World Keeper

Chapter 1192: Slime Time

I had to admit, I was surprised when Tsubaki suddenly asked for a leave of absence in order to go and train herself. Granted, she had gone to train many times before, but she always tried to leave behind some of her avatars in order to take care of daily necessities and keep her presence felt within Olympus.

This was the first time in quite a while where it seemed like she would be truly away for an extended period of time. Part of me wondered what sort of training Tsubaki was undertaking that she needed to take all of her avatars with her. Knowing Tsubaki, she’s going to do something incredibly brutal.

That was just the type of training that Tsubaki did. When it came to her personal training, the only setting that she knew was ‘extreme’.

Priscilla narrowed her eyes as she looked at a serpent coiling in the skies above her. Like Tsubaki, she had also gone to a hidden dungeon in Fyor’s universe, and had discovered that she was not as powerful as she may have initially believed.

However, there was a key difference between the two of them in situations like this. To begin with, Priscilla never put much faith in her own personal strength. The power that she drew came from the Keeper, and the rest of the Greater Pantheon. Her Holy Knights were not her own power, and she had no misconceptions that they were. She was merely their general, training them to combat greater and greater threats.

Thus, when she faced an enemy capable of destroying the knights under her command, she did not panic or immediately pull back. Even if the monster was capable of covering dozens of light years in a single movement, she held her ground.

Priscilla’s body was currently enhanced by multiple Holy Knights, allowing her to keep up with the movements of this monstrous serpent. Each of these knights formed a piece of armor around her body. With their assistance, she could clearly perceive the flow of its energy, and assigned the Knight of Blades to stand before her.

As the serpent lunged for them, Priscilla stood calmly behind the knight that she had positioned, ordering it to cut apart the enemy. After the previous swarm battle, and the invasion of giant monsters, she had focused on creating a number of large-scale attacks capable of decimating powerful enemies. Now, she was finally getting the chance to use them.

A golden sword rose from the knight’s body, stretching high into the air. The knight stepped forward, carrying an aura that seemed to cut through everything. This knight met with the serpent’s charge head-on, splitting its enormous body down the middle.

The entire time, Priscilla stood behind this knight, not retreating a single step. She was well aware of her own mortality, as well as the fact that the knights could respawn infinitely. However, as the general chosen by the Keeper, she would not allow herself to flee from a battle where these knights were deployed. Even if she was there with her main body, and one wrong move would lead to death. If that happened, it would only show the limits of her ability to command her troops.

In Priscilla’s mind, she was not merely the Keeper’s first chosen Priestess. She was the chosen general, leading the embodiment of his power into the field of battle. She would not place herself on the level of Tsubaki, who personally guarded the Keeper himself, but she knew that her role was still incredibly important.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Looking to either side of herself, she saw the giant walls of flesh beginning to slowly dissolve, and nodded her head. “Fire, Death, Archery, Tracking, Space.” She called out, and five knights manifested before her. “Locate the next target, and activate Apocalypse Arrow.”

The five nodded their heads in unison. The Knight of Tracking turned into a helmet, the Knight of Archery turned into a bow, while the Knights of Fire and Death merged into a single arrow, all of which were held by the Knight of Space.

This newly equipped knight turned, eyes scanning into the distance. Without a word, the knight nocked the arrow on the bow, merged from the essences of two powerful domains. Black fire erupted from the arrow as it shot out, disappearing into a fracture of space.

Moments later, Priscilla received the report from the system that the monster had been slain. It would take a moment for the knights of fire and death to respawn, but Priscilla was not worried. This was par for the course when it came to fighting with her knights. With each one having only a single domain, she took advantage of their ability to respawn, making them utilize their full potential in a single, suicidal strike.

“Treasure, Navigation. Find the path for Travel.” She called out, and three more knights appeared. She believed that she was ready to move down another floor.

Back within Olympus, Lifre emerged from her stream with a long sigh. She had wrapped up her ‘villain arc’ by finally taking over the galactic empire, using her overpowered engineering abilities to subjugate police and pirates alike. It had taken her longer than she had initially planned, but that wasn’t a problem for her.

If anything, the extended mission meant more content for her viewers. I might be getting addicted to this kind of storytelling. Lifre thought, giggling to herself. It was one thing to write books for others to read, living vicariously through the characters she depicted.

It was something else entirely for Lifre herself to be the main character, living out the adventure chosen by her audience. Never knowing what twists might await her next, or what challenges they could throw at her, all while still entertaining her audience. It was a refreshing feeling, one that she was sure to enjoy for a long time to come.

