With only a gesture, a portion of the walls of the frost palace slid backward and opened up a path. The powerful individuals of the Pinnacle Seekers became a spearhead began to march up the slope, making quick time. Randidly was initially somewhat excited to finally proceed to the center of this spatial maze, especially as a rather forgettable piece in this powerful train of individuals. He stood and stretched some more, eager to move forward.

However, there was a problem.

The larger subordinate group continued to linger around without showing any signs of moving, even as their leaders left. For now, the image lingered and the spatial walls didn’t reform in the area. Randidly looked around incredulously. The frost palace began to melt and crack as the Frost Matriarch no longer supplied it with power.

Are the subordinates not following the leaders…? Randidly looked around at the groups, who all seemed to be very interested in the ground beneath them. They all kept their gazes low. No one made a move to leave. Randidly could only grimace in confusion. Will it attract too much attention if my group follows without the rest? Well, it’s not like I can do much about it. I haven’t come all this way to miss the finish-

“You!”

Randidly twisted around, sensing that he was the target of this furious bellow. The woman who led Seeker Thunder Wing’s guards stomped over to him with a red face. He still had a strong impression of the look of derision she had given him. Now she spat at his feet. “Pah! Who knew you were such a petty person! So fine, I am here, debasing myself! Take the first step!”

“What?” Randidly said. After so obviously spitting near his feet, her words made no sense to him.

The woman’s face, or what little Randidly could see of it under her helmet, turned purple. “Truly? TRULY?!?! You must even make me say it? I will never forget this humiliation, Randidly Ghosthound! You are the most powerful of us, and therefore, please, take the first step before we are isolated back here without any protection.”

Even while Randidly was trying to understand what was happening, Helen sent him a message. Heh, they might not look it, but it seems these Pinnacle Seekers are very regimented. And perceptive. Just like the order in which we moved through the spatial wall, there are fucking rules for who walks in what order. And it looks like you have been outed as the most powerful amongst this second group. You need to go first.

Randidly’s eyes swept around. Again, no group seemed to be paying to Randidly’s movements. But now that he understood what to look for, he could make out the hum of tension that permeated the whole arrangement. Everyone wanted to move, just no one was moving. Especially as the ice palace around them began to audibly crack and crumble, the Pinnacle Seekers were getting nervous.

Also interesting that they wouldn’t break out ahead of me. Randidly pressed his lips together. However, this same structure probably means that if I take any aggressive actions in the future, it will be dealt with harshly. It’s good to learn that now, before-

“Do I need to beg?” Thunder Wing’s guard looked at Randidly with a resigned expression. She seemed to be about to get down on her knees when Randidly turned and began to walk after the more powerful Pinnacle Seekers. His subordinates followed with some sidelong looks at the others. Randidly tried to keep his pace even, but even he was rather leery of lingering too long and being forced to deal with the spatial barriers himself.

He could force his way forward through the barriers, especially after getting such a convenient chance to study them, but he could do it while bringing along a hundred Pinnacle Seekers…? And with the hierarchical organization of the group, Randidly guessed that being unable to lead the group forward, when he had taken the lead, would lead to other consequences.

Privileges here undoubtedly came with responsibilities. In that way, the Pinnacle Seekers were fair.

Still, Randidly caught up to the contingent led by the Frost Matriarch quickly. By observing the finicky emotional reactions of the group that followed him, Randidly eventually found what the Pinnacle Seekers considered to be the ‘appropriate’ distance between himself and the leading group. Then he settled in to follow and continued to experiment with the spatial barriers.

With the perspective he had gained from within the frost fortress, Randidly had a few theories he wanted to test.

Congratulations! Your Skill Aether Detection has grown to Level 251!

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Sensation (L) has grown to Level 407!

…

Congratulations! Your Skill Aether Detection has grown to level 261!

The slope became increasingly steep as they headed upward. However, with the Frost Matriarch’s massive suppression of the spatial barriers, they made extremely good time. Randidly kept his mind busy by collecting large spools of dense Nether from his constantly active Nether Core and trying to create a woven Nether Ritual that could easily neutralize the spatial walls, but his success was quite limited.

He was eventually brought out of his single-minded pursuit by the feeling of Helen’s fingers on his arm. Randidly nodded at her in thanks and then looked forward; the first group of Pinnacle Seekers had reached the edge of the ridge above them and were looking outward with serious expressions. After hesitating for a few seconds, Randidly led the secondary group up beside them.

Even though he had prepared himself mentally for stepping a bit beyond his capability at the core of this struggle between the Nether King and the forces of the Nexus, even Randidly could only watch the spectacle below for several seconds.

There was simply too much to muster up a reaction. The visuals, the noises, the images, the blood…

He looked down and saw a thousand fireflies flickering in a vast bowl of darkness.

The first thing that could be observed was the continued dominance of the spatial barriers, the layers accumulating until most of the crater below look like it was filled with fuzzy mist. But even through that distorted space, it was possible to see the fighting occurring. The clashes between various forces acted like brief flares, the powerful reverberations briefly suppressing the chaotic space and generating a moment of clarity to the localized battlefield. But due to the incredible size of the crater, a single clash didn’t provide transparency for long. Even after staring for several seconds, most of the details of the conflict below remained inscrutable.

Instead of relying on his eyes, Randidly tuned himself to the Nether in the surrounding area. In addition, he activated the Stillborn Phoenix once more, reaching out to seize as much information as he could. Gradually, his viewpoint expanded.

