All in all, Randidly believed that a slight shift in Skill costs with Stigma of the Lifeless Phoenix was well worth it. After all, Health and Stamina were immensely more simple for Randidly to recover than Mana. On the other hand, Randidly could already feel a burning sensation in his chest akin to heartburn as he continued to resonate his Skills. Still, if Randidly was good at anything, it was handling the constant pain.

Plus, increasing the power of his fire spells was an unexpected bonus. The biggest real loss was in future PP revenue, but Randidly’s current list of Skills was so long that he didn’t worry about it very much. There would also likely also be hidden synergies to the Skill that Randidly would only discover as he continued to use it.

Congratulations! Your Skill Ignition of the Emerald Essence (L) has grown to Level 165!

Congratulations! Your Skill Stigma of the Lifeless Phoenix (L) has grown to Level 202!

Randidly stood at the center of a four-meter tall pillar of flame, rapidly attracting more and more attention to himself. But he simply allowed his Skills to howl upward, their activations howling together in a symphony of fire as the Skill shifted. Yet Randidly couldn’t help but be bemused as he saw Lady Iellaya rather pointedly ignoring his antics up above, no matter how eye-catching he became.

Honestly, Randidly didn’t blame her. The longer the battle drew on, the more adroit she became at leveraging her advantage in strength to harm the Nether Gatekeepers. Yet Randidly’s focus rapidly returned to himself as the rest of his Skills followed Mana Physique in shattering and reforming.

Congratulations! Your Skill Verdant Nova (Un) has evolved into Firebird’s Lament (A)! Skill Levels will be maintained.

Congratulations! Your Skill Influence of the Molten Core ® has evolved into Authority of the Burning Heart (A)! Skill Levels will be maintained.

Congratulations! Your Skill Ignition Bolt ® has evolved into Phoenix-Slaying Bolt (Ru)! Skill Levels will be maintained.

Congratulations! Your Skill Eruption of the Blazing Leyline (Ru) has evolved into Talon of the Restless Immortal (L)! All Skill Levels will be maintained.

The resonance between Skills increased. Randidly felt the tongues of flames flicker across his skin with greater vigor than ever. As with the usage of Molten Fang of the Pariah, Acri began to smoke and burn, transforming slowly into a huge, smoldering brand. Sulfur continued to hum contentedly and enjoy the heat. The flames around Randidly brightened and rose to a height of five meters. The raven-winged serpent snatched another Nether Gatekeeper into its jaws and delightedly crunched down.

Congratulations! Your Skill Ignition of the Emerald Essence (L) has grown to Level 166!

At this point, the emerald and orange pillar began to slowly rotate around Randidly as it transformed into a vortex of fire and superheated air. Mana continued to flow steadily out of him and into his fire, raising it higher and higher. To the point that even Nether Gatekeepers that were desperately trying to restrain Lady Iellaya glanced over toward Randidly’s position.

...and yet, Randidly quickly sighed and released the activation of his Skill. It had become clear that although the other Skills were ready to shift into a more powerful form, Ignition of the Emerald Essence itself was not. Which made a certain amount of sense, because evolving Ignition Essence was likely the key point to create a Skillset. So before Randidly had an idea for how that would eventually fit together, it was better not to force a reaction to occur.

Still, this was already enough. With a malicious grin, Randidly stared out toward the milling group of Nether Beasts that edged around the battlefield of Lady Iellaya and the Nether Gatekeepers to attack normal Aether soldiers. He raised his right hand and brought his fingers together into a fist. “Talon of the Restless Immortal!”

Congratulations! Your Skill Talon of the Restless Immortal (L) has grown to Level 115!

The ground beneath a group of Nether Beasts trudging through the ditch split open, revealing a gaping chasm lined with tongues of emerald and orange flames. The Nether Beasts were so surprised by the sudden change that several tripped and fell into the hole, only to meet the three-meter long, inflamed, tripod of bone talons that rushed upward out of the gap.

