Chapter 1603 (2/2)

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Sensation (L) has grown to Level 400!

Lady Iellaya’s message came back about an hour after Randidly started his Nether Core experiments. As he read, Randidly’s eyes narrowed; he knew Lady Iellaya well enough to read her anxiety in her words.

Thank god SOMEONE can do their fucking job. Of the thirty-six known Nether Pinions that descend to the planet’s surface, four teams, including you, have reported back successfully neutralizing the threat. All have indicated that a powerful Nether Herald was present. Ten units are still en route and nine have requested reinforcements after encountering heavy resistance. Which means there are thirteen radio silent groups that are currently assumed to be dead.

Officially, your elite recruits are ordered to sit tight; their ancestors are demanding they be protected, considering the current chaos out here. They say things will be easier soon, likely because their jobs aren’t on the line. But I’ll send along four locations. The first is one of the Nether Pinions with our forces still en route; some assistance would be appreciated. The other three are locations where we haven’t had any reports. For those, scouting would be sufficient.

Oh, one more thing. I need to create an official designation for your precious elite unit. Have any preference?

Randidly chewed his lip for a while, looking at the chaotic and stormy sky. Have it be… Fenris.

Lady Iellaya replied very quickly. That designation is taken.

Randidly rolled his eyes. Fine. How about Vulpis?

The Vulpis Squad’s first official mission is to sit tight. Congratulations. Lady Iellaya replied with obvious sourness.

Randidly grinned. Then I guess we will be making ourselves comfortable.

Influence +4!

After communicating briefly with Lady Iellaya, Randidly issued some orders. He sent a large portion of the Riders with Charlotte Wick to assist with the assault. The rest of the members of the newly minted Vulpis Squad he sent under the command of DiOrtho Vant to scout the other three locations. Randidly also gave them strict orders not to engage, should they discover the other units had been annihilated.

Considering the fact they had seen Randidly’s fight against the Nether Herald first hand, they didn’t argue. The brevity of the clash didn’t mean they had missed its fighting prowess.

Then, when basically all of his troops dutifully marched away, Randidly looked up at the sky and grinned. The air hummed with barely suppressed tension. The situation in the Fifth Cohort was chaotic. That chaos meant that those groups that were targeting Randidly were probably distracted, but they would soon realize that the chaotic situation was also an opportunity.

Something strange was happening in the Fifth Cohort. But despite that, Randidly didn’t think his enemies would forget about him. Now was the time for him to cash in on his Soulskill and receive his PP Tithe.

Randidly opened his Path Menu. First, he glanced at his current PP: 1997. Enough PP to earn his Tithe with plenty to spare. Then Randidly looked down at his available Paths; he had gained a few new ones since he had last looked: Emotional Evolution I 0/500, Breath of the Imaginary Firebird 0/1000, The Throne of Nether Homage I 0/500, The Enigma of Serendipitous Chaos 0/2000.

So many options to choose from… Randidly’s eyes flicked through the entire list. But for now… I just need a Path to get me to the Tithe. Once I know how much PP I am working with, the decisions will be easier. So if I need to spend 1750 PP…

Randidly’s eyes went to the newest of the Paths, the Enigma of Serendipitous Chaos, with a luminous intensity. For the usually pragmatic Randidly, he was surprised to feel his pride rising to the surface. He didn’t have enough to finish it outright, but he was only 3 PP short. He didn’t doubt that he would get at least that much with the Soulskill Tithe. Based on his guesses, that Path was related to his struggles to understand the grand Nether Ritual that the Nether King used.

And Randidly hadn’t forgotten that for the first time that he could remember, his Control had suddenly been sufficient.

So after a hesitation, Randidly poured his PP into the Path. Even 50 PP spent would earn him 1 Control and 1 Focus. And most of the way through the Path, Randidly received the notification that he was waiting for.

The weave of your Soulskill has steadily become tighter and tighter. The world that is your body is now one side of the coin of your existence. The homeworld that hides your core hunches closely to the thin veil between them. Steadily, your influence is spreading. The Systems they house are different, but your Path was always one that would transcend a single System.

Unknown error, the automatic scan of your Soulskill failed. System present, but information flow has ceased. Please contact your Village Spirit for more information.

Congratulations! PP from your Alpha Cosmos flows into you! Some has been absorbed by your local System, but the vast majority of the tithe still belongs to you. You have gained 89,102 PP!

Randidly whistled in appreciation.