Chapter 1628 (2/2)

Weirdly, seeing Shal here rid Randidly of the last clinging bits of hesitation. Each step on this chaotic battlefield was both literal and metaphoric, carrying Randidly further down on his own Path.

And of course, the entire time, Randidly couldn’t tear his gaze away from Shal. His master appeared and disappeared abruptly in a thirty-meter area as he brandished his spear. It appeared that he was in charge of several powerful images users of the Engraving Guild, assisting them against the Pinnacle Seekers’ attacks at key moments.

But Shal… Randidly bit his lip. Your expression… your image… why do you seem so exhausted…?

Randidly’s pounding heart froze at the moment that Shal’s piercing gaze happened to finally land on him. Their eyes met and Randidly could see even more deeply into the emotions of his master. What he found there began to catalyze his emotions, transforming them into frustration. This should be a joyous occasion. Randidly had expected himself to feel proud and confident facing his master.

Yet the only thought in his head now, witnessing Shal’s images and emotions, was to break the man’s jaw.

For a second, Shal faltered. Randidly’s master still looked as he remembered him, a well-muscled man with a shaved head and blue skin. A closed, third eye sat in the middle of his forehead. His features were strong and disapproving, like the natural setting of his face leaned toward a frown. Yet as Shal recognized Randidly, his face twisted in something between shock and resignation.

For the reciprocal reason, he wants to punch me, too, Randidly realized as the moment of their eye contact stretched.

But a split second later, Shal’s face quickly shifted back to a neutral, scrutinizing look. He landed on the ground and glanced around at the current situation; the Pinnacle Seekers who had been harrying Shal took a few steps back and let their images fade. For that, Randidly was grateful. He took several steps forward, more Nether whirling through him every moment. Tension rose in his chest from both men’s instinct toward violence, squeezing Randidly’s heart. As he approached to about twenty meters away from Shal, it even appeared that the spectral flames of his Nether Weight were growing larger. Significance rapidly flowed between the two of them, although Randidly couldn’t quite understand it yet.

In a tension-relieving return to their previous interactions, Shal favored Randidly with a sardonic smile. With an audible snap, he flicked his wrist and then raised his weapon. “You seem like a man who has confidence in his spear.”

“Shal-” Randidly began, but Shal immediately shook his head.

“We speak after, disciple. Come. Show this old man how much you’ve grown.”

Everything about Shal was outwardly as Randidly remembered him: the tone of voice, the demands, the fact that no sooner had Shal finished speaking than he attacked… this was the brutal master of Randidly Ghosthound. The one who he had stumbled across in a Dungeon he had entered due to interference from Yystrix and the one who had brutally beaten him until he had established a foundation of strength.

Randidly raised Acri, relying entirely on instinct. His mind was somewhat blank, barely managing to control the rampant Aether, Nether, and emotions that spun around within his chest. He still couldn’t quite understand the dread he felt as he looked at Shal. His Nether Core accelerated to the point that his whole being howled with it. Even as Shal shot toward him, Randidly took a stance and saw the thin and wavy lines of Ripple of Amenonuhoko spread out in front of him.

A glimmer of clarity returned to Randidly’s eyes. Violence, at least, was easier to understand than the growing hunch he had. For now… I don’t want to win this battle by overwhelming him with my Stats. Instead… let’s see how far my spear can carry me.

Right before Shal arrived in front of him, Randidly cut forward along one of the lines of Ripple of Amenonuhoko. The wind across the battlefield spun into a vortex above Randidly’s head and then shot down to push his attacks forward. Without any artifice, Randidly thrust his spear forward to meet Shal.

The move was direct and effective.

Shal’s eyes flashed and his spear flexibility spun in his hands. Despite the fact that his spear had previously seemed rigid, it now slithered forward around Acri. Of course, a twitch from Randidly allowed Acri to swat sideways and knock the attack away.

The wind finally roared past Randidly, slamming directly into Shal as the two neared one another. But Shal’s body blazed with the golden light of a hero, dispersing all the force Randidly had gathered with Ripple of Amenonuhoko. Randidly spun quickly, cutting toward Shal’s ankles. Shal hopped up in the air and leveled his spearhead toward Randidly’s heart.

Pressing his lips together Randidly twisted to the side. As the phantasmal shade in front of Randidly faded, a brutal spear attack shot at him from behind. His dodge meant that that Shal’s spear skittered harmlessly off of Sulfur’s defenses. Seeing his pupil dodge his sneak attack, Shal even had the cheek to grin at him.

Randidly snorted and lashed out at Shal with a palm. Shal instantly generated some distance with a Skill of his Spear Phantom, but this time Randidly smirked and twisted his hand; his palm strike had traveled along a line of Ripple of Amenonuhoko.

So just as Shal had created some distance, a pillar of stone erupted diagonally from the ground toward his lower back. Randidly’s Skill caught the man by such surprise that the stone smashed against Shal’s back and destroyed his stance. Randidly stepped forward and thrust forward with Acri once again with anticipation; this time, Shal couldn’t avoid a direct conflict of spearmanship.

As long as they crossed spears directly, Randidly had faith he could get to the bottom of the swirling negative emotions between them.

Instantly, Shal’s arms blurred. He seemed to become the body of a hydra, with nine deadly spear ghosts wriggling upward and flicking toward Randidly’s neck and shoulder joints. Randidly adjusted his grip on Acri and quickly spun the blade in a semi-circle, still while thrusting. It weakened the power of his thrust, but by relying on Ripple of Amenonuhoko, a blast of force spread outward from Randidly’s spear. The hydra heads were deflected. Whatever Skill Shal had used was dispersed.

Shal was stunned again, but he still reacted quickly in the face of Randidly’s vicious attack. Acri bit into Shal’s side, but the cut was shallow. In addition, Shal gripped his spear with only one hand while clamping his left arm over Acri. He leaned forward, clearly planning to use this opportunity to strike.

Randidly’s eyes flashed. I hadn’t planned on suppressing you directly with Stats, but since you took the trouble of hand delivering this invitation to me…

The muscles of Randidly’s right forearm bulged. His fingers tightened on Acri’s shaft. And when his body exploded into motion and produced a sonic boom with the violence of his movement, it was too late for Shal to react. Randidly’s front hand became the fulcrum as the back hand pressed sharply down on the end of the resilient weapon.

For a brief moment, he became a human catapult. With all 1485 of his Primordial Nether Juju, Randidly launched Shal directly upward.