As the bones sizzled and popped from the intense heat, those long talons lashed out and ripped into the bodies of several nearby Nether Beasts. The wounds inflicted weren’t deadly, but the most intimidating factor was how quickly the long talons moved. They were blurred reapers of fire, striking before even Nether Beasts could respond.

And just as the surrounding Nether Beasts moved aside to avoid that Skill, Randidly laughed aloud and used Talon of the Restless Immortal ten more times, each about five meters apart from one another. A whole line of flaming talons burst out of the ground, rapidly seizing and maiming several Nether Beasts before the other side could even react.

Congratulations! Your Skill Talon of the Restless Immortal (L) has grown to Level 116!

Congratulations! Your Skill Stigma of the LIfeless Phoenix (L) has grown to Level 203!

Congratulations! Your Skill Talon of the Restless Immortal (L) has grown to Level 117!

Randidly shook his arm to indicate to Acri that it could go attack freely for now, then flexed the large and cumbersome fingers that Sulfur created for him over his left hand. He brought his two hands together in an audible slap and birthed fire from the impact. Two gloves of fire wrapped around Randidly’s uneven hands. But he was interrupted before he could begin to dispense with further fire.

“You have a role to play,” Abiodun rumbled with a frown. The stone man took several long strides to stand next to Randidly. Even though his own exhaustion was rather clear on his face, his tone was even. “Do not tire yourself out killing Nether Beasts pointlessly. It would waste-”

Randidly glanced sideways at Abiodun, almost casually. Yet in that instant, the light of the Inscrutable Mien of Genesis shone out through the pupils of his eyes. The weight of Randidly’s full and rested Willpower fueled the image of Yggdrasil, hitting Abiodun with a physical weight. It wasn’t enough to suppress someone like Abiodun, but it was enough to silence him.

Randidly turned back forward and raised his hands. “...I’m just blowing off excess Mana right now. Otherwise, how could my Skills simply wound these small fries? Don’t worry, my edge is just as sharp as it can be. And in terms of roles… more than anyone else’s, exacting the price of hubris assembling this mass of Nether Beasts is mine. So please, leave me to my business.”

Randidly pointed across the battlefield. Lightning fast, one Phoenix-Slaying Bolt after another shot out from his fingers. They crossed the no-man’s-land around Lady Iellaya and the Nether Gatekeeper’s confrontation in an instant, piercing the unsuspecting chests of Nether Beasts. Most of them were still stunned by the many Talons of a Restless Immortal and didn’t even see the bolts coming. Without much suspense, the Nether bubbles of these relatively weak Nether Beasts were popped by the sizzling emerald/orange bolts.

Congratulations! Your Skill Phoenix-Slaying Bolt (Ru) has grown to Level 137!

Congratulations! Your Skill Phoenix-Slaying Bolt (Ru) has grown to Level 138!

Compared to the shape of the previous Ignition Bolt, the new Phoenix-Slaying Bolts were pretty similar. Aside from the addition of orange to the flaming bolt, the only real difference was a bit of tapering toward the front of the projectile. Rather than just being a solid rod, the Phoenix-Slaying Bolts possessed extremely sharp tips.

A small thing, but it meant that the defenses of these weaker Nether Beasts was almost insubstantial before Randidly’s Skills. First one bolt, then a dozen, then a hundred, then a thousand, Randidly endured the growing sense of pain in his chest from Stigma of the Lifeless Phoenix and unleashed a veritable artillery barrage upon the Nether Beasts that had been attacking Lady Iellaya’s camp.

When Nether Beasts grouped up to try and assault his position, Randidly scattered them with Talon of the Restless Immortal. When they split up and tried to flank him, Randidly picked them off steadily with Phoenix-Slaying Bolt. His Mana was being swiftly depleted, but the Nether Beasts that had been queuing up to attack the base were forced steadily back. Of course, their numbers were such that there were simply more Nether Beasts waiting to take their place. But because of the ruckus that Lady Iellaya was raising above, most Nether Beasts wouldn’t easily come forward while the Nether Gatekeepers were being suppressed.

