Chapter 21: Believe it!

Over the course of the last week, I had the basics for metalworking drilled into my head. With Terra’s assistance in the admin room, we had an unlimited supply of ores to work with, so it was just a matter of making sure I absorbed all of the information. Though, I did learn some interesting things during these lessons that are worthy of note.

Materials made in the Admin Room cannot be taken down to the planet without paying a point cost. For a simple sword, Terra explained that it would only be one point per hundred swords. However, other powerful items would have larger costs. On the other hand, if the materials for the item are brought up from the planet, they can be forged in the Admin Room and sent back down.

What this means, is that once I learn how to do enchanting, I could forge a sword made of minerals from Earth, and then enchant it in the Admin Room. The benefit of this is very simple. In the Admin Room, my magic power is unlimited, meaning that I could put an extremely powerful enchantment on an item to turn it into a strong artifact beyond the scope of what mortals could normally create. Of course, this all requires me to first learn how to enchant. And that is not something Terra can teach me, since it is not knowledge from my previous Earth.

Next, Terra showed me a map detailing the mineral deposits on Earth. I had expected the same basic materials as my own world had, but there were a few changes. Maybe it was because of the size of the planet, or the presence of magic, but there were a few ores that she said would channel magic extremely well. More importantly, there was the presence of ‘mana stones’, rocks able to absorb and store mana.

The generic version would only absorb raw mana, which could then be used to power a spell later. However, at certain locations, there existed elemental stones. These were in the more extreme environments, such as the mouth of a volcano or the bottom of the ocean. Anywhere that a particular element held absolute dominance, the stone for that element would emerge.

Once I was done with my lesson, I went to see if there had been any major developments in the world. Though, I honestly wasn’t expecting much, since I did not set it to fast forward. There was only so much that I could expect to happen in a week.

I was surprised to find Irena sitting on my bed when I made my way to the room to look at the computer. As I entered, she gave me a soft smile, inclining her head. “You are back. I was beginning to wonder how long she would keep you.”

“Is something the matter with the afterlife?” This was the first time that I had ever found Irena looking for me, so I was confused as to what  it meant. I doubted that Terra would let anything ‘good’ happen with her in the bed like that, so I could only expect it meant business.

Irena shook her head slightly. “No, I am here to deliver a report. When you went in to train, I sent a mission of several thousand daeva and spirits to the living world. This was a test operation to see how many spirits these numbers could harvest, and how many would be needed to create full-time coverage.”

Well.. that sounded a little intriguing. “And, what were your results?”

Placing both hands in her lap, Irena assumed a businesslike pose as she delivered the report. “On average, each operative collected eighty souls over a twenty-four hour period. Out of five thousand individuals sent, only two died. Unexpectedly, they squandered so much of their spiritual energy that they were unable to fight off the weak spirits that targeted them.”

Her words caught me by surprise. “There are already spirits strong enough to fight back against your people?”

Irena cracked a small smile, shaking her head again. “Normally, no. However, After they used so much of their own spiritual energy, the weak spirits were able to defeat them. With this, I have determined how many people I will need before I can fully cover the Earth with a collection patrol.”

“So? How many do you need?”

Irena took a deep breath before telling me the numbers. “Each continent will need to be divided into ten districts, with each district being under the control of a district leader. Within each district, there will need to be one hundred sectors. Each sector should have a ten man team present at all times. Even with this, I estimate that the souls will often build up for weeks before the team manages to collect them.”

“For a best case scenario, each sector would then be divided into ten thousand neighborhoods. Then, each neighborhood could have between one and five people present at any time. With this, there is a minimum need for eighty thousand dedicated patrolmen working around the clock, and a preferred amount of four hundred million.”

“Now, for the oceans and miscellaneous islands. These are more troubling. Out of the roughly hundred thousand islands with life, each one will need their own Daeva or spirit monitoring it. The larger islands may need up to a ten man team on patrol. The oceans themselves… they are far too large. I estimate that we will need at least a million reapers and spirit hunters on constant patrol in order to clear up the spirits before they become a problem.”

Irena let out a soft sigh as she finished. “If it is just the inhabited areas of the continents, I already possess enough subordinates, and can handle the rest myself. At the current rate of population growth, I imagine that it will take another thousand years before we have sufficient numbers for global coverage, and that is only if we include the deceased spirits as well.”

I thought about her report for a while, before I nodded. “Focus on building up your forces and advancing the afterlife culture for now. Your people might be able to come up with advancements that would make the job easier to manage. Until then, send out the occasional training group to get experience on Earth.”

Irena inclined her head, standing up from the bed and smoothing out her skirt. “Very well. I’ll do what I can on my end. If anything comes up, I will come to deliver another report.”

With that, she lightly tapped the ground with her shoe, a light shining behind her. The light formed into a wide circular door, which opened into a path of grey mist.Giving one last nod, she turned and left  Since nobody else was around to disturb me, I sat at the computer, pulling up the notifications in order to see if there had been any advancement.

