Chapter 900: When One Journey Ends

Chapter 900: When One Journey Ends

After their initial shock of seeing the Admin Room, I explained the rules of the room to those that had come. Things such as them not being able to take damage while they are here, and thus being able to train new energy techniques without worry. After that, I showed them to everyone’s individual rooms, and even made rooms specifically for each of them.

Naturally, I did this all again once Julia and Aznod arrived, making sure that everyone was properly briefed on the situation. Once that was done, I sat down on the couch in the living room with a long sigh. I had tasked Udona to help everyone finish up their Divine Circuits, giving me a few moments of quiet.

To take advantage of this, I opened up the guild chat window, planning to inform them of my increase in rank. With me now being a Rank Four Keeper, that theoretically put me on the same level as Talon and Sarah. From now on, the two of them should have a lot more information about the enemies that I would face, and they’d be able to offer me some more practical guidance.

When I looked at the guild chat, I found that it was quite active. Not just Sarah and Alice talking, but even Talon and some of the others had joined the conversation. The chat hadn’t been this active since I first joined.

EarthForceOne: Looks like everyone’s having a good time?

MeatLover: Indeed, it is a rare occasion to see so many people active at once.

EverLasting: Welcome back! I see you made it through your invasion alright?

EarthForceOne: Yeah, I had to prepare a lot for it, but it was worth it. I just hit Rank 4.

Oldbeard: Congratulations. Sarah just got Rank 5, as well.

Well, that certainly explained why the group was so active. Looking at the guild member list, I was able to confirm that Sarah was now the highest ranked Keeper in the group once again.

EarthForceOne: Congratulations. I take it that your latest project was a good hit?

EverLasting: That’s right! We had a breakthrough with our coding engine, and managed to unlock the conditions to reach the next rank. There’s no harm in telling you, but the requirement to hit rank 5 is to be able to create worlds on the same level as those created by the system, but without spending any points. And being able to do so in a controlled manner.

EarthForceOne: Wait, wouldn’t that basically mean that you don’t need to spend points anymore?

EverLasting: It’s... difficult. For instance, I’ll use some analogies to make it easier to explain. Originally, I was piecing together different systems using my team’s coding experience. It was like designing a game with a pre-built engine. Now, if I want to make a world without spending any points myself, it’s more like creating that engine from scratch.

EverLasting: Theoretically, we can create any type of system or world law we want without spending points. But that’s only in theory. We need to practically develop our skills to do so. Anyone can mash their face on a keyboard, but it takes skill to write an award winning novel.

EverLasting: That said, it’s not like there’s nothing else for us to spend points on at this level.

EarthForceOne: Oh? Is it okay for me to ask what system was unlocked at the fifth rank?

EverLasting: It’s not really a problem, I guess. It’s not like knowing or not will give you an advantage. The system is known as Creator’s Blessing. You get to choose individual mortals, and spend points to customize a blessing for them. The blessing can be anything from raising their personal abilities to giving them access to special systems

EarthForceOne: I don’t suppose you know anything about the sixth or seventh tiers?

Additionally, I had just gotten Fragments of Acidia not that long ago. It would seem strange to the world if I immediately followed it up with an even bigger and better game. It wasn’t like I was trying to be a competitor with myself.

I could think about getting Talent Eternal later on, after I had earned a considerable amount of points. For now, there was no rush.

Tsubaki sat within a tall tree, her eyes narrowed as she watched the ground below. She was staring at the corpse of a monster that she had only recently slain, waiting for the telltale shaking of the ground.

Eventually, the branch she stood on shook, her eyes focusing even further. She had already gone through dozens of attempts for this trial, and had found herself once again in a jungle region. However, the rulers of this jungle were neither tunneling sharks nor giant birds. Instead, they were massive reptiles with thick, armored hide.

Tsubaki held her branch, a blood red blade of bone in one hand as she waited. Soon, the target of her hunt appeared, lumbering over towards the corpse. This creature’s hide was set in layers of overlapping armor, each layer stronger than steel. Tsubaki had studied the creature’s habits for a few days at this point, and gone through multiple close encounters.

At this point, she knew that there was one fatal gap for her to take advantage of. At the moment when it lowered its head to eat a smaller animal, the layers of armor shifted just slightly, presenting a small gap right at the neck. That one moment was the only chance that she had to overcome this trial. This was the only creature left in the forest that she had been unable to hunt, having already made different weapons or armors out of the corpses of other beasts.

She had to be swift, but also silent. If she had her divine powers, her Stealth domain would be perfect for this, but she had foregone such powers for the sake of the trial. Instead, she waited for the moment when the creature had just started to lower its head. Steadying her breath, she allowed herself to fall from the branch.

That’s right, fall. She didn’t jump or kick off of it, as doing so would create extra noise. She allowed herself to fall more than thirty meters, gripping the blade of bone in her hand. Only once she had nearly crashed into the beast’s back did she kick at the air with her ki, shooting off like a bullet. Her body flew just above the armored hide of the beast, almost instantly arriving at its neck.

Unfortunately, the creature had caught the sound of the kick, and was already beginning to lift its head in alarm. The gap she was aiming for was closing rapidly, the two layers of armor shifting together.

Tsubaki grit her teeth, putting the remainder of her ki into the blood red blade and throwing it forward. There was a crack as it pierced through the air, shooting far beyond the speed Tsubaki was able to move her own body.

She watched as the blade narrowly slid through the gap, and then heard the satisfying crunch as it pierced the beast’s hide, skull, and finally shot out of its open mouth. Tsubaki used her hands as a springboard, placing them on the creature’s head as she flew through the air. Her body flipped over it.

There was a pause from the beast as Tsubaki landed in front of it, her body skidding to a stop several meters away. The blade that she had previously used was buried deep in a tree, so she wouldn’t be able to retrieve it for the time being. Even if she could, she no longer had the ki reserves for another attack.

Her eyes focused on the halted reptile, before a smile tugged at her lips. Its body began to slowly descend, blood pouring out of its mouth. She had accurately severed its spine, so there was nothing that the creature could do to resist her anymore.

Tsubaki gave a satisfied nod, spinning around on one foot to retrieve the ki-infused bone blade. “Fifi? Just to make sure, but there aren’t any other stronger creatures in this forest, are there?” She asked, taking a rare moment to speak aloud.

N-No. The Ten Armors Lizard King was the strongest foe in this region. There was a hint of disbelief in Fifi’s tone. How long had it been? Originally, Tsubaki had been unable to hunt a single creature, having to crawl along the treetops. Once she had gotten the hang of it, she began to reliably hunt different species with each attempt, though she would sometimes end in failure.

Still, she was already able to clear an area meant for players with roughly one hundred times her strength. She had to do it slowly, patiently, but she was able to do it all the same.

“Good. In that case, you can delete this account. I’ve finished my trial.”

D-Delete it? Are you sure? If you keep the account, you’ll be able to receive the title effects. In the process of her trial, Tsubaki had personally tested different herbs to earn titles related to alchemy, hunted monsters far stronger than her, and successfully avoided certain death on countless occasions. It was no exaggeration to say that she had titles others would kill to possess.

“I’m sure. This account only existed for the trial. Now that I’ve finished, there’s no need. Oh, also, I’ll be getting a casting device on my main account, now that I finished things here.”