World Keeper

Chapter 923: Headhunting

Deep within the forest, I grit my teeth, grabbing onto my arm that had fallen off from Tsubaki’s last surprise attack. She was being careful not to use her martial will, so I was able to safely reattach the arm, letting the energy fuse back into my torso. However, it was still shocking and painful to suddenly lose my arm like that.

It has only been a few hours since the start of this trial, but I lost count of how many times she had attacked me. If I lowered my guard even for a moment, she came in and struck before I could react. I had my World Sight spread out in a net around myself, but she was just too fast. By the time I was able to respond to her entering my World Sight, she was already upon me.

The worst part was that I couldn’t tell where she was watching me from. If I spread my energy out to search for her, I would briefly feel a reaction from her own World Sight, before that reaction suddenly vanished. It was hard to tell if she was leaving those traces as a decoy, or simply changing locations as soon as our energies felt one another.

Part of me was honestly tempted to tap into my divine abilities, or my Keeper stats. If I did so, I would at least be able to cope with her insane speed. Unfortunately, doing so would also go against the purpose of the test. In the worst scenario, if I increase my own power, she will start using more of her own to maintain the difficulty. If she were to mix her divine powers in with her martial will, I wasn’t entirely sure I’d be able to withstand that.

I took a deep breath, calming myself while keeping my body tense and ready to respond. She can attack from any angle, and won’t allow for even a moment’s pause. I have to keep moving, and keep alert.

If I had a weapon, I might be able to put up more of a fight. At the very least, I’d be able to extend my reach and give myself some more opportunities. Wait… when did she say that she was going to be doing this trial unarmed?

Cold sweat formed on my back as realization dawned on me. The moment I had my weapon, it was likely that Tsubaki would begin fighting me while armed with weapons herself. Although she wouldn’t be using her martial will, her fighting prowess was not to be underestimated.

My World Sight picked up a reaction from my left, and so I immediately turned, my fist raised to greet her. There was a golden blur rushing towards me, hands curved into claws. Her eyes were fierce, and she moved at unpredictable angles. If she simply charged straight, I could use my ki to seal the space and slow her down, forcing her to respond. However, by the time I did so in this situation, she would have escaped the area of my power.

This left me no choice but to greet her as soon as she came into melee. There was no time to take a proper stance, so I simply lashed out with my fist, aiming straight for Tsubaki’s head. I wasn’t worried that my attack would seriously hurt her, as her basic stats were well above my own. At most, I wanted to force her to dodge, or even knock her back a step to give me some time.

In the end, I let out a hiss of pain, watching her dart off to the side. My closed fist fell to the ground, severed at the wrist. What can I learn from this? She’s not trying to point out any mistakes or offer advice.

As I thought that, I controlled my fist to fly back to my wrist, cautiously walking deeper into the forest. How can I make the terrain more advantageous to myself? If I use the trees as cover, it will slow her approach unless she’s willing to bulldoze through them. But, if she was going to do that, she wouldn’t have thrown me towards the forest in the first place.

There was no telling how long Tsubaki wanted to make this trial last. Would it be until the next invasion? No, the next round would be after the Keeper Meeting. It’s possible that she would ask me to go to a game with her where we could simulate the training more realistically… In those scenarios, it wouldn’t end with only severed limbs.

As my foot moved back, I felt something click against my shoe. Too worried to take my eyes off the forest around me, I directed my World Sight to expand and cover the object. I hadn’t noticed it before, but there was now a red gem by my foot. A… Blood Heart gem?

Normally, I would be pleased to get such an item, as I could easily use it to restore my lost ki. However, seeing it here now made me even more concerned than before. Blood Heart hadn’t even been purchased yet when this world was last in use. Clearly, Tsubaki left this here specifically for me, which meant two things.

First, she was able to guide me wherever she wanted me to go, and leave things for me along the way, whether they were items like this or traps. Secondly… she fully intended to push me to my limits. Leaving stones like this lying around would give me the chance to restore my ki, which only meant that I could fight longer without running out. And, given that she controlled the rate at which I discovered these gems, she would always know how much energy I had at my disposal.

He’s learning to be cautious. Tsubaki thought to herself, hiding in a tree over a kilometer away from the Keeper. She wrapped her World Sight in an area fifty meters around herself, prepared to move if his energy swept in this direction. Her eyes burned with ki, piercing through the forest to watch him.

This training isn’t just about being cautious… It’s a good first step, though. He’s starting to respond to my ambushes. His instincts… they’re not bad, but they’re slow. Let’s go in with fists this time. Tsubaki nodded her head slightly as she thought about that, watching the Keeper like a hunter.

The branch she was sitting on trembled slightly as she vanished, her figure darting through the trees. Tsubaki was well aware at this point how far the Keeper was spreading his World Sight, and could easily slip to the edge of his awareness without being noticed. Until she reached that point, her figure was almost ethereal, passing between trees like a ghost.

Only when she reached the edge of his field did her body begin to glow with ki, rushing forward. Under the watch of World Sight, she couldn’t use the Way of Hidden Truths to deceive his eyes. However, what she could do was imbue just a bit of chakra into her feet, her figure flickering ahead just as he was turning to face her. His eyes showed surprise at her sudden advance, but her fists flew out to meet him.

