“A job?” Randidly blinked several times as he confirmed that he had heard the Lancer’s request correctly. He had just been prepared to offer the Lancer passage to his Alpha Cosmos to start a new life for himself, but to provide a job…?

Once more, he examined the Lancer in front of him for any sign of the deviant trait that marked him as the individual who would choose to go alone. But although he could sense the nervousness from the rider and the apathy from the mount, Randidly could truly not find anything particularly special about this individual.

And seeing rather ordinary features, Randidly began to laugh. Well, I opened myself up for this. And although this Lancer used to be just a member of the Legion of Marching Cadence, this choice will change him… A seed masked at the moment will someday bloom.

“Fine, I actually have a job for you,” Randidly said when he managed to rein in his chuckles. He coughed lightly to restore his distinguished visage and pointed across the hill to the valley below. “There is a rather twitchy man over there, that will be accompanying me as we head deeper through these shattered space. Your job will be to keep track of him. Make sure he stays out of trouble”

“Yes… sir,” The Lancer said awkwardly. “Oh also… I want to have a name. I want it to be Kerwin.”

Randidly looked at the Lancer in front of him with more and more interest. “Then your name is Kerwin. Nice to meet you. As for the rest of you… I have another task for the group.”

Turning back to the group of waiting Lancers in tight rows, Randidly spread his arms and closed his eyes. The groups' emotions were complicated and conflicted while watching Randidly’s interactions with Kerwin. But that didn’t matter so much, because he was going to provide them with an exhaustion diversion.

He activated his Lancers of the Baleful Crusade Skill, steadily condensing almost five hundred figures in the valley beneath the hill. Unlike his previous usages of the Skill, these figures were slight and short. Their mounts were the size of dogs, running around happily.

The Lancers were stunned as they watched the energy flow out of Randidly and condense into these juvenile versions of themselves

Congratulations! Your Skill Lancers of the Baleful Crusade (L) has grown to Level 326!

…

Congratulations! Your Skill Lancers of the Baleful Crusade (L) has grown to Level 331!

Randidly released a breath and lowered his arms as the flow of energy waned. Then he looked over at the leaders of the Lancers. “Now that you have changed… the way your people develop will also change. The youth of your race, and their mounts, will need to spend some time growing before they obtain their true strength. More than anything else… it is the responsibility of all those gathered here to raise the next generation. There is no greater gift you can give the future Lancers than more choices than you had.”

As he finished speaking, Randidly glanced below. Immediately, his brow wrinkled. Several of the youth Lancers were familiarizing themselves with their new bodies. They began to clamber awkwardly up on their mounts, which were almost smaller than the teenage-looking Lancers. Soon the duos were all racing each other, shrieking and whooping as they enjoyed the sense of freedom and speed they could find on their mounts.

Randidly coughed and turned away. Well, it should be fine to leave child-rearing to the Lancers…

He returned to the camp and met Raymund and DiOrtho. From the placid look on Raymund’s face and the three ethereal tails flicking behind him, Randidly didn’t need to ask who had won amongst the Vulpis Squad. Instead, while Kerwin collected Lay’mel and dragged him over, Randidly tilted his head and asked. “How much more can you use those images?”

Raymund lifted his chin and sniffed the air. His fox ears flicked as he considered. “Hmmm… The impressions I was able to take have already grown pale. Perpetuating the images is not my forte. Perhaps twice more I may use them, but it must be within the next three hours.”

Nodding, Randidly also produced his Philosopher’s Key. He sent a message and then opened a portal to the Alpha Cosmos. To his surprise, several seconds passed without anything happening. He frowned slightly. Time ticked past and Kerwin brought Lay’mel over. Yet the figure they waited for still hadn’t appeared.

Finally, after about five minutes, Helen stomped out of the portal. To Randidly’s surprise, her hair that was usually so immaculately braided cascaded freely down her back. Randidly tilted his head to the side. “Are you alright? And is your hair… wet?”

“I was taking a fucking shower,” Helen grumbled as she readjusted her leather armor and tied it more tightly around her torso. Hopping lightly on one foot, she readjusted her belt and then tightened it. Next Helen reached up and dragged her fingers quickly through her hair. The long, damp strands clung together and gleamed like dripping molasses when it caught the light.

