World Keeper

Chapter 947: Bitter Truths

It didn’t take me long to finish enjoying the festival, finding myself walking alone down the streets of Gandor. They didn’t have any fancy rides like a carnival, or anything like that. Instead, there were street performers and food carts, as well as special goods being sold. Because of that, it didn’t take me very long at all.

With nothing else to do, and not wanting to cut my excursion short, I made my way to the local Adventurer’s Guild hall, one of the oldest buildings in the city. Might as well see what quests there are available.

Thinking such with a smile, I made my way inside. There was only a single individual standing behind the counter, an elven woman with softly glowing, blue eyes. No… not an elf. My World Sight swept over her, and I realized that she was a being comprised solely of mana, similar to Gerard. A living spell on the level of a full AI… It was my first time seeing a complete one, aside from Gerard himself.

“Welcome, sir! What can I do for you?” The… Magical Intelligence? I’ll just call them MI for now, until I find their proper name later. Anyways, the MI asked with a bright smile on her face.

“I’m just here to see if there are any quests that I can help with.” While it felt surreal for the guild to be staffed like this, it was also quite telling how the world had advanced.

“Of course!” The girl nodded. “Please provide your proof of identity.” After saying so, she slid a small, crystal slab over to me. Understanding what I needed to do, I placed my hand on it, allowing it to display the character profile that I had established for this avatar.

The MI studied the profile for a long moment, before nodding her head. “Judging by your profile, there are three quests which you are suited for. In the twenty-seventh dungeon instance of Gandor, there was a recent riot, and the authorities are looking for help to subdue the perpetrators.”

“Two hundred and seventeen kilometers to the east, there is a deep-sea mutated creature that often attacks merkin habitats or wandering vessels. God-level fighters are requested to eliminate this creature.”

“Finally, there is a standing recruitment request from Fyor, asking for an individual who can play a support role. May I know if you are interested in any of these tasks?”

My brow twitched as she listed the tasks. Subduing a riot, slaying a god-level mutated sea creature, or joining an adventuring party of Fyor. What happened to the good old days, where the quests were to hunt nearby creatures or harvest herbs? Though, I guess there are already too many avenues to obtain those materials, so they aren’t really given to the Adventurer’s Guild anymore.

With a sigh, I shook my head. “No, I don’t think any of those are suited for me. Sorry, I’ve been in seclusion for a while, so I’m not so familiar with the changes that have happened. Is there anywhere that I can go for smaller jobs in or around the city? You could say that I’m here on a vacation, and I’m looking for something to do on the way.”

“A vacation…” The girl’s eyes flashed, before she sank into thought. “There is a DCG tournament being held in the gaming center, on the western side of town. Perhaps you would be interested in that?”

“DCG?” I blinked, looking confused. The girl quickly brightened up, explaining without a moment’s hesitation.

“DCG stands for Deckan Card Game. It’s a card game that was created based on Deckan’s magic system. You buy card packs of cards from various tiers, or you can make a customized order online. The game was created by Blank, and relies on drawing and fusing various cards to create custom effects, each effect ranked based on attack, defense, or special ability.”

I was, admittedly, taken aback when I heard that. The concept of turning Deckan’s magic system into a competition wasn’t a new one, but it was usually done through magic duels, not a card game like this. I suppose that would be a good method of training card magic, and even learning special combinations.

“Sorry, but could you recommend anything else? I don’t have any of those cards, and if the tournament is today, I won’t have time to familiarize myself with the rules.”

“I suppose that’s understandable.” She nodded her head. “Oh! If you are here on a vacation, perhaps you’d like to experience the Adventure Maze?”

Well, that certainly got my attention. “Adventure Maze? What is that?”

Seeing my interest, the girl gave a proud smile. “The Adventure Maze is a special creation of Galahan, the God of the Stage, Script, and Performance. Based on the adventure novels by the Sky Citadel-- no, I suppose it is Olympus’s Lifre now. Regardless! Based on Lifre’s work, this is a maze created for individuals to explore and create their own adventure.”

“Despite not being a physical maze, it is referred to as such because the different paths you take in the telling of the adventure are symbolic to the paths you take in a maze, with dead ends being represented by ‘death’. But do not worry! The Adventure Maze is completely safe, as your real body will not suffer any harm from the experience!”

“That… sounds interesting. Can I get directions to the Adventurer Maze, then?” I asked with a polite smile, the MI nodding happily as she began to list out the path I would need to follow.

