Randidly smiled slightly as he examed the Path completion notification for Peerage of the Baleful Court III. His eyes flashed as he briefly calculated how much the Skills March of Ruin and Valor and the Lancers of the Baleful Crusade would increase his capabilities. Then Randidly rolled his shoulders and looked at his Status.

Improving the power of his supporters would definitely aid him in the long run, but it was simply a nice side effect of his current Stat boost. Plus, it might take some time before the value of the new Lancers would reveal itself. Randidly’s main goal with this PP was to capture the Stat growth, as he trusted his own instincts on images and emotions much more than the Systems. And while it was true Stats were probably the least reliable of the growth avenues available to Randidly, the volume was such that the magnitude of the change couldn’t be underestimated.

Plus… with those extra free Stats that I earned from finishing Riders of the Baleful Court III, I can push my Wisdom to over 1000. Randidly switched to his Status screen and did so. A tremor ran through his body. Immediately, he closed his eyes and released a breath.

Whenever a Stat reached 1000, a qualitative change was triggered within that Stat. Or perhaps more accurately, the multitude of uses for the Stat would have each reached the requisite potency to achieve individual recognition; Randidly would understand all the different methods and varieties of that Stat that he could use.

Wisdom was much less flashy than the damage boosting Intelligence or the all-important Control that Randidly pursued, which was why it was the second to last of his Stats to reach 1000. But as soon as he reached 1000 Wisdom, Randidly felt something settle within his person. It was like a switch had been flipped that had turned down the volume on his inner static.

Randidly opened his eyes and glanced around at the sundered Nether Pinion and the crumpled bodies in the surroundings. Then he carefully examined his own state.

The most obvious effect that Randidly could find was related to Grim Intuition. His perception drop off had improved immensely. Generally, Randidly had a very good idea of the state of his environment that gradually decreased in specificity as the distance increased from his body until everything dissolved into fuzzy impressions toward the edge. But with the change in his Wisdom, that fuzziness was decreased. His absolute perception range hadn’t increased, but somehow it was easier for him to parse apart sensory inputs that were further away.

Yet once Randidly had this impression of a previously ignored static disappearing, his understanding of this change spread to cover all of his abilities. His body seemed suddenly easier to comprehend holistically. His impressions of his various images grew more refined. Several murky ideas for training became clear.

The effect wasn’t flashy. But at the margins, Randidly’s insight had greatly increased.

Its a good feeling. Randidly grinned down at his hands. Then he glanced again at his Status screen. With this, the only Stat I need to boost up to 1000 is Focus, and that will only require 85 more points… Hum… which of these Paths seems like they will improve my Focus…

Randidly stared at the list for several seconds. Then he shook his head helplessly. He honestly wasn’t sure which ones would provide a boost to Focus. Sometimes, the Path rewards were rather misleading. But as he couldn’t be precise with his growth, he could just brute force the issue by finishing quite a few Paths.

Randidly’s eyes gleamed like a wolf in a dark forest as he selected his next target. Then he licked his lips and smiled. His PP barely decreased as Randidly finished the long fallow Spear Mastery III Path for 200 PP. Every 10 PP earned him 1 Nether Brawn.

Congratulations! You have finished the Spear Mastery III Path! Your Path through the Wilderness has been long and dangerous, and no tool has proved more useful to you than your spear. As you seek the Pinnacle, it is important to hone such proficiencies as much as possible. The higher your elevation, the more dangerous the foes will be as they impede your Path.

Congratulations! Your Skill Spear Mastery has evolved into Advanced Spear Mastery (R)! Effectiveness of each Skill Level has increased! Skill Levels will be maintained. +30 Nether Brawn and Agility!

No Focus or Free Stat points… And honestly, the rewards are pretty meager… but it’s only a 200 PP Path. Randidly’s eyes flashed. Plus…

Spear Mastery IV had appeared after he finished the prerequisite, as he had expected it would. It cost 750, which was a rather steep increase from 200, but it was still well within Randidly’s budget. Pouring PP into this more advanced Path earned him 1 Reaction, Agility, and Grim Intuition every 50.

Congratulations! You have finished the Spear Mastery IV Path! As you have continued forward, you have fought and killed countless enemies. Your spear steadily becomes stained with blood from continued and skillful use. Still, there are some costs associated with your capabilities. When you look at your hands, you cannot see the fingers you once possessed; they have become lined with calluses.

The weapon you have treated as a means to an end has inevitably influenced you. Perhaps to the spear you wield, you are just as surely a tool as it is.

Congratulations! Your Skill Advanced Spear Mastery (R) has evolved into Fabled Spear Mastery (L)! Effectiveness of each Skill Level has greatly increased! In addition, Skill will slightly increase the effectiveness of the user’s Agility and Reaction Stats! Skill Levels will be maintained. +10 to all Physical Stats!

This Path completion rewards made Randidly smile, but he wasn’t done yet. The issue of Focus could wait for a bit, he planned to follow this series of Paths to its completion. Which was why he happily opened up his Path menu and dumped PP into the Spear Mastery V Path, which cost 2500 PP to finish. He soon received a pleasant surprise; Every 50 PP he spent earned Randidly 2 Free Stats.

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Halfway there, Randidly thought with a half-smile.

Congratulations! You have finished the Spear Mastery V Path! You stand upon a high ridge with frost-covered mountains surrounding you. Snow drifts through the air, dancing down around you. When you breathe, your exhale fogs the air. This summit is a place of immense peace that few have been able to witness.

