Accomplishment recognized! Synechdochence has increased to 29%!

The small pinch of Nether exploded outward, gobbling down a large chunk of the sky island and leave motes of hissing dust in its wake. In terms of power, it wasn’t that much. But Randidly had restrained himself, since he was testing his new capabilities on his own skyisland. A dozen similar ice cream scoops were dotted the surrounding space, a testament to his steadily accumulating experience with weaponizing Nether.

Randidly tapped his lip. This shouldn’t be my limit while remaining here and not punching out a large enough chunk that my skyisland crashed down on Kharon. To learn to use my Nether as an aspect representing the whole, I need to let loose a bit.

He raised his head and looked toward the horizon. Natural energy swirled in a constant rotation around the sky island, the unconscious order that his Moirae of Ripples Skillset imposed on the surrounding area. The sun was beginning to peak up above the distant mountains after a retrained night of experimenting with his new capabilities.

Randidly looked down at his hands as he flexed his fingers. The sensation his new Nether Core provided for him was a strange one. As his Nether wove itself out into the storm, he could briefly transform the disparate pieces into seeds for their own pattern. The flood of sensations that resulted was dizzying, even for Randidly. Then these patterns could unleash new patterns, spreading endlessly out into the surrounding air like a virulent plague.

Eventually, he brushed up against the edges of his Scope, but the entire operation quickly collapsed underneath its own weight and his half-hearted follow through. Again, the main problem was that Randidly didn’t want to grip the surrounding space with the full force of his Nether; releasing some of his significance assisted Kharon Academy students, but that was a very different thing than weathering the full Weight of Randidly’s Nether Core.

After the evolution of his Nether Core to Legendary, he had a renewed appreciation for how much damage his Nether could do to any substance less durable than his body.

However, another problem was actually understanding the way the patterns cascaded outward. Randidly had believed he understood organic energy systems relatively well, but his experience centered on small-scale battlefields. When he spread his Nether out to the limit of his scope, those previously simple interactions became almost self-defeating. Small amounts of radiation from the patterns began to weigh heavily against certain portions of the whole, which could then destabilize everything.

Randidly hummed to himself, then pulled the flows of Nether back to within his body. It was time to meet Claudette; he could find a more desolate location and push his limits without worrying about the consequences after.

He opened a portal directly to an antechamber as he had been directed by Claudette. A man wearing a shroud was already kneeling on the ground when Randidly arrived. He raised his head but did not look directly at Randidly as he spoke. “Master Ghosthound, we have been expecting you. Please, follow me to the tea chamber. The rest of the guests have already arrived.”

Randidly kept his face neutral, even while composing a message to Claudette. Other guests?

Neshamah Rex. The reply came quickly. Have you spurned her romantic advances or something? The woman is desperate to get some face time with you. Her political clout is useful… but Randidly, I hope you know I never wanted you to sell your body for me…

Randidly couldn’t help but snort.

The servant led Randidly out of the building and into an outdoor pathway definitely designed to impress. To his left, three gold and crimson flaming dragons chased each others’ tails, breathing out brief spurts of incandescent destruction. To his right, several young women sat in a picturesque gazebo and strummed strange, swan-necked string instruments. Randidly pulled his attention inward, unwilling to dwell too long on the power that Don Beigon wielded, especially here.

Instead, he considered the ‘other guests’. As far as he could recall, the last time he had spoken to Neshamah had been when she extended the offer of assistance with Nether Core issues. He had denied her, and certainly, she had been disappointed, but Randidly wasn’t sure what suddenly made her more desperate.

He savored the sensation of his bare feet on the dragon-fire warmed stone beneath him. I suppose I did meet representatives from the Engraving Guild since then? Maybe it’s just to prevent me from allying with them? Ah, I suppose it could also be related to the Master and the Mountain. There are certain similarities between the Grand Pattern and how Nether should be used.

Past the dragons’ playpen was a strange lake of silver water. The servant led Randidly onto a small wooden boat on the shore and gestured for Randidly to follow. He did so, but then felt a sliver of unease as they pushed off the shore and a tide of mist surged to smother them. Within seconds, the shore had vanished behind them and the sounds of the young women playing instruments vanished. Even worse, the boat began to sink into the silver liquid.

Randidly pressed his lips together but ultimately held his peace as the servant didn’t react to the liquid slipping over the wooden lip of the boat. The silver water felt cool so Randidly just remained still and allowed them to sink. If nothing else, he was confident that the deep debt that sat between himself and Don Beigon would keep the crafty old man from harming him too directly.

But Randidly had no doubt Beigon would be willing to put Randidly in situations where he could harm himself by inopportune flinching. Even before Grim Intuition, the silver liquid and the mist seemed strange. So he waited.

Despite his determined stoicism, Randidly’s jaw dropped when he sank below the surface; waiting for him underwater was a gleaming seascape of sapphire-hued water and bright yellow fish. Although he was clearly submerged, he barely felt the liquid around him. When he breathed he only felt a strange, refreshingly minty feeling.

