World Keeper

By the time Lifre and her group returned from the battle with the Five Nations Guild, Dana and Julia had long since returned from Spica. While we were waiting for the others to return, Dana explained to me about the resonance that she had with the Origin of Darkness after he died, and how her inner universe had expanded to absorb everything that he had. This was valuable information for us, because this was the first time that we had witnessed a true Origin’s death, and also the first time that one Origin had devoured another.

To be honest, I was more curious about the weapon that Julia had used to kill the Origin of Darkness. Like with Bihena, she had left with the others in a hurry, assuring me that she had a way to kill him. Unfortunately, I had to settle for a description of the weapon, because merely having it exist was enough to destabilize the universe that it was part of. Which, really, said wonders about the weapon itself, if it’s mere existence can cause a universe to start to fall apart.

Once Lifre and the others returned, we were able to breathe a sigh of relief. It was far too early yet to say that we had won this invasion, but we had dealt with the two most immediate threats. Unfortunately, we still had no idea whether or not the Hermit was even alive. As for the Thousand Eyes Guild…

“You destroyed one of their worlds in order to overload the Star of Destruction?” I asked in befuddlement, looking at Lifre.

“Uhm, y-yeah. And Aurivy thinks that might not have been a good thing.” She responded in a sheepish tone.

I looked at Dana, who shook her head. “I don’t have an avatar in the void right now. I had to focus my full attention on the battle earlier. Give me a minute.”

After she said that, she split off another avatar of herself, which quickly left the room. It took roughly a minute before Dana was able to get any feedback from the void. “I’m seeing a large number of eye monsters, and they appear to be converging on a single point in the void.”

“Is it the World Tree Guild, like Aurivy said?” I asked, and Dana shook her head.

“No, it’s just an empty patch of void. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say that they were trying to create a bigger monster by combining their collective energies. That’s the only possibility that I can make out, anyways.” She reported, and I turned to look at Tsubaki.

“Just in case, pass the information along to the monarch. He might have more insight about their methods.”

A man walked the busy streets of Fyor’s sixty-third floor. In this area, everyone had a different appearance, and they were all incredibly trusting. This made it the perfect place for the Hermit to blend in, after changing his appearance.

After the destruction of the hidden dungeon where he had been training, the Hermit hurriedly departed from that region of space. He sought out another world pierced by a pillar of mana, and used it to teleport to this world, where the strongest fates gathered.

As long as I am somewhere critical, they’ll have to think twice about whether or not they want to erase the planet. He thought to himself. Given that my fate was unable to warn me ahead of time, the one that targeted me was no doubt the administrator of this dungeon.

Among prophets like himself, it was common knowledge that the administrators of each dungeon were outside of the purview of fate. Their actions were the moves that could change the course of history, and so they could not be seen by those like him. At least, not until an action became absolutely inevitable.

Thankfully, the Hermit had long since adapted to the system of this world, and had created a character profile that would allow himself to blend in. Using this, he paid for a room in a nearby inn, and sat cross-legged on the bed provided in the room.

Closing his eyes, he reviewed what he had learned. There is a generally accepted level limit of five hundred within this world, and this limit applies per class. Additionally, people can take as many classes as they wish. However, to surpass this level limit for any particular class, one must utilize the abilities of the class in an innovative way to carve out a legend for themselves.

Additionally, I could feel a qualitative change in my core energy when I began to level up. Unlike in Hal Tua, where the essence of the world empowers you externally, this is an internal evolution. If I still had a mortal body, I would likely be able to experience it even more clearly.

Having reached that far, the Hermit let out a long sigh. However… there are some classes that I should not touch, even if it would give me a boost in power. I deleted my levels in Druid and Shaman, so the World Spirits shouldn’t be able to track me down anymore. Are there any other classes that have a spirit watching over them?

In order to answer this question, the Hermit focused his power, peering into fate. As long as it wasn’t related to the administrator, he was confident in being able to obtain answers from this world that didn’t hold a privacy block.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Let’s see… there is a spirit of ki, but it does not appear that it has a powerful ego, and it isn’t allied with anyone. There doesn’t seem to be a spirit governing magic, so it should be safe to practice those classes further. As for spiritual or religious classes… all of the major gods are direct allies of the administrator, so I should avoid those.

Even still, if I train up the remaining classes to their limit, my strength should be more than enough to destroy the administrator. The Hermit thought to himself with a confident smile. Let’s just make sure that none of the others get to him first.

