Randidly looked around at the rainforest surrounding him. Already, moisture clung to his skin and made him uncomfortable. He had chosen one of the completely abandoned portions in Expira’s Southern hemisphere, a vast monster wonderland that even Kharon and the Order Ducis was having trouble clearing enough to make a safe road North.

With this much space, I can go wild to my heart’s content. Randidly felt his blood pumping through his body. He clenched his fists. No regrets. I need to make sure Nether is an area in which no one can rival me. Right now, I’m probably a little less sophisticated than Neshamah, even if my usage of Nether is more geared toward power. But I know I can be better than that.

I need to be better than that.

His Nether Core swirled with gathering momentum as he floated in the sky. But Randidly couldn’t help but grin around him, because he wasn’t alone in this humid jungle. “Looks like you’ve been breeding out here without any supervision. Are your lives so short and your minds so small that you’ve forgotten how dangerous humans can be?”

Shadows flitted up out of the trees and moved to surround him.

Calamitous Bloodsuckers Lvl 85

As soon as the first ones saw him, more came flooding out. Nearly a hundred horse-sized mosquitos had flown out of the dense tree cover, with scores more streaming out every second. Likely, soon so many would appear that Kharon would see them and assume it was just a large storm cloud on the horizon.

Randidly’s expression became increasingly brittle as the chorus of buzzes increased in volume. “Since I founded Kharon and it will be down this way in a few days, I don’t mind reeducating some dumb insects. Especially when you’ve so generously offered to help me with my Nether Core training.”

A wave of Nether exploded out of Randidly as the first Bloodsuckers zipped toward him with their sharp, tube-like mouths. Instantly, Motif of the Hungry Deep guided the Nether into specific patterns. As he spread out his awareness, Synechdochence became a double edge sword. Miniature, cascading arrangements made and remade themselves, separating into a thousand propagating pinches of Nether.

Theoretically, he could generate a certain percentage of his actual force an infinite number of times. However in practice, each time he split his attention required an extra bit of process power. Perhaps it would have been more intelligent for him to instead work at perfecting his Synechdochence by practicing only a few pinches to perfection.

Yet that look the Don had given him wouldn’t leave the forefront of his mind. That emotional potency reminded him of the distance that still existed between where he was and where he needed to be. That difference set him on fire; he couldn’t bear not to throw everything he had into this training, so he unleashed an avalanche of Nether pinches. Randidly’s grasp of control of them was still rather fuzzy, but he burned with resolve.

Congratulations! Your Skill Left Hand of the Nether Oracle (M) has grown to Level 468!

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Sensation (L) has grown to Level 441!

Acri? Randidly thought right before he unleashed himself. His body began to steam from the incendiary heat of his determination. Make sure you skim this experience.

In the first wave, Randidly unleashed about a hundred pinches of Nether that imploded a space the size of a basketball. The flared power cut off wings, crunched bodies, and ripped holes in stingers of all of the nearby monsters that swarmed toward him. As their remnant pieces fell like rain, those that lived through the initial burst keened a mournful song.

Accomplishment recognized! Synechdochence increased to 34%!

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Sensation (L) has grown to Level 442!

The buzzing of their wings grew worse as more and more Bloodsuckers flew out of the treetops. Thousands began to stream upward in a massive river of monster flesh. Randidly just released a steaming breath and began to gather the ripples he created as he killed the first chunk. He felt the destructive force of his Nether, but he wasn’t satisfied. The Don wouldn’t even blink at that display. And now since so many delivered themselves to him-

More, Randidly’s eyes were bright and emerald as his entire focus flowed in through his Nether Core. I can do better than this. Sharper. More exact. Violent and domineering. When it comes to Nether… I need to be unrivaled.

His second detonation of pinches created about five hundred attacks, each of which continued to annihilate the bugs but also grew to be about the size of an inflatable pool volleyball. More and more ripples were produced which he happily gathered into the building storm.