Her hands blurred as she began to twist her hair and twine it together into her familiar braid. She threw a glare at Randidly as the thick strands wound tightly together, squeezing the moisture out and dripping onto her shoulders. “What, am I not even allowed to behave like a person? Do I not possess rights? Am I supposed to just be sitting around waiting for your call? And YOU!”

Helen rounded on DiOrtho and jabbed a finger at him. “You are a fucking married man. Where the hell are your eyes wandering?”

After blushing furiously, DiOrtho was suddenly very interested in his own clasped hands. Which left the disgruntled Helen with only Randidly to serve as a whetstone for her ire.

In the face of Helen’s glower, Randidly could only wince and raise his hands in an admission of culpability; considering the delay was only a few minutes, he couldn’t be too unreasonable. Helen finished her braid and tossed it over her shoulder. Then she pressed her hand against the back of her neck then frowned balefully when her fingers came away wet.

Finally, she snorted and wiped the remaining dampness on her leather armor. “Okay, okay. I’m not mad, just disappointed. I had a massage scheduled for a half-hour from now… but looking at you all,” Helen glanced around. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at the walls of the isolated space. “...seems like I won’t make it back in time for my appointment.”

“There will be plenty of fighting, however,” Randidly said with a small smile. “Against strong opponents.”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“Bah, why do you think I’ve followed you for so long?” Helen asked in exasperation. Then she chuckled, seemingly in spite of herself. “Where you go, there will always be fighting. Okay, so what's the situation?”

Randidly glanced over at the hunched figure of Lay’mel. “Well? You’re up. Why are so many forces gathering? Got any insight?” Then he looked at Helen and revealed a crooked smile. “This is Lay’mel. He might end up being a liability for us… so if he annoys you, feel free to kill him.”

Helen, understanding the part she had to play just from a second of eye contact with Randidly, looked over at Lay’mel with renewed interest. She was a hungry cat eyeing a sardine. Lay’mel wrapped both arms around himself and shivered. “I… well I don’t know exactly, but… from what I understand, everyone has come to obtain the body of the Nether King. For those who have spent hundreds of years refining their image… supposedly the body is a critical catalyst for reaching the Pinnacle.”

Randidly narrowed his eyes. “So another team from the Swacc Family will likely be present. Do you know their abilities?”

“Ah… the Swacc Family wouldn’t have sent anyone. Except us, because we had- ahem, our goals were… unique. At least, the Family wouldn’t send anyone directly.” Lay’mel shook his head. When he saw Randidly looking over at him with a heavy gaze, he raised his hands and shook them frantically. “Really! I’m telling the truth! The Swacc Family doesn’t need to fight over the Nether King. Just like Military High Command really doesn’t need to get involved with these fanatics! Why do you think they are just letting all the independents flood in!”

“But… why don’t they need to fight over it?” Randidly asked with a frown.

Lay’mel glanced around. And seeing everyone looking at him with curiosity, he coughed into his hand and raised his chin a fraction. Some of his fear seemed to ebb; this man was the sort that enjoyed showing off his knowledge. “Ahem. Well, both Military High Command and the NLC, and their allies including the Swacc Family, don’t need to catch their own Nether Kings; they still have some captured corpses from the original Nether Wars. The older specimens are said to be less efficient, but they don’t possess the same desperation to capture a Nether King. And in any case, they wouldn’t want to utilize the body of the Nether King. Meanwhile, the independent factions…”

Randidly opened his mouth to ask why people were so interested in the Nether King, but he paused before he could speak. In his mind, the images he had seen when he had completed the Glimpse of the Shallah Path surfaced. The condensed crystal Aether and the grey chrysanthemum of Nether rushed toward each other to produce… something of great value and incredible power. Could that process be what these independent groups were seeking…? Was that truly a method of reaching the Pinnacle?

But what did that mean for the relationship between the Pinnacle and the Shallah? From what Randidly had learned from Yystrix, the Shallah were the original race of the universe. Could ‘reaching the Pinnacle’ be some sort of atavistic accomplishment…?

Meanwhile, Lay’mel continued to speak, his tone wandering steadily toward condescending. “Well, this information isn’t that widely known in the Nexus. And for someone like- ahem, for a prestigious Head Drill Sergeant like you who is heavily involved in military affairs, you might not have had much contact with the largest and most mysterious group in the Nexus: the Pinnacle Seekers. Not to say that those in the two orthodox factions don’t also wish to reach the Pinnacle, but they give a great deal of deference toward the whims of Elhume, which are strongly disapproving of anyone else approaching the Pinnacle.

