Expressing my interest in the Level Transfer orbs, Oldbeard seemed more than happy to accommodate my questions. According to them, the orbs did not directly implant the knowledge and training in the recipient. Rather, it was like a highly detailed mental video that could be reviewed at will after being used.
This meant that personality traits and unwanted information was excluded from the inheritance. Rather, the downside was that it took a short period of time for the transfer to finalize, differing for each individual. Someone only casually reviewing the information might take several weeks to fully absorb what they had been given, while a swordsman fighting with his life on the line might be able to fully awaken that training all at once.
Even with the process not being instantaneous, I was not upset. Instead, I was happy to know that there were no real side effects to the process. Thinking about it, I could probably get James to make something like this on his own eventually, but I did not want to bother him about that. His current work studying the primordial artifact was more important than a simple way of transferring levels from one person to another.
Finishing up my conversation with Oldbeard, I promised to meet them before the invasion took place so that I could transfer the points. Oldbeard invited me to visit their Admin Room when the time came, that way they could make the trade more convenient, and I didn’t really see a reason to refuse.
Until now, it had always been me inviting other people to my Admin Room. As far back as I could remember, I had only been to the residences of three other Keepers. The first was Alkahest, who invited me to his place right after I got this job. The second was Durandor, when I went to the monthly Keeper meetings. And finally, there was Sarah. Aside from those three, I had never really visited anyone. And given the fact that Durandor’s case was only for the monthly meeting, I could hardly count that one.
I took a moment to think about what I could likely expect when I went over there. Naturally, I would be taking Terra with me as a precaution. As for Oldbeard themselves, it was hard to get a grasp on what kind of person they were. They seemed far too laid-back with how they talked to be some wizened old man, so I was imagining a younger man who had simply inherited the title like I had.
“Well, there’s no use worrying about it too much right now.” I shook my head, as Oldbeard wouldn’t even be officially paired up with me for another fifty days of Standard Time. That was when they would be sending their own invasion off to fight their next target.
----------------------------------------
“Sir?” Thea spoke up as she looked at her boss. James was engrossed in his work when she and her sister came in, seeming as if he didn’t even notice their presence. If she had to guess, she thought it was very likely that he never went home the previous night… or any night in the last week for that matter.
James was peering through a large glass container, staring at the chunk of black crystal sealed within. This was the debris that a colony ship had sent back to them quite some time ago, an item that Chel had informed them had the power to directly promote someone to godhood with a predetermined domain. Since Chel herself had not ascended to godhood, she naturally did not have the ability to check what domain was contained within. Thankfully, they had someone else that could confirm that the domain contained was ‘Possession’.
“Huh?” James blinked, turning his head to look at the kitsune sisters. “Ah, you’re back. Did you have a nice walk?”
“Sir… it’s the morning.” Nora said in exasperation. “And it’s Tuesday.”
“Really?” James looked around, seeing the digital clock on a nearby wall. “So it is. Sorry, I was a bit engrossed in my work. Has Treisha gotten back in yet?”
Thea shook her head. “It looks like we’re first today. Are we working on the rock again?” She asked with a faint sigh, moving over to her desk to grab a few measuring devices.
“No, I think I’ve got something, I just need her help to test it out.” James answered with a small smile, stroking his chin. “How about the two of you? Anything you need to share?” He asked with a knowing tone.
Nora froze up at that, before letting out a small sigh. “You could tell? The clan cut us off. One of the elders pulled strings to ask us to steal the rock from you. He wanted to study it for himself, or maybe even use it to solidify his position. When we said no, well… you don’t say no to the clan elders when they issue a mission.”
James’ gaze went a bit narrow when he heard that. “They won’t try anything stupid, will they?”
Nora gulped at the implications, Thea immediately stepping forward to speak up. “They only contacted us because they knew that they couldn’t easily get it themselves. Now that we refused, they likely won’t have the means to take it for a while.”
James had long since set up protections around his lab to prevent the disturbance of divine individuals. Unless someone carried a token made from a piece of his energy, their divine energy would be sealed when they entered the lab. So far, he had only given out one such token to the Goddess of Enchantment, Treisha. As they were an extension of his energy, he could check anything that happened to the person carrying them and ensure their security.
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“I meant doing anything to you two.” James still looked directly at the two girls as he said that. “I’ve seen a lot of secretive clans in my day. Most of them don’t let people leave peacefully.”
Thea’s head dipped low at that. “The elder said that he wouldn’t touch us on account of you. However, we are no longer considered a part of the clan.”
James gave a small nod at that, clicking his tongue as he looked at the glass case again. “At this point, the two of you are probably older than that elder anyways. Who does he think he is to determine the fates of people with more seniority than him?”
