Chapter 1466 (2/2)

Congratulations! All Things Succumb, Yet TIme Whirls the Earth (M) has grown to Level 204!

Soon there were two Randidlys making different attempts to solve this problem. Nether seethed in the two duplicated Nether Nebulas. The ground around Randidly’s physical body shuddered and then sharply cracked. Then there were four-

Congratulations! All Things Succumb, Yet TIme Whirls the Earth (M) has grown to Level 205!

...

Congratulations! All Things Succumb, Yet TIme Whirls the Earth (M) has grown to Level 229!

The strain was immense. It was only ponderously that the Skill chugged forward, creating eight Randidly’s experimenting with Nether-

And just like that, the three Skills collapsed painfully, twisting Randidly's smile into a grimace. Those spatial distortions in the surrounding area were snuffed out like candle flames pinched by cold fingers. Peace returned to the dark valley, marred only by the cracks in the ground directly beneath him. Randidly chuckled and rubbed the side of his head to ease the throbbing headache. ”Well, it's easier, but it's still not easy...”

Truthfully, the combination of Skills he had tried had been quite ambitious. All Things Succumb, Yet Time Whirls the Earth was a Skill that Randidly still didn't have complete control over. The Grim Chimera had a thread of Nether in it that meant that the activation was closer to a prayer than it was a predictable process. Adding other Skills into the mix increased the cost of fueling the Skill exponentially.

He hadn't kept the Skill active for long enough to have an effective answer, but it did occur to Randidly that it might be useful to talk to some people who were involved in weaving mundane materials while he was still on Earth. He had been rather busy practicing weaving with Nether, but it couldn't hurt to have some actual experience as a base.

But that can wait for later. For now...

Yggdrasil spread its leafy branches over Randidly’s head to begin the steady erosion of the headache that had taken root in his temples. Waves of calming energy flowed up through the Earth and then through Yggdrasil’s pulsing golden roots. The leaves rustled, releasing a relaxing noise. Randidly stood and stretched, allowing the soft and invisible radiation of his image to soak into his skin.

Congratulations! Your Skill The Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil (L) has grown to Level 231!

As the pain eased, Randidly could gradually focus on the small details of his image around him. He stood with his eyes closed in the shadowy valley and felt the golden roots tracing the edges of the stony ground and squirming their way to complete domination of the area. Even in darkness, the leaves were almost luminously vibrant with life. Yggdrasil became the center of an ecosystem of energy, spurring the entire valley toward new growth.

Randidly hummed as he observed the way energy cycled through the Earth and sky through the branches, roots, and trunk of the World Tree. Then that energy became a part of the winding inscriptions and radiated back outward, richer and more potent. It sank into the ground and clouds and enriched the surroundings. Yggdrasil became a natural filter for energy in a way that made him smile. Randidly allowed the process to continue, his attention turning to the details of his image.

He adjusted the shape and noise of the leaves. His consciousness followed the slender stems of the leaves as they stretched outward from the branches. Randidly carefully heightened the rough surface of Yggdrasil’s bark. He wove the growth and joy he had tasted during the tournament into the radiated energy.

More than just filtering energy, he added the slightest hint of that amorphous human concept of ‘home’.

Detail by detail, Randidly continued to work toward an image that could match the monsters he had met from the Nexus. Yggdrasil’s branches stretched high up into the air, seeming to hold up the shadow that covered the entire valley. Dawn still dithered, allowing Randidly to continue without rest.

Releasing a breath, Randidly moved on to the Grim Chimera. As he focused on this other image, the musculature along his body flexed and shifted. Perhaps due to the new additions of the Nether veins running through his image body, the physical manifestation had intensified.

As Randidly became the Grim Chimera, he felt the limbs of his arms and legs crack and shift. Gritting his teeth, he endured the pain as his limbs lengthened and thickened. Tremors continued to run through his torso as small adjustments were made. Organs were rearranged. By the end of it, Randidly was hunched over slightly, with his newly elongated left arm reaching the ground. With his bone spear of a right arm, he drew small circles on the ground.

The two tails Randidly possessed lengthened as well, the lower tail thickening significantly as well. In the past, he could have used it like a whip, but now the tightly interlocking segments of bone could smash as well as they could cut. He took a tentative step forward and marveled at the way it naturally flicked to the side to keep him balanced.

Yet the most striking change was his breath. When Randidly breathed out, a semi-luminous fog flowed out between his lips. In the dark valley, his new breath immediately illuminated the cracked and warped surroundings with a sickly glow. Like a broken glow stick, the light of his breath slowly faded into nothing. But for a few seconds, the wicked curl of the Grim Chimera’s smile was visible to anyone watching.