“After all, as the first individual to reach the Pinnacle, Elhume… well, I wouldn’t dare say Elhume feels threatened by others trying to replicate his accomplishment, but he certainly has done his best to prevent anyone from repeating his achievement. Meanwhile… the Pinnacle Seekers will stop at nothing to locate even tiny advantages that allow themselves to improve. Compared to the NLC and Military High Command, there are actually quite a few more powerful and reclusive individuals in the Pinnacle Seekers. The erratic and the ambitious would never deign to officially serve the Nexus. These people act in the shadows, unwilling to draw the attention of Elhume. Heh, although their actions might be cowardly, they have no choice. Ah, but obtaining the body of the Nether King… such an accomplishment might give those deeply hidden individuals the ability to take that last step and approach the Pinnacle. So they will certainly not miss this chance.”

“Will Elhume actually move for such a reason? Will he step in and take the Nether King?” Randidly pressed his lips together. No matter how much distance he had covered to bridge the gap between himself and Elhume, he was very aware that his current achievements were only the beginning. Stats could boost his ability, but that casual damage of the glance that had shattered his Class was just the smallest drop of Elhume’s capability.

But from what he had learned from Edraine, Elhume’s actions were… both erratic and rare. It seemed the powerful husband of Yystrix had his own concerns.

Lay’mel shook his head, a confident smile on his face. “The Nether King won’t move Elhume. It is just an ingredient; only the act of ascending to the Pinnacle will earn his attention. There are certain… phenomena that are extremely difficult to hide when an individual breaks through to the Pinnacle. When they have manifested in the past, aside from the creation of Alymian by the mysterious second individual to reach the Pinnacle, Elhume has arrived to interrupt the process. Hehe, you might be happy to hear that you actually have encountered someone who has tried to reach the Pinnacle and been blocked by Elhume: Velio Dunn. If not for having his image completely annihilated in that conflict… do you really think someone as powerful as Velio Dunn would be a lowly mercenary…?”

For now, Randidly ignored Lay’mel’s playful tone as he mocked his lack of knowledge. Instead, his mind returned to Velio Dunn. In their first clash, Velio had simply used a projection of him striking to annihilate all of Randidly’s resistance. In their second clash, Velio and his rune sword had nearly killed Randidly, despite the interference of Edraine.

Both those times, Velio hadn’t unleashed his full might. And yet Velio was an individual who had his image completely annihilated…?

Well, based on the timeline… such a conflict would have happened thousands of years ago, Randidly pressed his lips together. So in the intervening years, it’s very possible for Velio to develop a new image. But still…

Randidly released a breath and pressed his eyes closed. The information was useful, but for now, it was better to focus on the situation at hand. “So, as we proceed, it’s very likely we will encounter the forces of these… Pinnacle Seekers. And am I right in assuming they won’t bother to give us deference just from my position as a Head Drill Sergeant?”

“Heh, if you dare boast too loudly of that identity… they might even go out of their way to slaughter you,” Lay’mel snorted. “If you happen to head deeper and witness someone capturing the Nether King… all the Pinnacle Seekers will band together to hunt you down to prevent word of who obtained the Nether King from leaking. When it isn’t related to their internal conflicts, the Pinnacle Seekers protect their own.”

Randidly nodded slowly as he absorbed that information. He also looked at Lay’mel with a hint of amusement. Definitely worth it to leave him alive just to learn about the different factions. Also… had he not sneered about how my identity as a member of Military High Command would have made me a target, I probably would have led with that without thinking too deeply. Might even have made quite a few enemies.

Ha… so he’s definitely trying to help me, but this growing attitude… His emotions are so straightforward and easy to read that I’m almost going paranoid that I’m being tricked by him into some deeper scheme.

Yet every one of Randidly’s senses was telling him that his impression was correct: Lay’mel was incredibly transparent. So either Lay’mel was either a more insidious character than Randidly could deal with, or he could really trust the elf-looking fellow, despite his snide comments.

Honestly, it was rather impressive that Lay’mel could adjust so quickly to new situations. But Randidly had no plans to let it continue too far. He glanced sideways at Helen and winked at her in a way that Lay’mel couldn’t see. “Alright, the useful information is extracted. Kill him. Time to head deeper into these spatial islands.”

Helen grinned like the cheshire cat as she turned and began to stalk toward Lay’mel.