The Path you have walked to reach this point is stained in blood. Bodies are strewn along the side of the Path and, as a consequence, the snow is irreparably marred by your passage. Standing now, you can see an almost infinite number of Paths down from this summit, where the misty valleys wait below. The mountains are arranged like the jaws of a massive beast. Proceeding forward will be difficult; the passes between them are as misleading as a labyrinth. A river runs through the valley below you and along its length you can see small rafts.

Split Path! As you stand on this solemn peak, the real question that you ask yourself is why you wield a spear.

Randidly closed his eyes. As he read the Path completion notification, he truly felt the things that it described. He felt the cold snow on his bare feet, with the chill rocks beneath the snow. He could feel a light wind brush his cheek and ruffle his hair. Above him towered mountains. His hands ached from carrying the spear for so long. Blood dripped off of the head of the weapon, which had been modified by his subconscious to resemble Acri.

Why I wield a spear, huh… Randidly reached up and scratched his cheek in that strange, projected dream. The best answer is that it is a coincidence. It was the weapon my teacher used and so I adopted it. But if you want to know why I keep a hold of this weapon even after all this time…

“There are some things you cannot protect without violence,” Randidly said aloud to the destroyed remnants of the Nether Herald and its Nether Beasts in the real world. He opened his eyes and blinked. But almost immediately, the mental visions surged forward once more.

Randidly could see himself descending down into the river valley with his spear raised. He watched himself in third person, fascinated by the experience. As he looked at this projection of himself, he could feel the poignant determination in his own eyes. This place would not hold him; he would proceed further and grow stronger, no matter the cost.

But Randidly shook his head to dismiss the vision. “...you misunderstand what I meant. At this juncture…”

By expressing his desire, his consciousness returned to that projected image. Randidly first tried to activate Absolute Grasp of Yggdrasil within the vision, but of course, this Path was related to spear mastery. He couldn’t manifest any Skills besides that one.

Randidly’s projected mouth curled upward. Spear Mastery… or this new Fabled Spear Mastery hasn’t been my emphasis for a while… The Skill Level is at 333. But This entire time, I’ve never ceased practicing…

Truly, these hands feel most at rest wrapped around a spear...

He raised his gaze from the river valley to the snow-topped mountains that towered over him. Then he raised his gaze even further, looking up to the wide blue sky above.

When Randidly raised his spear, he settled into a very familiar stance. Then he released a breath and thrust his spear quickly forward. A thin blade of concentrated air pressure zipped into the sky. But just as quickly as the wind blade proceeded, Randidly was even quicker. After unleashing the attack, he crouched quickly and exploded into motion. He jumped forward and rapidly caught up with that wind blade until he could lightly tap his foot against it.

As he did so, Randidly’s spear flashed and he unleashed another wind blade that shot along the sky and reached the edges of the cloud level. At the same time, the muscles of his foot flexed and threw Randidly forward.

Like he was climbing a staircase, Randidly gradually ascended through the clouds toward the peaks of that massive, distant mountain range that resembled the lower jaw of a beast. And as he continued to rise, higher and higher, he spoke to the air. “I cannot deny that I enjoy the challenge of fighting… but I won’t seek it, if I don’t need to. There are plenty of forces in the Nexus willing to force me to rely on violence. And especially when the horizon is so wide… why always carve a path through bodies with a spear?”

The wind around him grew chillier, but Randidly didn’t stop his strange spear-hopping. He continued to ascend upward until he could land on the top of the tallest and most ominous of the ‘jaws’. The clouds around him rumbled and began to darken. A storm descended upon the surrounding area as a welcome party.

With the coming storm, the temperature sharply dropped. But Randidly didn’t mind. After glancing around, he trudged through the snow while ignoring the chill. After a few minutes, he spotted his goal. He clamored over the last rock outcropping and looking down at what lay beyond this high mountain in his Split Path.

And what he saw made him laugh. Randidly scratched his head and chuckled. “Jeez, of course. An even higher mountain range…” But just as quickly as he spoke, a new notification popped up in front of him.

Congratulations! Despite the long and bloody Path you have taken to get here, your Path of the Spear remains strangely pure. The difficulty of this Path lies in the freedom you now possess; after your feet have left the ground, you walk without any guide within the depths of the wilderness. But your confidence and capability will be enough to ensure your safety.

Congratulations! Your Skill Fabled Spear Mastery (L) has evolved into Ripple of Amenonuhoko (M)! Skill Level will be maintained! Effect of Skill Levels slightly increased! User’s ability to affect terrain with a spear has greatly increased! Willpower +50, Free Stats +50!

With a grin, Randidly flexed his fingers. After obtaining the latest batch of the free Stats, he didn’t dwell much on the unfamiliar name to his Skill. Instead, he took those free Stats and threw them into Focus. The moment that Randidly reached 1000 in all of his Stats, he felt the change come over him.

He groaned and staggered backward as strange energy reverberations ran through his limbs. At first, he feared some other trap laid by the System, or that the warning he had heard from Velio Dunn was correct; that there was some hidden danger lurking for those who broke past the System limitation.

But in the next moment, Randidly managed to release a sudden gasp as his muscles seized and that energy within his body began to rapidly build. The energy was neither Nether nor Aether, but something less profound and more personal. It was, quite literally, his physical life energy.

After all of his Stats were pushed above 1000, the essence of his being began to change.

Even while he continued to shift and twitch as he grew used to this sudden energy bubbling up from his depths, Randidly followed another impulse. He opened up the Path screen and looked at the bottom. And his expectations weren’t disappointed. He had unlocked a new Path.

Stat Evolution I 0/10,000