The Legend of Randidly Ghosthound

The shift was massive and immediate. Randidly hiccuped.

Congratulations! Your Skill Aureate Arteries of Yggdrasil (T) has grown to Level 451!

Then the pain arrived, jagged and blinding.

Randidly sucked in a tight breath as the structure of both his body, and then by consequence, the storm around him, collapsed and reformed into something new. Golden Roots of Yggdrasil had been one of his original Skills, that he had earned through encounters with the sister Village of Donnyton. It was the basis of so much of his growth and the building block of his first personal image. So now that it evolved beyond the Legendary Rarity and incorporated all this potential-

Are there image fragments buried in the energy below the mountain? Randidly wondered as he grimaced. But then he shifted again, a huge portion of his base significance being uprooted and remade, albeit in a superior shape. Even his Nether Core whined in discomfort.

He twitched worse than when he withstood the full first layer of the Hierarchy of Burden. A pained growl escaped his lips. The basic framework of the wind blade orb that he used as the core of his personal storm collapsed. The remnant flows forced themselves into Randidly’s body, weaving through his blood and Nether as though there was a knot waiting to be tied within his body.

His flesh sizzled and steamed from the friction of the energy rubbing against itself. Perhaps if he had a weaker body, he would have melted directly from the sudden surge of natural energy and joined these shades as a fleshy puddle.

But of course, there might not be another individual in the Nexus who could rival Randidly’s body, aside from Elhume. And after several strained seconds, all those inputs gushed out of him and surged through the momentarily stalled storm. The fury and sharpness of the energy flows were instantly transformed. The wind whipped out from him with even more vigor, blasting away the nearby wind blades. Even the restrictive mist was forced backward, giving Randidly a few more meters of awareness.

After a cough to clear out some tightness in his chest, Randidly raised his head with a vicious smile. “Okay, now I’m beginning to see the process. The Nether King had such fine control because he was the pattern.”

“What are you talking about?” The woman asked. The effect wasn’t nearly as exaggerated as when Randidly did it, but the conducive energy allowed her to follow the shift his basic Skill. As a result, her own storm ballooned to a larger size.

Randidly shook his head. “Nothing. Just a stray thought. Alright, let’s push forward.”

As the living, breathing core to the storm, Randidly stepped forward into the upper portion of the Third Step.

*****

Ozark kept his head low and his cloak wrapped tightly around him as he walked down Bray Street to his next option. Due to the current instability in the Nexus, it was the least crowded that Ozark had ever seen it.

Part of it was the sudden dearth of sellers. The familiar call and heckling from enthusiastic vendors had been replaced by silence. Every other stand was closed and shuttered, where there were even a few that showed signs of having their locks broken and the wares stolen. The few other individuals hurrying down the street were like Ozark, keeping their identities hidden and their business brief.

They eyed each other with suspicion, wondering if the recent infighting of Military High Command and the Engraving Guild signaled even more violence to come. Or whether some foolish or desperate outlaw will take advantage of the distracted Orthodox factions to boldly rob someone in the street.

Looks like my second preferred shop is also closed. Damn, this is a waste of time. Ozark stopped in front of an abandoned stall and sniffed. The shelves were dusty and there were no recent scents in the area. He immediately prowled in a different direction. That’s fine. Anything will do for the trainees. Since it’s come to this… I might as well go to the Exchange. At least they are guaranteed to have wares, even if it is a bit pricy.

Ha… spending on equipment now… well, it cannot be avoided.

Ozark hurried toward the central plaza of Bray Street, his steps confident. Yet despite that, some part of himself mocked his current situation, running errands like this. He was an apprentice Pinnacle Seeker who handled the induction of new recruits to the methods of Pinnacle Seeker Dreadful Boulder. As such, it was his duty to provide the base equipment for these new initiates.

Of course, the treatment of equipment in the Nexus was luke-warm at best. For good reason: there was a definite limit on how much a piece of equipment could help you. Yes, the best equipment could provide a few hundred attributes and about half as many Stats, but was that as useful as a well-trained image?

Essentially, at the upper limit, equipment became useless to the truly powerful individuals for having no relation to Stats. Meanwhile, for the vast majority of warriors, equipment could give them an edge against similarly strong fighters, but not strengthen them to the point that they could confidently challenge their betters. Which was why it was seen by most as an indulgence rather than a necessity.

Ozark paused in front of the heavy stone blocks of the Nexus Exchange and waited for a large group of individuals to leave before he entered. Compared to the rest of Bray Street, the Nexus Exchange was relatively crowded. Figures clustered in the corner and communicated silently, observing the other customers.

The constant surreptitious glances from the various factions induced quite a bit of anxiety in him. Ozark did not make eye contact with anyone as he silently walked across the wooden floor and entered a queue to use one of the Nexus-wide search terminals. Only when he reached the screen did he raise his head.

His fingers were fast as he scanned through the weapons and armors. He purchased twenty swords, twenty daggers, twenty spears, and twenty shields in only a few seconds. The common items were priced a bit higher than Ozark would have liked, but he received a slight discount for buying in bulk, which mollified him somewhat.

