Chapter 902: Speedrun
<span style="font-weight:400">Petra followed the Keeper’s words, spreading her shadow out to bring thisyer of Fyor into her dominion. With it, she was able to get a basic grasp of the terrain, her face contorting slightly. “Keeper, thisyer--”
<span style="font-weight:400">The Keeper nodded his head, interrupting her. “I’ve noticed.” The water content of theyer was less than one percent, with only very rare patches of oasis scattered around. “Give me a moment.”
<span style="font-weight:400">The Keeper erected a floating mirror before him, and Petra could feel his divinity radiating from the mirror. Oddly, the divine power felt more… focused than most gods that Petra had encountered in the past, though she wasn’t sure how to properly describe it. The Keeper simply stood there, waiting for several long moments before extending his hand into the mirror. What he pulled out was a pale blue orb the size of his fist, which he tossed towards Petra.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Keep that in your inventory for now.” He said, before thendscape around them shifted once again. The city seemed to vanish, the dunes around them shifting enough to let Petra know that they had changed locations. However, the ck gate still stood before them.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Gate’s Rise, so quickly?” Petra asked, blinking in confusion. When the Keeper said that they were going to rush through the floors, she assumed that it would still take at least a couple of days. Perhaps the Goddess Aurivy was guiding him to their destinations?
<span style="font-weight:400">“Do you know how many floors there are in Fyor, in total?” The Keeper suddenly asked, ncing back to Petra, who shook her head.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I’ve never considered whether there was an upper limit or not, sir. Such a concern is impractical until we reach that point.”
<span style="font-weight:400">The Keeper gave a brief nod to show his understanding. “I had Ashley calcte it a while back. Based on the total expected size of Fyor, there should be exactly ny floors. Until now, we are only on the twenty-ninth, with a level limit of just fourteen hundred and fifty, not counting the orb in your hands.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I do not mean to belittle your strength. As a true Maxer, your power is remarkable. However, this level limit is preventing many simrly powerful people from being able to explore Fyor. Those who would be able to drive progress are unable to contribute. That’s why I am increasing the level limit in this way.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Until now, Fyor has been forced to fall behind because of the level limit. In recent history, Fyor’s contribution has not been able to y a part in other worlds, unlike the card magic of Deckan, the cultivation of Lorek and Spica, the technology of Desbar, or the magical research of Earth.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Petra couldn’t help but nod her head, before thinking of something. “What about Kione and Sher Dien? I don’t think that they have been able to help out all that much either, have they?”
<span style="font-weight:400">The Keeper shook his head. “Sher Dien’s nar research isn’t able to keep up with our needs, either. That’s why I n to ask Ryone to help their mages. As for Kione…” He seemed to think deeply about it. “We know how to create fourth tier familiars, but I do not believe we know how to make proper use of them. I’ll get the relevant information soon. After that, I may even decide to get a familiar, myself.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Petra blinked, but quickly nodded her head. “I’m not all that good with magic, so I won’t bother with it.”
<span style="font-weight:400">The Keeper nced back at her with a small grin. “What if you could have a familiar that took the form of a powerful weapon, having it release destructive powers on your behalf while you wield it in battle? The familiars of Kione are not only for mages, Petra.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Petra’s eyes went wide in understanding. “I… see. Well, I’ll see what information you can find, then!” As for the gate before her, she knew that it was her job to activate it, while at the same time the Keeper created yet another desert city.
<span style="font-weight:400">The opening for the next gate was dark, making Petra fear that something had gone wrong with the crystal, but that turned out not to be the case. Rather, the gate was within a small cave on the side of a mountain. The chill quickly set into her body, causing her to shudder.
<span style="font-weight:400">Once the Keeper appeared, he instructed her to spread her shadow out again, learning the basdscape of thisyer. This one was a more normal world, filled with grasnds, oceans, and various types of terrain. However, there was something else to be concerned with for this world.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I see… there’s another sapient race here.” The Keeper spoke in surprise after erecting a city within the mountain, the crumbling of stone ringing out in Petra’s ears. Petra had seen them as well while going through the world’sndscape, though she only noticed them due to the massive scale of their architecture.
<span style="font-weight:400">Beings made of various different metals, standing more than one hundred meters tall, had formed a great society in thisyer. “Are you going to meet with them?” Petra asked, thinking that might be a hidden objective in this mission. Surprisingly, the Keeper shook his head.
<span style="font-weight:400">“They don’t need my immediate guidance. I’ll watch over them for a time with the others. Regardless, they can’t enter the gates with bodies thatrge, so they are destined to remain on this floor, unless arge-scale dimensional gate is created.”
<span style="font-weight:400">After saying so, the Keeper retrieved yet another level orb and tossed it to Petra. Then, he casually moved them to the next gate, and repeated this process. The nextyer was engulfed in a massive storm, one that threatened to throw even Petra off her feet until the Keeper applied a spell to anchor her to the ground.
<span style="font-weight:400">This storm seemed to engulf the whole world, present at both gates with no signs of stopping. However, the Keeper merely seemed to make a note that theyer was likely to be rich in some special mineral that caused the anomalous weather before moving on.
<span style="font-weight:400">After the storm came the most intense heat that Petra had ever felt. The portal was on a jagged ind within a sea of flowingva, mountains erupting constantly in the distance. Still, the Keeper merely gave a cursory nce of the area while retrieving the level stone, building a pair of cities, and moving on.
<span style="font-weight:400">Anotheryer that seemed almost normal, and then one that was entirely underwater. When they reached the thirty-fourth floor, Petra was pinned to the ground by the intense pressure of the sea, once again relying on the Keeper to stabilize her situation.
