I gave a slight chuckle as I reappeared in the Admin Room. The two items that they asked for could surely be purchased on the Keeper Market, it was just a matter of finding them. I had the feeling that Dana’s request would be rather cheap, so I decided to start with that.
Moving over towards my bed, I sat down and opened up the menus to search through the market. There were a number of items that actually matched her request, so I had to sift through them and choose which one I would give her.
Among the different choices, there were numerous methods to achieve the same result. One item advertised that it refined mana into a solid crystal. This naturally brought to mind the crystal spire of Fyor, causing me to consider this option right away.
Another option refined the mana itself into a more efficient energy by mixing in other elements. Then there was one that, rather than refining the mana further, simply created a pocket space to store the fuel for increased storage.
Each of these options had several variations, no doubt supplied by numerous Keepers over the years. Seeing that, I simply selected one of the solid fuel options at random, as there was no way to properly tell the difference between them with only their descriptions. That would be enough to let Dana study it.
With her purchase costing four hundred points, it was now time to fulfill Tsubaki’s request. This was the one that I actually saw being expensive, or at the very least difficult to create. An item to track Keepers… naturally, I knew why she wanted this, and it wasn’t just for the upcoming invasion.
I felt a small smile tug at my lips as I entered the information into the search filters, waiting for the list to refresh with the available items. It wouldn’t be a problem even if it went slightly over Tsubaki’s budget, because this would really be a helpful item for the future.
|
Convergence Detector |
This item measures the powers present in the world, and tracks them to a unified source, the Keeper. The more varied the powers of the world, the more effective this item. |
1400 Points |
|
Keeper Compass |
By directly detecting the Keeper’s authority, this item points the way to the world’s highest power. |
5000 Points |
|
Enhanced Mapping |
This system allows individuals to create a detailed map of their surroundings, including the threat levels of nearby entities. Keepers appear as golden markers on the map. |
Game System Required – 1900 Points |
I was somewhat surprised to find only three items that matched my request, looking through each one in detail. While the last option was certainly interesting, it wasn’t really what I was looking for. Which left me with either the Convergence Detector or the Keeper Compass.
Neither of the items had material requirements, so they should either be craftable with common materials, or they require system intervention no matter what materials are used. Most likely, the Keeper Compass falls into the latter category, which would be the reason behind its increased cost.
As for the Convergence Detector, it seemed more in line with my desires. In most Keeper’s worlds, there would be a number of different powers in order to maximize the effect of the Keeper’s ‘buff’. The only ones that I can think of where this would not be the case would be pure technological worlds, wherein the power of the world comes more from invention than personal ability.
And even then, as I had recently discovered, divinity counted as a ‘power’ within the world. So at the current stage, it could be said that every world would have at least some level of power granted to the Keeper. While the Keeper Compass would likely be more ‘reliable’ in terms of ability to detect the Keeper, I had the feeling that its resource consumption would be higher as well.
The system would never make something like ‘directly detecting’ the authority of a Keeper cheap. That would be just one step shy of being able to detect the workings of the system itself, though that might still require another item purchase to be possible. Either way, I felt that the Convergence Detector would be the item I needed here.
With a nod, I purchased that blueprint as well, before two crystal spheres appeared on the bed beside me. These were the information orbs containing the two blueprints that I had just purchased. Udona, mind converting these into textbooks to send down to the Citadel?
Hmm? Udona’s lazy response came a moment later, as if she were napping when I messaged her. Oh, sure, that’s not a problem. Anything else?
No, that’s fine. You can get back to resting once this is taken care of. I shook my head with a smile as I stood, moving back out to the living room.
Within a deep cavern on a small island, there were two golden blobs of slime resting across from one another, each of them having a solid halo of crystal above their heads. These were the products of countless experiments conducted by Trials and Aurivy, attempts to reproduce the half-divine slimes that Jonas had once created, and allow them to advance even further.
Standing in the corner of the room, near a shining crystal sphere, was the halfling goddess herself. “These two are the last ones, right?” She asked in a tone of concern.
“That is correct, Mother.” Trials answered after a moment of consideration. “The other subjects of this batch unfortunately didn’t make it this far.”
“They should be at the Divine Body stage now, correct?” Aurivy asked, walking over to take a closer look at the slimes. If it were anyone else, they would be wary of approaching creatures of such power, especially slimes. Their ability to devour was unrivalled among any monsters of the same strength.
“Correct, Mother. They are only awaiting the final step, and they will be able to ascend and become the first true monster deities.” Although Trials was connected to the Dungeon God, Tower, he had been preventing any of his own divine influence from affecting these two slimes. They were ‘Mother’s’, after all.
