Chapter 1562 (2/2)

Even if making the arm was a distraction from the very real danger of his situation, the project would give him some to improve his Architecture of the Primordial Ways before he began to work on the etchings that would physicalize his significance. Randidly nodded to himself. So for now, he would continue to refine his emotional control as a warm-up, then study the Engraving until he had a functional understanding. Afterward, he would ponder the significance of his three images until he had recovered his mental energy.

Randidly scratched his ear and grimaced down at the scroll. This is going to be a bit more difficult than when I can just ask Neveah questions about anything I don’t understand… looks like she hasn’t been slacking off while I’ve been training in the Nexus...

He could direct Helen to gather the necessary metals for his arm in the meantime. Randidly wondered if Wendy had managed to invent any new methodologies for working with metal. Then-

Stirrings from below caught Randidly’s attention. Then he swore quietly as dark, sniffing shapes swam upward through the midnight blue darkness. They were still far away and traveling slowly, but two entities were quickly pushing their way up through the gloom of the murky darkness. Likely they came to investigate that strange wave of force that had allowed Neveah’s message to reach Randidly down here.

“So there really are monsters in the depths…” He whispered.

Strangely, the first thing Randidly felt was a flash of jealousy. He narrowed his eyes and examined the approaching figures; it was clear that they were able to resist the pull of significance and push themselves upward, although their speed wasn’t anything impressive. Yet to Randidly’s surprise, they didn’t appear to have any actual emotional affect to their bodies. His Grim Intuition strained to pierce through the surrounding space. The constant cascade of information through the Nether dominant air continued to be more hurtful than helpful. Yet abruptly, Randidly recognized them.

“Nether Beasts,” Randidly released a shocked breath. Both of the dark silhouettes raised their heads and looked directly at Randidly; apparently this time, they were close enough to catch his voice. Then, with a growl, Nether surged from their body and propelled them aggressively upward.

The beast on the left was a giant newt with a long neck and six eyes on its triangular head. The one on the right was a three-armed monkey, the third arm being a rather slender limb that stretched around its body from the middle of its spine. Compared to the Nether Beasts that Randidly had seen in the past, their exteriors were much more detailed; they weren’t simply malevolent silhouettes intent on ripping Aether beings to shreds. They definitely possessed a more complete Nether flow that allowed them to resist the significance pulling from below.

But other than that… they seemed similar to the Nether Beasts Randidly saw in the Great Rift. Unrefined Nether rolled off their bodies. Although their exterior was more detailed, Randidly still sensed the core of their being within their bodies, sustaining their form. The corner of Randidly’s mouth twisted upward as he felt a surge of cruel glee.

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Sensation (L) has grown to Level 335!

It had been a long time since two Nether Beasts were able to threaten Randidly Ghosthound. But they would serve as the perfect stress relief.

Without seeming to sense the differences in their tiers of existence, the two Nether Beasts roared and closed the last several meters between them. In their postures was the certainty that they would kill him. Meanwhile, Randidly was a little worried about the way those roars reverberated down into the depths but the enjoyment of a fight quickly pushed away those worries; there was little he could do about that now, anyway.

If more came… then he would just kill those Nether Beasts, too.

The fingers of his right hand glowed in the murky, Nether-filled air as the monkey Nether Beast rushed forward. His Pernicious Fang of the Shade drilled directly through the monkey’s fist and shredded its arm. The blow continued to blow apart the Nether Beast’s shoulder, sending it tumbling backward in agony.

Thick tendrils of Nether condensed from the wound, gradually gathering the ambient Nether into a thick mass that clouded the air.

Meanwhile, the image of the Grim Chimera condensed around Randidly’s body. As the newt launched itself forward, the spiked lower tail of the Grim Chimera whipped sideways into its body and smashed it backward. The movement was almost dismissive. Completely stunned, the newt didn’t even have the capacity to react as Randidly’s upper tail pierced forward through the center of its forehead. In a flash, the deadly point impacted the core of the Nether Beast, causing the entire Beast to tremble uncontrollably.

Randidly raised his eyebrows as he turned to study the newt more carefully. “How strange… your core could withstand that? Looks like you are more genuine than those grunts at the front lines…”

Just before Randidly was about to release his emotional tether and go study the newt’s Nether core, he activated Chimeric Impunity. The monkey’s third arm ripped forward harmlessly, passing through Randidly’s now incorporeal side. But Randidly’s smile rapidly widened as he looked over at the monkey Nether Beast.

Although Randidly had destroyed its right arm, its core had been intact. He had assumed the monkey would be sufficiently distracted to allow him to focus on the newt. And now it seemed that intact core had begun to rapidly spin. Nether surged outward in a particular pattern, strengthening the Nether Beast. But more importantly… the wounds that Randidly had inflicted upon the Nether Beast rapidly began to heal underneath the ministrations of its core.

The healed limb was covered in a chitinous armor that definitely hadn’t been there previously. Its ruined hand now ended in razor-sharp nails. With a screech, the monkey stabilized itself and shot back toward Randidly with its hand raised.

Randidly’s emerald eyes glittered. “Did you really just evolve to fight me…? How… fascinating. Let’s test your limits, then. I suspect you will soon regret the fact that you didn’t just immediately die.”