There were some… theological problems with it, but Randidly believed as long as he focused on the aspects of the world that it would work.
After all, just like the Grim Chimera, his Soulskill was essentially the ashes of several destroyed worlds piled on top of the weapons of an ancient Creature. Despite that… it evolved into something that was more than the sum of its parts. The Grim Chimera had met Vualla and found in her another that he was willing to give his life for.
The reason that Randidly wanted to put off the meeting was two-fold: the first reason was that he was very close to Level 50. If he wanted this to work, he needed to get all of his images ready with a balanced focus. Only then could he use that as a base to create an even more potent Fate than the one the System typically created.
With a snap of his fingers, Randidly conjured a tongue of emerald flame that danced across his fingers. The light threw long and flickering shadows against the walls of the tent. The whole of the interior was transformed by the strange light.
And the second reason was obviously that Salazar was a rather annoying person. Even without the stutter, he was extremely self-centered.
“...but when comparing my minor annoyance to what might be a mental breakdown for Salazar, there is no reason not to go talk to him,” Randidly sighed.
Congratulations! Your Skill Lantern of Harsh Truths ® has grown to Level 46!
“What the hell, that Skill shouldn’t work on me,” Randidly winced. Two more Skill Levels to go. At this point, he probably couldn’t wait until his work on his images was done for the Paths, but that was fine. As long as he could finish the images before he reached Level 50, it would work out.
Randidly hopped up to his feet and walked out of the tent before he could randomly gain a Skill Level doing anything else. At this point, he simply had too many Skills for him to even take reasonable precautions against it…
Was it worth it to spend the PP to forget a Skill…? Probably not, but...
To his surprise, Salazar was not in his usual position waiting outside of Randidly’s tent. And in his place was a rather unwelcome guest.
“Ileot Swacc,” Randidly said lightly. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
With a high pitched chuckle, Ileot gave Randidly an elaborate bow. “Randidly, I have wonderful news. Lord Miln has finally had some success with the Nether Prince. We will likely have access to the powerful memories or emotions within that bit of Nether in the next few days.”
“How… nice.” Randidly said dryly. “But you’ll have to excuse me, I have something to attend to.”
“Of course, of course,” Ileot smiled sweetly, not thrown at all by Randidly’s attitude. “Just one more thing. I don’t know if I informed you previously, but the memories within the Nether Prince aren’t something that only a single person can experience. Some of the potency is sapped, sure… but it can easily be shared. And because of our friendship… I’ve convinced Lord Miln to allow you to accompany him. No need to thank me.”