Lay’mel eventually wandered off with a cheery wave, still unaware that Randidly was, in fact, the demonlike Head Drill Sergeant he had described at length. By the end, Randidly was paying attention less out of any politeness and more taking notes about what sort of violent instructor he was supposed to be. Yet more than being so thoroughly gossiped about, Randidly was more annoyed that Lay’mel didn’t give him space to introduce himself through the ten-minute conversation: the man didn’t stop speaking for a single second.

When the guard came out to guide Randidly to the location he would be in charge of, Randidly gave the two guards that witnessed his conversation a long look. And then he very purposefully smiled mildly.

As he walked away behind the nervous guard, he could feel the two lizardmen saying silent prayers for the family and friends of Lay’mel Tuuellethe.

Still, Randidly pursed his lips as he considered the broader consequences of these actions on his behalf. It was obvious that Commandant Wick had intervened very directly into Randidly’s role as Head Drill Sergeant. Which would be seen as Military High Command taking a very direct interest in the Fifth Cohort Rally Station. And that direct interest would undoubtedly draw retaliatory action from the other political factions within the Nexus.

What Randidly couldn’t yet tell was whether the Commandant had meant to help Randidly, or whether he just wanted to paint a target on his back. Hopefully, Octavius could investigate and help determine that.

They quickly arrived at Randidly’s training area. Overall, it was a bit lack-luster. But then, there really weren’t any portions of this floating rock that possessed many redeeming qualities. There was a barracks for sleeping and a large parade grounds, but it was mostly just a rocky plateau, like everywhere else. Around the barracks were the skeletons of the ten isolation training stations, being slowly assembled by work crews.

“This is your area, sir.” The guard cleared her throat and announced.

“You are dismissed,” Randidly said. Then he allowed time for the guard to hurry away from him and Octavius.

“...not that we cannot be sure there isn’t more at play here,” Octavius said slowly. “But I’ve heard enough from Lady Iellaya to know that Commandant Wick is exactly this domineering in his normal interactions. The only problem… you don’t have his clout to insulate you from the consequences.”

After nodding slowly, Randidly very quickly allowed the image of Yggdrasil to spread outward and fill the entirety of the space that now belonged to him. It seemed impossible to give back the extra surface area he had been given, so Randidly figured he might as well make use of it. Massive arteries of glimmering golden roots spread out from where he was standing to weave through the bare and dusty ground. As light filtered inward along those roots, the grand trunk of the World Tree began to form.

The deep and rich color of the bark was soon covered in scrawling runes that detailed the past and future of the universe. In their mystical and obtuse shapes lived the secrets of existence. And as the trunk stretched upward and branches started splitting outward, Randidly unleashed a wave of his newly refined emotion into Yggdrasil. Yggdrasil was filled with awe at the power of nature, reverence toward life, an austere peace in regards to the struggles of living beings, and a deep trust in the cycle of life and death. At its base, the simple joys of living flowed outward, sharpening and intensifying the pure energy the tree released into the surrounding space.

With his now-boosted Grim Intuition, Randidly could feel dozens of powerful figures pausing in their own preparations and looking toward the looming specter of the World Tree that distinctly covered one-fifth of the surface of the Rally Station. In a way, it was him announcing his presence. In another, it was him checking to see the attitudes of the other Drill Sergeants. How problematic had the Commandant’s actions been from the point of view of other trainers…?

For now, no one raised their image in challenge to him. It was enough to let him breathe a sigh of relief; he had time then to stake his claim.

Next, Randidly allowed Helen, Heiffal, and all his other helpers out of the Alpha Cosmos. In addition to the front line soldiers, Randidly noticed that Helen appeared to have recruited a few Earth Golems and White Hunters to join her as assistants. For now, Randidly kept his Riders within the Alpha Cosmos: for training only two hundred-odd individuals, he probably already had enough helpers.

But they were always available if these recruits needed some fresh-faced sparring partners.

Randidly gestured to the surrounding space and addressed his helpers. “Everywhere that has the scent of Yggdrasil on it is ours. We will be training two hundred individuals to be elites: if you have anything that you need construction-wise, just let me know.”

Helen pondered that for a moment. “Well… if I can ask for anything, can we turn one of these open fields into an area filled with pits? I sorta like the idea of forcing two people into a pit and making them fight each other… it’s just more intense than having them fight on flat land. Sets the right mood when everything is muddy.”

Randidly paused and tilted his head to the side as he considered Helen’s request.

“Oh!” Heiffal slammed his fist to his palm. “Do you know any Engravings that could increase the gravity? Stamina is the most important tool for soldiers at the frontlines. So if we had a reliable and fast way to exhaust the recruits, that would help the training along.”

