“Mommy!” Delilah spread her arms and dashed directly forward toward Annie as though she was drawn with a magnet.

Annie kept the smile on her face serene while glancing sideways toward Dozer with an ‘I told you so’ look. This kind smile was a far cry from her true feelings; in her mind, she was kekeke-ing like a malicious witch who finally lured her target to willingly hop into the cauldron of boiling water. Heh, as expected, she comes out of the Dungeon completely filled with fondness for her mother. Ah… my cute daughter has finally returned to me…

Feeling very generous, Annie glided forward and swept Delilah up into a hug. As she spoke to her daughter, Annie rubbed her cheek against the top of her head. “I’ve missed you, honey. How was the Dungeon? How long were you in there for?”

Dozer rolled his eyes and stood to the side to keep other people from interfering with the reunion. The small family was standing below Kharon away from the Orchard, but almost the entirety of the area around the Wandering City was now thick with hastily set up housing and restaurants to handle the excess population that had come for the tournament. Even the expansive Orchard was unable to handle this many visitors at once.

Luckily, the Orchard itself had been expanding pretty constantly over the past several years and had a lot of experience with throwing up new buildings on short notice. In the seven days since Kharon had settled down next to the Orchard, they had already completed the sewer and electric system in the area and were now constructing buildings in earnest. Apparently, they intended to create a new suburb in this area with all the manpower that they had access to right now.

As it was, the reunion was forced to take place in a rather loud area, beset on all sides by people sparing them glances as they hurried about their business of either training or seeking lodging or constructing the lodging. But seeing the genuine emotion on her daughter’s face, Annie didn’t care at all about the scene around them. Ahh…. yes, truly, Randidly Ghosthound has no idea of the favor he did for me. It felt like only a few days to me, but my disobedient daughter is now wagging her tail so joyously in my arms…!

For a few seconds, Delilah buried her head into Annie’s shoulder and ignored her mother’s questions. But then Delilah slowly seemed to relax and pull back. “...the Dungeon was okay. It was a couple of months, I didn’t really keep track. But mommy… am I… weak…?”

Immediately, Annie’s eyes gleamed. But outwardly, she made a great show of releasing a grand sigh and shaking her head. Annie was definitely a mother who could empathize with her daughter’s plight. “Well… weakness is always relative sweetie. You are strong for your age…. But there are a lot of people in the world. Some of them are even as strong as your parents. That’s why training is so important.”

Delilah even began to tear up. “...yeah. I’m sorry I ran away so much. I’m sorry I skipped out on training so often. But I…”

“Hush. It’s all forgiven.” Annie squeezed her daughter tightly. Even the fickle and pessimistic Annie couldn’t help but be swayed by the straightforward nature of her daughter. Her knuckles went white from how hard she wanted to grip her daughter to protect her, but she kept her grip within normal bounds. Since Randidly had so generously taught their daughter how powerful the dangers in this world was, all Annie needed to do now was play the concerned parent. “Daddy and mommy are here.”

Dozer, hearing his cue, reached out and used his broad hand to gently pat Delilah’s back. Annie was slightly miffed that they hadn’t thought to bring a camera to immortalize this harmonious moment when Delilah spoke again and shattered Annie’s rosy sense of satisfaction.

“Also… is it possible that I’m in love? Isn’t love an adult thing?”

“...eh?” Annie blinked. Strangely, her lips were abruptly dry. “Wait, what did you just say?!?”

Delilah was still held in Annie’s arm, but it was difficult for Annie to see her daughter’s face as she was frowning down at Annie’s shoulder. “Love. Like mommy-daddy stuff. A boy I met in the Dungeon said that I was in love with him but I would need to wait until I’m older to marry. So how do I know if I’m in love with him?”

“He said…” Annie felt like breathing out fire. She shot Dozer a glance to warn him not to stop her from hunting this boy down, but as soon as she saw the set of Dozer’s eyes Annie immediately felt the aggression drain out of her body. And again, that inner version of Annie began to laugh maniacally. Hehehe… this husband of mine might be very stoic normally, but he does have quite the temper when the mood strikes him… Ah, this is the wild man that I fell for…

The corners of Dozer’s mouth were very tight as he took the initiative to answer Delilah’s question. “...if you don’t know if you love him, you don’t. Love is a big thing, but mostly it’s being sure. Now, this boy-”

“But doesn’t mommy talk about how long you pursued her before she said yes?” Delilah insisted. “So she didn’t love you immediately? So maybe I just don’t know yet. How can I be sure I won’t love him someday?”