“Thanks, Trials! I’ll have Tubrock set up that acceleration array around your planet after this. It should let you finish your preparations in no time.” This was the deal that the two of them had made. In reality, Trials did not ask for anything in return for helping Aurivy, but Aurivy insisted on providing a benefit for helping her acquire truly divine slimes.
“Thank you for your consideration, Mother.” Trials spoke sincerely, touched that Aurivy would think of him. Surely she could have gotten what she wanted on her own, without needing to consult him, so in his mind she was doing this as an excuse to help move their plans forward.
Aurivy walked up to the two slimes, who responded by shifting their bodies and assuming an appearance that matched her own. Although… their bodies were still made of yellow slime, despite having been reshaped. “Can you two understand my words?” She asked in a gentle tone, the two slimes looking at one another.
After some silent exchange, they returned their gazes to Aurivy and nodded their heads. This was the true reason that she had asked for Trials’ help in this matter. If she were to handle this in a different environment, she wouldn’t be able to guarantee that the slimes received a proper education.
The thought of a divine slime without the education to control its morality… she knew Dale wouldn’t accept something like that. They’d go on a feeding frenzy, and devour an entire world before she was able to convince them to stop. “Okay, good.” Aurivy said, patting her chest lightly. “Now, I’m going to make the two of you an offer.”
“You can either stay at your current stage, acting as the ultimate guardians of this dungeon… or I can take you a step further. If I do this, you will be bound to me, but also acquire powers of your own. You will become gods in your own right.” Of course, she wasn’t going to tell them that they could achieve this step easily on their own. That was a part of their education that had purposely been omitted to prevent them from going out of control.
The two slimes looked at one another again, sharing another silent exchange. It seemed that they had learned a spiritual method of communication during their time in the dungeon, because they never spoke verbally. Instead, they would find ways to nonverbally convey their intentions.
When the two broke their gaze, they looked at Aurivy again, raising their hands to point at her. Aurivy’s smile bloomed wide across her face, happy that she had been chosen. She had been expecting no more than one divine slime after so many different tests, so the ability to obtain two at this time was something that she was incredibly thankful for.
“Okay! Then, both of you return to your normal form, and bring your cores over to me. I’ll handle the last step of activating your divinity. After she said that, the two slimes reverted to their gelatinous forms, shifting their halos around their bodies until they were presented to Aurivy.
The halfling goddess stretched her hands out, each resting on one of the halos, and focused. Fragments of her divinity stretched out from her hands and into the cores of the slimes. To the goddess’s shock… this caused the cores to shatter, falling into the bodies of the slimes like dust.
“Oh no!” She shouted, worried that she had just killed her hopes of obtaining divine slimes by feeding them too much energy. However, this concern was removed a few moments later when she noticed that the bodies of the slimes were not dissolving. Rather, they seemed to be remaining perfectly still, their energies pulsating.
Realizing what was happening, she let out a relieved sigh. They were currently in slumber, awaiting for their bodies to fully adjust to their new divine status, at which point they would be granted their domains.
Aurivy’s eyes turned upwards, as if peering through the ceiling of the cavern and looking out into the heavens. “You promised!” She said with a wide grin. Long ago, Dale had chosen to make Jonas the God of Communities instead of the God of Slimes, and promised that he would make the next suitable candidate the God of Slimes instead.
After all this time, there had yet to be another instance of someone ascending that qualified to become the God of Slimes, so Aurivy had been kept waiting. As such, she decided to take the initiative and create the god herself. And in doing so, she would be able to ensure its status as her subordinate deity.
You really never gave up on that, did you? The Keeper’s voice spoke into her mind, causing Aurivy to giggle and shake her head.
“Nope! With a slime god, I can make so many new things that can’t be done so easily. I can even set up a whole slime planet! Just imagine that!”
I am, and I’m suddenly glad that I don’t physically need to sleep anymore. Aurivy could practically feel the shudder in Dale’s tone, and stuck her tongue out playfully. Alright, what do you want the second one to be, then?
“Hmm… I’ll leave that one to you! Just as long as one of them is the God of Slimes, I’m happy!” Aurivy crossed her arms behind her back, spinning around once within the dimly lit cavern.
Give them names. I’ll give one the Slime domain, and the other… it should be a good fit for the Learning domain. When Aurivy heard that, she blinked a bit in surprise.
“You mean like Cicily was? Hmm, I guess. Udona shouldn’t care about it, since she was fine with Cicily, and Learning doesn’t really step on her toes too much.”