Suddenly, one of the White Hunters Helen had brought spoke up. “...I believe we need an area to test precision. Is it possible to grow a bamboo grove here? The soil is a bit… but I assure you that the result will be satisfactory.”

“Also, you aren’t expecting us to stay in that building with the recruits, are you?” Helen said, pointing over at the squat concrete barracks. “We as the trainers need to be distinctly separate from the recruits. In addition, us having an imposing or impressive residential building will serve as mental pressure on the recruits. That added pressure will sharpen them.”

Randidly’s mouth twitched. Pits and gravity Engravings I can handle… but now you want me to throw up a five-star resort for you…? Heh, although it shouldn’t be amusing, I somehow have the feeling that Helen will greatly add to my reputation as a sadistic monster…

Very quickly, the details were hammered out and the renovation work began. The pits were the easiest of the requests. While the Southern portion of Randidly’s area was left as a flat parade ground, the Western area became the lands of pits. Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil quickly hollowed out almost a hundred five-meter diameter pits for duels. In addition, Randidly used half of the area to create a large pit filled with rough terrain for larger skirmishes.

Randidly cleared didn’t possess the ability to create an opulent housing for his trainers, but he didn’t have to: it already existed. Wendy had erected a rather sizable building within the Alpha Cosmos to house all of the frontline soldiers that Randidly regularly placed within there. In addition,she had the foresight to make all of the plumbing self-contained: as long as Randidly connected the building to a water and a waste line, it could be transplanted wholesale to the Rally Station.

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After a few mistakes in the massive transfer that cracked a few windows, the Northern portion of their training area was dominated by a fifteen-story apartment complex. Compared to the squat buildings that dominated the sandy plateau, the building truly stood out. He had been somewhat bemused by Helen’s suggestion of adding mental pressure to the recruits when he heard it, but Randidly could deny there was a certain… ostentatious flair to its very obvious presence. Even Randidly looked at it and felt a vague annoyance. If nothing else, anger at its flagrant existence might drive recruits to train harder.

Meanwhile, the Eastern portion of the training area was transformed similarly to the Western; except instead of pits, the Eastern portion was dominated by gardens. They brought seeds from within the Alpha Cosmos and used the ambient energy of Yggdrasil to make the soil hospitable. With the strength of Randidly’s image, the process was rather quick. Half of the garden space was taken up by a massive bamboo forest while the remainder was split into a hundred mini-gardens.

The suddenly talkative White Hunter called Muareth waxed poetic about the mental benefits of gardening, and how the cultivation process mirrored the process of creating an image almost exactly. While Randidly was unsure of how much he agreed, he certainly had firmly planted himself on the path of deeply terraforming the area, both as a continued statement of his overbearing persona that was thrust upon him and as a general improvement of the dour aesthetic of the Fifth Cohort Rally Station.

With most of the large projects started, Randidly’s subordinates went to take care of the details. Meanwhile, Randidly proceeded to the half-finished personal training areas and shoed away the work crews. They fled from him like the red sea parting for Moses. Because he planned on Engraving these himself, he wanted the finishing touches to be grown with Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil anyway: that way the buildings would turn to ash and disintegrate, taking his Engraving secrets along with him, when he was finished with them..

After some consultation with Neveah over the details of the Engraving and refining the design, Randidly expanded the number of training chambers to eleven. These areas consisted of a meditation area and a suspension sphere, based upon the Engravings Randidly had seen from the Xyrt Brigade’s treatment of Vualla.

Randidly also gave Neveah another task: to use the principles of that suppression area he had experienced on Tellus that sucked away Mana and Stamina, combined with an increase and gravity and a general image suppression, to create an area that would truly strike fear into the hearts of the recruits.

Which left Randidly just to make his suspension spheres. Five would be a softened version of the Xyrt Brigade’s design, which would reflect back any uncontrolled thought at the individual within. Five would be a variation of Randidly’s own design, which would reflect back only emotions that the images were releasing. Or at least, that was the hope.

Some of the Aether mechanisms would need to be tested before Randidly was confident in their functions.

The final sphere was a combination of both with an increased requirement for control, that Randidly planned to use to train himself and punish any recruits that were particularly troublesome. This one took the longest, as Randidly had to use a much steadier hand to reinforce the powerful Engravings that would fuel the chamber.

Congratulations! Your Skill Architecture of the Primordial Ways (M) has grown to Level 281!

Congratulations! Your Skill Experienced Creator’s Ingenuity (A) has grown to Level 151!