Dozer’s expression tightened further. “If it happens, it will happen. What is this boy’s name?”

“His name’s Annon,” Delilah replied without much thought. Then her face pinched, as though the key to concentration was simply pressing her features more closely together. “Are there Skills for love too? Maybe I should learn some...”

Dozer turned and walked away without saying anything. Annie had to release a bit of her image power as a White Hunter in order to screen Delilah from the ominous cracking sounds that Dozer released as he moved. The two-and-a-half meter tall man moved silently, but Annie could see the veins on Dozer’s neck pulsing with his heartbeat.

Annie batted her eyelashes at Dozer’s back. Break some bones for me, my lovely prince.

*****

Tatiana stepped off the small platform onto the island and raised her voice. “Randidly? Are you prepared?”

Her voice clearly echoed through the misted areas of the Ghosthound’s island. Not that she needed to speak for him to sense her, but undoubtedly Randidly was tied up in some sort of training from which he would need to be disentangled. But to her surprise, the only noise that Tatiana heard in response to her call was the sounds of hammering and shouts from where the Ghosthound’s residence was being erected. Despite her words, Randidly Ghosthound didn’t respond at all.

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The mist spirits circled around Tatiana cheerfully, doing a lot to alleviate the feeling of awkwardness in her heart. Is Randidly not here…?

Shaking her head, Tatiana followed her intuition and began to walk across the island. Although the information she received from the Skill wasn’t exact, it was more than enough to track Randidly down on the small island. He was definitely present. She walked for a few minutes and soon came to an area where the perpetual silver mist was thinning; it seemed Randidly was currently sitting in the sun.

Tatiana soon saw Randidly sitting on a stool and gazing out toward the horizon. A tall, leafy tree swayed above him, painting the picture of a philosopher musing on the beauty of nature. Just as she was opening her mouth to speak again, however, she felt there was something strange about the scene she was seeing. After a single blink, Tatiana narrowed her eyes.

As she sharpened her gaze for a second examination, she once more saw Randidly sitting on a stool below a leafy oak tree that seemed to be swaying slightly in the wind. This time she also noticed that beneath Randidly’s bare feet there was a thick carpet of grass that appeared soft enough to serve as a bed. The early morning sunlight on his face was warm and golden

Yet Tatiana felt no wind in the surrounding area. Nor was it at all likely that there was grass here; this island was almost constantly covered in silver mist. Had Randidly been sitting here so long that his vital energy had spurred the growth of plant life beneath him…? That was possible, but Tatiana had another theory: everything she was seeing right now was an image that Randidly had conjured.

What pushed her in that direction was the coloration of the sunlight. With winter rapidly overtaking them, golden sunlight like that wasn’t a common sight these days.

Tentatively, Tatiana took another step out of the silver mist and into the clear area. It wasn’t that she felt any sort of apprehension toward the vision in front of her. Rather, it would be better to say that she couldn’t believe that Randidly was so deeply distracted that he hadn’t noticed her approach. In addition, it made her overwhelmed that Randidly’s trip into the Dungeon had improved his images to this extent. For several seconds, she had been entirely fooled, despite the logical inconsistencies of what she was seeing.

“Randidly-” Tatiana began to get his attention, but her word was suppressed by the surrounding space as though the slightest interference on the image was considered a trespass. The image didn’t take kindly to any interference and immediately squashed it. Even her own ears could barely catch the word she had shaped.

Even worse, after she had spoken, she sensed a strange change in the image in front of her. While Randidly remained motionless upon his stool, a dark swirling shadow floated up from his black hair and rapidly swelled in size. The swirling of the shadow accelerated, giving it the look of an inky whirlpool that hovered above Randidly’s shoulder.

Somehow, it reminded her of a lidless eye that was staring right at her.

