After their initial shock of seeing the Admin Room, I explained the rules of the room to those that had come. Things such as them not being able to take damage while they are here, and thus being able to train new energy techniques without worry. After that, I showed them to everyone’s individual rooms, and even made rooms specifically for each of them.

Naturally, I did this all again once Julia and Aznod arrived, making sure that everyone was properly briefed on the situation. Once that was done, I sat down on the couch in the living room with a long sigh. I had tasked Udona to help everyone finish up their Divine Circuits, giving me a few moments of quiet.

To take advantage of this, I opened up the guild chat window, planning to inform them of my increase in rank. With me now being a Rank Four Keeper, that theoretically put me on the same level as Talon and Sarah. From now on, the two of them should have a lot more information about the enemies that I would face, and they’d be able to offer me some more practical guidance.

When I looked at the guild chat, I found that it was quite active. Not just Sarah and Alice talking, but even Talon and some of the others had joined the conversation. The chat hadn’t been this active since I first joined.

EarthForceOne: Looks like everyone’s having a good time?

MeatLover: Indeed, it is a rare occasion to see so many people active at once.

EverLasting: Welcome back! I see you made it through your invasion alright?

EarthForceOne: Yeah, I had to prepare a lot for it, but it was worth it. I just hit Rank 4.

Oldbeard: Congratulations. Sarah just got Rank 5, as well.

Well, that certainly explained why the group was so active. Looking at the guild member list, I was able to confirm that Sarah was now the highest ranked Keeper in the group once again.

EarthForceOne: Congratulations. I take it that your latest project was a good hit?

EverLasting: That’s right! We had a breakthrough with our coding engine, and managed to unlock the conditions to reach the next rank. There’s no harm in telling you, but the requirement to hit rank 5 is to be able to create worlds on the same level as those created by the system, but without spending any points. And being able to do so in a controlled manner.

EarthForceOne: Wait, wouldn’t that basically mean that you don’t need to spend points anymore?

EverLasting: It’s… difficult. For instance, I’ll use some analogies to make it easier to explain. Originally, I was piecing together different systems using my team’s coding experience. It was like designing a game with a pre-built engine. Now, if I want to make a world without spending any points myself, it’s more like creating that engine from scratch.

EverLasting: Theoretically, we can create any type of system or world law we want without spending points. But that’s only in theory. We need to practically develop our skills to do so. Anyone can mash their face on a keyboard, but it takes skill to write an award winning novel.

EverLasting: That said, it’s not like there’s nothing else for us to spend points on at this level.

EarthForceOne: Oh? Is it okay for me to ask what system was unlocked at the fifth rank?

EverLasting: It’s not really a problem, I guess. It’s not like knowing or not will give you an advantage. The system is known as Creator’s Blessing. You get to choose individual mortals, and spend points to customize a blessing for them. The blessing can be anything from raising their personal abilities to giving them access to special systems

EarthForceOne: I don’t suppose you know anything about the sixth or seventh tiers?

EverLasting: Sorry, but I’ve never really been able to interact with people of that level. Sometimes, they buy games from me, but it’s not like I get the chance to just ask them questions like that. And there’s not much about it on the forums, either, given how rare those levels are. Even the Gilded Branch only has one or two people at that level.

EverLasting: Wait, no, they had to reset recently. So there’s nobody above Rank 5 in that guild.

Oldbeard: Well, it’s not like there’s no way to find out. You’ve just got to find the person and get them to talk. The Gilded Branch probably sells that kind of information if you’re willing to pay.

EarthForceOne: …No, I don’t think I will. There’s not much point in knowing this far in advance. Though, I do want to ask if there are any other rewards for reaching higher tiers without ever resetting?

Aerial: Oh, are you talking about something like that Heaven’s Gate? Since you just ranked up… I guess you managed to get this far without ever resetting?

EarthForceOne: That’s right. I just wanted to know if there’s anything at the higher tiers to look forward to.

EverLasting: Not that I know of. Honestly, the information on Heaven’s Gate is already scarce. From what I know, it costs ten thousand points to give a mortal Companion-like traits.

Oldbeard: Eh? Why would you spend that much for something like that? Just directly make them a companion.

EverLasting: It’s just a little perk given by the system. I don’t think I’ve heard of anyone making it to the fifth rank without resetting, so I wouldn’t know if there is something to that. That might be another thing you can ask the Gilded Branch about. If anyone would know, it’s them.

EarthForceOne: I’ll think about it.

EarthForceOne: By the way, what’s the new game that you made? I might take a look at it, if it’s something that would mesh well with my world.

EverLasting: Talent Eternal is my new pride and joy. It uses the Auric Talent system that I created specifically for this game. You won’t even be able to find that on the market, since we coded it ourselves. It reads the aura strength and type in order to generate a special class and power, ranging from level 1-10, with 10 being a Keeper exclusive. The talents are randomly generated, but even a level 1 talent won’t be self-destructive.

EarthForceOne: I might consider getting it, based on the price. Though, I’m just checking… is the spirit that comes with it named Titi?