…

Congratulations! Your Skill Architecture of the Primordial Ways (M) has grown to Level 295!

Congratulations! Your Skill Experienced Creator’s Ingenuity (A) has grown to Level 170!

It was just when Randidly was finishing up his Engravings and discussing the details of the grand exhaustion Engraving with Neveah that an individual that Randidly didn’t recognize entered into the area now dominated by Yggdrasil’s image. In spite of the fact that he was generally occupied, Randidly looked up and glanced toward the Southwest.

Immediately, one of Heiffal’s men made a beeline for the interloper and intercepted him. But then that soldier brought him to Helen, who brought that individual in the direction of Randidly. It seemed this person was someone of import.

Purple-black Revelation Energy appeared in Randidly’s right eye while light began to bend and swirl around Randidly’s left. The Stillborn Phoenix had just recently exhaled its violent emotions into Randidly’s chest, so when it breathed in, Randidly allowed the image to partake of the surrounding emotions. Even from this distance, Randidly could clearly taste the different sensation of this new person. Stubbornness, a barely controlled fear, a natural wariness, and a steely and determined antagonism.

Randidly couldn’t prevent himself from baring his teeth. This fellow wasn’t a friend.

The man was literally a deep blue humanoid skeleton with glowing red eyes. Barbed spikes curled up from his shoulders, elbows, knees, and forehead. Randidly wondered whether he had been reanimated by a lich or truly had lived in this manner his entire existence. As the duo of bored Helen and surly skeleton arrived, Randidly folded his arms behind his back and stared silently at them. He was the picture of a disapproving army commander that had been disturbed.

The skeleton’s glowing gaze focused on Randidly and scrutinized him. As the mutual examination continued, Randidly allowed more and more of the Grim Chimera to manifest in the air around him. His body and the surrounding air warped as the physicalizations intensified.

The time being tempered by the rough energy coming up from the base of the Nexus had done no favors for the Grim Chimera’s aesthetics. Now it looked more like a charred corpse than any sort of healthy individual. Its entire exterior was blackened and blistered. But those viciously sharp eyes of the Grim Chimera eviscerated the skeleton’s own gaze and forced him to look away. The skeleton had a strong image, but Randidly clearly sensed that his slowly growing control over his image’s emotion made even a single one of his images markedly stronger.

“...you must be Head Drill Sergeant Ghosthound,” the skeleton eventually said. Randidly remained silent, not even bothering to acknowledge him; he couldn’t deny that he loved the engagement style of this furious persona. It required so much less talking than was normally required of him.

The heaviness in the air grew. After shifting his jaw, the skeleton spoke again. “My name is Banum Voloppesett, one of the normal Drill Sergeants. I… just brought you some news. I heard from a… associate in the Engraving Department at the NLC that an emergency came up. Your… special training chambers will be delayed. I apologize-”

“As you can see, I took care of it myself.” Randidly gestured vaguely behind him. It seemed this plan had been set in motion before Randidly had spoken with the Superintendent. “Is there anything else?”

“Huh?” Barnum Volopesett’s skull was remarkable expressive; his shock was clear. “You…wait, you know Engraving…?”

“If there is nothing else, you may leave,” Randidly said simply. And then he stared at Banum until the confused skeleton turned and left without another word. But when the man had left the area, Randidly’s expression turned into a grin. As he thought, other factions were moving to block him. The only question was whether the interference would stay this minor for the foreseeable future…

“Oh, also,” Helen spoke up. She spread her arms and dumped about twenty scrolls sealed with glittering symbols onto the ground. “The Superintendent passed along these. They are apparently messages from various… individuals of the Nexus. Wanting to discuss the best ways to train their distant nieces and nephews.”

“Oh, indeed? Helen, I’ll leave handling this matter to you,” Randidly said officiously.

Helen rolled her eyes and gestured with her head. A ripple of crimson light spread through the surrounding area and suddenly a massive shadow manifested nearby. The enormous undersea monstrosity opened its mouth and chomped down on the scrolls, obliterating them. Randidly grinned; it was great to have a subordinate who understood what you meant perfectly.

“Alright then,” Randidly said as he rubbed his hands together. The pressure was lightest now, partly because most people didn’t have the measure of Randidly yet and also perhaps because of the heavy-handedness with which Commandant Wick had intervened on Randidly’s behalf. But despite the price of that, Randidly currently had carte-blanche within his training area. The Superintendent thought Randidly was holding his son’s life hostage and would turn a blind eye. So Randidly planned on making some preparations for when the pressure on him became more intense. “Let’s get started.”