Chapter 1413 (1/2)

The rather morbid notification left Randidly with more worries than he had anticipated, but it wasn’t like he could do much about the strangeness of content right now. In the future, he would be careful about the mental attacks, but for now he didn’t see any reason to focus a significant amount of his attention on the issue.

Although, this mental attack was really poorly matched against me, Randidly thought grimly. Perhaps in the future, resisting it won’t be so simple…

Nor would he refuse the change to Visualization. As Randidly looked as his newly created Conviction of the Smiling Horror, he couldn’t help but grin. The image for the evolved Class Skill was mostly based on the Grim Chimera, but there were also elements of the Stillborn Phoenix in it. That sense of bleak obsession…

The result was a good one and a timely boost to Randidly’s strength. In addition, it was a small step toward his images working together. That alone was cause for celebration.

Still, only one step forward. Still a lot of improving to do. Clicking his tongue, Randidly opened up his Path menu once more. He still had 464 PP, so he could push a significant chunk of the way through another Path. Perhaps because it was due to the Grim Chimera that he so easily disposed of the mental attack, Randidly chose to go with the Monstrosity’s Growth Path.

464 PP was only enough to get a little less than halfway through the Path, but every 50 PP did reward Randidly with 1 Vit, End, and Nether Brawn. Still a pretty low-yield result, but enough that Randidly’s stats slowly crept upward. His body began to shift toward an even more powerful form.

There was also a new notification that Randidly received as he was steadily feeding PP into the Path. When his Figure of the Alpha Cosmos Soulskill reached 25000, he received a notification that he would receive his next tithe from the Alpha Cosmos at Level 27500. Randidly felt somewhat sour that such a reward would require him to gather another 2500 PP on his own, but he knew that it was just a matter of time with his large number of Skills.

Hopefully I could get 1/5th of that in this next journey into the Dungeon...

All in all, Randidly grinned after feeling the changes to his power. In addition, Randidly hadn’t yet spent the free Stats he had obtained after killing Kaan Swacc. So with all the gathered free Stats, he was able to push both his Reaction and Resistance to over 1000. Plus, Endurance was creeping upward at a steady pace. With the Endurance he got from Monstrosity’s Growth, he was only 33 away from another Stat reaching 1000.

After the two Stats reached 1000 in quick succession, Randidly was briefly overwhelmed by the prickling sensation of change across his body. If his Grim Intuition and Control hadn’t already been at 1000, he likely would have been lost in the clashing sensations that overwhelmed him. But with a fine and practiced touch, Randidly could trace the different sorts of responses that struck him simultaneously.

Randidly’s newly improved Reaction seemed to sweep across his body, activating all of his nerve endings to a painful degree. In a very visceral way, it felt like the previous wiring was being ripped out so the entire electric system could be revamped. Randidly leaned forward and gritted his teeth as the pathways between the nerves became increasingly steady and secure.

The process felt like forcing needles down his spinal column, but the effect was good. Information could move from his body to his brain and back again just a sliver more quickly. In terms of sensitivity, Randidly’s skin evolved to be much more discerning. Those small hairs that covered the human body now seemed hard-wired to trigger his nerves when they sensed something.

Of course, considering Randidly’s current ability to react, even a sliver of time decrease was very significant in dangerous fights. It was with those sorts of impossible moves that Randidly had been able to physically suppress Kaan Swacc, even without using his combined images.

In addition to his inflamed spine, there were also especially concentrated pains in Randidly’s elbows and knees. When he investigated the sensation further, Randidly discovered that a growing mass of nerve endings and brain cells were weaving themselves into the tendons and muscles of the joints. In essence, Randidly was developing ‘mini-brains’ that could independently react to external stimuli. Although he wasn’t yet sure how well they would function, Randidly savored the strange, super smooth sensation of movement as he straightened his bent form as the pain faded.

The change in his Resistance was more subtle. But Randidly felt that as he stood, whole and uninjured, there was an extra, intangible... something to his defenses. It was a strange impression, but it felt like it would be quite difficult for an opponent to inflict their first wound on Randidly.

It was almost an image. So by the same token, it was half a Skill. But when Randidly focused on it, it was difficult to pin down the source. Just… something vital appeared to have changed in Randidly’s body. In its base state, he had achieved some equilibrium. As such, there was a certain… inertia keeping him at equilibrium.

After that balance was broken, his defenses would return to their prior state. But by reaching 1000, his Resistance had a qualitative change that would shield him from the first batch of harm.

Nodding to himself, Randidly looked at the whole of his Stat sheet.

Randidly Ghosthound

Class: Lord of the Baleful Wood (x5)

Level: 62 (34%)

Health(/R per hour): 12051/12051 (4699)

Mana(/R per hour): 11198/11198 (2788)

Stam(/R per min): 8301/8708 (1761)

Vit: 1054

End: 967

Nether Brawn (A): 1009

Agi: 1187

Grim Intuition (L): 1080

Reaction: 1000

Resistance: 1014

Willpower: 1207

Intelligence: 1058

Wisdom: 744