Oldbeard: Heheh…

EverLasting: N-No! Of course not… it’s Toto.

Oldbeard: Titi is the name of the spirit for Trials of Fantasia, one of her older titles.

EverLasting: A-Alice!

I couldn’t help but let out a light laugh, shaking my head and opening up the market. After teasing her like that, I had to at least see how much the game cost. However… my hopes were quickly dashed when I saw the price, a full five hundred thousand points. Theoretically, I could afford the price if I was willing to spend everything to get it.

Thankfully, I wasn’t about to do that. I might need my points for any number of things in the coming days, especially since the next round for me would be my first fight at this rank. I wouldn’t be able to get such a large influx of points again for quite a while, so there was no way that I would spend so many on a game world.

Additionally, I had just gotten Fragments of Acidia not that long ago. It would seem strange to the world if I immediately followed it up with an even bigger and better game. It wasn’t like I was trying to be a competitor with myself.

I could think about getting Talent Eternal later on, after I had earned a considerable amount of points. For now, there was no rush.

Tsubaki sat within a tall tree, her eyes narrowed as she watched the ground below. She was staring at the corpse of a monster that she had only recently slain, waiting for the telltale shaking of the ground.

Eventually, the branch she stood on shook, her eyes focusing even further. She had already gone through dozens of attempts for this trial, and had found herself once again in a jungle region. However, the rulers of this jungle were neither tunneling sharks nor giant birds. Instead, they were massive reptiles with thick, armored hide.

Tsubaki held her branch, a blood red blade of bone in one hand as she waited. Soon, the target of her hunt appeared, lumbering over towards the corpse. This creature’s hide was set in layers of overlapping armor, each layer stronger than steel. Tsubaki had studied the creature’s habits for a few days at this point, and gone through multiple close encounters.

At this point, she knew that there was one fatal gap for her to take advantage of. At the moment when it lowered its head to eat a smaller animal, the layers of armor shifted just slightly, presenting a small gap right at the neck. That one moment was the only chance that she had to overcome this trial. This was the only creature left in the forest that she had been unable to hunt, having already made different weapons or armors out of the corpses of other beasts.

She had to be swift, but also silent. If she had her divine powers, her Stealth domain would be perfect for this, but she had foregone such powers for the sake of the trial. Instead, she waited for the moment when the creature had just started to lower its head. Steadying her breath, she allowed herself to fall from the branch.

That’s right, fall. She didn’t jump or kick off of it, as doing so would create extra noise. She allowed herself to fall more than thirty meters, gripping the blade of bone in her hand. Only once she had nearly crashed into the beast’s back did she kick at the air with her ki, shooting off like a bullet. Her body flew just above the armored hide of the beast, almost instantly arriving at its neck.

Unfortunately, the creature had caught the sound of the kick, and was already beginning to lift its head in alarm. The gap she was aiming for was closing rapidly, the two layers of armor shifting together.

Tsubaki grit her teeth, putting the remainder of her ki into the blood red blade and throwing it forward. There was a crack as it pierced through the air, shooting far beyond the speed Tsubaki was able to move her own body.

She watched as the blade narrowly slid through the gap, and then heard the satisfying crunch as it pierced the beast’s hide, skull, and finally shot out of its open mouth. Tsubaki used her hands as a springboard, placing them on the creature’s head as she flew through the air. Her body flipped over it.

There was a pause from the beast as Tsubaki landed in front of it, her body skidding to a stop several meters away. The blade that she had previously used was buried deep in a tree, so she wouldn’t be able to retrieve it for the time being. Even if she could, she no longer had the ki reserves for another attack.

Her eyes focused on the halted reptile, before a smile tugged at her lips. Its body began to slowly descend, blood pouring out of its mouth. She had accurately severed its spine, so there was nothing that the creature could do to resist her anymore.

Tsubaki gave a satisfied nod, spinning around on one foot to retrieve the ki-infused bone blade. “Fifi? Just to make sure, but there aren’t any other stronger creatures in this forest, are there?” She asked, taking a rare moment to speak aloud.

N-No. The Ten Armors Lizard King was the strongest foe in this region. There was a hint of disbelief in Fifi’s tone. How long had it been? Originally, Tsubaki had been unable to hunt a single creature, having to crawl along the treetops. Once she had gotten the hang of it, she began to reliably hunt different species with each attempt, though she would sometimes end in failure.

Still, she was already able to clear an area meant for players with roughly one hundred times her strength. She had to do it slowly, patiently, but she was able to do it all the same.

“Good. In that case, you can delete this account. I’ve finished my trial.”

D-Delete it? Are you sure? If you keep the account, you’ll be able to receive the title effects. In the process of her trial, Tsubaki had personally tested different herbs to earn titles related to alchemy, hunted monsters far stronger than her, and successfully avoided certain death on countless occasions. It was no exaggeration to say that she had titles others would kill to possess.

“I’m sure. This account only existed for the trial. Now that I’ve finished, there’s no need. Oh, also, I’ll be getting a casting device on my main account, now that I finished things here.”