World Keeper

Chapter 908: Necessary Expenditures

Thankfully, it wasn’t that hard for me to make a key for the World Shadow myself, as I was able to access the same Crafts domain that Dana had once used to make it. Naturally, I didn’t give it the same level of authority as the one that Dana had created for me. The one that she made for me had not just given me access to her world, but she had in fact made her entire shadow world subordinate to me. If I wanted to, I could call up any of the shadow monsters stored within, though I had not practiced with any of them as of yet.

Instead, the key that I made for Thelsa was purely a key to open a gate between worlds, letting her freely travel through the shadows of Deckan and Earth. I was curious about something, as well… “When you get the time, you should head to Desbar.” I nodded towards Thelsa. “Since you have Petra, you can try to bring Desbar’s shadow into your world.”

Thelsa blinked at that, thinking it over. “I can attempt to do so.” It seemed like she wasn’t sure if it was possible for one person to hold control of more than one shadow world, either.

Thelsa accepted the key, which was a simple sphere of black energy, and quickly connected the different shadow worlds. After that, my work here was basically done. All I needed to do was let Ashley know of my plan for her to elevate Thelsa to godhood, and I would be able to move on to my next task.

“Tsubaki, Dana, I’ll be going back first. There’s still some things that I need to acquire.” The two of them seemed to catch my meaning, closing their eyes and focusing. In front of them, a blue gate was gradually taking shape, likely the physical manifestation of Heaven’s Gate.

While they were preparing to leave, I quickly returned to the fortieth floor to retrieve the level orb, sending it down to Petra before heading to the Sky Citadel so that I could ascend to the Admin Room. By the time that I arrived, Tsubaki and Dana were just emerging from the door that I had established. “So, you are purchasing knowledge to improve the strength of the other worlds now, correct?” Tsubaki asked curiously, to which I nodded my head.

“The method of acquiring a fourth tier familiar has been known for a long time. In this sense, there is no real need to think about upgrading Kione’s magic system. The problem lies in the fact that, even with fourth tier magic, Kione’s magic falls behind other worlds. I purchased the fourth tier knowledge a long time ago, so it’s unreasonable to think that Accalia hasn’t shared relevant information with her world.”

“With that being the case, it’s likely that the information I purchased from the system didn’t cover the types of magic that could be taught to the familiars. Instead, it just had the methods of obtaining familiars together with the special abilities of said familiars.”

Tsubaki gave a small nod at that. “I see. In that case, how are you going to resolve the issue of their power level? Are you going to purchase a new magic system to give the world?”

I gave a bitter smile when she presented that option. “To be fair… that’s probably cheaper than what I plan to do. The Familiar Binding magic system that Kione uses is a limited form of the Imagination system, allowing mages to use whatever magic they wish, so long as they imagine it. The restriction on the system Kione possesses is that the spells must be taught to and cast through a familiar, instead of being wielded by the individual. Thus, if I purchase the information for the Imagination magic system, I should get what I need to enhance Kione’s magic system.”

The problem was that there weren’t seven tiers of magic for the Imagination system. Instead, there was only one tier, priced at one hundred thousand points. This was likely because the system itself did not have ‘advanced styles’ like other systems, and relied purely on the imagination of the wielder. I just hope that buying the base system’s knowledge will help with the systems derived from it.

I took a deep breath, biting the bullet and purchasing the system. Between this and the people I gave access to Heaven’s Gate, I had now completely spent the reward I received from UpperLevel’s invasion. I watched as the familiar lights from the system manifested a sphere in my hand, and then blinked down to the form of the sphere itself. Unlike the normal, blue spheres produced by the system, this one was silver in color.

Tentatively, I sent a thread of my consciousness into the sphere, probing at the information within. If the other orbs could be compared to a hard drive, this was a supercomputer full of information. I was in awe as I found the different categories presented, not just of the main fields of magic, but also the different systems that were derived from this. For instance, there was an entire section devoted to Familiar Binding, and another to Spiritual Energy Manipulation, which apparently was a derived form of the imagination system.

There wasn’t any detailed information for systems that I did not have access to, but I was certain that would change the moment I purchased another derived system based on Imagination. I withdrew my consciousness from the sphere, focusing on sending a message. Udona, I just bought some knowledge, and I need you to reproduce and distribute it to Ryone, Accalia, and Irena.

After I said that, a fair hand appeared in the air over the silver orb, snatching it away and disappearing. My guess was that Udona was currently busying herself with something, so she could only retrieve the item in this way. “There, that should considerably boost Kione’s power in the near future, as well as the power of the spirits.”

Dana gave a small nod at that. “Alright, then! That’s one down. So, Dale, what’s next?” She asked with a small grin. It took me a moment to register that she had used my name instead of calling me ‘boss’ like usual. Though, given what I heard from Tsubaki’s thoughts, that isn’t too unexpected.

“Well, I’ve taken care of Kione now. The next thing that I should do is that spell that you suggested earlier.” I thought back for a moment, recalling the various details that Dana had included in the spell. As expected from the Apostle of Magic, it was an incredibly complex magic, one that I would likely never be able to create casually without mirroring the mind of someone far more talented in magic. Thankfully, my Sorcerer title would allow me to create the magic even if I wasn’t personally that gifted.

Focusing on the spell’s details, I activated my title, feeling a rush of information pouring into my mind. Without delay, I channeled that information into a blue sphere in my hand, crystallizing the knowledge that was being given to me by the system. I couldn’t guarantee that I could perfectly replicate the magic if I waited, so I had to save it as soon as the knowledge came to me.

