Chapter 1426 (2/2)

But of course, there would always be other things to train. Randidly could direct more of his attention toward his Skill Levels, which was always a steady avenue of self-improvement. He still had a ways to go in his Monstrosity’s Growth Path, but he believed that he could amass several hundred PP while he was within the Dungeon.

Randidly followed the worn path down the mountain, looking around with amusement at the weeping-willow-esque chime trees that lined the area around his peak. They generated a veritable symphony around him, their branches swaying back and forth in something that seemed to resemble joy. At this point, there were about a thousand of these trees on the mountain, and Randidly was currently undecided whether they possessed actual intelligence or simply mimicked it with remarkable efficiency.

The deep green leaves whispered and rung as Randidly walked past them. From within the heavy foliage, Randidly felt the gazes of dozens of raccoon-like creatures that had grown two extra sets of arms and made their home within the chime trees. They used the set of arms nearest to their head to hold some sort of nut to their sharp teeth while they gestured sinisterly with their other pairs.

Randidly would have slaughtered the lot of them if Sam didn’t point out that there was a strange, symbiotic relationship between the raccoons and the trees. And Sam was very interested in letting these chime trees flourish so they could be harvested for their unique raw materials later. His gaze was almost fanatical when Randidly had seen him look up toward the greenery around his peak.

It provided Randidly a strange amount of mental pressure to know that Sam seemed to regard his image as fertilizer for these organisms, but Randidly was curious about them as well. Hopefully, they would continue to evolve as time passed in the Dungeon.

Once he had passed the area dominated by chime trees, Randidly accelerated downward. Below the mountain was the valley, and within the valley was the river that formed the core of the group’s base in the Dungeon. There were a fifty or so rough edged adobe houses right near the river, but since Ed Dugg had whipped the children into construction shape, there were also several respectable-looking houses around a small fountain Ed had made. This was the core of their current Dungeon operation.

Randidly proceeded to the largest of those buildings, opening the heavy wooden door and walking into the food hall. Immediately, the raucous noise within the building ceased. The kids looked up from their boar-bacon and eggs with wide eyes. Their mouths were frozen, midway through shaping a word.

Kharon’s police force had an even more abrupt reaction. They dropped their silverware onto their trays with a loud clatter and immediately straightened as though their spines had universally been inflated into a completely standing position. Not even the slightest slouch was allowed. Randidly knew it was a show of respect, yet his smile toward the police officers was somewhat tired as he swept forward into the low ceiling building.

Suppressing the rumbling of his stomach, Randidly Ghosthound idly waved a hand at the frozen groups. “As you were.”

The children slowly began to whisper amongst each other while eyeing Randidly with obvious anxiety, but at least the police officers sat back down and began to continue eating in something resembling normalcy. Randidly proceeded across the entire hall to the buffet, where he put several generous helpings of fried meat and potatoes onto a tray. Then he walked over and sat down next to Clarissa.

The Weather Witch had a tray of food and two books laid out in front of her at her empty table. She eyed him with a wry smile as he approached. “Certainly, they are well trained.”

Randidly gave her a deadpan look as he sat down across from her and then began to dig into the food. The taste was a little bit bland, but the quality was excellent; he wondered who the cook was. Clarissa chuckled to herself and then began massacring the six muffins that were the only occupants of her tray. Randidly watched the fluffy and buttery pastries disappear and resolved himself to grab a couple when he went back up for seconds.

Gradually, Randidly’s presence in the mess hall was normalized. The volume of conversation in the food hall rose to more typical levels, although it never reached its previous volume. Randidly got himself a second tray of food and continued eating, just throwing the food into the vast abyss that was his stomach. Luckily, Ed prepared food in bulk, so there was enough that Randidly didn’t need to hide the caloric needs of his empowered body.

After Randidly’s third tray of food, Clarissa straightened her posture and gave Randidly a frank look. “Alright, I can recognize when you want to talk about something. No need to continue to delay by forcing yourself to eat. What is it? Watching you gobble so much is just giving me anxiety.”

Randidly sincerely doubted that anything gave Clarissa anxiety. She was the most playful and irreverent person that Randidly knew. It was why he sat with her now, because she didn’t walk on eggshells around him. But she was right, he wanted to discuss something. “How difficult has it been to control the weather, as I’ve requested?”

Clarissa sighed dramatically. “I’ve struggled, but because it was a request from you, I have persevered…”

“Good. Because I want to see how intense your influence can make the weather. How… antagonistic.” Randidly stated.

Clarissa tilted her head to the side. Then she smiled. “Oho. Finally time to start working on the whole reason you brought me into the Dungeon?”

Randidly grinned in response.