He then proceeded to pick up twenty armors each of leather and metal, before hesitating over how he should proceed.

Just like that, he was finished. But his finger drifted toward the ‘New and Unique’ category. Perhaps due to the tension in the room, he dearly wished for some improvement of his own strength, even if it would be quite minor. I suppose there is no harm and looking around. I have needed a new set of bracers recently… considering how dangerous the Nexus is becoming, it’s likely worth the indulgence.

So Ozark began to scan through the offered wares. After scrolling through almost a dozen of the display pages and fine-tuning his search for only recently created bracers, he came across something that gave him pause, even if it was only due to the overly domineering name. His eyes narrowed.

Left Bracer of the Wolf God Lvl 99

Perhaps because of the bold name, Ozark clicked the button and the specifications were brought up before his eyes.

Left Bracer of the Wolf God Lvl 99 (Est.): A bracer forged from the finest materials by a master craftsman in a tour de force. Due to the unique environment, a nascent spirit with some accumulated significance has been birthed within the confines of the equipment. Through accomplishments, that significance can grow to hold great power. Agility +150, Reaction +100. Stamina +200.

Deadly Wolf Fang VI: The materials for this bracer were taken from the corpse of a mutated Wolf Chimera. Its fur and fangs were shaped to give the user a defensive equipment that can also lash out with a powerful attack. Every four strikes with the left hand will be boosted with an additional 100 Str and Agi. Additional damage will be dealt with the strike, each time the effect is triggered during the battle.

Armament of the Wolf God VII: A defensive treasure that not only can protect the user, but also all subordinates in a small area. End +100, Resistance +100. User can activate the bracer once a day, doubling the benefits of their own aspect and applying the base aspect to all allies within five meters.

Budding Legend of the Eastern Wolf VII (Est): Within the equipment sleeps a small amount of significance that is extremely close to gaining sentience. As time passed, more significance gathers within the bracer. Powerful exploits will increase the speed of this process. When the image of the Eastern Wolf is awakened, it will provide a small boost to the user’s image. That boost will increase if the image is related to the wolf.

Ozark trembled and read the description of the item one more time. The first thing that grabbed his attention was the (Est) next to the Level and the final aspect, which he had never seen before in his three hundred years within the Nexus. The System NEVER needed to estimate something. Then that small mystery was blasted away by the details of the third aspect, which contained a small, independent image.

“That’s-!” Ozark gasped, then just as quickly glanced back and forth to make sure no one noticed him. Luckily, the surly figures around the Exchange seemed to care more about how much time he was taking than the source of distraction.

That’s impossible. An image cannot be instilled in any form but an intelligent body; that’s the truth of the Nexus. Constructs like Armaments even use Fates as their base material, yet they can only achieve a bare imitation of the real thing. But perhaps the special result due to the environment can subvert this limit? Is… such a thing truly possible?

Ozark focused on the screen and made a pained expression. But he decisively clicked the Buy Now option. The price was rather steep, but if the equipment did what the third aspect stated, it was perhaps only a hundredth of its true value. Immediately, the equipment was transferred to an interspatial storage device with his other purchases, which was dispensed from the terminal.

He took one last glance at the maker’s info before departing. Samuel Hoss, Expira. Then Ozark left the Exchange while experiencing a queer squeeze between excitement and fear. The result was a constant sweat and an intermittent tremble that drew a few sneers from the waiting individuals.

On his way back to his base, he reflexively checked to see if anyone was following him, but he was just a minor character serving a little-known Pinnacle Seeker. He safely made it to the teleporter formation and paid for his fare while glancing over his shoulder. Then he chided himself; perhaps due to how pursued he looked someone would take it upon themselves to track his movements.

Just to be safe, he took several terminals to confuse any surveillance he didn’t detect. And also to settle his nerves. Only then did he make it back to his personal chambers and remove the equipment with clammy hands.

“There is equipment that grows and equipment with intelligence,” Ozark whispered as he lovingly caressed the wolf furr of the bracer. “But both combined? With significance so that an image can be instilled…?”

Just touching the equipment made Ozark salivate. He immediately felt the flickering presence of a genuine image inside of the equipment, which reached out tentatively to empower him. Immediately, Ozark dropped the equipment and the connection was cut. He hyperventilated, looking down at the bracer with naked greed in his eyes.

But he shook his head and shook himself. “No. Taking it for myself… if its found out, I will be killed. Better to pass it to Pinnacle Seeker Dreadful Boulder and earn merit. And likely… Dreadful Boulder won’t keep it for himself; he will pass it on to the leader of our Pinnacle Seeker Alliance. It will end up in the hands of Moonlight Blade, a genuine Canine. And if he grows more powerful-”

Ozark quickly dismissed his fantasies and stored away the bracer. He walked confidently to meet with his master. And in the back of his mind he wondered something else: was this piece of equipment a fluke, or could this newfound talent produce more such weapons?

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