Tatiana felt a chill in her heart as she looked at that whirlpool. Tendrils of darkness began to extend outward from that darkness, reaching out toward where Tatiana was standing. And as those meandering feelers approached her body, Tatiana realized that her skin was numb and her muscles were stiff. She awkwardly took a step backward and exploded with her own sharp image to counter that the strange heaviness that covered her body. Although she didn’t want to unduly disturb Randidly, that dark whirlwind was clearly announcing its malicious intent. She felt no qualms from lashing out, especially when she knew there was very little chance of her accidentally injuring Randidly.

Tatiana’s expression twisted as she sensed the outcome of lashing out with her image. She had thought that Randidly’s image was like a pool of water and her image would be able to disturb the surface and alert him sitting at the center of it. Even if the ‘stone’ of her image was small in relation to the pool already present, it would still spread ripples. Yet her image was devoured by the air in front of her even before the tendrils from the dark whirlpool reached it.

Her image was like a child climbing under a massive woolen blanket. Any sort of movements she made could barely affect the whole. With her strength, it was almost impossible to pull the blanket off the bed and alert the man slumbering within.

Damnit, Randidly, even your passive image is so powerful?!?

Right when Tatiana began to truly panic, thick golden roots imposed themselves between the swirling darkness and Tatiana. Shimmering characters ran across the roots, catching the eye. Just as Tatiana was regarding their sudden appearance with shock, another wave of roots shot upward and completely bound the struggling vortex. The pit of darkness flared to twice its original size and lashed about. Yet before those shimmering golden roots, the whirlpool could do nothing.

Tree branches creaked with the wind in a noise that sounded strangely like laughter. Tatiana watched the tree manipulate its roots and bind its prey more tightly. Casually, the tree and the shadowy whirlpool seemed to be bickering. Then, somewhat helpless, the tree used its golden root to jab in a certain direction. Even Tatiana couldn’t help but allow her gaze to be guided by the sentient plant-image.

And she realized with a start that the root was indicating the lumpy shadow of Randidly Ghosthound. At first Tatiana was confused, but then the shadow began to ripple and grow before her eyes. It stretched outward from Randidly’s motionless form, growing a shade darker for ever inch it grew outward. Then it twisted and shivered, before detaching itself from the ground and reaching up through itself as though it was a portal from another realm.

With a great exertion, something dangerous hauled itself out of Randidly’s shadow.

By this point, the shadowy whirlpool shrunk and seemed to plead with the tree, but the tree just rustled lightly and refused to loosen its grip. Meanwhile, a monstrous and powerful figure that Tatiana recognized as Randidly’s Grim Chimera image completely manifested, the tails at its neck and waist flicking side to side. It stalked forward with a wide grin on its face, its left arm stretched out to gleefully seize onto the shadowy whirlpool as though it was plucking a ripe apple.

A second later, both had vanished and Tatiana was rewarded for her trouble with the strange sight of the tree in front of her creaking as it forced its thick trunk to bow slightly in Tatiana’s direction. With its golden roots, it opened up a clear path to Randidly.

Slightly bemused and still a little nervous after interacting with Randidly’s images, Tatiana walked slowly forward. Only when she was right next to her leader did she cough lightly. “Randidly?”

“Huh?” The bubble around them popped as Randidly seemed to wake from his reverie. The tree and grass vanished. They were simply at the edge of his island on a dirt patch. Randidly’s eyes were still slightly misty for several seconds as he looked at Tatiana. Then he blinked and flinched. “Ah. I’m late, aren’t I? Sorry. I was just thinking about something…”

Tatiana bit her lip. “Is there a problem…?”

“What? Oh no, nothing to do with the Earth.” Randidly waved his hand. Then he slapped his thighs and stood up. “Alright, time for the preliminaries. How big did this tournament end up being?”

Tatiana secretly released a sigh of relief. Falling back to facts and figures she knew, she was able to put the casual display of Randidly’s power out of her mind for the moment. “Ten thousand. And that’s only after several exacting investigations to rule out those who were too weak to meaningfully compete.”

“So five thousand teams.” Randidly rubbed the back of his neck. “This might take-”

“Ah, my mistake for being misleading. Ten thousand teams. We figured a round number was best. So… twenty thousand people.” Tatiana could only shrug helplessly. “Basically everyone powerful on Earth who isn’t the head of a Zone is here to participate.”

“...shit. So yea, this is going to take a while.” Randidly sighed.