Dana blinked, looking at the sphere being created. “Is that the magic item?” She asked curiously, causing me to shake my head with a grunt.

“N-No. That’s the spell. Honestly, when it comes to high level magic, you are considerably more talented than myself. So, I was going to give this to you, so that you could study and distribute it.”

Dana’s eyes went wide at the explanation, her gaze flicking back from my face to the orb. “Okay… how do I use it?”

“Just hold it in your hand, and focus your mind on it. As you do so, it will be like… reading a book and watching a movie in your thoughts. That’s the best way that I can describe it.” Dana nodded her head, carefully taking the sphere from me and focusing on it. I could see her expression changing multiple times as she reviewed the information, going from confusion to enlightenment and back again.

With that said, Tsubaki turned to look at me with a small smile. “Is there anything else, then?” She asked curiously, which had me thinking.

“Kione and Fyor are both taken care of. Honestly, Desbar and Deckan are good as they are. Lorek and Spica have an army of god-level beings already, so I’m not worried as much about them. The main concern left for me now is Sher Dien.”

Tsubaki nodded her head in understanding. “Sher Dien, in terms of military power, is indeed far behind the other worlds. Though, I am not aware of how you plan to resolve this issue?”

“Yeah, neither am I.” I agreed with a bitter smile. “Sher Dien doesn’t particularly have any special systems that I would need to spend points on improving. There’s nothing that Earth or Desbar can do that they can’t. Instead, it’s their isolationist policy that is holding them back.”

Ever since ancient times, centaurs have been naturally opposed to integrating with other races. Given how this was the case both with their original iterations on Earth, and the ones created for Sher Dien, I expected that it was a trait in their base genetics, making them more focused on their own ‘herd’ than wanting to spend time with others. It was either that, or the fact that their body types were the most unusual out of all of the current races.

Because of this, a lot of the popular techniques and advancements made in other worlds had a hard time spreading to Sher Dien. At the same time, Sher Dien did not openly share the methods that they developed themselves, such as their planar travel spells that were constantly advancing.

There wasn’t anything that I could buy to improve Sher Dien, but I also didn’t want to leave them behind the other worlds. I could potentially steer their culture towards ending their isolationist policy, but this was ultimately Tryval’s world, and that decision should be left to him. It would be incredibly rude for me to step in and change the cultural direction of the world I gave him to govern.

“At this rate, Sher Dien won’t be able to hold on if a powerful monster attacks. They’ve got a few gods themselves, but it probably won’t be enough to make an incredible difference.” No matter what I chose, as the problem with Sher Dien was a cultural issue, I would be interfering with Tryval’s authority. With a sigh, I sent the man himself a message.

Tryval, whenever you get the chance to work on Sher Dien again, we need some way to get them to integrate more with the other worlds. As it stands, their overall power is lagging behind, and they won’t be able to resist if a powerful foe emerges. I’ve already done what I can for the other worlds, but Sher Dien’s shortcoming is a cultural one.

There were a few moments before he sent his response. I understand, my lord. I’ll have it taken care of.

“What’s the matter?” Alme asked, looking up at Tryval, whose face had become somewhat complicated. The two were roaming in a field he created within the Keeper’s home, so she was extremely content with her current situation.

“It’s… nothing, Alme.” Tryval said, smiling and shaking his head. Alme simply pouted, leaning over and lightly elbowing his flank.

“I’ve known you way too long, dad.” Alme chided softly. “I can tell when something’s bothering you. Now that I’m here, let me be of some help to you. At the very least, I can offer you advice when you are troubled.”

Tryval hesitated, before nodding his head. “I have received word from the Keeper. It would appear that Sher Dien must undergo a cultural shift in order to advance to the same level as other worlds. Our policy of keeping to ourselves has hindered us for too long, it seems.”

Alme blinked, before her eyes went wide. “Ohh… I’m sorry, I hadn’t even thought of that.” Alme was, after all, the one who had led Sher Dien for thousands of years, bringing it from its primordial state to a point where it could join the rest of the worlds. “I didn’t think about preparing them for something like that.”

“I’m not blaming you, my dear.” Tryval said in a soft tone.

“Well, I am.” Alme pouted stubbornly. “Let me take care of this, dad. You put me responsible for the growth of Sher Dien. Just because I hit the first goal doesn’t mean my job is done yet.”

Tryval looked down at his daughter, before letting out a light laugh. “Very well. What do you need to get the task done?”

Alme thought about that question seriously for several moments. “If we are going to really open them up to the outside world, I need to study. I’ll need a familiar, a set of magic cards suitable for me to use to impress them, and I need to learn rune magic.”

Tryval’s eyes went wide, realizing that Alme was serious. It wasn’t often that she devoted herself to studies like this, and now she had become determined to learn the language of magic, as well as the methods of controlling card magic and familiars. “I’ll prepare the necessary materials for you, but learning runes will likely take some time.”

Alme nodded her head in understanding. “I know, dad! But, I’ve got to do this if I am to thoroughly convince those guys that they can’t just stick to the old ways. I need to be able to show them powers from every system of other worlds, used by one of their own, that are stronger than what other centaurs can produce. Cooperation is born from mutual benefits. We have advanced planar travel spells that could enhance their aspects of life, and they have things that we can learn from.”