When the Nether Gatekeeper cautiously assented to the request in order to preserve his life, the azure dragon began to speak very rapidly about the exploits of this ‘Randidly Ghosthound’. The other dragons soon landed nearby and began to nod along with the stories that the first dragon was explaining.

It was clear that they were all were very familiar with these tales.

And it only took a few minutes for the Nether Gatekeeper’s expression to change as the dragon’s described Randidly Ghosthound. When the dragon finally stopped speaking in order to take a breath, the Nether Gatekeeper raised its hand for a moment to speak.

“Ah…” Disappointment rolled off the dragon with palpable sadness. The corners of its mouth drooped downward. It shifted its position uncomfortably. “You… don’t wish to learn more…? Please believe me, if you accept the savior into your life-”

“No, it isn’t that…” The Nether Gatekeeper rasped out. He was quite taken aback when his own voice was even worse than the dragon’s. The Nether Gatekeeper had never spoken in the past, but he had witnessed speaking. And when he opened its mouth and expressed its meaning vocally, the System appeared to take care of the rest. But despite that, the action was somewhat uncomfortable. His throat tingled from the new vibrations.

With all the large dragons crouching around him, the Nether Gatekeeper felt quite out of place. But he also felt a kinship with these azure dragons. The Nether Gatekeeper continued to speak slowly. “I… actually, I too, was recently saved from the Great Abyss by a savior. And… and after hearing you talk about him… I b-believe our saviors are the same person.”

The first dragon’s eyes in front of him were very bright as it nodded seriously. “Of course, there is only one savior.”

Meanwhile, the other dragons growled to each other.

“The Great Abyss…?”

“The Ghosthound is of course active in other places…!”

“Could we… could this be the beginning of a new scripture…?”

“A fellow believer…”

“Now,” The first dragon spoke again. “Brother, please, tell us everything about this Great Abyss and the exploits of the Ghosthound. We must record our saviors actions so we can spread the word of his works.”

*****

Influence +2

Influence +3

Randidly yawned wildly and took a break from repairing the defensive Aether arrays on the Fifth Cohort Rally Station. His fingers dimmed as he stopped channeling Mana through his body. Suddenly I’m gaining multiple Influence at the same time…? Well, I’m not going to complain, but I wonder what’s happening…

Ah, maybe its Kharon’s exposure to my Nether Core? Maybe even Kharon Academy opened. That will probably accelerate the accumulation.

Randidly made a mental note to send a message to Tatiana regarding the development of the Academy, but there were simply too many tasks requiring his attention at the moment. Since waking up this morning and talking to the smug and arrogant Commandant, he had been rather constantly busy. Most of it was catching up on the development of the recruits, but he had also strengthened the images items he had left with three of the recruits to incorporate his new image details.

In addition, Randidly had to speak with Helen and make arrangements for DiOrtho Vant and Raymund Ballast. Both had moved past the point where typical physical training wouldn’t be a problem for them. Randidly didn’t like the satisfaction on the two recruits’ faces when Helen had said that, and because he had still been in a sour mood after Commandant Wick threatened Heiffal, Randidly had created two mini training pods for them.

Those two training pods were perfect replicas of the training pod Randidly had used prior to his ten days away. To the current him such training would only be a warm up, but it was more than enough to teach the recruits some humility.

Influence +2!

Or perhaps its those recruits deepening their awe for me after being chastened…? Randidly grinned but quickly yawned again. He simply was too busy and his body still craved more sleep. He also had several messages from Octavius Shrike, explaining his and Edraine’s investigations in more detail. Yet Randidly couldn’t bring himself to read them in his tired state. This definitely seemed like a time where he would happily let his mind forget he had those waiting messages as he moved on to address more pressing issues.

He briefly considered forwarding the messages to Tatiana and asking her to summarize what they said, but somehow sensed that the head of Kharon wouldn’t be too pleased by his actions. If he was going to leave Expira in her care, he couldn’t continue relying on her.

It was just unfortunate that none of his other subordinates were very talented in the area of information gathering.

Congratulations! Your Skill Architecture of the Primordial (M) has grown to Level 400!

The notification of his first Skill to reach Level 400 was welcome news, but after a small smile he went right back to work. Randidly’s fingers glowed with the blue light of Mana as he continued Engraving the protections. Every line was one more barrier against a sudden attack. With the understanding that the shade gained in Yystrix’s tomb, the number of layers of defenses that Randidly could muster shot upward.

After he finished, he examined the array carefully. The runes glowed with power. Randidly utilized all three of his images to test the defensive limits, then nodded in satisfaction. It won’t be enough to stop someone like Velio Dunn or Commandant Wick, but it should slow them down. Man, even with my improvements, I’m still a bit short from matching up to the powerful figures of the Nexus… hah, perhaps my ten year promise was a bit optimistic…?

But although he thought that way, Randidly was in a very good mood. The nap hadn’t been all the rest he needed, but it was enough to restore most of his faculties. The mental acuity he now possessed was nothing compared to the streamline clarity of using the Visage of Obsession, but it still filled him with confidence that he wouldn’t forget something important.