The more he looked around, the more impressed he became. Forking outcroppings of neon pink coral littered the ground, becoming both playground and apartment complexes for the yellow fish. Meanwhile, the servant continued to sail serenely downward, sinking deeper into this gorgeous hidden world.

The small wooden boat pulled up before a castle made of massive sunset pink and orange seashells. The servant gestured, as though a three-story seashell castle in strangely crystalline sapphire water under a silver lake was a normal destination. Randidly followed, floating slightly through each step. The sand at the bottom of this place felt quite pleasant between his toes.

Okay, I seriously need to renovate my Skyisland. I can’t compete with this sort of opulence at all…

As soon as Randidly walked into the vaulted inner keep of the seashell castle, Don Beigon was wheeling down the drawbridge toward him with his arms outstretched. “Ah! The man of the hour! Randidly Ghosthound, it has simply been too long. Have you become more handsome since I’ve seen you last? And the way energy simply clings to you…”

Randidly’s lips twitched as he looked at the Don. He could feel the way the compliments the older man so shamelessly tossed at him had minute effects on the debt the Don owed toward him for the attempted betrayal. However, it was akin in scale to a human trying to move a lake by filling up mouthfuls of water and spitting it on the other side of the hill. On the scale of normal human lifetimes, it would be futile.

But considering the old man had probably lived for two thousand years...

Randidly decided to ignore him and walk forward, even as Don Beigon cheerily rolled back up the ramp behind him and kept up a constant stream of compliments. “Truly, looking at you is to lay your eyes on the figure of a hero! In all my years in the Nexus, I haven’t seen a similarly talented individual. Your rise is meteoric-”

They passed onto an upper walkway, with emerald seahorses the size of dogs peeking out of side corridors to look at the pedestrians. In front of them, Randidly could see a silver pavilion which was probably the location of the meeting.

“But you know,”

Randidly paused in his walk. The Don’s tone had changed. He pivoted on his heel and looked at the old man in the bamboo wheelchair that had stopped behind him. The Don’s eyes were extremely sharp as he looked at Randidly. “You are of course invited to my third Mille party. I would be disappointed if you did not come, considering how successful you’ve been recently. But let me remind you of two things.”

The air around the Don shimmered as intense emotional force gathered with enough potency to warp the physical realm. Despite the cool sapphire water, Randidly’s skin prickled with wariness. This is why we spent so much time and effort training. Because the top figures of the Nexus are monsters.

“First, you cannot use the debt I owe you to affect the issue of Claudette. She will be devoured without the proper protection. And as her father, I will pay any price to keep her safe. Second, a Mille is a thousand; I have three Skills that have reached one thousand. I can only think of two other individuals who have gotten to their third Mille. However, and dearest Claudette will explain the details of this when you meet her, in recognition of her improvement and your efforts, I’ve made a small game to determine her fate. And all of the competitors aside from yourself and Claudette have achieved their first Mille. You are outmatched, Randidly-of-the-impressive-talent. You do not have time to close that gap.”

Don Beigon wheeled himself around and then head back away from the silver pavilion. Yet strangely, Randidly felt the intense expression on the Don’s face even more clearly now that he couldn’t see it. The liquid around the Don began to bubble underneath the pressure of his monstrous emotions. “Before absolute power, no amount of piecemeal accumulation can resist.”

Randidly grinned, despite himself. He refused to back down, no matter how powerful the images he faced would be. No matter how many Skill Levels he would need to withstand. “I’ve heard that before. And yet I”m still here. So far, my efforts have not been in vain.”

This time, the Don paused. To Randidly’s surprise, the old man also had a wicked smile as he twisted around to look at Randidly. That dangerous edge of his image dissipated, leaving the surrounding liquid tranquil. “I quite like you, Mr. Ghosthound. And you are right; there is no greater accomplishment than surviving. I honestly wish you luck. Heh, the rules of this game are quite special. So do your best.”

With that, the old man left. However, what kept Randidly transfixed for several seconds was the fact that nearly a third of the debt that the Don owed him vanished. Randidly pressed his lips together. Based on the result, he truly gave me a massive advantage in the game. He probably believes that the advantage won’t be enough to make a difference against the other competitors. But the fact that he still talks about his daughter’s fate as a game…!

Releasing a breath to calm himself, Randidly proceeded to the silver pavilion. Within, three figures sat in billowing lounge hammocks made of seaweed, sipping out of golden decanters and engaging in polite conversation. All three looked up as Randidly entered. Claudette offered him a small, warm smile. A man with the head of a tiger that Randidly didn’t recognize watched him with extreme interest.

Neshamah Rex bounded to her feet. Then she put her hands to her mouth. “Oh my. Mr. Ghosthound, you’ve already improved your Nether Core! And your aura… well, there’s no need for me to wonder any longer. So you are the mysterious Skull Shadow!”

Randidly blinked in utter confusion. Skull Shadow was definitely a nickname he would remember earning.