He felt the pressure building behind his eyes. The more pinches he activated, the more strain his Mental Stats were forced to endure. But he continued to barrel forward, brute-forcing his way into gathering a sea of experience with manipulating Synechdochence.

He might have more attention to give a single pinch, but the issue right now was he couldn’t stand that path. Randidly needed that sense of danger, even as the heat and pressure running through him steadily increased. So long as he pushed himself-

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Sensation (L) has grown to Level 443!

Accomplishment recognized! Synechdochence increased to 39%!

…

Congratulations! Your Skill Motif of the Hungry Deep (P) has grown to Level 400!

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Sensation (L) has grown to Level 470!

The sky around him was the site of an apocalypse, with giant spheres of Nether rapidly devouring anything that came near him. Yet despite the flickering destruction he unleashed, the attacks didn’t cease.

The mosquitos had bred even beyond what Randidly had anticipated. They seemed endless as they swarmed up out of the trees. Randidly clenched his jaw and didn’t think about the heat building in his skull. He created more pinches and studied the generated patterns even more closely. The explosions of Nether grew increasingly large until each took up the space the size of a sedan. A single pinch of Nether could rip through two or three Bloodsuckers, so long as they flew close together.

And Randidly felt like he was just getting started. More and more powerful waves of natural energy surrounded him in a churning storm. The Bloodsuckers could struggle closer to him through it, but barely, But his lips twitched when clouds began to gather around his person, drawn by his energy and significance. Suddenly, I became the storm on the horizon.

But I can definitely feel the possibilities of more. The Nether arrays I’ve been working with have been too static. Maybe I’ve been able to make the enhancement rituals, but Nether in a chaotic environment needs to be carefully crafted. So long as its stable, I can play it safe, but out here-

Randidly spread his arms. Brief blooms of obsidian orbs continued in the sky below him as the mosquitos seemed determined to annihilate him.

Achievement recognized! Synechdochence increased to 42%!

Congratulations! Your Skill Right Hand of the Nether Polymath (M) has grown to Level 470!

The higher he pushed his Synechdochence, the slower its improvement became. However, Randidly wasn’t nearly finished. He focused his attention downward and created more and more pinches of Nether. A hundred, a thousand, ten thousand. A white flame seemed to have taken up residence in his brain, burning its way through inefficient brain cells even as Uncommon Metabolism helped replace them. His Fidelity of the Ascendant Moirae in his Soulspace burned from the strain, even a Pinnacle Stat having difficulty withstanding the demands Randidly had.

However, he didn’t back down. His fingers curled into claws as the Nether pinches detonated all across the surrounding rain forest. In a single explosive manifestation of his Nether power. Randidly ripped off the canopy level of the trees in the surrounding space and decimated the mosquito swarm.

Achievement recognized! Synechdochence increased to 45%!

Congratulations! Your Skill Left Hand of the Nether Oracle (M) has grown to Level 501!

Randidly began to laugh. The pain behind his eyes made it difficult to process certain things. Below him, not just ten thousand mosquitos targeted him, but also Spitting Caustic Frogs, Three Horned Tyrant Rhinos, and Reaper Mantises who witnessed the top of their ecosystem being destroyed. They looked up at him with angry eyes and roared out a challenge.

Randidly found it hilarious. For whatever reason, he couldn’t control his laughter. His Nether Core spun and spun, a strange reaction happening between his significance and the thickness of the Nether he released. The way he forcefully activated Synechdochence in a massive wave, as opposed to chasing efficiency and control, was significant.

The more he spread his awareness out, the more his head throbbed to keep up with all the ways the small pinches of Nether he wielded were creating patterns and interfering in the creation of other patterns. The chaotic kinetic ripples mixed freely with the reaction of Nether and Aether in the Alpha Cosmos. He needed to cut through it all and find the core principles. Only then would he have the confidence to face a truly powerful image.

The remnant trees swayed and groaned as Randidly descended, bringing with him the rumbling storm of force he dragged behind him. The monsters leapt and spat, furious at the human interloper. But Nether seethed through Randidly and exploded, a bag of popcorn erupting in a chaotic distribution. When he felt his headache continuing to sear at his perception, he eschewed accuracy and just unleashed wave after wave of explosions, spreading polka dots of oblivion through his attackers and the forest around him.

