Chapter 1194 (2/2)

One by one, Randidly’s newly summoned Riders pulled themselves out of the top of the fortifications, grown out of the same heavy wood that Randidly had nurtured to create the tall fortifications. Not that he had this location in mind as a birthing place for Riders, but it was certainly convenient now that it had been constructed of wood.

And a powerful wood at that.

It’s not like these forts turned out to be very useful anyway… As the chitinous steeds clambered awkwardly out of the gutted would of the groud, Randidly glance out toward the Nether Gatekeepers. Just serves as a symbol. There is no power to these forts. Maybe if I had time to think up an Engraving for them… but for now, that symbol was all I could give. Hopefully, that will be enough.

All told, there were about one hundred and seventy Riders that Randidly had managed to summon. It pleased him immensely that he had been able to push past the limit of his Skill Level, even as it was frustrating to know that these Riders were barely at the power of a one-star Nether Beast to start.

“Help the right flank,” Randidly said lightly. His eyes scanned amongst the entirely uniform riders who watched his every move with blank eyes. At the moment, they were completely identical to one another. Slender bodies, leafy spears, mounts there were a mix between a camel, a rhino, and a spider. Many of these would die when tossed toward the Nether Beasts. But some of them would grow, developing identities, establishing themselves as leaders. Those perhaps could make a difference. “Give it your all. Leave no energy idle for later regrets.”

Most of the ones who evolved into more powerful individuals would still end up dead. This was practically a suicide mission. But the RIders of the Baleful Court nodded and cantered down off of the upper ramparts, past several overwhelmed looking guards. Then Randidly turned and looked back toward Lady Iellaya’s portion of the battlefield.

She clearly had something specific in mind for Randidly, so he would respect that wish and not expend too much of his mental energy. But Randidly did have a slight realization as he considered what his role was and what his Fate meant.

Perhaps he could barely rival a Nether Gatekeeper, but that missed the point. In a way that few others could match, Randidly could rival the entire force of lesser Nether Beasts arrayed against them today. To ignore that was to ignore his greatest strength. And to demonstrate that ability didn’t necessarily take mental power, it only took Mana.

Mana hadn’t been exceedingly important since coming to the frontlines, so Randidly hadn’t been using it much. But now he steadily removed the ten rings he kept in his interspatial ring that stored Mana and Stamina. At this point, Stamina recovery wasn’t a problem, but Randidly gladly absorbed the two thousand or so Mana that he had put there previously.

Perhaps Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil was the most Mana efficient Skill that Randidly possessed, but it was certainly not the most damaging. Grinning, Randidly raised his right hand and watched the emerald and orange fire dance across his fingers. It’s been a while since I utilized my Ignition Essence Skills… but I’ve felt the image of Illym slowly percolating down through them. I think it’s time to check that progress.

With a light step, Randidly tossed himself off the edge of the battlements and flew quickly over the recovering mass of Aether soldiers below. He touched lightly down on a small open space on the battlefield that opened up as both forces were forced backward by the powerful darkness from Lady Iellaya. Many of the Aether soldiers looked up to him in shock as he landed in one of the most dangerous areas of conflict, very close to the back of Lady Iellaya’s image.

Up closer to the image, the sense of anxious struck Randidly much more fiercely. Yet he did his best to ignore that feeling and concentrate on resonating with the Skills in his chest. Skills that Randidly hadn’t relied on in quite some time all started to hum in unison at his call. The orange notes in Ignition Essence began to brighten in radiance on his hands.

Ignition of the Emerald Essence. Verdant Nova. Influence of the Molten Core. Eruption of the Blazing Leyline. Ignition Bolt. One day, they would form the foundation of a Skillset based around Ignition Essence. But for now, they were simply the Skills that would benefit the most from the power brought to him by Illym, the Above-Average Child, and her images.

Although the Skill Levels of these Skill were relatively pedestrian compared to Randidly’s accomplishments with the Yggdrasil and Grim Chimera related Skills, Randidly’s high Intelligence and Control would more than make up for that difference.

From his hand, the emerald and orange flame spread across Randidly’s forearm, elbow, and then ran up to his shoulder. A few seconds later, the surrounding Aether soldiers backed a few more steps away as Randidly became a human torch. Even Salazar, who was telling a story nearby, stalled and stumbled over his words at the sight. Heedless, Lady Iellaya continued to shred and tear at the Nether Gatekeeper numbers.

Congratulations! Your Skill Ignition of the Emerald Essence (L) has grown to Level 163!

Yet Randidly didn’t stop there. He pushed the heat of his flames steadily upward. Very quickly, the ground around him began to melt and bubble. Still, the heat continued to rise. Acri squirmed in annoyance while Sulfur seemed quite pleased with the change in temperature. As the waves of heat rolling off Randidly spiked upward, the neon orange streaks at the tips of Ignition Essence became more pronounced. The heat soon approached the point that it was painful.

Congratulations! Your Skill Ignition of the Emerald Essence (L) has grown to Level 164!

Yet as all his Skills began to resonate from the power rolling off of him, it was an unexpected Skill that cracked in half and then immediately reformed into something stronger.

Synchronicity detected! Warning, continuing without sufficient energy-

Congratulations! Your Skill Mana Physique (Un) is involving! Synchronicity detected! Absorbing sympathetic Skills…

Congratulations! Your Skills Fire Resistance, Pain Resistance, Chosen of Ash, and Catalyst of Agony have been absorbed by Mana Physique!

Congratulations! Mana Physique (Un) as evolved into Stigma of the Lifeless Phoenix (L)! Calculating Skill Level… Skill Level set at 201!

Stigma of the Lifeless Phoenix (L): By taking the power of a deceased phoenix into the user’s body, the user has been gifted with immense resistances to fire and pain. In addition, wielding fire will result in vastly increased power of Skills. However, absorbing a true corpse of a phoenix comes with costs. All Skills that require Mana will now partially exhaust you, requiring a portion of the Mana cost to be spent as Health and Stamina to fuel the Skills. Activating all Skills will result in a small amount of pain. Resistances increase with Skill Level. Potency of fire Skills increases with Skill Level. Pain increase with Skill Level.