Chapter 1188 (2/2)

Congratulations! Your Skill Ruinous Drive (Ru) has grown to Level 62!

Slowly, the fighting once more resumed around them as the chaos of the falling claw died down. Lord Miln’s barrier above them slowly healed. The huge armed monster continued to lope toward the edge of the ditch and the large dog began to move to join it in a charge toward Randidly’s position.

Still, Randidly hesitated. He could feel the nervous eyes of the Aether soldiers at his back. Grim Intuition made Randidly extremely aware of every time they looked at him, their eyes following the slow rise and fall of his shoulders as Randidly struggled to control his breathing and allow himself to heal. Yet their images were fuzzy, raw things. It had previously been extremely hard to get a read on their behavior.

Yet somehow, it was becoming increasingly clear to Randidly. They waited, watching his back, unsure of whether they would live in the face of the sea of Nether Beasts. After watching his back for so long, enjoying the slight benefit of his Ruinous Drive, they needed him. Their willingness to fight was now inexorably tied to Randidly’s actions. By protecting them, he had become their spine that supported them through this trial.

Yet how could a body be willing to see a spine let itself be destroyed to protect the rest of the flesh? No, this body wanted to see the spine stand straight. Regardless of what cost it had for them. That was their pride as soldiers. Clearer and clearer, Randidly could feel that resolve radiating off of them.

That was the proof of their sincere respect for this stranger who had stood tall to lessen their own burdens.

Congratulations! Your Skill Lantern of Harsh Truths ® has grown to Level 49!

Congratulations! Your Skill Lantern of Harsh Truths ® has grown to Level 50!

Again, I don’t think I’m the one who was supposed to be affected by this Skill… Randidly could only shake his head. But his resolve rapidly formed as he felt the spirits of the soldiers behind him rapidly lifting. With vicious intent, Randidly raised Acri again. “Molten Fang of the Pariah.”

Randidly said the words lightly, but Acri seemed to shiver with pleasure as Randidly activated the Skill. But even Randidly wasn’t prepared for the whole of Acri to so readily absorb the image of his Skill. The leafy guard began to smoke and then smolder. The color of the wooden shafted darkened and greyed as Acri began to burn. As the temperature of Acri’s shaft continued to rise, ash drifted downward in a delicate wake of orange fireflies below the intimidating weapon.

Congratulations! Your Skill Molten Fang of the Pariah (L) has grown to Level 200!

Yet the core of Acri continued to brighten, until the stinger like tip of Acri was glowing cherry red. Certainly eye-catching, but it was the small markings on the root system on Acri’s butt that really left Randidly floored.

“You little shit,” Randidly laughed in disbelief. “When did you learn to Engraving?”

Acri’s coo of a response seemed to say ‘how else but watching you?’

Shaking his head again, Randidly looked forward and wasted no more time; with a burning Molten Fang of the Pariah that was almost five meters long, Randidly tightened his grip on Acri’s shaft. That was all the sign that the weapon that had grown up with Randidly’s touch needed to activate the mysterious runes that glimmered at the end of Acri’s shaft.

There was a spark and then a subsequent explosion of momentum so forceful that even Randidly was surprised. To his body that was still struggling to catch up with the damage that the first Nether Gatekeeper had inflicted upon him, the jarring unexpected acceleration was more than a little painful.

Congratulations! Your Skill Pain Resistance has grown to Level 154!

Even though Randidly was already stunned by Acri being able to figure out how to use Engraving, his senses traced the budding images that Acri used to create the explosive acceleration. The shape was Yggdrasil, the fuel was the Grim Chimera, and the power came from Ignition Essence.

Just how closely have you been watching me this whole time…? Randidly wondered. Obviously he was aware that Acri was intelligent, but most of their interactions made Randidly feel like he was a parent dealing with a precocious and playful child. But this… to combine all the images together with Engraving… to envision the shape of this evolution…

Burning emerald roots of fire snaked outward from the butt of Acri as the Engravings flared to life. The loping Nether Gatekeeper had just about reached the edge of the ditch, but then Randidly was there like a ballista bolt, all vicious point and terrible purpose. Although this Nether Gatekeeper had a powerful body, even it couldn’t react to the strange acceleration that Acri provided.

The Nether Gatekeeper hardly had time to jerk backward before Acri punctured directly through the heavy muscles of its shoulders. In fact, its flinch was probably all that saved it from Randidly ramming Acri into its heart. Before the pyramidal tip the skin of the Nether Beast was nothing but paper. Yet even as the first Nether Beast absorbed some of Randidly’s forward momentum, his emerald eyes narrowed.

As Randidly pierced through the foe’s shoulder and forced the Nether Beast back into the ditch, both figures shot forward away from the lines of Aether shoulders. Randidly could feel the sudden and abrupt suppression of his World Tree image as he crossed that line, but he didn’t let himself be distracted by that.

Because from Randidly’s left, the large dog arrived on an intercepting vector, its jaws aiming to rip into Randidly’s throat.