Unsurprisingly, none of the cultures had advanced enough in this week to give me a reward. However, I did get points from elsewhere. With a full week of my creations on the market, I had sold quite a few.

First, the Forgotten. I had managed to sell one more set of that race. Next, the World Host, my most popular item. Over the last week, I had sold thirty more copies of that. Finally, Trinity’s Sin, which I did not have as much hope for. I had managed to sell five copies, but that was all. With this, my point balance went up to 177.

I could buy more systems for the world if I wanted, but I’d rather save up for now, so that I could get some of the more expensive prizes. For instance, there was one option I was thinking of making available for my world, but I was sure that I’d need more points to make it happen. Which reminds me of another important discovery that Terra informed me about, secret inventions.

Although such systems as Level Limits, Achievements, and so on can only be created through the system(to my knowledge, at least), it is possible to create items and races without registering them. However, doing so is not easy. Rather than creating it through the system, you have to do so manually.

So, for instance, if I had manually crafted the Trinity’s Sin rather than submitting it to the system, I would be the sole owner of that item. For most things, that is unimportant, but powerful items can tip the balance of power in the Games. With every Keeper having access to the same systems and crafting recipes, the owner of a unique power gains an extra card to play.

Now, I had no expectations of being able to personally craft incredibly powerful artifacts easily, but one day it could happen! Until then, though… I decided that it was time to go back down to the world. I needed to train some more, in preparation for my world advancing. Also, I needed to get used to descending as a race different from humans.

As such, this time when I selected to descend, I gave myself the body of a slim Kitsune. With golden hair, ears, and a tail, I thought it looked rather fitting for a ‘divine’ body. Finally, I selected the button to confirm my choice and descend.

I was again bathed in a warm blue light, and before I even opened my eyes I could tell that things had changed. The smell of the ocean was heavy in the air, I could hear the waves crashing on the shore all around me. The location I chose to descend to this time was a deserted island, one that I felt had a rather good view.

Looking out to the ocean, I gave a small smile before I opened my character information.

Looking at the numbers in parenthesis, I felt so… weak. Well, weak compared to my ‘Keeper’ level. My normal level of power was absolutely pitiful when compared with it. Even compared to the average level of the current world, my normal level was severely lacking. And that was something I needed to take care of.

I resolved myself to train until my ‘true level’ reached fifteen, and only then would I make my first journey to an inhabited area. The question was just, what class did I want to train? As for the answer… if you had seen the class list I originally made, there could only be one real answer.

Unfortunately, the class I wanted was not discovered yet, or else this training would be much easier. However, I had a rough idea on how to unlock it. I just wasn’t sure which method to use. Closing my eyes, I let my awareness slip into my body, finding those streams of energy.

I had long since learned to identify the energies in my body, and that made it much easier to find them. First, the Ki, the tranquil energy that flowed through me. Next, the warm blue light that I had identified as my Mana. Each of these energies looked the same as the last time I had used them, maybe even a little weaker. However, behind them, as if hiding in the shadows, was a mighty ocean or a blazing sun. I identified those as my Keeper reserves.

For what I was doing, I would be drawing from those reserves. The energy I had available to me otherwise was simply too small. Focusing, I began pulling the warm flow of mana into my left hand, and the gentle ki into my right.

From my understanding of the class while I was choosing the settings, both of these energies are required. Furthermore, they have to be merged in order to be properly applied. As such, I began moving my hands closer together, keeping my mind focused on those two energies.

As my hands came closer together, I felt the ki and mana starting to repel each other. Furrowing my brow, I tried forcing them together. The results…

-55

In a violent explosion of energy, I was tossed back nearly a dozen meters before I slid to a stop in the sand. Seeing the damage number floating above the spot I had previously stood, a cold sweat covered my back. If I didn’t have my Keeper reserves for health, that accident would have immediately killed me.

Even now, I could feel the soreness from the blast. And, looking at my body, there were cuts and bruises all over, to the point where it would be amazing if I didn’t die. However, I didn’t really feel as bad as I appeared. At most, I felt like I had taken a strong punch to the face.

I decided that the difference between appearance and reality was likely a result of my Keeper status, and got up to try again. There was one main reason that I was not doing this in the safety of the Admin Room. Any advancements made there regarding classes would not carry over to when I descend. Otherwise… I’d probably have several levels in Blacksmith by now.

Nonetheless, I tried again. This time, I did not try to force the energies together, and instead simply brought my hands closer while letting them mutually repel each other. The moment my hands touched, I felt as the two energies exploded outwards, before being drawn together within my body.

Ki represents the training of the physical body. Mana represents the training of the mind. These two energies, when brought together, can form something new. Something capable of things neither one can easily do alone.

I grinned, looking down to the energy resting in my hands. This was Chakra, the combination of Mana and Ki, the physical and mental aspects of training. I wasn’t entirely sure the differences between this new energy and its component pieces yet, but I had a few days of training ahead of me to find out! Taking one last look at my character window before moving to train, I had to say that I was happy with what I saw.