Chapter 249: Incubation (1/2)
Taking a closer look at both worlds, I confirmed that there was indeed not a game system set up. At least, judging by the price that had been placed on the worlds. They were rated at one hundred and fifteen, and one hundred and seventy points, too low to include the various systems that I had purchased for my worlds. As for the third world, it had disappeared from my interface just as soon as the team returned to Desbar. However, it seemed that there was not as much need to worry.
The people who had already unlocked their classes were not stripped of them in this world. The mages kept their mana, the monks kept their ki. Similarly, stat bonuses gained from classes stayed as well.
If there was one downside to being in one of these two new worlds, it was… people could no longer access those systems on their own in them. They couldn’t view their status window, their health bars disappeared, and they could not create quests or anything like that. I wasn’t sure yet, but it also seemed like it would be unlikely that they could level up as well.
Well, I’m sure that they will think of this as the logical price to pay for moving outside of my territory. Worst case scenario, they send their children back to one of the three worlds in order to train them. This will cause them to still be reliant on the worlds I control.
Honestly, though, I could easily afford both worlds, and even afford the cost to give them the same systems that I had on my own. Thanks to the points that I had earned from the Keeper Meeting, I had more than enough to be able to spend on things like that. The only reason that I didn’t was that I wanted to reserve the points for now, see if there was anything else that I wanted before the invasion started.
Just as I was about to descend again, I received a message from Irena. The new pen is ready, if Leowynn would like to continue to train.
Hearing that startled me for a moment, because it had not yet been very long since her last training period. “Leowynn? Irena says that the pen’s ready for you.”
Thank you, father. Her voice spoke up from inside of me. I think… I should be ready, yes. I want to continue. Her voice held hesitation at first, but a moment later she reaffirmed her confidence.
I sent the response to Irena, who said that she would meet us in the Underworld in order to show us how to use the new feature of the pen. As such, I immediately chose to descend in the same location that we had visited in the past, confirming that there were still no settlements anywhere even remotely nearby.
When I arrived, it was in the body of a daeva. Irena, as she said, was already waiting for me when I got there. In her hand was what seemed to be the exact same pen that I had been using previously in our training excursions. The only difference was that there seemed to be a bit more intricate carvings along the tip of the pen.
“Is that it?” I asked, looking down to the pen, to which Irena nodded stoically.
“It is, Dale.” She then held up the pen, as if allowing me to inspect its surface. “Visually it is still very similar to the original version. However, the new function has made it into a far more powerful tool.”
Looking at her curiously, I waited for her to explain. Seeing this, she turned, aiming the pen in a seemingly random direction. I could see the torrent of spiritual energy being absorbed into the pen, just like how it used to be done. The change came after that…
Once the spiritual energy had been absorbed into the pen, Irena began writing in the air with it. Become fire.
Immediately, the dark and grey misty landscape of the Underworld erupted into flames. Every speck of spiritual energy that I could see had begun burning, causing me to open my eyes wide in shock. When she wrote the words ‘Return to normal’ in the air with the pen, the fire immediately vanished, as if it had never been there in the first place.
“The quill of souls can only show its greatest power in the Underworld. Once filled with spiritual energy, you can use that energy to write commands. These commands contain the intent with which they were written, and the nearby spiritual energy interprets and responds to that intent.”
I gave a small nod at her explanation, still dumbfounded by how the pen performed. If a future invasion ever involved the Underworld, then this would surely qualify as a weapon of mass destruction.
Irena turned, passing the pen to me before nodding her head gently. “Let me know if you need me for anything else.” For a brief moment, I thought I saw her expression soften, before she vanished, no doubt returning to the Admin Room.
“Did you… see that, Leowynn?” I asked hesitantly, before finding the mist exploding forth from my body, forming the body of my elven daughter.
“I did.” She responded with a smile, clearly eager to test the effects of the pen herself. “I’m ready to begin whenever you are.”
Nodding my head, I turned and absorbed the nearby energy in order to once again fill the pen. Only after that did I point it to Leowynn. She reflexively flinched, reminding me of the old function of the pen. Smiling to her, I simply began to write in the air. Empower Leowynn.
Irena said that it responded to my intent, which was in line with what I knew about spiritual energy. As such, there was no need to write fancy instructions, detailing every step and condition for the training. I could simplify it down as much as I liked and still get the desired result.
The moment that I had finished writing Leowynn’s name, a circle of light sprang into being at her feet. She looked down in shock, before the circle began to brighten, rotating rapidly. All around us, the spiritual energy of the Underworld was being drawn into the circle, causing it to glow more and more.