Thea and Nora immediately directed a cold look towards James, causing the famed researcher to freeze up. “I mean… you’re still both lovely young ladies.” He gave a weak chuckle as he said that.
The two kitsune girls nodded as the door was pushed open again, Treisha walking in with a light yawn. “Morning, you two.” She said, smiling at the three people in the room. James glanced over, giving a small nod.
“Perfect timing. Can I get you to come over here for a moment?” James asked, beckoning the elven goddess over. Treisha blinked in confusion, before nodding as she walked over.
Nora and Thea exchanged worried glances, with the latter secretly sending a message to James. They didn’t… did they?
James looked at Thea with a raised brow, shaking his head. No, she’s fine. She has my token, and I checked the records. There’s no sign of disturbance. Though, I do want to thank the two of you. You chose this team over your own clan, which I can’t imagine was an easy thing.
Thea gave a mental snort at that. It wasn’t anything that big. They haven’t done anything for us since we got here, and kept trying to get more and more information. We figured out a few years ago that they would probably cut ties with us if we didn’t give them anything big.
Still, I’ll put in a word. It sounds like the ninjas have their own corruption problem, if someone is trying to get you to steal a divinity artifact like this. James shook his head again, looking at Treisha. “I’d like to run a little experiment with your divine power. I don’t know how this will go, though, so I need to explain things to you first.”
Treisha looked up at him, offering a small nod. “Of course, boss. What’s the play?”
“The power residing within this artifact is similar to an enchantment cast on it by the creation of the universe itself.” James explained, gesturing towards the item in the container. “However, at its base form, it is still similar to a type of enchantment. With your domain, adding in the Transference Mist, we might be able to replicate this enchantment on another object. Having two of them to study would allow us to take some more liberties than we have so far.”
The elven girl thought it over, before nodding her head in agreement. “I’ll give it a try. Do you have the new object ready?”
James smiled, pointing to a crate in the corner. “A small asteroid, I gathered it myself just a while ago. It should be the most compatible item for the transfer.”
With a nod, Treish positioned herself between the glass container and the crate, focusing on her divine power. Nora looked at James skeptically, transmitting her thoughts much like her sister had. An enchantment? Sir, that doesn’t seem very realistic to me, haven’t you always said--
It’s not. The power was a leftover from the energies that created the universe. This is a primordial crystal that is as old as time itself. James confirmed her suspicions, which only confused Nora more.
Then why did you tell her that?
James cracked a small smile, the only evidence of the conversation on his face as Treisha mobilized her divinity. Because it doesn’t really matter if it’s true or not, as long as she believes that it is. As long as she believes that this is an enchantment, there is a chance that her domain will be able to determine the outcome.
Golden mist began to spread out from Treisha’s palms, separating into two distinct clouds. One cloud seeped inside the crate, connecting with the space rock contained within. The other sank into the glass container, wrapping around the primordial stone. “Replicate.” She muttered, and a strand of purple energy rose from the primordial crystal.
This energy began to flow through the golden cloud and into Treisha’s left hand. Afterwards, an identical strand of energy exited through her right hand, sinking into the crate. Treisha’s brow furrowed, focusing on stabilizing the ‘enchantment’ before her eyes suddenly went wide. A crack echoed from the crate, before the entire thing erupted, splinters flying across the lab.
The rock contained within the crate had been reduced to powder, unable to bear the weight of the enchantment that Treisha was putting into it. James watched in shock, first confirming the status of Treisha’s health bar before grabbing his equipment to measure the energy in the original crystal. “Energy still appears stable, and the drop is negligible. The relic is safe.” He let out a sigh, before turning to Treisha. “How are you?”
Treisha looked confused, staring at the rock, and then at herself. “I… I don’t know? Are you sure that it hasn’t been drained, sir?”
James raised a brow, nodding his head. “I completed the scan to confirm it myself. Why, did you feel the energy gush out when you made the connection?”
“No, it’s just… I’ve become the Goddess of Possession.” Treisha muttered in confusion, having never heard of anyone outside the Greater Pantheon possessing more than a single domain.
James watched her for a long moment, as if measuring her energy. “Is your original domain still intact?”
Treisha simply gave a small nod. She could feel the power of Enchantment within her, but there was suddenly another power imprinted upon her divinity. “This won’t cause any problems, will it?” She was genuinely concerned, as she knew what happened when you tried to cram too much energy into something. The shattered box of dust in the corner was a perfect example. Treisha didn’t want to become a shattered box of dust.
“No, it’ll be fine.” James assured her in a softer tone. “It’s possible for gods to obtain multiple domains. I just wanted to make sure that you were still fine. Still, it seems like that idea was a bust… if we want to contain the power of a primordial relic, we’ll need another one as a vessel. But in that case, why would we even need to copy it?” He asked with a sullen sigh.