World Keeper: Birth of a World

by Justin Miller

  Pushing off from the tree, I ran back towards the shore. At the last moment, I channeled Ki into my feet to leap high into the air. Confident in my theory, I began channeling mana into my feet at the apex of my jump, preparing to land on the water.

  However… things don’t always go the way we want. Rather than sticking to the water’s surface like I had to the tree, I simply fell through the water, causing a large splash to erupt around me. Once I had reached the bottom, my feet became stuck to the ground, prevent me from rising up.

  Frustrated, I cancelled the Mana going to my feet, and allowed myself to swim back to the shore. No Jesus imagery today, I guess. I couldn’t help but let out a sigh at that, before going back to my training. Though, as soon as I arrived back at the island, I found a series of messages waiting for me.

  Ninja has leveled up!

  Monk has leveled up!

  Well, two levels out of that experiment was still pretty good. Though, since I wanted to focus on ninja levels, I should probably stick to Chakra training now. This test gave me the information I needed, anyways.

  Like I had suspected, Ki seems to amplify physical aspects, such as impact, strength, and possibly defense. Mana defies nature, allowing magic to take place. Chakra, as a combination, has aspects of both. That ‘Flash Step’ possesses the speed boost of Ki, while also taking aspects of Mana to make the movement instantaneous, without any sensation of actually moving.

  With that knowledge, I was able to imagine some other abilities I should be capable of performing with Chakra. Letting a small grin break out over my face, I stood up and got to work. My next ability that I wanted to test required a tool, so I picked a random rock from the ground. If I wanted to go back to the Admin Room, I could get some daggers that Terra made me craft while training, but this rock should do for now. A rock is also less likely to stab me if I mess up.

  Slowly, I followed the method I had learned to charge my hand with chakra. I watched as the blue mist appeared around my hand, and the rock contained within it. Focusing, I wrapped the chakra around that rock, leaving only a thin trace of it on my hand. Finally, I flipped my hand over and released the rock.

  I didn’t just watch as the rock fell from my hand, I felt it. It was as if the rock had become an extension of myself, and the moment I willed it to stop, the chakra surrounding it seemed to tighten. The rock sat there, roughly five inches below my hand, suspended in midair by an almost invisible strand of blue mist. This was the second ability that I imagined to be possible after briefly studying Chakra, the ability to control items with my Chakra.

  For my next trick… I was going to do something far more advanced, and I was not even sure it would work. I had a theory, though. A theory that I would be able to use more than just pure mana to make chakra. A theory that I could use a half-completed spell for it, as well.

  Bringing my hands up in front of my face, I joined my thumbs and index fingers together to make a large circle. Next, I imagined a spell diagram in my mind, but only part of one. I focused on a single element, excluding the rest of the spell, and passed my mana through that image before joining it with the ki in my hands.

  The result of this was a hazy red mist, different from the blue Chakra I had previously created. Knowing that I was on the right track, I took a deep breath and blew into that circle formed by my hands. A roar sounded out through the surroundings, belonging to no man or beast. A cone of flame shot out from in front of my mouth, scorching everything in front of me for thirty meters.

  This ‘Fire Breath’ lasted for nearly five seconds, before I ran out of air in my lungs to support it. The moment I stopped blowing into the red Chakra, the flames stopped spewing forth. I let my grin grow wider as I saw the effect this ability had. Though, that joy I felt faded when I saw the amount of energy that had been used. Out of roughly a thousand Mana and Ki, that one attack had burned through well over half of each. Of course, that was only a temporary loss, because both bars were again quickly filled.

  Ninja has leveled up!

  Camouflage ability unlocked!

  Hmm? An ability at level three? My curiosity successfully piqued, I went ahead and activated the ability. Immediately, I felt the image of a shape forming in my mind, acting as a filter for the mana to pass through before it formed into Chakra along my skin. However, after the Chakra was formed, nothing seemed to happen.

  Unsure of what was going on, I looked down, seeing a hazy outline of my hand. Surprised, I cancelled the ability, watching as a yellow mist gradually dispersed from the air around me. At the same time, my hand became visible. Activating the ability again, I focused on the image that I saw formed in my mind.

  That is… the Light element, if I recall. So… light chakra around the body forms a basic stealth ability. Blowing into fire chakra creates a flame attack. My excitement for the possibilities of this class only continued to grow with each new ability.

  If I had to give this class a weakness, it would be that it is impossible to train by itself. In order to form Chakra, you need both Mana and Ki. So, you need to train both as a Mage and a Monk before you can unlock the Ninja class. For normal people, that severely limits the amount of levels they can gain in the class. Especially since the Ninja class does not enhance any of the base attributes that amplify those two energies.

  Though, I soon thought of another weakness, and that was the inability to use multiple types of energy at the same time. I wasn’t sure if this was a skill that could be trained, or a set limitation. However, it did not seem likely that I would be able to use multiple Ninja abilities at the same time, such as the ‘Flash Step’ and Camouflage.

