World Keeper-Chapter 1218: Shopping Spree

A few hours later, I called for Tsubaki and the others to join me in the Admin Room. I didn’t really want to leave Terra just yet, and I was likely just going to be fast forwarding the world once I had purchased whatever they had put on their shopping list. It just made more sense to stay in the Admin Room for the moment.

Although Philia wasn’t able to visit the Admin Room, they would have already discussed what they wanted to get with her. Not to mention that Philia wasn’t going as a major combatant this time, but rather as a diplomat.

With that in mind, I waited for the others to appear in the Admin Room, with Terra still leaning against me on the couch. It only took about a minute for everyone to show up, Ryone joining them and sitting on the other side of Terra.

“Alright, let’s hear it.” I said with a small smile, looking around. “What did you all decide on?”

The first to speak was Dana, who stepped forward. “First of all, we decided to get rid of the World Key. While it would be somewhat nice to have, we can get similar results by using Lena’s domain appropriately. Considering that it would take nearly a third of our budget for what amounts to a relatively small benefit, we decided to hold back on that.”

I gave a nod of understanding, gesturing for her to continue. “Instead, we looked at what will be the most crucial elements of the upcoming invasion. Ultimately, it breaks down into three fields. The first, and most critical, is infiltration. This covers our ability to hide, disguise as locals, and track down the enemy Keeper.”

“The second field is combat. Once we actually get to the Keeper, we need to be able to kill him and anyone else he has protecting him. If we get to his front door, and can’t actually take him out, everything will be for naught.”

“Finally, our final field, and more of a secondary objective than anything, is diplomacy. Meeting with the World Tree Guild and acquiring their help. After talking with each other, we don’t strictly require this, as we can get the information we need in the meantime from the Monarch. However, it would still be somewhat beneficial, if for no other reason than to have eyes on the inside to watch out for us.”

“Now… for the first field, Infiltration, Lena has practically all fields covered herself. With it’s disguise, infiltration, or tracking, this is what she has trained her entire life for. For the second field, Julia’s sword can annihilate an Origin with one touch, and potentially even the universe itself if push comes to shove.”

“This… admittedly made finding things to buy more difficult, as we couldn’t figure out where we were lacking. We considered something to help us make an army to distract the enemy, but I have my shadows. Everything we could need for this invasion, we technically already have amongst the few of us that have chosen to go…”

“...Please don’t tell me that this whole speech is going to boil down to you telling me to save my points.” I said in a dry tone, and Dana chuckled, shaking her head.

“No. Instead of looking at what we lacked, we decided to look at what we couldn’t afford to lack. That brought us to…” Dana trailed off, looking at Lena, who stepped forward next.

“In the next invasion, it’s inevitable that I am going to play a critical role. If my stealth or disguise are not up to par, or if my tracking is intercepted, all of us are as good as dead. Without even considering whether or not we’ll be able to fight the Keeper, we won’t even make it that far. So… as a group, we decided to invest all one million points into infiltration.”

“The first item on the list is the Void Obscurer. At eighty-thousand points, it can isolate the bearer from the void, preventing detection through memetic or system-based abilities.” As she said this, Ryone at the side pulled up a window, showing me the object and adding it to a new list.

“Secondly, we have the Mark of Emptiness for one hundred and fifty thousand points. According to the store page, this tattoo-like device can store energy like a battery. So long as it holds a charge, any energy leaking out from the wearer is nullified, converted into raw information and sent harmlessly to the void. Additionally, it attaches this power to any use of external abilities to eliminate the energy signatures that they give off.”

I nodded my head slightly, unsurprised at the prices for these items. If anything, what would be surprising was how cheap they were. Of course… cheap is relative. Just one or two years ago, I would have laughed at any tech tree purchased from the market at this price.

“At three hundred thousand points, we have the System Adapter. Think of it as a far more advanced version of the system sphere we have now. According to the market page, it allows someone to translate their own system to an equivalent for any local system. However, the change is only superficial, providing two bonuses according to what Ryone saw. First, it displays your information with the local system’s interface. Secondly, it prevents you from losing access to system benefits in the event that you cross worlds.”

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This time, I did blink in surprise. At first, it didn’t really make sense why an item like that would be so expensive. However, if you considered that it had to be able to flexibly adapt to any type of system, and overcame the limits of crossing between un-merged worlds, it made sense. Moreover, I could also repurpose this for my own world, making it more convenient for people to travel between Lorek and Spica and the other worlds.

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This will definitely be the hardest one for Chelsea to develop so far, I think. However, as I thought that, Lena continued.