<span style="font-weight:400">After she saw him create an underwater city in moments that had taken months for mortals toplete, she couldn’t help butin. “If you can do all of this yourself, why haven’t you done so until now?”
<span style="font-weight:400">The Keeper nced back at her when he heard this. “It’s simple. I didn’t want to interfere as much as possible. I wanted to let you all make your own achievements. If I wanted to, I could push all the way to the nieth floor, once the level restriction is no longer a problem for me. But what would be the point? All that it would do is open up more dangerous areas that could be a threat to those not ready for them.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I do not want everyone to rely on me for their convenience, when the power of mortals is more than enough to carry out the tasks. Regardless of my abilities, I am only one person. If not because of Fyor’s special circumstances, I wouldn’t be getting personally involved now.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Like we said before, Kione and Sher Dien can be improved by simply circting knowledge. However, that is not the case for Fyor. Fyor’s growth relies on the discovery of newyers, each of which is an increasinglyrger world. You could fit the entirety of Deckan between here and this floor’s ceiling four times over, and it will only get bigger as we go.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“With most worlds, their development will be faster the further they go, but Fyor is the opposite. Because of the increasing size and the need for constant exploration, their speed of development is only going to get slower and slower over time. That’s why I have to get involved here, toy the foundation that the people can build upon.”
<span style="font-weight:400">After saying that, he immediately found the orb of thisyer, and tossed it to her once again, before moving on. The nextyer was a frozen waste, followed by a rtively normalyer, and then a world with trees that seemed to connect to the sky above. Even the Keeper’s eyes were wide in surprise at the size of the trees, a satisfied smile on his face.
<span style="font-weight:400">When they arrived at the thirty-eighthyer, Petra had already grown numb to their advancement speed, not seeming to mind whatever special circumstances she saw in the world. The gate leading down was within a deep canyon, and the one going up on a long beach.. All she needed to do was spread her shadow, stuff the orb in her inventory, and activate the next gate.
<span style="font-weight:400">However, the thirty-ninth floor even made the Keeper pause. They emerged within a golden meadow, a powerful divinity radiating within the air. For a moment, Petra thought that they might have identally stumbled upon Sanctum, but that did not seem to be the case.
<span style="font-weight:400">The Keeper gave a small grin, nodding his head in satisfaction. “I was wondering when we’d find this.” As he said that, he took a deep breath. Rather than mobilizing his own divinity, he seemed to take control of the energy around them, erecting a massive city with tall walls and a magnificent castle. “This is going to be an importantyer in the future.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Is this… ayer for gods?” Petra couldn’t help but ask, causing the Keeper to nod in agreement.
<span style="font-weight:400">“That’s right, Petra. Whether man or beast, every living thing in this floor possesses some form of divinity, even if it is just that of a demigoddess like yourself. If there is any floor that deserves special attention in the future, it will be this one, so remember it well.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Petra nodded her head, the Keeper in the process of searching for thisyer’s level orb when a golden light shed before them. Standing before the Keeper was a figure d in golden armor, wings behind his back. “Who are you to build a city in thisnd?” He asked in a harsh tone, giving off the demeanor of a trained soldier.
<span style="font-weight:400">Petra gulped, knowing that this was likely to be out of her league. They had traveled so many floors, it wasn’t just a matter of the enemy being one or two hundred levels higher than her. Not only was the enemy more than one thousand levels above her, but he was also a god.
<span style="font-weight:400">The Keeper looked at the angelic figure calmly. “I am the creator of this world. Whoever rules thisnd, you can tell them that I will speak to them in the near future. However, I am quite busy at the moment.”
<span style="font-weight:400">The angelic being’s eyes went wide, and a sword manifested in his hand. “I will not take an insult like that lightly. Do you take me for a fool?”
<span style="font-weight:400">The Keeper arched a brow, shaking his head. “Deliver my message to your leader.” He said, waving his hand dismissively at the angel. For a brief moment, the Keeper’s divinity turned overwhelming, almost oppressive, the opposing soldier vanishing just as quickly as he had arrived. “I’ll need to spend a bit more effort on the defenses of this city, it looks like…”
<span style="font-weight:400">As he muttered that, the divinity in the air became thinner, receding like a tide to form a golden barrier around the city. Once that wasplete, he gave a satisfied nod, though Petra quickly cleared her throat.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Uhm… sir? What will you do if the location of the other gate is within one of their cities?”
<span style="font-weight:400">The Keeper paused when he heard that, seeming to consider it. “I would prefer to get all the way to the fortieth floor like I said before. Stopping just one step short will both me to no end. I suppose I could just barge into their city, and throw you at the portal?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Petra’s red face went pale at that idea, before she noticed that the Keeper was smiling yfully. “You… you wouldn’t really do that, right?”
<span style="font-weight:400">The Keeper shook his head. “You already have enough orbs on you. Once you turn those in, it won’t be a problem for me to take the next gate myself. It’d be best if you could have the location for your travels, but that isn’t strictly necessary.”
<span style="font-weight:400">As he said that, he stared into his mirror. “Thankfully, the portal isn’t in a public square or a temple, or anything like that.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“So it <i><span style="font-weight:400">is</i><span style="font-weight:400"> in a city.” Petra groaned, having assumed so. The fact that one gate was left unattended in this area was already an anomaly, but she couldn’t believe both would be in and of gods. Then, however, she noticed an awkward expression on the Keeper’s face. “Where is it?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Are you sure that you don’t want me to just throw you into the portal?” He asked, ncing back at her.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Please, no. Sir… where is it?” Petra asked again, the Keeper turning the mirror to let her see the ck stone monument resting within a golden pond, the ring of the pond filled with flowers, and walls all around them. Petra couldn’t help but cough lightly. “Sir, is that a bath?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“I do believe it is, Petra. I do believe it is.”