Chapter 1372 (2/2)

The tension steadily grew. Randidly continued to breathe and his heart continued to beat. But then Randidly received a message from Alana.

Danger Zone cleared. Returning to Zone 1 to assist with the Epic Danger Zone.

Randidly’s eyes narrowed. Well if we have a bit of spare time, might as well take advantage of it…

“Get ready Neveah,” Randidly said aloud. “We’ve cleared the last hurdle.”

“Thank god,” Neveah said flippantly. “I’ve been getting so bored.”

Randidly then closed his eyes and sent out his Grim Intuition. With Neveah next to him, he wasn’t really worried about being surprised by the Special Investigator. Or rather, he trusted that Kaan would show himself and want to taunt Randidly before launching a deadly attack.

So Randidly sent out his vision to feel the manifestation of the Epic Danger Zone. And even Randidly had to admit he was rather impressed with its entrance.

Lake Apollo was an enormous lake. Or at least, to Randidly’s knowledge, it was extremely large. The size was such that even with enhanced eyesight, it wasn’t possible for someone to see across to the other side. Yet as Randidly reached out to see the situation, he saw the water draining out of Lake Apollo.

First gradually, but then in a sloshing torrent, the billions of gallons of water vanished. Aside from the occasional sea monster flobbing around in the revealed ground, nothing was left but stone and seaweed. With grim expressions, Helen led the Earth’s forces toward the enormous hole that appeared at the heart of Lake Apollo. After gathering themselves, they followed the missing water down to drive out the threat.

Randidly tensed and prepared for the Special Investigator’s arrival… and stayed tense for the next eight hours.

At which point a notification appeared in the sky.

Congratulations people of Earth! You have successfully risen to the challenge and defeated the Corrupted Invaders! Because you finished the task set to you within the time limit, the energy given to Earth has been greatly increased! In addition, all random Classes offered at Villages will be slightly more valuable! The chance of an extremely rare Class appearing has increased by .3%! The chance of a unique Class appearing has increased by .001%!

In addition, in the depths of the Epic Danger Zone there are two tokens. Those tokens can be redeemed to gain Tier 1 citizenship in the Nexus. Please also note that if someone obtains three such tokens, it is possible to combine them to form a Tier 2 token, with greater benefits.

Randidly’s expression was solemn as he looked at the notification. “...the Special Investigator didn’t come. Did we miss something…?”

“Perhaps we were tricked,” Neveah admitted. She, too, was staring at the notification. “But if so, then where didn’t the Special Investigator want us focusing…?”

A split second later, Randidly’s heart dropped out of his chest. He had checked his Alpha Cosmos directly after he obtained the Aether Mines to see if they affected the wellbeing of the people living there, but since then-

Without waiting to inform Neveah of his thoughts, Randidly appeared in the Alpha Cosmos. With a furious roar, Grim Intuition exploded outward from him, quickly figuring out the situation.

“...not here either…?” Randidly panic turned to confusion. He scanned the Alpha Cosmos several times but could detect nothing strange. But he supposed maybe fighting against Yystrix for so long just made him paranoid about his Soulspace; aside from her, Randidly had not met anyone else who could influence it. Ileot wanted to duplicate it, but he needed Randidly’s assistance for that.

He left his inner world and then flicked his hand to conjure the Dreamcatcher of the Long Night. The complex geometric lines made by the rope between the various hoops were mesmerizing as he entered that world of chimes.

He quickly returned to an impression he had purposefully created for later, one right before he had sent Alana the order to attack the Danger Zone.

In the projection, Randidly exploded in a wave of Nether. He undid all of the Aether Mines. Then he waited in the projection until he began to feel the beginnings of a headache, but Kaan Swacc didn’t show up.

Randidly returned to the real world. He glanced at Neveah. “This… damnit, honestly I want to be relieved that we made it through without trouble, but this…”

“Actually, I don’t think we have quite made it through without any trouble,” Neveah said. She pointed upward. “Look.”

Randidly glanced upward. Then he blinked several times. With a hand gesture, the silver mist cleared. Above him was a bright blue afternoon sky… but sitting in the middle of it like an ink stain on a t-shirt was a deep, endless darkness filled with questing azure veins. Circling around that was a dense network of Aether connections, burning with intensity as though under fire.

“Why the hell is the Great Rift here…?” Randidly asked aloud.