World Keeper

After retreating from the ruins of what Lifre had started calling Bubblopolis, the duo reported their findings to the adventurer’s guild. They mentioned the estimated level of the ‘Bombubbles’, which Lifre had managed to get officially named, much to Petra’s dismay, as well as their predators and the information about the ruins.

This was a rare chance for the guild to investigate a fallen civilization. Even now, there were still many people looking into the ruined civilization on the sixty-first floor, which had ultimately brought chaos to that entire floor, making it uninhabitable until the World Spirit cleaned the area.

Those capable of surviving on the sixty-fifth floor while possessing the education needed to study such ruins naturally went to investigate first. There was no telling how long it would take to get a definitive answer about what happened, but Lifre had already left to resume her adventures.

I let out a small sigh, sitting at my desk and reading through the reports. Learning about yet another ruined civilization didn’t exactly fill me with much hope for what we would find further on in the higher levels of Fyor. Thankfully, the Hajit proved that there was still a decent chance of finding something good, but… the odds seemed painfully low. If not for them, I would likely believe that there was some influence seeping in from the upper floors that just naturally led to the ruin of civilization.

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At the same time, I had a report from Priscilla, who gave me a detailed list of every divine power that she gave to each of the one thousand knights. For the most part, I skimmed through this list, as there was no need to memorize each individual option. Especially not when I can just observe the knights directly by focusing my attention on the books embedded within them. My main interest was on whether or not any of them had been given particularly interesting abilities.

As I was setting the reports down, I heard a knock from my office door. Turning back, I saw that Tsubaki was there, hands folded over her stomach. “Come in, Tsubaki.” I said with a smile, and she nodded her head, entering the office. “Is there something wrong?”

“Yes and no, my Keeper.” She said, before beginning to explain. “The device that you received in the recent trade with Bellarose has been activated and connected to the internet.”

“That sounds like a rather good event.” I pointed out, one eyebrow raised. “So what is the problem?”

“It would seem that there was already a serious infection of memetic information within the internet.” Tsubaki said, my eyes widening a fraction. “Upon investigation, roughly three percent of the information available for public consumption was infected with some form of memetic trace.”

Three percent didn’t sound like a lot, but this was a network that spanned multiple universes, and dozens, if not hundreds of occupied planets. “How hasn’t there been an outbreak, if it is that widespread?”

‘Due to the seriousness of the case, Chelsea was called in as an expert on the subject. Upon review, she noted that the vast majority of the infected information was benign, with very little that had any true effect. For instance, she found a conspiracy theory posted on an unpopular forum that caused others to instinctively believe it, and things of that nature.”

“Additionally, due to the device connecting to multiple public cameras, sixty-three cases were confirmed of graffiti containing memetic influence across the various worlds. All of these incidents have been reported, the relevant authorities notified and dispatched to remove the potentially hazardous content.”

I nodded my head when I heard that. It was the right call, though some of that graffiti may have been done with benign intent as well, like a marketing team just trying to enhance their product’s sales. Regardless, even Chelsea had learned not to carelessly use memetic scripts, and she was an expert in the field.

“Got it. Is there anything else?” I asked, to which Tsubaki paused.

“There is… a report from Dana. She said that her new device is ready. She’s just ironing out a last-minute kink and can present it to you at any time.”

“New device?” I blinked, knowing that Dana was working on some project, but I had no idea exactly what said project was. “Is it something for Olympus?”

“It would not appear so.” Tsubaki shook her head. “She said that this device was designed to help normal law enforcers battle criminals on the level of gods.”

Well, that was certainly interesting. “I see… in that case, let’s go check it out.” I said, happy to stop reading over reports and get moving to see a real, interesting demonstration.

Tsubaki gave a small bow, nodding her head and turning to lead the way. The two of us walked to the gates of Olympus, where she tore open a portal for us to step through. When we arrived, I swept my senses out to the surroundings to try to determine our present location, and found that we were at the Another World Research Group’s home planet.

Presently, we were standing near the edge of a large cliff, surrounded by a rocky plateau. There was a large device set up that looked like a medical pod, filled with translucent, green fluid. Nearby, Dana was adjusting a metal bracer that rested on her arm, smiling as she noticed us. “Hey, boss! Decided to come and see what I made, huh?”

“That’s right. I heard that you made something rather interesting?” I asked, directing my attention to the medical pod and the device on her arm. “What exactly do you have prepared for this demonstration?”

“Glad you asked!” Dana grinned, lifting her arm to showcase the bracer. “I call this the Reset Protocol. Have you ever had to deal with a criminal too powerful to contain? Someone that’s just another one of those pesky gods or saints? Tired of having to repair broken cells and wards? Worry not, for we have the answer!”

