Chapter 1194 (1/2)

With only thirty seconds remaining in his break, Randidly tore his eyes away from the stirring forces of the battlefield’s two main combatants and took a brief moment to inspect his Path screen. After all, he had been steadily accumulating PP during the entirety of this frantic confrontation. Even though Randidly had been active for only one-fifth of the total battle, he had gained a lot. His current PP total sat at 523.

And there were a few new Paths waiting for him.

Monarch of the Baleful Woods 0/450, Image Cooperation I 0/100, Body Refinement I 0/???, Chimera’s Struggle II 0/????

Randidly hummed softly to himself as his eyes weighed each of the options in turn. The first was a rather overt reference to his Class. And one that seemed like it would continue the focus on Randidly as a leader. The second, on its face, seemed to be built around creating a method of blending images together. Which, considering the individual power of Randidly’s three images, was definitely an avenue worth pursuing.

With both Yggdrasil and the Grim Chimera working together to empower my body… Yet Randidly schooled his thoughts and continued through the other options.

Perhaps the third option was due to the strain that Randidly had been putting his body under recently. It seemed the System had taken his masochism as a deliberate choice to pursue the creation of a more powerful body. The fourth and final option seemed to be the evolution of Chimera’s Grudge, which had provided Randidly with the viciously targeted Nether Infection Skill. Certainly, that path had given Randidly quite a few Stats while completing, but the targeted Skill filled Randidly for a thirst for revenge against the System that he intended to have sated.

Later, Randidly said to himself. Combined with Randidly’s previously possessed Paths, there were certainly too many options to pick on easily. Especially when the fighting on the frontlines was so chaotic. Especially when Randidly’s heart consistently urged him that something was wrong in the images of Lady Iellaya and Abiodun. His mind was pulled in too many directions; there was no rush to select a single option.

As if to provide its own support to Randidly’s thoughts, his internal clock told him that his break would end in ten seconds.

Congratulations! Your Skill Absolute Timing (Ru) has grown to Level 110!

Randidly cracked his knuckles. Above, the open eyes of the Nether King continued to burn white-hot and survey the battlefield. Slowly and obviously, the Nether Gatekeeper looked from Lord Miln’s position on top of the rocky outcropping to Lady Iellaya. Ignoring that gaze completely, Lady Iellaya used her wings to eviscerate another Nether Gatekeeper. Already the numbers of those remaining in front of her dwindled to fifteen. To say nothing of the vast darkness that the raven-winged serpent dragged in its wake, which seemed to suffocate the average Nether Beast in the surrounding area with its presence.

Although Randidly’s perception was muted so far across the battlefield, he could sense the Nether forces using their new foothold to assail some of the Aether camps from three sides. Losses were rapidly mounting. Bodies were left piled to the side as Nether Beasts stalked forward. Almost the entirety of the reinforcements sent to that side of the battlefield had been slaughtered, leaving only the original forces turtled up in their fortifications.

Yet those final holdouts were also under heavy fire. Even with the advantages of a base to operate from, the Commanders of these forces were rapidly tiring.

And the Commanders were the only defense against the Nether Gatekeepers.

My role… Randidly glanced once more over toward Vualla, and then shifted his gaze upward to Lady Iellaya.

Randidly’s break was over. He took a single step forward. His Mana seethed in his veins as he took a deep breath and the expended almost five thousand of his nine thousand Mana in a single moment. The sensation of immediate loss was certainly a strange one. Due to his time Engraving, Randidly was intimately familiar with the behavior of Mana. At certain quantities, Mana seemed to clump together. Separating out individual drops of Mana was a difficult thing.

Yet Randidly didn’t bother with any sort of attempt at control. Instead, he allowed the huge mass of Mana to condense together and explode as he forced it through his Skill. Around him, the fortifications shivered. When used all at once, so much Mana became more than just five thousand drops of Mana. It became a veritable bomb, ready to explode with power. Randidly’s Skill quaked.

Congratulations! Your Skill Riders of the Baleful Court (A) has grown to Level 131!

Congratulations! Your Skill Riders of the Baleful Court (A) has grown to Level 132!

Congratulations! Your Skill Riders of the Baleful Court (A) has grown to Level 133!

…

Congratulations! Your Skill Riders of the Baleful Court (A) has grown to Level 156!

His breath hissed out through his teeth as Randidly pressed against the limits of what his Skill could give and did not relent for a second. Rather than being an issue of Mana, what Randidly faced was the numerical limit of how many RIders he could summon at any one time. They were distant, but Randidly knew that Neveah still possessed some in her service. Some were also assisting Kharon. So when Randidly tried to summon so many, he was pulling at a well that was already partially tapped.

Plus, it was painful to push past that limit. The Skill groaned and creaked from the strain. Yet Randidly didn’t waver. Pain was something that he knew intimately. After enduring the slow roasting that absorbing the hiltless blade Fate required, this was nothing. And as Randidly did not balk in response to rising levels of pain, the Skill Level shot upward.

Then Randidly rolled his shoulders in discomfort. There were a few breaths of silence as he waited. Then a gnarled hand of root pierced up out of the fortification beneath him and grasped desperately at the air. Its fingers twisted and popped.