World Keeper

Chapter 115: Level Field

After returning to my room, I finished going over the details of natural energy, and then began looking at the information I had purchased for ki. Like with natural energy, there were so many things that I had not even considered as a possibility here. It felt like, if some of this was taught in the world below, mages might not be so dominant.

That said, it took me quite a while before I was able to finish both knowledge orbs, at which point I moved on to the ki path I bought. A brief examination of it was all I needed to see to know that the ki path was set to mostly follow the skeleton of the creature practicing it. There were several key points to note, however.

First of all, the ki path had several spherical shapes placed throughout it, located at the heart and various joints. According to the explanation, this was used to pool energy and make it more easily accessible while also strengthening the joints. This was a clever little aspect that would make it easier to use certain techniques.

Speaking of which, the second thing I noticed was the presence of several ‘output veins’ in the ki path. Thin lines leading to the surface of the skin in places like the fingers, feet, or at intermittent points along the body. This was so that ki could be used to reinforce the skin, or called to exit the body through various means.

With that taken care of, I set aside the three information spheres so that any of the other gods or goddesses could look through them. I was debating establishing my second world, but there was something else that I wanted to do first. A little test, just to confirm how accurate the information I purchased was.

First, I sent a message to Leowynn through my spiritual realm, letting her know that I needed her to return for a little while because I was going to descend to the world for some quick training. I had given her a few hours to try out things with her mother, so I figured a brief break wouldn’t be too bad for her. She seemed to disagree, however, and was reluctant to return. Though, it seemed that Ryone said something to her, because she did come back fairly quickly, returning to my spiritual realm to focus on her own training.

Navigating through the window, I prepared to descend once again, this time heading down as a human on a small island in the middle of nowhere. To my surprise, there was a new entry in the menu, allowing me to assign a ki path to the body I was preparing. When I selected it, I found that only the path I had purchased was available. Probably a system to make it easier for Keepers to use what they have paid for.

Nonetheless, the familiar window appeared as I descended, and I once again found myself briefly shrouded in blue light. When it faded away, I now stood on a small island, not a soul in sight around me. And by small… I could probably trip and fall into the ocean in any direction.

Naturally, this meant that there was a considerable amount of underwater wildlife nearby, but it was not such an abrupt drop that anything too big could sneak up on me. This was just what I needed in order to practice. A quiet, secluded space where activating my abilities would not signal the creation of a new holy city or something…

First, I closed my eyes, focusing inward to inspect my ki. The sensation was hard to notice at first, until I went looking for it, but my ki was flowing in a much more controlled manner now. At the same time, I felt that the strength of my body had increased by a large margin compared to before. This purchase at least was definitely worth the points.

The next thing I wanted to do was the one that was actually important. I wanted to create a token of nature, something that would help me control natural energy more smoothly. Terra once explained that I could use mana to command natural energy, which is not at all wrong. That is the suggested method for beginners.

However, once someone has enough control over their own energy, they must create a token. This token can only be used to its full power by its creator, but allows them to communicate with natural energy without the need for mana. Essentially… this made druids and shamans have unlimited spellcasting ability, since they were not drawing on any of their own energies. The downside to this was the natural energy was the thinnest of the four main energy types, and thus the most easy to overcome in a head on clash. A fireball spell would always be harder to dispell than a fireball made from natural energy, for example.

Raising up one of my hands, I released my Keeper abilities, making sure that I would have enough mana to control the energy long enough to create my token. “Gather.” I spoke, watching as the water around me seemed to tremble under my voice. “Condense. Follow my will. Purify and solidify.”

Multicolored lights started to slowly gather. Some came from the water, some came from the ground beneath my feet, and some came from the air above me. They all moved to gather at a single location, my upheld hand. “Become the mark of recognition, the token of authority.” The lights began swirling around my wrist, following the delicate control I exerted over them.

“Let my will be the will of the world.” With that, the energies condensed one last time, forming a golden band around my wrist. Even without trying, I could sense its presence. The token of nature was designed by its creator, so there was no simple default shape. The reason I chose a golden band was because I felt it to be the most practical, no matter where or when I may need it.

Letting out a sigh, I pulled my hand down, at the same time sealing my Keeper abilities again. When I closed my eyes, I could vividly see the world around me, all of its life and energy. I could see the currents of the wind and the water, and everything living within it. This will definitely come in handy in the future.

….

