World Keeper

Chapter 920: Sword Heart

As I was focusing on the finalization of the rules that governed the divine world I was created, I heard space shattering next to me. I turned my head, and saw a panicked Scarlet looking at me with wide eyes. Perhaps because she was the Goddess of Ki, but my energy felt slightly off when I noticed her panicked state.

“Dad! I think I messed up big time!” Scarlet called out with wide eyes, her hands clenched into fists at her side.

“Calm down, Scarlet. Your power’s leaking out.” I tried to comfort her, but she quickly shook her head.

“That’s not my power, dad! I think I changed ki!”

“I’m sorry, what now?” I blinked in confusion, unable to process those words. Changed… ki? Ki was a fundamental energy, as integral to the universe as the concept of a soul. How does one change ki?

Scarlet took a deep breath, and began to explain to me what had happened, how she had wanted to create a new form of martial spirit. In truth, I had considered doing the same in the past. The reason that I didn’t was actually because of Scarlet herself. I didn’t want her and her people to be pushed aside by some new and improved martial spirit.

However, as her story came to a close, and she told me about the achievement that she had earned, my lips were pursed tightly in thought. There is a ‘True’ Martial Spirit? Is that anything like the ‘Complete’ World Spirit? But why would the word change from ‘Complete’ to ‘True’?

I furrowed my brow, piecing together the information that I had access to. Basic world spirits were considered incomplete beings, because a ‘complete’ version would be able to completely control the natural energy within an entire universe. Such a being would be unkillable, unless the world itself perished. They could be weakened, but ultimately they existed together with the world.

At the same time, the weaker world spirits didn’t have a modifier to their name. There were no ranks like there were with martial spirits, it was just the difference between an incomplete being and a completed one.

Now, applying this line of logic to martial spirits… Lesser martial spirits like those Scarlet governs wouldn’t be considered incomplete beings, but an evolution of a concept. When I created the first batch of martial spirits, those with lower ranks were more simple forms of life, with only the last few having any form of intelligence, and rank ten entities like Scarlet having fully sentient minds from birth.

If this concept continued to evolve… I glanced up at Scarlet curiously. “How much ki did you need for this spirit?”

Scarlet gulped, thinking back. “Four-point-seven million… give or take a hundred thousand or so.” My brow twitched when I heard that number.

That was over three hundred times the amount of ki used to create a rank ten spirit. A rank one spirit only used one thousand points of ki, so the difference in scaling should be rather clear. What Scarlet created should have been something along the lines of a rank thirty spirit. But, for some reason, the system referred to it as a ‘true’ martial spirit.

“Let’s go back to the Admin Room.” I told her, glancing off to the side. “We should be able to see all the changes from there.”

Dana hummed happily to herself as she walked into the living room of the Sky Citadel, having just ordered several new items to update the technological standard of their home. However, as she was moving along, she suddenly had to duck rapidly, a thin line drawn on the wall behind her.

Her eyes went fierce, conjuring a black whip in her hand. Who would dare to attack the citadel? She wondered, her body flying towards the source of the attack, passing through solid walls and having to dodge past numerous blades of energy that threatened to strike her the closer she came. Even in her incorporeal state, the energy gave her a dangerous sensation.

At this rate, the citadel will be destroyed! What is Gerard doing!? Dana cursed inwardly, before her eyes went wide as she came to a sudden halt. The source of the disturbance, and the countless blades that sliced open the walls, was none other than Tsubaki.

The nine-tailed kitsune stood frozen in the hallway, her eyes unfocused. Her ki pulsated around her body, occasionally sending out wisps of energy that transformed into transparent blades. “Tsuba--”

“Shh!” Lifre suddenly appeared next to Dana, a hand covering the latter’s mouth. Unlike Lifre’s usual playfulness, her eyes were serious. “Don’t disturb her… she’s awakening something.”

Awakening… what? Dana asked, sending her thoughts to the slime girl. Lifre seemed to have an idea of what was going on, so she could only rely on her for the moment.

Oh, cool, this works. If I’m right… she’s awakening sword intent. Or, knowing her, it could be a dozen different types of weapon intent.

Weapon intent? Dana arched her brow, confused.

Yeah! You read about it a lot in stories. Martial artists who become so adept with a type of weapon that their very being gets infused with the aspect of that weapon. A swordmaster whose gaze alone can cut down enemies, things like that.

Dana’s eye twitched at Lifre’s words. That’s just a story, Lifre! If a swordsman wants to do something like that, they apply mana in a thin line and slash out with it! It’s one of the founding principles of the Absurdity of Fate style!

Lifre’s gave a knowing smile. Why would a martial fighter, a ki master, use mana? I’m not talking nonsense here, Dana. I almost awakened something similar just now. For me, I think it was going to be staff intent. But, halfway through it felt like I was missing something. I’ll need to train more if I want to really awaken it. Tsubaki, though… how many weapons has she mastered? Can you count them all?

What do you mean you did the same? Dana asked in confusion. I haven’t felt anything like that. Look, I’m really good with my whip, right? Shouldn’t I have some kind of whip intent or something?

