Chapter 1658 (1/2)

After they finished discussing the particulars of the Hierarchy of Burden’s usage and before Randidly allowed Seeker Thunder Wing to make several sketches of his Fatepiece, he shifted the topics. “I actually have another issue to ask you about. Do you know if it’s possible… to buy planets from the Nexus?”

“Hmm?” Seeker Thunder Wing dragged his eyes away from the Hierarchy of Burden and looked at Randidly. Then he chuckled. “Based on the expression on your face, you are overthinking this. Buying a planet? Ha! Remember, the Nexus only begrudgingly distributes energy to most planets. If you take a few off their hands, they’d be delighted.”

“Even if those planets have produced active Nemesai that are helping with the most recent Cohort?” Randidly persisted.

Again, Seeker Thunder Wing chuckled. But this time his expression twisted into something much more sinister. “Do you think that matters at all? And between you, the Head Drill Sergeant in an emergency draft and a minuscule and replaceable Nemesai, which do you think the Nexus would rather keep happy? Even worse… in the end, the Nexus would gratefully break its promise regarding energy and use you as an excuse. The under-clerk in charge of that sector would give his stamp of approval without thinking twice.

“If there is one thing that the Nexus doesn’t lack, it is worlds with intelligent life. There are many twisted individuals that relieve their stress by going into some of the stored Dungeons, ones currently unattached to a new Cohort, and just slaughter every unfortunate being they find. No one bothers to investigate such genocides when they are discovered, they just select another Dungeon to use. That’s the sort of place the Nexus is.”

To that, Randidly had no answer. But it was a powerful reminder of why he struggled so hard to gain power enough to protect Expira.

Seeker Thunder Wing eventually left with a glowing expression of euphoria at handling such an integral piece of Nexus history and Randidly retrieved his Fatepiece. For now, he intended to wait before he activated the red electromagnetic layer. Figuring out how to fight effectively with his new balance was more important, especially considering that he had to duel against Seeker Dusk Jackal in five days.

But just as he was readying himself to seek out one of the Frost Matriarch’s assistants, a familiar feeling rose in his chest: the heavy machinery of the Eidolon Crucible was activating. A gleeful smile covered Randidly’s face. Heh, I’ve had five years of refinement and you’ve only had four or so months go by. This should be fun…

Randidly’s vision turned blurry and he floated down into a dreamlike state. The unfortunate and awkward state of his body was completely abandoned; here, as just a manifested will, Randidly was near-unstoppable.

Congratulations! Your Skill Reign of the Eidolon Crucible (L) has grown to Level 280!

Influence +9!

Congratulations! Your Skill Reign of the Eidolon Crucible (L) has grown to Level 281!

…

Congratulations! Your Skill Reign of the Eidolon Crucible (L) has grown to Level 311!

Influence +13!

When Randidly awoke from the experience, he swore viciously and raised his hands to press against his throbbing temples. “What the hell was that?!?!”

For the first time since he had obtained the Eidolon Crucible Skill, Randidly Ghosthound had almost lost to the people of Kharon in a battle of wills. Even now his mind was murky and exhausted from the extended battle. And this happened with the benefit of his new, obscenely dense Nether Core. Something had clearly happened on Expira. With but a thought, Randidly slipped into his Alpha Cosmos.

Randidly’s current interactions with Expira were unfortunately complex. Since affixing his Nether Core to the deepest portion of the Kharon Academy Labyrinth, Expira had become protected from the eyes of the System by becoming part of his bubble. The details of the arrangement were confusing to Randidly, but essentially he and the Alpha Cosmos could swap positions as the bubble around Expira. So when Randidly was out in the Nexus, the only way for a foreign force to travel to Expira was through his body. Even he couldn’t use his Philosopher’s Key to directly portal to Expira any longer. When he was within the Alpha Cosmos, the Alpha Cosmos became the bubble, and theoretically, something could then make it to Expira.

But only if that outside force managed to make it to the Alpha Cosmos.

For Randidly’s purposes, it just meant that the only way to get to Expira now was to go into the Alpha Cosmos first and then use his Philosopher’s Key. However, no sooner had Randidly appeared inside the Alpha Cosmos than he sensed Lucretia’s awareness lock onto him. He was standing next to a gurgling stream and a second later, Lucretia’s ghostly manifestation wandered out of a nearby treeline and made a beeline toward him.

The long-time presence in Randidly’s Soulskill and the former Karma Witch of Tellus studied Randidly critically for several seconds and then smiled. “Look at you, fully grown and self-contained. Thank god you are alright; it’s been so long since I’ve heard from you. When the temporal distortions arrived and the influence of the Pantheon expanded without any word from you, we feared… well. Considering your history of making insidious enemies…”

Randidly couldn’t help but chuckle, but then his expression quickly shifted back to one of the utmost severity. “What do you mean, the Pantheon’s influence expanded? And temporal distortions?”