Chapter 1393 (1/2)

“I almost feel bad for heroes,” Ace said. He lay on his belly on the edge of a shale outcropping, allowing him to look down at the rolling hills below them. After shimmying up to the edge, his whole body was covered in dust. Even worse, he smelled like he hadn’t bathed in a week. “In a way, they are cripplingly predictable. Before a fight, they will train and power up. It’s honestly obnoxious. But in this case, it helps us gauge how much time we have left.”

Ezekiel shivered. Laying here and listening to Ace ramble wasn’t ideal, but he had grown rather numb to it at this point. Obviously, they were far enough away from Randidly to avoid detection and therefore couldn’t actually see what was occurring. Yet Ace was right about one thing; the image reverberations that Randidly Ghosthound was releasing were so powerful that they didn’t need any special Skill in order to keep track of his position.

Whatever he was doing now was clearly important. It was practically an invitation to attack. Yet at the same time, who aside from the madman next to Ezekiel would dare attack the Ghosthound?

Of course, this madman wouldn’t attack him now. No, he wanted his triumph to be total and complete; he would wait until Randidly believed himself at his peak before striking.

Speaking of this madman… Ezekiel snuck a glance at Ace. Because after that initial comment, Ace had fallen silent. To further confuse Ezekiel, Ace squirmed backward from the edge of the cliff. Only when he was thoroughly screened from view by the stone did Ace straighten.

Then Ace gestured for Ezekiel to follow. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Just like that…?” Ezekiel was somewhat at a loss but still followed the instruction. When he stood, he looked at Ace with something close to bewilderment in his expression. “Aren’t you going to…?”

“There’s no point in monologuing further; there’s no more time to practice,” Ace said simply. Although his eyes were still bloodshot, there was a surprising amount of clarity in his gaze. “I would rather wait, but we need to interrupt the battle that Randidly is now powering up for. That is the moment to strike. Therefore… It is time to rouse our precious egg.”

*****

It was lunchtime when Randidly finally allowed himself to collapse on the ground like a deflated balloon. Neveah, perhaps out of pride, continued to stand above her Soulbound companion but was also breathing heavily. Over the past several hours they had poured everything they had into creating this arm.

Right now, Randidly was extremely weak. Although he had plenty of Mana and Stamina, his mind was blurry from the amount of Aether he had expended on keeping his images powerful and constant for the past twelve hours. Even Randidly’s refined drops of liquid Aether would only have limited usefulness if Kaan Swacc popped up right now.

Yet as Randidly lay on the ground exhausted, he couldn’t help but chortle. Who we are may give us strength, but it also binds us. What we want leads us around by the nose. Even though Kaan Swacc wants to triumph over me, his training only lets him consider it a victory if he is able to reveal my Nether affiliations. As such… he will let this opportunity to kill me pass without a second thought.

The truth of my Nether controls him. While the truth of my growing strength is ignored...

Of course, his good cheer passed pretty quickly. Because Randidly also knew that he probably held similar blinders in some ways. It might be worth it to investigate how he could improve himself.

But for now, Randidly forced himself to sit up. Then he slowly stood, his spine cracking as he twisted around and stretched. Finally, he proceeded to the slightly raised stone in the middle of their work area on which his finished arm sat.

The Left Arm of Randidly Ghosthound (L) Lvl 99: An arm that combines engineering genius, Aether Engraving, and metal smelting in a manner that nears perfection. Such a feat is only able to be poorly imitated in the future, never replicated by others. The streamlined design allows the harmony between the Engraving and the metal to reach new heights. Images flowing through this left arm will be strengthened. All Stats +50. Can only be used by Randidly Ghosthound. Aegis of Bones and Steel V. Purity of Purpose V. Prayer of the Bone Wyrm VI.

Aegis of Bones and Steel V: This arm will become the greatest shieldthat Randidly Ghosthound possesses. It was built with the express purpose of enduring, both the attacks of the enemies and usage of the Ghosthound himself. Because of that, this arm is practically living flesh, capable of slowly healing from damage done to it. Endurance +50. All attacks that reduce Health traveling through the arm will be reduced by 50%.

Purity of Purpose V: Perhaps more impressive even than the accomplishment itself, was the breadth and depth of Willpower demonstrated during the making of the arm. Although the path to completion was long, the maker did not flinch or look away. Such dedication is always rewarded. While using the arm, all of the effects of Randidly’s Skills are increased by 5%. The Skills in question need not flow through the arm itself.

Prayer of the Bone Wyrm VI: The left hand of Randidly Ghosthound carries with it the deepest hopes of a monster. Such a concentrated gift is a powerful one, but the effects are not yet clear. Increase the Level of the Engraving in order to see the full effect. User obtains the Skill Dream of the Aether Well Orphan (L) Lvl 1.

Dream of the Aether-Well Orphan (L): The user carries the hopes of another.

Randidly released a breath that hissed through his teeth. There was a lot to unpack in the description of the arm, but he couldn’t deny that this was a success. It was a Legendary item, and the stories and images that built it were his own. No longer did the System need to take stories from other places to give the item power; now Randidly could support a Legendary item all on his own.