Next time, I won’t have that overpowered class backing me up, so I’ll need to take things more slowly. Maybe they’ll set me up as a monk? That’d be neat. She thought, before shaking her head. She had promised both herself and her audience that she would be taking three days off from streaming. This was both to keep herself from getting lost in the stream and to take care of some matters in the real world.

Part of her wanted to go to Fyor to try out those new ‘hidden dungeons’ that she heard about, but she quickly dismissed this idea. Not because she didn’t think that she was qualified, but rather because she knew that she’d need more than three days if she really wanted to have any fun with that.

Instead, Lifre hopped to her feet, stretching her arms out for a long moment, and then ran out of her room. She thought it was a bit odd not to see any of Tsubaki’s avatars cleaning the halls, but didn’t pay it much mind. “Aurivy’s palace, please!” She called out as she dove into the nearest elevator, a bright smile on her face.

Lena had reported to her in a private message that Julia had ascended to become an Origin, so Lifre wanted to go and congratulate her, as well as get a better understanding of just what an Origin really was. She was a slime, after all! It was in her nature to want to understand new things.

Did she want to become an Origin herself? Ehh, not really! What would I even be as an Origin? The Origin of Heroes? The Origin of Trials? I could even be the Origin of Adventure if I wanted, but what would that really do for me? I’m great the way I am!

In Lifre’s mind, an Origin was indeed incredibly powerful, shockingly so. She had glimpsed Dana’s power previously, and didn’t think she’d be able to replicate it herself. However, an Origin was also far more limited in her mind. If she wanted to use the powers of fire, she’d use fire! If she wanted to use the powers of death, she’d summon up a death character!

Ooh, that’s actually not a bad thought… Lifre mused, slowing her run out of the elevator to a walk as a new idea came to her, a wide grin on her face. Yeah, I’ve definitely got to do that.

Soon, she reached the main living area of Aurivy’s palace, where she saw Julia sitting on a couch, seemingly lost in thought. “Heya, Jules! Grats on the new promotion! What kinda cool stuff can you do now?”

Jullia blinked, quickly shaking her head as she was snapped out of her thoughts. She looked over at Lifre and smiled. “Lifre, it’s good to see you. I just finished up with my latest experiment. Though, I can’t really say it’s going that well…”

“Oh? What’s wrong?” Lifre asked curiously, hopping over to sit across from Julia. “I may not look it, but I’m super smart! Maybe I can help?” She suggested with an air of confidence around her that made Julia laugh lightly.

“It’s fine, it’s just… I am attempting to make a seed of divinity within my inner world, one that I can use to create powerful plant-based weapons and creatures. But… every time I try, the seed collapses. I’m sure that I have the formula right, and Aurivy’s even checked to confirm it herself. She’s gone off to consult with Udona about the matter now.”

Lifre nodded her head quickly, listening to the explanation with her arms crossed. “Right, right. What domain are you giving the seed?” She asked curiously, but Julia shook her head.

“No domain. I’m wanting to create a raw seed of divinity, that way I can grant it more powers later on.” She said, and Lifre suddenly held her arms up in a large X.

“Ehh! Wrong answer!” Lifre called out, pointing at Julia. “When divinity reaches a certain density, it needs a domain in order to help stabilize it. If there is no domain to focus the divinity, it will begin to scatter in all directions. Even the coins we use have Ryone’s Trade domain infused into them!”

Julia blinked at that, pausing. “But, if I give the seed a domain, I’ll be locked to that one domain for the seed, will I not?”

Lifre nodded her head quickly. “Maybe, but so what?! You’re an Origin, so it’s not like you’re lacking resources, right? Just set up a bunch of automated areas where you can plug the materials in, and you can set a new seed when you need a new domain. From what I saw of Dana, an Origin’s power comes from accumulation of effects within your inner world. So, start accumulating, girl!” She said with a broad grin, causing Julia to pause in thought.

“That… might not be a bad idea, actually?” She muttered under her breath. It wouldn’t really be that hard for her to make more seeds, now that she had the formula and the raw materials. It was just a matter of time and effort, whereas she had previously been trying to take a shortcut in order to achieve the results she wanted more easily.

“I know, right? Like I said, super smart!” Lifre nodded confidently, causing Julia to roll her eyes.

“So, what are you going to do now?” She asked, looking at the slime girl. “You’ve got to have plans, since you came out of your stream.”

“Yup! I had loads of plans! Congratulating you was just the first one. Now, though, all those other plans have been thrown out the window! There’s something else I need to do that I just thought up a bit ago!” Lifre said with a broad grin, causing Julia to arch a brow.

“And that is…?”

“No spoilers! I’ll announce it at the start of my next stream!” Lifre laughed. “Be sure to like and subscribe~!” After saying that, she jumped up from her seat, darting out of the room and leaving behind a very confused Julia.