Peering through fate once again, the Hermit began to investigate the status of his competitors in this raid. They actually managed to destroy the other two masters? He asked himself in surprise when he noticed the destruction of both the Fierce Night and Five Nations Guilds. A shiver went down his spine, realizing that he had also been close to destruction, not too long ago. If I hadn’t managed to evade that, then all three masters would have fallen in this little dungeon.

The Hermit realized that he had to reevaluate his opinion of this dungeon, as it held far more dangers than he had originally anticipated. Two of the top twenty have already been killed here. I should play it safe, and--

His thoughts were cut off as a scene slipped into his vision. There were very few members of the World Tree Guild that had infiltrated the various worlds, so it didn’t take him long to catch sight of the famed Monarch of Wood speaking in secret with the administrator’s right hand. Gritting his teeth, the Hermit reviewed their conversation from start to finish, fuming with indignation.

Those dung-eating bastards want to betray Hal Tua? The Hermit’s eyes blazed with fury at the realization, as this had several different implications. First of all, they were abandoning their real bodies left back in Hal Tua, but more importantly… this raid would not end until either the Hermit or the administrator died. And unlike those from the World Tree Guild, the Hermit had come with his true body. By choosing to side with the administrator, the World Tree Guild had pointed their spears at him.

The Hermit clenched his fists, doing his best to calm himself down. There will be plenty of time to deal with them later. For now, this means that the only other force targeting the administrator will be Thousand Eyes. As long as I don’t let them steal my prey, everything is fine.

Though he thought that, the Hermit had to admit that the Thousand Eyes Guild was especially troublesome. Although they didn’t rank in the top twenty, most lower ranked guilds would rather fight a guild that possessed a true master as opposed to them. This was because of their use of infectious information, a void skill passed down from the darker prestige classes.

This infectious information was harmless against a master, but it was an almost unsolvable threat to anyone else. From what I saw, this world is rather short on masters. They have some defenses established, but those defenses won’t work as well once they’ve made it inside. I’ll need to make some arrangements.

With that, the Hermit began to focus,using his control over fate to alter only the smallest details. He didn’t want his interference to be too obvious, as the local administrator also had a master of fate, albeit an immature one.

“Boss, I’m seeing some activity from the eye monster… blob, thing.” Dana spoke up, as if trying to figure out exactly what she wanted to call it. “They’ve solidified into one giant monster, covered with countless eyes. Looking at it is infecting me with about twenty different memetic attacks, but I’m able to neutralize them myself. However, I would strongly suggest not sending anyone into the void while that thing is present.”

I blinked at this report, turning to look at Dana. “Is it making any moves yet?” I asked, to which she nodded her head.

“Yeah… it’s heading for the tree, like we suspected. Several of the universes held within the tree have entered a battle-ready state, with turrets appearing within the void around them. However, there aren’t any fighters appearing, so the turrets can only fire autonomously.” After saying that, Dana looked over at me. “What do you want to do?”

I lowered my head in thought, closing my eyes. This wasn’t an easy decision to make. If we got involved in this battle, it would confirm that the World Tree Guild had betrayed their comrades. However, if we didn’t, we would be the ones betraying them after they sought asylum.

“We have to help them.” I said, a hint of resignation in my voice. “There’s no point to this treaty between us if we let them die here.” After saying that, I looked at Dana. “Contact Chelsea, see if she has any way to help them.”

Given that Chelsea was the Origin of Security, she was definitely the one most suitable for a defensive battle. Acknowledging that, Dana nodded her head, closing her eyes to begin contacting her. After a moment, she nodded her head. “I’ve communicated the situation with Chelsea, and she said that she’ll get ready to head out.”

Within the Another World Research Group headquarters, Chelsea was outfitting herself with silver, mechanical armor. Nearby, James looked on with a serious expression on his face. “You sure you want to go through with this?” He asked, and Chelsea offered a small smile.

“Yeah. There’s a chance that this treaty is nonsense, but that’s a risk that we need to take.” She answered with a firm nod.

“Was that in the notes, too?” James asked, his tone taking on a more playful tone. However, surprisingly, Chelsea nodded her head.

“Volume twelve, chapter thirteen, clause eight. If there is an enemy force that makes first contact under the pretense of a secret alliance, first confirm the racial characteristics of the other party. If they are considerably different from standard humanoids, there is a seventy percent chance that their offer is truthful. Whether it is a trap or not will come to light when the other party experiences a true crisis.”

“...I was joking.” James blinked, chuckling and shaking his head. “But, of course, that sounds like something she’d plan for.”