Lifre blinked, looking at the whip in Dana’s hands. You’re not wrong, but… are you really that good with it? No, I’ve seen you use it, you’re pretty badass with it. Maybe the problem is your ki? You were originally an Aeon, right? Your ki was something generated artificially.

Dana furrowed her brow, but gave a small nod. It was true that her ki was granted artificially, using a training method that she and Tsubaki came up with a long time ago. If this isn’t an isolated event… we have to consider two options. One, there is a void entity that has invaded the world, one that has rewritten the laws of ki.

Or two, ki has simply evolved… for everyone in the universe. Lifre finished her thought in a grave tone. The boss man didn’t mention doing anything like this, right? This seems like a major change he’d let us in on.

This isn’t him. Dana was absolutely sure that the Keeper wasn’t involved in this. After all, he was still setting up his divine world, and wouldn’t have had the time or inclination to purchase a change to ki on this scale. I have to go to my terminal. If this is a global event, reports should be pouring in. You stay and watch Tsuba!

I can’t. Lifre shook her head. We both need to go. Those blades are dangerous, even for me. My wrist got cut off on my way over here, and I immediately lost contact with the energy that made up my hand.

Dana’s eyes went wide when she heard Lifre’s report. Even severing a wrist with a blade was not a serious injury for a god. The wrist could just reattach, and only a small amount of divinity was lost. In order to inflict a true wound, you had to use something to either disperse or disconnect the energy making up that part of the body. This could be worse than we thought, if everyone can awaken abilities to this degree.

Lifre gave a nod, the two backing away from Tsubaki. It was better to allow her to finish awakening whatever power she was doing, and simply hope that there was enough of the Citadel left to salvage when she was done. As they were backing off, the blades shifted, turning into blunt blasts. Oh cool, it’s fist intent now! Lifre groaned, having been suddenly embedded in a nearby wall. Thankfully, although this still did substantial damage to her, it wasn’t immediately life-threatening.

“So that’s what it is.” I muttered, shaking my head as I sat on the couch in the Admin Room, Scarlet sitting nervously beside me.

“S-Sorry, is it that bad?” She asked, stammering as she tried to look at the screen that had appeared in front of me. Unfortunately for her, it was something only I could see.

“No, it’s not bad. You did a good thing.” I assured her gently, reaching over and patting her shoulder. “Just… maybe a bit of warning next time, before you go casually rewriting the laws of the universe.”

Scarlet’s eyes went wide at that, her body going stiff. “Rewrite… what?” However, I simply gave a playful smile.

“It’s nothing that major. For a while now, ki seems to have been missing something. It’s why archers like Thelsa and martial experts are so rare at the high levels, compared to mages. Even high level monks dip into magic or natural energy for their advanced classes, so there aren’t many that go pure monk all the way.”

“You… found what was missing?” Scarlet asked hesitantly, and I nodded my head.

“It’s will. Ki is an incredibly powerful energy, but it can only follow set paths. As the physical energy that represents life itself, isn’t that too limiting? Look.” I picked up the remote, turning on the television. “This is Samira Black, one of Accalia’s Huntresses.”

On the screen, we could see a woman standing in a field, having apparently just finished a hunt. For a moment, she seemed to have been dazed, dozens of lines drawing themselves in the air around her. When her gaze focused again, there seemed to be something… different about her. She looked down at her bow, and then to a nearby tree.

There was a crisp sound, and a dozen holes were neatly drilled into the tree, though Samira never lifted the bow in her hand. I paused the image, and then slowly rewound it. This was just rewinding the playback, not actually interfering with the world’s time.

However, as soon as the holes started to vanish from the tree, we could see transparent arrows flying through the air, tracing themselves back to Samira’s body. In only a fraction of a second, her ki had unleashed a dozen attacks, taking the form that she most commonly trained.

“But… why is this the ‘True’ Martial Spirit?” Scarlet asked in confusion.

“I’ve been thinking about that ever since you told me about it. Honestly, you used way too much energy if you were going for a simple rank increase. What you created should be the ultimate form of a martial spirit. The final evolution of your race, where the spirit itself becomes one with all the ki in the world. Just like how the completed version of a world spirit becomes one with all natural energy. In a way, your original martial spirit pacts can be seen as the prototype for this being. Like comparing a stone axe to an antimatter rifle.”

“The difference here is that natural energy is untamed, and nobody can claim dominion over it. Ki, however, is different for every living being. Because of this, the spirit doesn’t have a single, defined form. Instead, it should be the case that the spirit is subtly inhabiting everyone in its own way. For those that have mastered a weapon to such a degree that it is second nature, the spirit is able to take on the characteristics of that weapon, launching similar attacks through the user’s ki.”

“So… I didn’t mess up?” Scarlet asked, and I could feel the hope in her voice.

Shaking my head, I let out a light laugh. “Not at all. Honestly… I’d like to ask if you can do it again for the different worlds. I would… but I could at most make one spirit with my own ki reserves. This time, though… let’s make an announcement to prevent any accidents.”

While reviewing the data I went over to determine the nature of the spirit, I saw many cases where people were attacked during their awakening. In most cases, this only led to the demise of the attacker, with the spirit controlling the user’s ki to retaliate autonomously. However, there were some that hadn’t mastered their fighting style to a high enough degree, the spirit being unable to properly defend against the opponent.