…

I watched as both the druid and shaman classes immediately reached level ten after I formed the token of nature. I was somewhat annoyed that my martial artist class hadn’t experienced a similar growth surge, but it was likely due to my lack of training in the art. Part of me wondered if it would shoot up again after Leowynn and I tried out our Aki Seppo abilities. Out of curiosity, I opened up my status window to check on my current stats after the twenty level increase.

All in all, my Keeper stats seemed to have gone down slightly since the last time I checked. Most likely due to certain goddesses who trained one class exclusively losing their incarnations. That, or it was just a coincidental result of the passing of time and death of geniuses in certain fields. Either way, it wasn’t enough to hinder me, should I need to use those abilities at any time.

My personal stats on the other hand seemed to have increased in almost every field, which I personally welcomed. A sudden twenty level jump was bound to give me some bonuses, after all. I was tempted to quickly raise some of my other classes, now that I had the most thorough training I could ever ask for with ki and natural energy.

If my conjecture was right, each class had its own standard for when you qualified to level up. For most, it was based on abilities you displayed, or experience you garner while using the abilities of a class. If I’m right, the minimum level to create a token should be ten for both shaman and druid, which is why it raised me that much when I did so.

Other classes should have different requirements. For instance, I’ve only gained scout by traveling to new places manually, so it should be a purely exploration class. Similarly, I only gained scholar by learning new facts within this world and not displaying what I already knew. As such, Scholar should only register what I learn within the world.

“Leowynn, you up for a little bit of an adventure?” I asked, knowing that my words would likely get her attention.

Of course, Father. What did you have in mind? She responded, though I could detect a slightly amused tone within her voice.

“Have you ever wanted to walk on water?” I grinned, looking out to the ocean. This was something that I had foolishly tried back when I was first practicing chakra, but now I actually knew the method to do it.

Not… particularly. Though, I admit that it sounds interesting.

“Good enough for me.” I pointed myself in the direction where I knew there would be another island. “First thing’s first.” I said as I crouched down, dipping my hand inside the water and focusing. I could feel the natural energy within the water shift under my attention, and nodded slightly before standing up to wave my hand dry.

What was that for? Leowynn asked curiously.

“You’ll see in a bit.” I chuckled, before suddenly jumping off the small island and towards the water. I could almost feel Leowynn’s panic as she saw various large aquatic animals beneath the surface ahead of us.

As soon as my feet touched the water, I focused my ki through my feet and into the water itself. This was a process that I learned recently, which enabled someone to use their ki to increase the density of whatever is below their foot briefly. Had I enough control and ki, I could do this with a casual walk.

Alas, I didn’t have such luxuries with my normal abilities, so I could only resort to condensing the water just long enough for me to jump off of it for my next step. Each jump seemed to cause ripples within the water, and consumed a small portion of ki at the same time. Leowynn’s panic was quickly turning into excitement as I ran across the water as easily as if it were dry land.

But, Father? How are you going to stop? She asked, her excitement starting to die down as she realized just how fast we were moving. It did not take a modern scientist to realize that fast objects don’t normally slow down easily.

“That’s going to be a bit tricky.” I admitted playfully as I saw the island I was aiming at. It was just coming up past the horizon, rapidly moving closer as each step carried us dozens of meters. In truth, stopping would not be a problem, I just wanted to have a bit of fun with her.

Sure enough, her worry intensified, growing stronger and stronger as we approached an island no bigger than the one we had left. The fact that I showed no signs of slowing down the entire time likely didn’t help. It wasn’t until we were right at the island that I acted.

Shoving both hands in front of me, I spread my ki out in the same way as I did with the water. This time, what I was condensing was the air itself, temporarily making it act as a wall to cushion me and stop my momentum. Of course… this was my first time doing this, so my calculations may have been a bit off. I only overshot it by a little bit, and got my knees a little wet.

Once I had stopped upon the second island, I grinned as several notifications came in, signalling a seven level increase for the monk class. Good, that part was pretty easy. Now, let’s head back.

Reaching down into the water, I let my hand soak once again while I allowed my mind to focus on the natural energy within. This was the real reason I had decided to move from one island to another, though the monk levels were definitely a nice touch. I was practicing another ability involving natural energy.

When I pulled my hand out of the water, I ignored Leowynn’s confused emotions and brought my hand up. Almost immediately, the water reacted, forming into an oval portal in front of me. On the other side, I could see the same island that I had originally landed on, and so I simply stepped through. One final level of druid was my reward for creating the portal.

Wh-what… but… how? Why? What just happened? Leowynn asked as she saw what I had done. In response, I could only chuckle while I began manipulating the menu to will myself back to the admin room.

“You really should have finished studying.” I said in a teasing tone.