“Finally, our last item comes in at five hundred thousand points. This item…” She hesitated, glancing towards Dana, who nodded her head. “This is an upgraded form of the Keeper’s Compass that we already have. Currently, the Keeper’s Compass only points in a straight line towards the Keeper.”

“This item, the Great One’s Map, forms a complete map of the Keeper’s location. It can expand outwards to show the planet, and even shows the universe that the Keeper is in, if deployed in the void.”

My entire body stiffened when I heard about this. This was… especially troublesome. “If something like this is on the market, why don’t other Keepers buy it for their invasions?” I asked, looking around. “Even if its price is outrageous, this is something that can cut out the hardest part of any invasion.”

Terra, still leaning against me, chuckled. “Because, it can also be used by your own people.” She pointed out. “There’s nothing that would stop someone from using the Great One’s Map to track down the very Keeper that bought it. Also, it is a lot easier and cheaper to buy defenses against tracking methods like that. For instance, the privacy settings on the worlds Sanction sent in would prevent any detailed tracking. At most, you could see which universe to go to within the void. If the Keeper’s tower has a similar feature, you wouldn’t be able to map out the tower, but it could show you where the tower was. You’re still going in blind, just… slightly less so.”

Even though Lena heard that, she still remained firm in her decision. “Regardless, I think this map is an incredibly high priority for us. Due to this recent invasion, we have been made aware that Sanction is in possession of a massive number of universes. If he were to decide to simply choose one at random to hide in and let the invasion play out, we would never be able to find him.”

Ultimately, their final total would come to just over one million points. However, I wasn’t going to get upset at them for going slightly over budget. This was certainly cutting it more closely with my balance than I had planned, but it was still within the acceptable range. “Got it. I’ll buy these four items off the market. Normally, I’d offer to have you all remain here in the Admin Room while the world advances to complete these items. However, given what’s coming up, I’m sure you all want all the time that you can get for preparations.”

Tsubaki, Lena, Dana, and Julia all nodded their heads firmly. They clearly demonstrated the resolve to grow stronger in order to overcome this hurdle, so all I could do was support them to the best of my ability. I watched as they left, returning to Olympus, and began purchasing the items that Ryone had prepared on their shopping list.

As the four girls returned to Olympus, they were greeted by the sight of a pouting Lifre, standing in the doorway with her arms crossed, glaring at the group. “You all signed up to go on a big adventure without me?! That’s just not fair! Adventure’s my whole thing, and this is the biggest of them all!”

The girls looked at each other, and chuckled. Lena stepped forward with a gentle smile. “Sorry, Lifre. This is, first and foremost, a stealth mission. We’re not going on an adventure, we’re going on an assassination. And you… no offense, Lifre, but you’re about as subtle as a rampaging heroc.”

Lifre opened her mouth to retort, paused, and then closed her mouth. “Okay, okay, that’s a fair point. However! You’re not leaving me entirely out of this! If I can’t go with you on your adventure, then I’m going to personally make sure that every single one of you are as ready as can be.”

Dana blinked in confusion at that. “What about your livestream? This training could go on for years, maybe even decades, depending on how long it takes to get everything ready. If you stop streaming for that long, won’t you completely lose your fanbase?”

Lifre snickered, placing her hands confidently on her hips. “I’m actually streaming right now~.” She said, catching the four off-guard. It was common knowledge, at least as far as they were aware, that you couldn’t simply stream with an avatar. Activating a live stream would pull your entire being into the stream, including any active avatars.

Lena quickly pulled out her terminal, loading up Lifre’s channel. Sure enough, she was in the early stages of a new stream, walking along a dirt road. After a moment, it clicked. “Your virtual self?” She asked, and Lifre nodded her head.

“Yup! Virtual avatars are simultaneously the same being but separate! There is no active connection between my real self and my virtual one. I saw rumors a few weeks back that someone had managed to stream with their virtual self, but it’s such a minor thing that it never really got much attention. Tried it out myself, and it worked! So, I’m going to help each of you train and come up with new ideas for any situation you could encounter! If I can’t go with you, I’ll make sure that you all come back in one piece.”

The four girls looked at one another, small smiles on their faces, before Philia’s voice spoke out. “Does that include me?” She asked, sitting off to the side of the room, seeming as if she had been completely forgotten by the rest of the group.

Lifre blinked, turning to the one who had informed her of the group’s plans. “Oh right. Yes, you’re definitely getting trained, too! You might not be going there as a combatant, but you’ve got to be able to defend yourself, at the very least!” She said, nodding her head quickly.