Once the guild’s receptionist had finished providing me with directions, I thanked her and turned to make my way out of the building. According to her, I would easily be able to spot my destination, as it was supposed to be quite busy during this festival.

The message flashed in the corner of Tsubaki’s vision as she kept her body low to the ground. She had long since left the territory of the large serpents, though she was still within the confines of the forest. I must have gone at least fifty kilometers already. The dragons are still flying overhead, so I shouldn’t expect too vast of differences in the ecosystem.

In the few hours since she started her trial, Tsubaki had gained over seven hundred levels. Most of these were either as a monk, ninja, or mage, but she had gotten quite a few as a scout as well, allowing her to map out the ‘space’ around her. Even with my minimap, this doesn’t register as a small space like what Athena told me.

At her hip, she carried a dagger made from a large fang, and in her hands a pair of thick sticks to check for predators buried under the soil. She had already seen a few of these, and had almost lost her arm to one not long ago.

Her dream of hunting a dragon was still as strong as ever, and with her levels increasing as they were, she was sure that she would be able to achieve it. This was, after all, the first of her trials where she was conducting them in a world with the same laws as the outside.

I suppose that’s why there are creatures that are that strong here. They’re expecting my growth, and preparing in advance. If her guess was right, she assumed that the dragon’s approximate level would be somewhere in the range of two or three thousand. With the bulk of level-ups out of the way, I won’t be able to increase my level just by displaying advanced skills anymore. I’ll need proper combat experience to allow this body to adjust, and perhaps even attain Perfection with this clone.

After that thought crossed her mind, Tsubaki saw movement out of the corner of her eye. A large, scaled creature clung to the side of a tree, its scales shifting to match the bark of the tree it was on. It seemed to possess a weak energy obscuring its presence, as even Tsubaki had failed to notice it before it moved ever so slightly.

Slowly, she dropped one of the sticks she was carrying, reaching down to grab the fang dagger on her waist. If I need experience, then…

“Finally!” Dana cried out from her new workshop, looking at the file laid out before her. There was a flashing icon on the screen, reading ‘Simulation Success’ in bolded, green letters. “That’s the last material… Let me just forward this to the travel agencies, and let them get started on setting up the networks…”

When Dana had contacted the agencies previously, she strongly recommended that they contract a mining company to handle the material requirements. After all, there would inevitably be an energy shortage if everyone relied on Digital Conversion to meet their material needs.

Now, she double-checked the file to ensure that everything was properly laid out, with the different variables listed and accounted for. Only after that did she send the information to the various agencies that she had previously contacted.

Once she was done, Dana stretched her arms out happily, glad to have another project completed. “Hermes, can you tell me where the others are?” She asked, wanting to check in with people now that she was done.

“Tsubaki is currently undergoing a Trial of Blood within her palace. Dale is laying in his room, but appears to be piloting an avatar for a form of recreational excursion. Lifre said that she was leaving to have fun in Fyor, and--”

“Alright, that’s enough.” Dana cut him off, shaking her head. She didn’t need to hear updates on literally everyone that had visited Olympus. “Well… I might as well check on them.” She muttered to herself after a moment of thought.

Dana’s shadow wrapped around her body, bringing her into the ground and teleporting her far into the distance. When she appeared, she was standing on a smooth platform, allowing herself just a moment to adjust to the light of the new area. What she saw… caused her to pause.

An army of massive ants were carrying thick trees into a warehouse, where the buzzing of saw-like mandibles could be heard cutting the logs into different sizes. Giant frogs shook the earth as they jumped along, their stomachs unnaturally swollen. When they arrived in front of large crates, their mouths opened, regurgitating piles of crystals and rocks. 

These were then fed via conveyor belt into the mouths of even large beasts, flames jutting from their backs. Another opening on the side of the creatures allowed refined ingots and gems to be taken away, where they were picked up by metallic drones that seemed to once again eat them to transform them into various components.

Overseeing all of this was Sienna and Clara, the latter of which turned upon noticing Dana, running over while raising an arm. “Oh, hey Dana! How do you like the factory we built?! Amazing, right?!”

Dana simply gave a long pause, looking at the two proud familiars, and then at the biomechanical factory once again.

“Is this how people feel when they see me?” She couldn’t help but ask, causing the two familiars to tilt their heads in confusion.

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