Congratulations! You have reached Level 53! +8 Stats distributed between Vitality, Perception, Resist, Intelligence, and Control, +35 Free Stats! +1 Stat to a Mental Stat. +1 to a Physical Defense Stat. +1 to a Mental Support Stat. +2 Control. +36 Health, +45 Mana, +40 Stamina, +3.5 to all Regenerations! +1 to Health and Stamina Regeneration!

Due to Guidance of the Wraith Adder, +4 Agility and +2 Bonus Stats!

Due to the Philosopher’s Key, +3 Intelligence, Wisdom, and Focus!

Experience rolled steadily in, pushing Randidly up into Level 53 and then almost halfway to Level 54. Unlike previous instances where Randidly would mostly maim and allow Aether soldiers to finish off the job on wounded, Randidly accurately shattered the weakened cores of fallen Nether Beasts with Phoenix-Slaying Bolts. A river of fire flowed from his hands, rapidly pushing the Skill Levels of his related Skills upward. More and more PP flowed in, pushing him above 600.

Eventually, Randidly stopped firing. The flames on his hands dimmed, leaving the lower part of his arms smoldering and smoking. Practically every Nether Beast that was close to Lady Iellaya’s camp had been roasted. Their corpses were charred and scattered. Reinforcements were kept at bay by the high-level fighting going on above.

The Aether soldiers looked around in wonder as they had a genuine break from fighting.

Randidly didn’t stay still after accomplishing his goal. Instead, Randidly turned his head toward Commander Terith’s camp and moved in that direction. Abiodun watched him depart without commenting, although he did cast another warning look at Randidly’s back.

Waving a hand in recognition of that look, Randidly lowered his shoulders and shot forward. With several bounds, he slowly devoured the distance to himself and the graceful form of Vualla.

Randidly had been too distracted by his methodical grilling of Nether Beasts to notice, but it seemed that Lady Iellaya’s sudden offensive had pulled another Nether Gatekeeper from Vualla over. With only five foes against her and her constantly increasing proficiency with her new style, Vualla had since been able to kill two. Now the remaining three were rapidly retreating in the face of a near-unstoppable Vualla. It only took a single, well-timed surprised in the form of a Talon of the Restless Immortal to obstruct the Nether Gatekeepers and help Vualla finish them off.

Yet it was clear to Randidly’s eyes that Vualla was exhausted. Her face seemed so incredibly pale, her gauntlets covered in the gore of broken Nether flesh. As Randidly hurried over, Vualla groaned and used her teeth to pull on the strap to her left gauntlet. With a crash, it fell to the ground and allowed her to more easily undue her right gauntlet.

“Congratulations,” Randidly said as he arrived. He smiled at Vualla with genuine warmth as she gently massaged some feeling back into her hands. Randidly’s eyes traced the visible lines of veins that snaked across her swollen forearms. It seemed her new fighting style was not easy. “Five Nether Gatekeepers.”

Vualla looked over at Randidly with a sly smile that brought a little bit of azure color back to her eyes. “Heh. Was there ever any doubt? And I would have gotten the sixth… but these gauntlets are getting in my way.”

Tilting his head to the side, Randidly asked, “Too heavy?”

“The opposite, too light.” Vualla put her hands on her hips and shook her head in disgust as she stood over the gunk-covered gauntlets. “Feels like I have balloons tied to the tips of my fists. Extremely aggravating.”

Randidly chewed on his lip for a second. The turned and glanced toward Abiodun. Seeing no signal to return quite yet, Randidly twisted back around to Vualla. “...you know, if all you want is weight, I probably whip something up for you.”

“Really?” Vualla blinked in faux surprise. Then she unleashed an absolutely radiant smile on him. “Randidly Ghosthound, you are the most useful individual I have ever met. Meeting you has totally revived my spirit.”