Two punches to his shoulders, three to his waist, and one to his chest. In total, she launched six rapid blows, causing him to stagger back. The strikes to his shoulders delayed his ability to bring his arms up, but she purposely slowed down enough for him to do so before her second round.

There were no words between the two, as the clash would be over before their words were spoken. In a flash, Tsubaki rushed to his back, aiming a fist for his spine. The Keeper’s upper body turned at the last moment, taking the punch with his arm instead. Surprise flashed in Tsubaki’s eyes briefly, before her figure launched up into the air, kicking off numerous branches above and leaving the Keeper behind.

“I thought you were only using your ki?” The Keeper’s voice rang out, Tsubaki coming to rest at the same branch where she had been watching from earlier.

“You began using World Sight, so I must take other methods to increase the effectiveness of the hunt.” Tsubaki spoke back, letting ki flow through her voice to echo it from various points in the forest. “If you can see me coming, then I simply need to make your perception unreliable.”

The Keeper grunted at that, using the Blood Heart stone that she had left him. At the same time, she was reviewing their most recent clash in her mind. He responded well to the attack. Did he enhance his body beyond the limits of the rules? No, there wasn’t a spike in his presence. He’s just getting faster.

A satisfied smile appeared on Tsubaki’s face for a brief moment, before her gaze went serious once again. Lady Terra, I need your counsel.

What is it? There was clear irritation in Terra’s voice, but Tsubaki already knew the cause. She was hurting the Keeper, who Terra was protective of. If not for this being something the Keeper himself had agreed to, there was no way that Terra would be this willing to talk.

The Keeper has never faced a true life-threatening situation of the scale we need here. At the same time, his perceived flow of time should have only made it a few short years since he achieved divinity. I need to know how far I can push his body before it becomes a problem. If I cut off his head, will the system recognize him as dead? This was something that Tsubaki wanted to avoid at all costs, even if it was for a fraction of a moment.

Y-You… if you don’t use your martial will, no. It took Terra a moment to calm down after hearing Tsubaki’s response. You’re right, from his perspective he hasn’t been a god very long. The shock of having his head cut off or his heart destroyed are still primal fears. Are you really willing to push him that far, though? He might activate his full power as a reflex.

Tsubaki shook her head. I trust my Keeper. If he activates his power, it will only be as a defensive measure, not to lash out. I trust that he has enough faith in myself and you not to use that power against me. But that is why I have to do this. If I want him to awaken a martial will soon, I need to convince him that this trial is truly dangerous on a primitive level. I need him to fight me as if his life were at stake, until he adapts to that sensation.

Once his mind is familiar with the concept of ‘fear’ and ‘death’, he’ll be able to analyze his own movements. ‘What can I do to prepare myself?’, or ‘If she attacks like this again, how can I stop her?’ These are thoughts I need to put in his mind. Although he is performing these actions now, they are elementary at best. If he were an experienced fighter, he would be able to launch his attacks from any stance, always ready to unleash his full power.

From what I understand, martial will is not about learning a thousand different techniques with a weapon. In order to obtain martial will, what you need is to be so focused on your weapon that you awaken its potential.

There was a long pause after Tsubaki finished, before Terra let out a sigh. Don’t go for his eyes. If he sees the attack and believes strongly enough that he has died, his divinity will respond and it may very well kill him. You can sever his legs, his neck, or even shatter his chest, but don’t go for his eyes.

A thankful smile appeared on Tsubaki’s lips. I will keep that in mind, Lady Terra. After she said that, her eyes sharpened. In the distance, she could see the Keeper’s shoulders relax, and see how the ki in that area was no longer as sharp as before.

In that case, I shall put that to the test. She thought, her body fading away from the branch.

I let out a sigh of relief after going over the damage from Tsubaki’s last ambush. She had only struck me with her fists, and hadn’t done so with the intention of throwing me back. Instead, it seemed like she was trying to disable my movements. Thankfully, I noticed at the last moment that she had appeared behind me, and turned in time to respond.

As that sigh left me, my body tensed up again. Tsubaki’s form had once more entered my World Sight, rushing towards me faster than ever before. I had barely let my guard down for a moment, and she was already directly in front of me. Her hand this time wasn’t a claw, or a fist, but rather a straight palm, almost like a blade.

I tried to bring my guard up, but she was already upon me. When I expected her to cut off my arm again, her hand swept horizontally. Cutting me off at the waist? No… my eyes widened in horror as I realized that her attack was too high for that.

My head tilted back, catching a glimpse of the sky before tumbling back, and seeing my body standing before Tsubaki. Her eyes were as fierce as ever as she watched my fallen head, spinning and kicking my body over towards me. Had she… no, I wasn’t dying, right? Was I?

No, if I was, there was enough time for Terra to pull me out, wasn’t there? I felt myself freezing up for several long seconds, during which time Tsubaki would have normally already fled back into the forest. Instead, she watched me. Only when my arm began to move again did she retreat back.

The sight of my headless body haunted me, together with that piercing stare. Tsubaki was serious about this trial…

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