Chapter 1254 (1/2)

The night of revelry was one that would be long remembered on Kharon. As the stars slowly scrolled past, everyone seemed to throw themselves even more forcefully into enjoying their current reprive. The moss spirits were out in force, dancing enthusiastically for the population that had only recently realized how intelligent they were. Even Randidly couldn’t resist the rising tide of cheer that seized the city as the full population participated in the eating, drinking, and dancing that spread like a plague through the city.

Perhaps most importantly, Randidly could steadily feel the people they had picked up from the ‘Chosen’s’ Chicago aligning with the wider image of Kharon. Slowly but surely, they were beginning to feel at home here. They were all already people that were already willing to work hard and help others, but the party helped them finally relax enough to feel a sense of belonging and community with the moving city.

And the real reason that it made Randidly so pleased to sense the change was because Kharon was his home. It was a wonderful feeling to share the joy of home with others.

The new arrivals' sudden embrace of Kharon became even more sharply apparent when, due to the overwhelming popularity of the quickly escalating party, the people of Kharon drank through the entirety of the liquor they had purchased from Zone 1 and 32. Rather tipsy themselves, the people responsible for the distribution of alcohol were shocked to find that the entire supply that would normally last a month had been drunk to the last drop in only a week. And they were well aware that most of that drinking had come that night.

Requests came for more alcohol, but all the kegs in the storehouse had already been distributed.

For a while, there was a bunch of hand-ringing as the managers in charge of alcohol had a headache that cut quickly through their small amount of inebriation. A ripple ran through the entirety of Kharon as the different alcohol stands that had been set up had to turn customers away due to lack of supply. Some of the joviality began to ebb from the proceedings.

Before the managers finally bit the bullet and reported the problem to Tatiana, an unexpected solution presented itself; surreptitiously hidden under baggy clothes at first, a series of green-glassed bottles of moonshine began making the rounds through the crowds. It turned out that the people of Chicago hadn’t really thought to mention it before, but even under the oppression of the Chosen, they hadn’t given up the sweet vices of alcohol.

Any servent of a Chosen worth his salt was brewing something in his or her personal quarters. That habit hadn’t been lost when they moved to Kharon.

Many a cramped basement was now the site of a hastily assembled still. And although the operations had only been going for about a month, the people had also brought with them three years worth of hidden moonshine they had made under the Chosens’ noses. It was more than enough to fuel the continuation of their party.

As the ‘star’ of the party, Randidly was quickly found and presented with a bottle made of green glass. Curious, he took a swig. Instantly he grinned and laughed as the extremely rough alcohol burned its way down his throat. His Vitality almost instantly smothered the alcohol that entered his body and his Endurance didn’t allow him to become tipsy at all from the gulp, but the familiar burning sensation of alcohol was something that Randidly hadn’t felt in quite some time.

“This stuff is good,” Randidly grinned down at the bottle. The one who had made the moonshine laughed and slapped his knee.

Although Randidly felt quite guilty for simply taking the entire bottle of liquor for himself, Grim Intuition overheard the distiller of that bottle had bragged shamelessly after Randidly had extricated himself from the crowd and returned to the rooftops. Who else but that man’s moonshine was good enough for the Ghosthound himself? So even if he took the entire bottle and disappeared, Randidly dubiously supposed being seen drinking that man’s moonshine was a form of repayment in and of itself.

Maybe being at the top isn’t so bad after all… But as soon as Randidly thought that, the memory of the Ghosthound commercial he had imagined appeared in his mind. Shivering, Randidly took another long swig of moonshine and looked out across the raucous city.

In that moment of peace with the party continuing before him, Randidly contacted Neveah and had a rather long conversation with her. They had spoken briefly a few times while Randidly was fighting at the frontlines, but those interactions just enough to ensure each other that both were doing well. At the time, Randidly had felt Neveah’s frustration that she was unable to assist him while he was really threatened, without his body. After all, they shared Health, Mana, and Stamina, but when Randidly was the Grim Chimera he was purely relying on mental strength to exist.

Neveah had been able to provide some support, but it was much less concrete. So Randidly had taken a few opportunities to interact with Neveah and reassure her that he had grown enough from the experience to make it worth it.

So this conversation as a social call, as the two detailed some minor projects on which they had been working. Of course, Randidly’s plans for an uncomplicated discussion were quickly derailed as he was distracted during a lull in their conversation when he peeked through their Soulbond at Neveah’s inner world. “You… you have ten drops of liquid Aether?”

Neveah’s consciousness was immediately very smug. It swirled around proudly. “What, you think you are the only one who can figure out the trick? Honestly, it is annoying that my advantage over you amounts only this much; liquid Aether requires emotion and I, who have been deeply in love several times over the course of my short life, has much more emotional potency than you. Only three times the liquid Aether? How embarrassing.”

Randidly pursed his lips and took another swig of moonshine as he remembered Neveah using his body to propose to a pop star from Zone 1. Rather than responding to her taunts, however, Randidly just shook his head and opened up some of his memories to Neveah. Specifically, Randidly showed her images of his experiences with liquid Aether. In addition, Randidly told her about the Fate armory that was filled with powerful currents of Aether.

Then, as their discussion expanded outward from Aether application, Randidly revealed his memories of the Xyrt Brigades' actions around the Nether King. If they weren’t going to keep this a pleasure call, Randidly wanted to consult Neveah on what he had seen on the frontlines.

Fascinated, Neveah studied the weave of Aether around the Nether King very closely. Unbidden, she tugged at some of Randidly’s other memories and quickly extracted his observations on the behavior of Nether through his use of Nether Rituals. After studying those experiences, Neveah returned to looking at what Randidly had seen of the Nether King after it had gone dormant.

After thinking a bit, she asked, “Can you show me what is happening there right now? Presently?”

Randidly nodded and activated Nether Ritual. He wove his wish together, sincerely desiring to see the area around the Nether King. With the power of a Nether Gatekeeper fueling the working, the Nether Ritual formed much more quickly than it had in the past. In addition, as the image resolved itself, Randidly was struck by the impression that he could now reach through the connection he established and affect what he saw.

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Ritual (A) has grown to Level 136!

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Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Ritual (A) has grown to Level 142!