Following the pattern of Nether let Randidly see most of the fights at the edges, but the central location in the crater was dark and silent. His senses soon adjusted as well as they could, from this distance. The crater housed four tall spires in the cardinal directions around a fuzzy edifice of inky-blackness, that was releasing such dense Nether that Randidly had to assume it was the dwelling of the Nether King. Currently, most of the fighting was clustered around two of the spires.

From the Nether around one of the spires, it had already fallen to the Aether forces. Yet the three other Nether Arrays were still robust. The orthodox factions marched forward with their weapons raised, flaring their image and giving Randidly brief snippets of clarity. In response, Nether Heralds roared and unleashed dense blasts of power that blew weaker images away entirely.

The cacophony of screaming, crying, cracking, and moaning blended until the air was buzzing with significance and emotion. Randidly had to spin his Nether Core at a higher intensity to push away the infectious emotions contained below. The intensity of the conflict was virulent, reaching out and trying to drag the watchers into the evolving horror.

Randidly’s eyes went to the Nether spire. There is definitely some powerful array within this construction. I’ve been letting my Influence accumulate passively, but from what I can sense, learning the secrets of this would definitely boost the accumulation of my Influence… which I could then turn in for additional Weight. But with the spatial barriers blocking my sight…

I’d need to be damn close to make out the array...

After a few more seconds of observation, Randidly could see, no matter its other uses, that the captured Nether spire weakened the foreboding layer of endless darkness in the center of the crater. Currently, the Nexus orthodox factions had split; the Military High Command assaulted one spire while the Engraving Guild attacked another. From what Randidly could see from the brief image flares, four powerful Nether Heralds defended each spire, each with twenty lesser Nether Heralds assisting them.

Once he knew what he was looking for, Randidly could easily sense the neutered Nether utilized by the Engraving Guild. It wasn’t as flashy as an image, but it stabilized space in the same way to let him observe. And truly, it seemed that the Nether Lattice was a poor match against the Nether Heralds; in this sort of situation, it was difficult to rely on defense Nether Arrays to accumulate an advantage.

BOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Randidly swayed lightly as the ground beneath his feet shuddered. A figure on Military High Command’s side had smashed one of the outer Nether Heralds to the side and rushed toward the spire. A vibrant image of a massive tidal wave rushed forward above his head. Quite a large part of the battlefield became clear for Randidly. The Nether Herald coolly snorted and thrust his claw forward, tearing a huge gash in the image. They continued to fight, but the first clash that stabilized space faded and all was lost in the grey fog.

The crater was a warzone of flashing and clashing as Military High Command and the Engraving Guild fought directly against powerful Nether Heralds. Because the Engraving Guild contingent was closer, Randidly focused on their struggle to take the Nether spire. His eyes gradually grew accustomed to their strange Nether.

Yet something unnerving became apparent very quickly. Randidly bit his lips as he observed the fighting more closely; each of the Nether Heralds he sensed were the most powerful examples of the individuals he had seen. Although he currently wasn’t exactly sure what he could accomplish when he went all out, they weren’t foes that would fall quickly.

And those four at the base of the spire…

Still, even through the chaotic space and the constant fighting, Randidly’s sight eventually locked on to one figure amongst the Engraving Guild: Shal.

And nearby to Randidly’s former master, a Vulpine with six tails stood with his arms folded. Both were located near to headquarters of the Engraving Guild, speaking to their status amongst the group. The soft glow of the Nether Lattice illuminated them clearly through the spatial walls. Beside Randidly, Raymund Ballast clenched his claws so tightly into fists that his nails cut into his palm.

The Frost Matriarch’s powerful voice carried even above the wail of despair that floated up from the battlefield. “As we thought, the orthodox factions have already arrived. But we made it in time to keep them from monopolizing this place. Since those spires seem to be the core of this array… as long as we capture one, we will have a shot at the Nether King.”

The Frost Matriarch’s heavy blue, lantern-like eyes swept through the Pinnacle Seekers around her. “Who would like to lead the offensive?”

Once more, the Pinnacle Seekers around Randidly stiffened. The tension steadily began to mount. After he glanced around, he reached up and scratched his cheek with a helpless smile. Am I supposed to step forward again…? Well, it’s not like I don’t have any ideas about how to deal with a Nether Spire…

And dammit, I’d love to get a closer look at how those spires are influences the surrounding area...

Seeker Thunder Wing’s head guard was nearby, so Randidly took a short step to the side and caught her attention. He spoke in a low whisper, which was hopefully quiet enough to be lost in the ambient noise from the battlefield below. “Am I suppose to step forward and lead once again…?”

The guard looked at him with a horrified expression. “You? Well, you might try. But only if you have a deathwish; taking too steep a Path to the PInnacle will only end in a shallow grave. Plus… the leader of any mission amongst the Pinnacle Seekers is the most important figure! Others will only follow you if you are capable. A leader will like you will have no one who volunteers under your command. And if you attempt this alone-”

“Is there a problem?”

The voice resonated with Randidly’s breastbone. Next to him, Seeker Thunder Wing’s head guard jumped. Randidly looked up and met the mild gaze of the Frost Matriarch. She tilted her massive head to the side, seeming to consider him. “Do you wish to lead the mission?”

Randidly smiled. “Yes, we do.”

No harm in trying, right? At least when it comes to surviving, I’m very confident. And chaotic battlefields like this… are exactly what the Grim Chimera needs to digest all those image pieces it absorbed from Skills.

Influence +7!

“We?!?!” Seeker Thunder Wing’s guard yelped in horror. Randidly felt somewhat sympathetic to her plight, but only because he had involved her without even knowing her name.

Next to him, Helen shook her head helplessly.