Although she logically believed that she should feel some sense of tension after Randidly was challenged and forced to put his life on the line, Claudette Beigon couldn’t seem to take the threat of this horned individual that seriously. Part of it was the look in Randidly’s emerald eyes; he looked at his challenger with the sort of pity reserved for a carnivore that was happily devouring poisoned meat.

Another part of it came from the general sense of being unable to quite capture him that Claudette experienced while watching Randidly Ghosthound. There was a sense of unpredictability, of adventure. Even now, surrounded by powerful individuals in the Nexus, he could focus on the task in front of him. After being able to survive the destructive forces from when the Nether King and a Speculum fought, it would be… extremely surprising if this small character managed to seriously threaten Randidly’s life.

And of course, Claudette’s intuition proved true as they began to compete. As the sixth Basic Pattern finished and the crowd applauded, there was a vicious glee to the noise. While Randidly Ghosthound cracked his neck and rubbed his shoulders in preparation for the next pattern, the horned humanoid shuddered. Sweat was sluicing off his face. His purple suit was stained with his perspiration.

He looked over at the unflappable Ghosthound with wide eyes and stunk of fear. The other factions watched the developments while sharpening their smiles. All of his earlier confidence had evaporated.

“Mr. Loas,” The rheumy-eyed officiant cleared his throat, causing the sweating man to twist around in surprise. The man knocked his cane and favored the horned humanoid with a smile, but Claudette knew there was no genuine affection in the expression. “I have to warn you that you… were very close to failing that last pattern. Very concerning. And the seventh Basic Pattern can be considered a half-step into the next tier… so be careful.”

Claudette could practically see Loas shudder underneath the pressure of his knowledge. But truly, he was an elite raised to excel in the Nexus. So even now, facing Randidly’s indifferent performance, Loas did not let himself be distracted by the possibility of failure. He stretched his trembling legs. “I was unlucky with the last one… but I refuse to believe that the Head Drill Sergeant will continue to have the patterns go his way-”

“Ah, I should clarify,” The older man continued cheerily. His eyes gleamed as he watched Loas. “The Former Head Drill Sergeant… his execution can not be considered perfect, but he has not missed a single tile since the very beginning. In terms of achievement in the Speculum’s methods… I would say he is ten times more talented than you are? Aiya, if only someone had asked for my opinion before making such bold claims… the result was apparent after even that second pattern…”

The horned humanoid began to shake very slightly. Meanwhile, the old man shared his smile with the others. “Well then! Is everyone prepared? Let the final Basic Pattern… begin!”

Instantly, tiles began to light up as the pattern arrived with a vengeance. Randidly hunched his shoulders slightly and his feet flicked out left and right to touch the palm-sized tiles. As the speed of the pattern quickened, Randidly’s tail also became heavily involved. While his feet covered the rest of the area, the positions directly behind him were covered by the tail. In addition, Randidly only triggered the non-time-sensitive tiles with his tail.

Meanwhile, his feet began to release a dense network of image pulses, satisfying the diverse requirements of the pattern. Claudette was almost entranced, watching the bulging tendons of Randidly’s legs as he smoothly moved to follow the pattern. Truly, there was an element of dance in his coordinated steps. Whereas the others appeared to be struggling, and the horned humanoid especially was gasping for air, Randidly was simply focused.

Just barely, I can see why this activity has endured as a training method for so long… Claudette’s eyes flickered. Perhaps it was because she was currently being ignored by the elites of Military High Command, but the observer began to float closer to the surface to get a closer look at Randidly’s efforts. The grace of the movements… the flowing aura of the images…

When the pattern ceased, Randidly huffed out a steaming breath and slapped his cheeks as though to invigorate himself after a tiring exercise. Two tiles over, the horned humanoid collapsed and wretched out a mouthful of bile onto the gleaming tiles. After he finished coughing, he looked around with blank eyes. With trembling hands, he used the sleeves of his suit to clean up his spit-up. It was clear to Claudette that he had lost his fighting spirit.

“Such cheap pride,” The muscular Vulpine next to Claudette shook her head. Some of the other members of the Elite Squad nodded in agreement.

The old man once again favored Loas with a wide grin. “Hum… so close to failing to adhere to the pattern… but a technical pass! Ha, isn’t the joy of success so invigorating? Of course, now you must stand and succeed, again and again, or else… well. Hehe.”

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Meanwhile, everyone but the horned humanoid and Randidly left their tiles and retired. When the new group came out, their features were quite a bit different. Two were gelatinous beings, while one was a mechanical spider with eight legs. These were the individuals who would be participating in the Moderate Patterns.

DiOrtho Vant sneered. “Can’t keep up with the Ghosthound otherwise, so they are adding more legs, huh…?”