Achievement recognized! Synechdochence increased to 47%!

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Sensation (L) has grown to Level 471!

More bodies fell, their blood dripping down over the leaves of the bushy ferns that covered the rain forest floor. Some of the nearby trees creaked and groaned, collapsing after Randidly’s Nether cut chunks out of their trunks and the remnant pieces couldn’t endure. The ground covered was unceremoniously ripped up and tossed aside by the winds of Randidly’s maelstrom, leaving him with a fluttering grass landing space as he raised his hand and pressed it against his face.

Rather than pain, what I’m feeling is heat, Randidly squinted, measuring the physical discomfort. Like a computer, right now my brain is literally being fed more information than it can handle. Of course-

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Sensation (L) has grown to Level 472!

…

Congratulations! Your Skill Left Hand of the Nether Oracle (M) has grown to Level 511!

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Sensation (L) has grown to Level 480!

-By forcing myself beyond my limits, I can gather Skill Levels relatively easily. I can close that gap. Randidly forced himself to raise his head. His entire body pulsed with the Nether stretching out from his body, connecting him to the thousands of flickering marble of Nether he maintained. His Synechdochence gradually shifted, adopting the wide, active method that Randidly used to engage. When the various monsters around him managed to struggle close enough to one of the pinches of Nether, they activated the dormant power.

A blossom of power warped the air. Randidly examined it with a cool expression. Even if I want a broader reach, this efficiency isn’t nearly enough. The pattern needs to be adjusted at its base.

Congratulations! Your Skill Precise Nether Ritual (L) has grown to Level 468!

There was a pop and then a rapidly expanding balloon of darkness that devoured flesh, feathers, skin, grass, dirt, everything. Randidly’s mind hummed just a little more with the influx of feedback from the newest spurt of Nether. He examined the pattern with a brief moment of intense clarity before the next bit of information arrived, knocking the previous pattern out of his head.

Each time, he made minute adjustments, seeking the streamlined pattern he needed.

He continued to cackle, feeling Neveah’s consciousness coming to him and trying to ease the strain he was under, but he waved her away. The intensity of Don Beigon hovered in front of Randidly’s face, taunting him. Did he have enough to rival that emotional intensity? To face the monsters of the Nexus?

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Sensation (L) has grown to Level 499!

I’m afraid, Neveah, Randidly felt blood dribble out his nose. But his whole being was consumed by the thrum of resonance flowing up out of his Nether Core. His mind burned with the flood of complicated interactions playing out over the desolate ground around him. His increasing Synechdochence came with a steep cost. Dimly, Randidly could feel himself loosening his control on where the Nether pinches appeared. More and more spurts of Nether flared up, annihilating a wider swathe of the environment. Afraid that I won’t be enough. That I’m finally going to hit this wall.

Meanwhile, Motif of the Hungry Deep continued to gather all the energy ripples from the sudden Nether explosions and gathered them into a horrifying, landscape-crushing storm. Those few trees that were lucky enough to not get caught in the Nether implosions were ripped up by the greedy fingers of wind and shredded before they hit the ground.

Neveah pulsed again, trying to calm him down. You don’t need to push yourself like this, Randidly.

Maybe, Randidly raised his head and cackled. The waves of Nether he released spread further and further. More and more near-boiling blood dribbled out of his nose as his superheated brain attempted to keep up with the patterns in the Nether. The crimson drops that fell from his nose were spirited away by the wind before they could hit the ground. But I can handle this. My high Stats make this dangerous path possible for me. And if I balk here…

Congratulations! Your Skill Nether Sensation (L) has grown to Level 529!

Achievement recognized! Your Synechdochence increased to 50!

I won’t be able to live with myself. Randidly closed his eyes, listening to the keening song of his tornado of a Nether Core and seeing the endless cascade of his significance play out in front of him.

No regrets.