“Packed inside this little bracer is a card activator and stasis chamber. The card inserted into the bracer is a common capture card already popularized by Deckan law enforcement, and has spread to numerous worlds due to its ease of use. The activator focuses the effect of the card into a beam to fire at the criminal. When they are hit, they will be trapped in the card, which is itself kept within a stasis chamber to prevent the contained criminal from having the time to escape.”

“Not sounding particularly new so far.” I said with a small grin, one which Dana immediately returned.

“Oh, but wait, there’s more! The capture process is only step one of the Reset Protocol! Allow me to direct your attention to the larger device installed next to me. This is your standard cloning vat, with some modifications made by yours truly. These changes allow the device to take the primary energies from the containment card, and uses those to print a new body for the captured criminal.”

“‘But wait, why would you waste all the resources printing a new body, when they’ll just break out again?’, you might be asking! This is a physical body, not an energy one, and it is printed from the captured criminal’s own energies. Furthermore, the device is structured to print the body as a completely mundane mortal that doesn’t even have their first level. Naturally, there will be some overflow, whereas a god will become a demigod, or powerful individuals will retain their talents.”

“However! Even a demigod is weaker than a child if they don’t have the levels or energy to supplement that talent. Once their new body is printed, the consciousness of the captured individual is naturally transferred due to their energy being used as the basic template of this clone. From there, all you need to do is slap basic energy nullification restraints on the target, and they will be unable to muster the powers they once possessed to break free.”

“I’m sure you all are thinking that this is too good to be true! Turning a god into a mortal to punish them for their sins? Well! Thankfully, I have prepared a demonstration!” As she said that, she inserted her arm into a circular hole within the medical vat, one which the bracer perfectly slotted itself into.

“For the purpose of this demonstration, I had to go and hunt down a rather troublesome criminal, a God of Poison that spreads a poisonous gas within smaller villages he passes through, or lures monsters to attack them. All for the sake of harnessing their hatred for him to produce even more deadly poisons.”

As Dana explained all of this, the medical vat was suddenly lighting up. Within the green liquid, I could see a body being printed, clearly using the Digital Conversion system rather than regular cloning technology. There must have been some complication that she couldn’t resolve without switching to this system, but that was fine.

“So far, his confirmed crimes are as follows. Three thousand, nine hundred, and seventy-six counts of first-degree murder. Thirteen thousand, two hundred and five counts of intentionally luring monsters to attack noncombatants. One hundred and eight counts of kidnapping. Six counts of assault. Five counts of evading arrest.”

The body that was printed was that of an elf with long, green hair and red eyes. He looked as if he was asleep within the vat when Dana removed her bracer from the device. Focusing my gaze on him, I confirmed that his level was currently zero, though he was also listed as the Demigod of Poison.

“For such serious crimes, the normal punishment would be death.” Dana said in a firm voice, clearly annoyed by seeing the man again. I could only imagine how hard tracking him down must have been for her. “However, there are few capable of reliably killing a god, especially without resorting to extreme measures that could negatively impact the surroundings. Someone like him can escape a normal capture card in roughly eighteen seconds, which is why the stasis chamber is necessary.”

“These are the individuals for whom the Reset Protocol is designed for, those so drunk on their own power that they cannot be contained by normal methods, and will do as they see fit without concern for others. For this reason, I have decided a more fitting punishment for those that care for power over life. Rather than killing them, their punishment will be the death of the power that they hold so dear. They will be sentenced to a life of imprisonment, with no chance of release, forever left to be as weak as a common child.”

I hesitated for a moment when I heard that, thinking. “Isn’t there a chance that they will be able to level up while they’re imprisoned, slowly getting their power back until they can ascend once again?”

Dana smirked when she heard that, looking up at the sky. “You know, I had the same question. To answer this question, I called on a couple of reliable helpers. This is one of the key modifications made to the Reset Protocol’s cloning vat. Every clone produced in this vat has a special title applied to them, ‘Unforgiven Sinner’. This title was specifically created by Ashley and implemented through the system with only one effect.”

After she said that, she turned to look at me. “The bearer of the title is unable to gain experience to level up in any form. The level and class system is completely disabled for them. Even if they somehow managed to escape from the prison, even if they used some archaic method of invading someone’s soul to possess them, as long as the system recognizes that they are the same individual possessing this title, they will forever be stuck at level zero.”

“To prevent this technology from being stolen and used by criminals, additional measures have been taken, ensuring that the cloning vat can only be activated by someone that possesses a title personally bestowed by Irena, ‘One Who Carries Out the Sentence’. This title has no effect other than to allow the activation of the cloning vats.”

My brow twitched when I heard that. “Irena’s going to be busy handing out that title, isn’t she?”

Dana stuck her tongue out playfully. “I already got confirmation from her. She said that it was a small price to pay to get this working. Furthermore, not every cop will need it, only a small number from each station. She said that she’ll manage it, somehow.”