Claudette paused for a second before deciding to answer based on what she had heard from Lady Iellaya earlier. “Truly, having more legs gives only a marginal benefit… but generally, those with more limbs are used to managing more tasks at once. When there are too many image tiles in the surroundings, that talents become extremely important to successfully following the pattern.”

“Alright then!” The old man clapped his eyes, his eyes crinkling at the corners with joy. “Let the first Moderate Pattern begin! What an exciting day.”

*****

Congratulations! Your Skill the Glittering Leaves of Yggdrasil (L) has grown to Level 347!

Randidly had a throbbing headache, but at least he wasn’t going to die. Although the prospect of what was about to happen did make his stomach turn.

“Please…” The formerly arrogant Loas sat on his knees, his expression blank. He didn’t dare look at his Commandant, who even now spun her purple parasol and watched the developments with a small smile that was affixed to her face. So instead, he looked at the middle distance above all their heads, seemingly lost in his own grief. “Please… there must be something-”

“Enough,” Commandant Wick rumbled. But Randidly could tell the man was pleased. “Allow me to handle this disrespectful subordinate. I assure you that he will go to his grave with the lesson engraved on his bones.”

Instantly, Randidly’s skin began to prickle as the tight bonds that usually caged the Commandant’s image were loosened. The massive ballroom was made small next to the seething forces of chaos within that bearman. Even through his brewing headache, he couldn’t help but tense. Against these powerful and willful tyrants… Randidly was currently helpless. To them, lives meant nothing.

He could only watch and take advantage of this extended break to recover in any small way.

Loas had even successfully finished the first Moderate Pattern. But the second…

“Stay your hand, Commandant Wick,” The snake-tongued woman hissed, even as the air was ringing with impending violence.

A low rumble smacked into the air above the tile positions as Commandant Wick narrowed his eyes. It was as though a bolt of thunder unceremoniously smashed the air above them with impotent fury. But just as quickly as his temper flared, it began to wane. Shaking his head, Commandant Wick folded his arms.

If anything, Loas’s trembling intensified. “If you give me another chance-”

“Perhaps I would have considered it…” The woman’s tongue flicked out. Her fingers on her parasol tightened. “...had you not implicated my honor. And after using that pathetic mouth of yours to drag me into your petty squabble… you collapse like this? Look at Commandant Wick’s fool subordinate. He may be unruly… but you are crawling on the ground like a beetle while he stands tall. Is there any more need to compare the two of you?”

Am I… being complimented…? Randidly wondered through his haze of exhaustion. Ultimately, he tried to keep his distance from the occurrences in front of him and focused on allowing Yggdrasil to continually recuperate his mental acuity. The Moderate Patterns were definitely much more draining than the Basic ones had been. At this rate, Randidly believed he would not be able to complete all of the Moderate Patterns.

He pressed his lips together and did his best to recover.

“So please, allow me to handle this… personally…” The snake-tongued woman hissed. When Commandant Wick didn’t respond, Loas went pale, but obediently stood and walked to the woman’s side. Another representative of the purple faction went down onto the tiles. The snake-tongued woman patted Loas lightly before gesturing for the old man to continue with the Grand Dance.

Meanwhile, a thought occurred to Randidly. He checked his PP and was rather surprised to note that he had over thirty-three hundred just sitting in his Path screen. He already knew that he wanted to spend one thousand of that on the World Host I Path, ideally to further alleviate the pressure in his stuffed Alpha Cosmos, but that still left quite a bit of PP on hand. He scanned his available Paths for any that might help with the mental strain.

Randidly chewed his lip as he looked at a new arrival to his possible Paths. Perseverance of the Energy Maestro, huh… More than likely, this is a result of my manipulation of Nether. But it should still help me in this situation. Perseverance… is a quality that I could use right now.

At the cost of one thousand PP, it was well within an acceptable price. So Randidly quickly finished the path. He was surprised to find that he earned 5 Wisdom and Willpower for every hundred PP he poured into the Path. Even if it was just those extra 200 Stats, Randidly could already feel himself gradually recovering more quickly.

But the Path Completion Notification was even more beneficial than Randidly had expected.

Congratulations! You have completed the Perseverance of the Energy Maestro! For a true master of their craft, the joy comes not from the flashier accomplishments, but from the grand creations that alter the way life functions. Your curiosity drives you to pry into esoteric secrets. As you have begun to experiment with that grand pursuit, your mind has begun to evolve so it might ponder the higher functions of existence.

Congratulations! Intelligence +100. You have learned the Skill Grand Perspective (R)!

Grand Perspective (R): User develops a knack for viewing various aspects of themselves or others from a wider point of view. Will increase the likelihood of the user overcoming their own biases and identifying flaws. Will grant a slight boost to the user’s ability to think and manipulate energy on a broader scale. In addition, user will have an easier time parsing apart massive amounts of details. Effects increase with Skill Level.