Chewing his lip, Randidly produced his Visage of Obsession and examined it without unrolling the painting. He was curious whether it was possible to re-use the Fatepiece. Luckily, a notification quickly popped up.

Although the Visage of Obsession has been sated for the moment, it is possible to once more to descend through the depths of your psyche to pursue a new obsession. Simply open the Visage of Obsession while holding the craving in your heart to begin the process.

Warning, once the process is started, it can only be delayed, never halted. Warning, the sacrifices required to pursue your obsession may be different from prior uses of the Visage of Obsession.

Randidly shook his head helplessly. He had somewhat anticipated it, but it was still a shame that the sacrifices would be different the second time through. Basically, the experiences he had gained might not be much use. But he supposed that the gradual adjustments were the entire reason the Fatepiece was so effective.

He put the Fatepiece away without having to spend too much time thinking about the decision; now wasn’t the time for another attempt.

Influence +4!

Randidly scratched his chin, feeling somewhat embarrassed that his Influence continued to rapidly rise. But he rationalized part of the growth was due to the fact that it wasn’t possible to grow the same way before his Nether Core existed. So his return to the Fifth Cohort Rally Station and activation of the stagnant Nether flows had jumpstarted the spread of his influence.

Having a Nether Core serve as the intermediary sped up the process. His exchange of meaning and significance was more smooth than ever before.

With his mind at ease, Randidly frowned upward at the sky. Enormous banks of glittering orange dust drifted overhead. Then he left the borders of his area and headed toward his personal training sphere. He was still tired, but he wanted to spend a little time studying the effect of Weight before anything else.

And after a full night’s sleep, he could finally begin seriously pushing for the required PP to receive his Tithe from the Alpha Cosmos.

Randidly clambered into his training sphere and immediately activated the Engravings. Growling in something close to pleasure, he felt the tight physical restrictions settle around his body. Due to his increased insight into Engravings, the new training sphere was even more effective than the previous iteration he had made for the two five-year recruits. The humming Engraving squeezed Randidly to the point that he had difficulty breathing normally.

But that just made him release a hoarse laugh. His images and Skills stirred to action as Randidly spread his arms. Is this the limit…? It’s not enough to even make me break a sweat.

The Grim Chimera smiled and his image physicalizations came into being. Randidly began to stretch easily, practically ignoring the suppression of the sphere. After loosening himself up, Randidly adjusted the Engraving and doubled the pressure he was under. The waves of force around him intensified. His cackle was choked back by the pressure, but his smile was still in place; finally, he could test the limits of his Weight.

As he slowly shifted his position, his joints popped and settled into place. Blood began to flood through his veins and into his muscles.

Congratulations! Your Skill Grit of the Ascendant Bane (T) has grown to Level 394!

Randidly cracked his knuckles pleasantly as he lowered his stance. He dropped his right hand down to his hip. With a light brush of Willpower, his Nether Core began to swirl. A mysterious humming spread outward as ethereal flames surrounded Randidly’s body. Randidly threw a punch forward, feeling the explosion of force. The movement started in his toes, shot up through his legs, traveled through his waist, and finally arrived as shoulder and arms. His strange ghost flames spiralled outward in a whirlwind from his wrist in an explosive torrent.

The reinforced Engravings of the training pod flickered briefly as the physical force of Randidly’s punch had enough oomph to distort their energy. With a twist, Randidly spun and generated a humming tension through the muscles and tendons in his legs. Then his leg snapped upward in a crushing heel kick.

Congratulations! Your Skill Cosmic Necessity (M) has grown to Level 302!

This time when the ethereal flames of his Weight rushed forward in a searing cut, the Engravings sizzled slightly. The runes had to flare with power in order to escape being forcibly extinguished.

Randidly grinned as he allowed the training sphere to cool and disengage. While it was true that the benefits he received from the Weight only amounted to a 30% boost, it was a 30% increase in base performance across the board, not an increase in effect. So while each muscle might only be 30% superior to his prior self, the final result of every attack probably was closer to a doubling of his effective power.

Randidly very much looked forward to seeing how the boost of Weight would affect him when he mixed three images and Skills together at once.

Influence +2!

In his best mood since he was forced to listen to Commandant Wick earlier in the day, Randidly returned to his penthouse apartment. After setting up some basic Engravings to resist the destructive aura of his own body, he once more laid down to sleep.

When he woke up, he would begin his final preparations for the war against Nether. He hadn’t forgotten the way that strange being of Nether had chased the shade to Expira. If Randidly was going to expose himself, he needed power enough to stand up for himself.

As he closed his eyes and his breathing became even, Nether continued to cycle through his many Connections. His images continued to shift. The energy field produced by functioning apparati of both Aether and Nether in close proximity grew more overwhelming. The Engravings made to resist his aura gradually brightened as he slept, forced to endure more and more power.

Through it all, the last of Randidly’s tension leaked out of his body.