Chapter 1415 (2/2)

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Sensation (L) has grown to Level 232!

This idea was a better one than the prior attempt, but again, Randidly quickly realized his ability to manipulate the Nether wasn’t quite deft enough for what he wanted to accomplish right now. Nether Sensation’s Skill Level was increasing, but it was rough sledding.

But life requires hard work. This won’t slow me down. Randidly hummed to himself. He checked the time, then returned to the practice. Even if it was just Skill Levels and familiarity, the accumulation mattered. The steady motions and repetition of moving Nether flows would someday be the basis for Randidly’s strength.

He tried new things and made mistakes. When he ran out of ideas, he played and experimented with Nether. Slowly, he grew more comfortable while utilizing the energy directly.

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Sensation (L) has grown to Level 233!

Of course, he couldn’t do it all today. With a yawn up toward the slowly emerging stars above, Randidly stretched and straightened. Working on his ability to manipulate Nether was an ongoing project. Besides, he had a hands-on demonstration of Nether that was long overdue.

After idly combing his fingers through his hair, Randidly activated Nether Ritual and reached through time and space for Vualla. As he did so, he kept his touch light; because of Vualla’s situation, he didn’t want to interrupt her during something important. But the Xyrt Brigade training was, without a doubt, a process meant to break most of its applicants. So he was determined to reach out and once more provide some mental sustenance to her. Randidly wanted to give Vualla every advantage he could so that wouldn’t happen.

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Ritual (A) has grown to Level 165!

As he activated the Skill, Randidly kept a close eye on the way the Nether spun itself together and became a prayer. It was especially annoying to see that the base utilization of the Skill could weave his Nether better than he could. But looking at it, Randidly had a few more ideas about how he could adjust his own methods in the future.

He had been too forceful in the past, Randidly noted while he watched the Nether Ritual rise upward to build the connection. He had to remember that Nether wasn’t as certain as Aether. It was built on connection, but also on faith. It was an amorphous energy that rarely possessed a definitive shape.

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Ritual (A) has grown to Level 166!

The Nether Ritual activated. Randidly’s will reached across space and time to find Vualla. For an extended second, there was no response and Randidly abruptly felt chilled by the reality of what might have happened to her in the Xyrt Brigade training. But then the familiar warmth of her presence could be felt through the ritual. Stifling a sigh, Randidly gently reached out to ascertain Vualla’s current situation.

This time, he at least didn’t find that her image had been ground down to almost nothing. But there was still… a sense of fragility to Vualla as he felt her current image. But rather than her being shattered, it was more akin to seeing an old friend who had lost an unhealthy amount of weight since you had last met. Vualla’s image of destruction was gaunt and starved to his senses. Yet as Randidly felt her using it, he couldn’t deny that this slow starvation had made the image pure and focused.

From what Randidly could tell, Vualla was currently engaged in some sort of training. Her body was sweating and her image was raging at its full strength. Randidly didn’t dare extend his perception outside of her body, so he simply pressed his hand through the ritual to her back and passed on a little bit of warmth, to let her know he was there. Then Randidly withdrew.

Within a few seconds, he had received a message from Vualla stating that she would be done for the night in two hours. Which gave Randidly the chance to take Tim and Delilah out of his Alpha Cosmos and home for the night.

As soon as Randidly came and landed outside of Lucretia’s training area, he sensed that something was wrong. The air was rife with the scent of violence and the oppressive weight of tension. Although all the tents and banners looked fine, Randidly carefully scanned the surrounding area. He didn’t need to look for long; One look at the swollen face of Delilah made it clear who had likely instigated the trouble… and been punished for it.

Randidly slowly glanced around at the surrounding tents. The children who lived here with Lucretia hunched their shoulders and turned away from him as he glanced around. Likely they were wondering whether they went too far by fighting with Delilah. But in Randidly’s mind, this was probably a good lesson for Delilah. Knowing that there were kids her age who were just as strong as she is would probably help ground her in the future.

So, although Randidly could tell that something had happened, he didn’t bat an eye and simply smiled as he collected Tim and Delilah. Contrary to his expectations, Delilah didn’t say anything even after they left his Soulskill. When Randidly escorted them back to the Moss’s apartment, she stayed completely silent and then proceeded directly to her room.

Tim stammered an excuse about her being tired and then fled. Rolling his eyes, Randidly left the apartment and went to the Order Ducis offices to talk with Derek. He found the man bent over a tall pile of paperwork, looking more like an office drone than a probationary member of the most powerful Order on Earth.

Derek looked up sharply as Randidly walked into his office. “Something happen?”

Randidly shook his head. “No, I just wanted to ask you something. Soon, I plan on going into a Dungeon for a few months to train. In order to make sure Tim is ready for the project, I’d like to take him with me. Of course, I’ll make sure he is safe during that time. And if you don’t want him to age strangely through a Dungeon-”

“But… Tim can’t go into a Dungeon. He doesn’t have a Class,” Derek pointed out. And from his heavy tone, it was clear what he thought about his son getting a Class before his 16th birthday.

I cannot believe that arbitrary choice we made in Donnyton has basically become a universal standard for Classes… Randidly chuckled. “True, people without Classes cannot enter or exit a Dungeon alone. But individuals can be brought along into a Dungeon if they don’t technically try to enter. However, I do think that there are some… costs to bringing individuals without Classes into a Dungeon.”

Once again, Derek’s gaze was sharp. “Like what?”

Randidly coughed lightly. He didn’t think they would stay in long enough for Aether to become an issue for Tim, especially if he was in Randidly’s Alpha Cosmos the whole time, but even so… “Well, Delilah was raised mostly in a Dungeon. It is an… unusual existence. Without a significant amount of life experience to act as insulation against the isolation of the Dungeon...”

“Ah.” Derek blinked. Then he began to rub his chin. “Ahhh….”