Chapter 314

Randidly rubbed his chin briefly. Seemed like his little spirit babies were entering into an era of opulence and sloth. Well, it seemed that the monster in the East would hopefully wake them up from that, and get them to regard things more seriously.

Randidly was instantly suspicious of the darkness, as it seemed to coincide with Lucretia’s arrival, but again, it was impossible to tell what was what. It was incredibly frustrating, and his ability to discern what was happening inside his world was extremely limited.

God, give him an enemy he could fight any day…

Well, after thinking about Lucretia presence the times they had met, Randidly changed his mind. Perhaps this was for the best, at least for now. There didn’t seem to be any initial effects…

Satisfied for now, Randidly rather randomly decided to add Grace and Chef’s Palette to the world. They were both useful skills, but neither were dangerous enough that it could cause a stir like the Hammer of the Dawn and Superiority did.

As the skill descended into the world, Grace condensed into a cloak, which floated down into an alley in one of the Spriggit cities. Meanwhile, Chef’s Palette spread out, condensing into new varieties of spices and herbs in the forests of the world. The swamps too, received special attention, and dozens of tasty mushrooms came into being.

Then Randidly poured another 200 PP into his Path, completing another rotation immediately. It truly was nice to be rich.

The world of your Soul Skill turns! The denizens of your inner world evolve. There has been a great schism amongst the religious sects of your world, as they split into three main churches. The first worship the mysterious woman as the Progenitor, another reveres her as one of the great saints of the Progenitor, who gave her life to seal the greed of the great emperor, and the third believe she was a foreign power who attempted to steal the world for herself, and was smited by the Progenitor.

As the Monster King has become more active, a slow war is building, fought mainly by the Spriggits and the White Hunters. The lands of the Swamplings are beyond the grasp of the Monster King, and the Earth Golems are having a grand competition to determine their next emperor.

Due to the powerful pressure on the Spriggits, they have begun to produce powerful metallic exoskeletons in which they fight. These have turned the tide of the war against the Monster King, giving them some brief room, and adding more credence to the Swampling’s non interference.

Unbeknownst to most, a young Spriggit is making a name for herself in certain circles, boasting the title of greatest thief in the world, able to avoid any and all forms of detection…

At the center of the world, more clockwork pieces snap into place. Something is coming. Ambient Aether in the air increases.

It has been five cycles since this world’s creation. Would you like to add anything to the world? (Warning, the added qualities will be taken from a skill. A single skill level will be consumed in the taking. Other side-effects are unknown).

Although there was some talk of Lucretia splintering off his churches, otherwise, she truly seemed to be sealed, having no influence on his world. Unless, of course, she was somehow controlling the Monster King…

But even then, the current actions of the Monster King were not consistent with how Lucretia behaved. The Monster King was attacking wildly, gaining more territory for its people, wildly attacking the other races. That direct cause of action was exactly the opposite of what Randidly had seen from Lucretia. But again, perhaps that was just her trying to trick him…?

Useless to speculate, Randidly finally concluded. Waste of time.

For this cycle, Randidly decided to inject Soul Bond into the Soul Skill. While doing so, his focus was wide, spreading its influence generally across the entire world, giving the entire populations the ability to form bonds with the monsters. Honestly, Randidly suspected that in the short term, the result would be a sharp increase in the Monster King’s power, as it bonded with one of its powerful monster subordinates. But it was hard to say for sure.

It would certainly escalate the conflict, which would give Randidly more information on what was occuring in terms of Lucretia. Although he didn’t shape the monsters in the same way he had the other races, Randidly had nothing against them. They were the natural creatures of his world, after all, evolving on their own.

Perhaps what was most concerning about that notification was the final indication, that something was coming. Although it had powered his Soul Skill, Randidly did feel a great deal of regret that he used the strange Aether construct of the Creature. Too late to have regret now, however.

As if sensing his thoughts, he felt the being inside of him flit around, emitting a calming warmth. Randidly smiled. Yes, he was no longer alone. Together, they would be able to handle the Creature.

Which shifted Randidly’s focus once more. He really hoped that there was a suitable body for the being amongst the monsters that came. There were a few that Randidly considered, but ultimately didn’t think were great fits for a variety of reasons.

But that was for tomorrow. Today, Randidly would consolidate his strength. Again, he used 200 PP all at once, advancing his world further. Of course, the bonuses from all the Blessings were a great help as well, increasing his stats and attributes, but most of Randidly’s focus was on how the rotation changed his world.

The world of your Soul Skill turns! The denizens of your inner world evolve. The three religious sects have set aside their differences and announced that the Monsters are a scourge that needs to be eradicated. A holy war has begun.

Spriggit Exoskeletons fight side by side with White Hunters and Earth Golem Chieftains on the front lines, holding back the Wicked Riders of the monster race. Although the crusade pushes deeper and deeper into monster territory, the Monster King has not been seen in some time.

The young Spriggit thief is torn; for she had received a request from the monster people of the greatest theft in history. She is to steal the holy spear of the Progenitor and deliver it into the hands of the monsters. This is the ultimate job, the act that would leave her mark on the world in the way she’s always dreamed. She must simply betray her people in order to accomplish it.

On a distant side of the battlefield, the Swamplings continue to trade with the monster people, establish a rapport, and hoping for the possibility of peace.

It has been six cycles since this world’s creation. Would you like to add anything to the world? (Warning, the added qualities will be taken from a skill. A single skill level will be consumed in the taking. Other side-effects are unknown).

Randidly groaned. He had no proof of this, and he couldn’t locate the thief in question through examining the world, but based on the trajectory of the narrative, it seemed that the thief really would choose to steal the spear and release the seal on Lucretia. Which meant that if possible, he would really like to shift the narrative of his world…

There were two options for this. The first was to add additional skills to the world now, the second was to pursue the Godling Path, and hope that the rewards would equip him to intervene more directly in his world. Both were incredibly inefficient.

But it’s not like he had any other choice. With a grimace, Randidly added three skills this time, Talon Strike, Phantom Onslaught, and Burning Footsteps. When they descended to the world, he made sure they remained concentrated. The Talon Strike became a pair of dark gauntlets, covered in spikes. Phantom Onslaught became a set of 13 knives. Burning Footsteps became a pair of dirty looking boots, the heel of which was made of gold.

People looked up at the sky and saw the descent of the Progenitor’s will, and Randidly hoped it was enough to distract the thief from this quest, although he suspected it would not be. Sighing, Randidly added enough PP to finish off his Path, preparing himself to deal with the consequences.

Congratulations! You have completed the Ash of Aemont, the Spear PhantomPath! It was a long path, framed in ash, that has led you to this place. And here, you find a figure waiting for you…

The world around Randidly blurred, and his expression hardened. As he thought, there would be a test at the end of this Path… It was good that he had waited until he was back to his full strength. Hell, combined with all his increased stats and skill levels, Randidly was almost remade in terms of the amount of stats that he had.

Soon the world reformed, and Randidly found himself standing on a vast battlefield. Around him, all was still, all the bodies and piles of broken weapons completely still. In front of him, a man stood, his arms clasped behind his back. As Randidly watched, the man, too, was completely still.

The battlefield itself seemed to have been a fight between three sides: humans, insectoid monsters, and a group of monstrous bears. Now though, all those bodies lay together, their arms wrapped around each other even as their faces were locked in vicious expressions of unwillingness.

“Welcome, boy. This…” The man finally moved, spreading his arms wide. “This is where I discovered the resolve to create the Spear Phantom Style. You can consider it… my womb.”