  Shaking my head, I dispelled those thoughts in order to focus on my training. There was still one more ability I wanted to test. This was the Chakra counterpart to the Ki Fist. If the Ki Fist amplified the impact, I wanted to see what the ‘Chakra Fist’ would do.

  In order to conduct this test, I moved back to the same tree I had previously stood on earlier for my ‘foot test’. Feeling excited for what I was about to do, I flexed my fingers while charging my hand with Chakra. I knew that my physical abilities far exceeded what anyone else in the world right now should be capable of, aside from maybe the strongest monsters. If I went all out, punching through this tree should be entirely possible, even easy if I used the Ki Fist.

  However, what I wanted was to test a new ability. If there was nothing left of the tree when I was done, I could not accurately gauge its strength. So, I planned to hold back a little. Balling up my fist, I pulled it back, taking a basic stance with one palm out in front of me.

  When I threw my fist forward, I felt as if something changed in the Chakra I was holding. And, when my fist landed against the tree, there was no crash of an impact, no pain from punching wood. On my end, it instead felt as if I had lightly tapped the tree with my fist, and the Chakra had moved into the tree.

  I could still feel the existence of the Chakra at the center of the tree, and even was able to move it around within the tree itself. However, I was not able to figure out what this ability was supposed to be until I had given up. At the moment I decided that this ability was only good for transferring Chakra harmlessly, and loosened my hold over the energy in the tree, the thick wooden trunk exploded outwards from the very point that the Chakra had been stored.

  -1

  -1

  -1

  I felt tiny stings as splinters crashed against my body, staring dumbfoundedly at the tree. The area where the Chakra had previously been held was no more, and the top of the tree crashed into the ground at the side, sending tremors throughout the ground. This was definitely on the same level as a Ki Fist, but with the added property of internal damage and a delayed response.

  Ninja has leveled up!

  Chapter 23

  Wild shrieks rang through the woods, startling the group of five Felyn that had been hiding in the shelter of a hollowed tree. This was a small family, one not lucky enough to have stumbled upon the many cities of
the Beastkin yet. Among the family was a mother, father, two sons, and youngest being a small girl. When they heard the sounds of the wild beasts, they knew a disaster was coming.

  Until a few suns ago, they had been safe. The beasts of the land had not been strong enough to offer too much of a fight for them. At that time, they had been travelling with ten members of their family. But, ever since they had been permitted to gain more power, apparently the beasts had as well. The next day, they lost two of their eldest against a pack of giant wolves with spikes of glittering stone coming from their back.

  By now, these five people were all that were left of their family, and once again they heard the call of those ferocious wolves. There was no longer anyone left in the family that had reached the previous apex of power, even the two adults had barely made it halfway before the ‘update’. As such, they knew that this could very well be the end of their family. In a desperate attempt to survive, the five of them ran madly through the forest, jumping between trees and bushes, making sure none of their own fell behind.

  But the more they ran, the closer they heard the howls of the wolves, the cracking of branches as they were hunted. The father, Braksol, gritted his teeth and jumped back away from the family. “Go!” He shouted to the rest of them, moving to place himself between the wolves and the only people he cared for in this world.

  His mate looked back with watery eyes, unwilling to let Braksol sacrifice himself. But, she knew that she had to live on, to care for their two sons, and the daughter she carried in her arms. Closing her eyes tight, she turned to run, apologizing to her mate in her heart for having to leave him.

  Braksol, seeing that his family had obeyed him and left, smiled gently. This was the only way they could survive another day, the only way they could hope to escape the territory of these vicious beasts. As the strongest of them, it was his duty to protect them to his last breath. As his brother had done for them, and their father before him.

  Gathering up his inner energy, Braksol wrapped it around his fists, waiting for the wolves to be visible. Although he was not as powerful as his elder brother or their father, he had learned the Monk class from them. This was his greatest weapon in a fight, and he swore to himself that he would take at least one of those wolves down with him.

  Another series of howls rang through his ears, and he saw as a dozen large wolves jumped from behind a thick tree. These were the beasts he had prepared for. Each one had three glittering spikes of polished stone on their backs, and cold, unfeeling eyes. The moment they saw him, they hesitated. These monsters, the ironback wolves, had met similar encounters during their hunts previously. Each time, they suffered losses, and so they were unwilling to divert their attention.

  Seeing that they had really stopped, Braksol gave a small grin. “Come at me, then!” He yelled, charging towards the nearest wolf. His foot slammed heavily into the ground, carrying him towards his target immediately. Bringing his fist forward, he smashed it into the head of the lead wolf.

  An explosion echoed from his punch, and the wolf fell off to the side. Braksol didn’t know if he had killed the beast, or merely stunned it, but he did not have any time to think about it. Two more of the wolves had charged at him in a fury, and he saw his death quickly approaching. While he might be able to take one on with a surprise attack, he could never have the strength to defeat two at once.

  “Oh, seems I made it just in time.” A familiar voice echoed through the trees. This was a voice Braksol had heard before, but he could not place its origin. He was about to call for the owner of the voice to run before he felt a sudden rush of wind behind him. If not for the fact that the person had bumped his tail, Braksol would not even be entirely sure that someone was there.

  The next moment, the two wolves that had attacked him were sent flying. There was no skill employed that he could see, only raw strength. This mysterious newcomer, a Kitsune with golden hair, calmly stood in front of him, looking at Braksol without any regards for the beasts encircling them.

  “You’ll do.” He said, a slight smile on his face. “But first, let’s take care of the cleanup.” He cast his eyes around him, and Braksol felt a cold sweat forming on his back, an invisible pressure sweeping over him. He watched as a blue mist seemed to pour out of this man’s skin, before he again vanished into thin air.

  Braksol had no time to consider whether the man’s presence had been an illusion or not, because he reappeared nine times. Each time, it was as if he had taken just a single step, and with each step he placed his palm against one of the beasts before vanishing again. Nine steps, nine wolves, and then he was again standing before Braksol, looking at him calmly while the wolves just stared with vacant eyes.

  “Do you want power?” He asked, as the wolves surrounding them suddenly collapsed to the ground. This strength… Braksol had been prepared to sacrifice his life to buy his family just one more day to live, and yet this man had appeared to deal with the wolves in practically the time it takes to blink. Even without the man showing hostility to Braksol, he felt fear. Fear that originated from the very depths of his being, as if he was facing an opponent he could never hope to match.

  “Y-yes.” He heard himself saying, before he could fully think about it, and then hastily spoke up. “But my mate! My kits!” Suddenly, Braksol snapped himself out of his stupor, turning in the direction that his family had run.

  “Ah, they went that way, then?” The Felyn felt a hand grab his shoulder, and then his surroundings began to warp and shift. He saw different trees appearing in front and beside him, and then immediately vanish. A few seconds later, he saw his family, his mate still frantically running while tears flowed down her face. Never before had he been so happy to see her, and he couldn’t help but call out to her.

  “Britta!” Without even worrying about the powerful stranger, he leapt forward. Britta, having heard that, turned back and looked at him with wide, silver eyes. Naturally, she had no idea that the wolves had been defeated, and could only think that he had found a chance to escape back to them.

  “Braksol!” She cried out, tears still streaming from her eyes as she went into his embrace. She rubbed her head against his chin for a moment before coming to her senses. “Hurry, we need to leave! They’ll find us again soon.” She turned to run again, grabbing Braksol’s wrist with her free hand while the other carried their daughter. However, she found that he was not running with her. She tried to pull him, but found him unmoving. “Braksol, what…?”

  “It’s okay, they’re dead. They’re all dead.” She stared vacantly at him, neither one of them able to fully believe the words he had said. It was only at this time that she noticed the golden haired Kitsune standing behind Braksol.

  “Who is he?” She asked, defensively. She unconsciously hid herself behind Braksol’s back, feeling a strange sensation of strength from the newcomer. It was hard to put it to words, like he had been blessed as the holder of some new power.

  However, her mate only smiled, patting her shoulder. “He saved me.”

  It was at this time that the man stepped forward, looking at them all. Braksol’s two sons moved to stand protectively at either side of their mother. It was not uncommon for people of other families to try to force themselves on women they encountered in the wild, and some had attempted to do the same to Britta, before they lost the protection of their larger family.

  “I offered him power. And I make that same offer now. Do you all want power?” His golden eyes looked as if they could see right through them, penetrating to the depths of their soul. “Do you want the power to never fear these monsters?”

  The Felyn couldn’t help but tense at his words, having been told that this man indeed had the power to kill what their entire family could not. However, he continued speaking. “If you accept, I will teach you a new class. One that nobody else in this land has seen before.”

  Britta wasn’t sure why, but she found herself lowering to her knees, her head bowed in submission. To either side
of her, her two sons were performing the same movement. Only Braksol seemed to resist this unconscious desire to submit to the stranger.

  Looking back at his family, Braksol turned his gaze towards the golden haired stranger. “We accept.”

  When the two words left his mouth, they felt a greater pressure rise up from this man than before, and their bodies began to tremble. His mouth curved into an almost vicious looking smile, his sharp canines poking out between his lips. “Good. Let’s get started, then.”

  For the rest of the day, this stranger--Dayl, he called himself-- instructed the Felyn family on the use of internal energy to teach them the Monk class. He called this energy Ki, and said that they needed to remember that. Once they all had that class, he taught them another. Again, this was a class they had witnessed before, the Mage class.

  At first, they were concerned if he was really going to teach them something new, but too afraid to speak up against him. All they could do was silently lower their heads and accept the ideas he gave them. First, to not rely on the ‘system’ to complete their spells and abilities, and to strive to do so themselves. Dayl told them that this was of utmost importance, otherwise they would never raise in strength.