Chapter 24 - Not a Sandwich

The same phenomenon that happened with his machete also happened with the Whispered. His Administrator Authority surrounded the creature but could not penetrate into it to touch its nature. The boundary between him and the Whispered wasn't as pronounced as the divinity the machete possesses. If the protection around the machete is a dam, then the protection around the Whispered is an aquarium glass. It is not as sturdy but can still hold back Ke'an at his current level.

Apprentice Administrator Reality Editor

You have selected Azeraath (Level 50), you do not meet the requirement to edit this item. Edits to individuals can be resisted if their level exceeds yours. You lack the Administrator level needed to edit this item.

You have selected Greater Snow Wraith Cloak (Level 47), you lack the Administrator level needed to edit this item. Edits to individuals can be resisted if their level exceeds yours. You lack the Administrator level needed to edit this item

You have selected Greater Snow Wraith Sabre (Level 48), you lack the Administrator level needed to edit this item. Edits to individuals can be resisted if their level exceeds yours. You lack the Administrator level needed to edit this item

View item description(s) (Yes / No)

Ke'an closed the window as he resituated himself having learned the whispered's name is Azeraath and it is twenty levels stronger than him. Despite being shocked by the sudden realization of Azeraath strength, Ke'an is not one to make mistakes in battle. He does not hesitate as he surges his magic into the war machete out of pure instinct to defend himself. Terror or fear can not arrest his thoughts, or cause him to second guess his actions in crucial moments despite his initial shock thanks to the skill Deicide. It is a passive skill that is always active even if he can not speak the incantation.

Skill: Deicide 0.12%

Skill type: Passive

Magic cost: None

Effect: You will never buckle to fear and will think rationally even in the most dire situation. You are immune to mind control, and mind altering magic.

Transcendent effect: Your soul has been strengthened to resist damage from beings of higher transcendence regardless of level.

Ke'an is further empowered by his second passive skill Genocide which also does not require him to speak the incantation. As the flames flow around his blade they change from brilliant orange-red to ghostly white. The fire flows slowly in the air as if frozen in time, leaving a trail of white flames as the blade moves.

Skill: Genocide 0.20%

Skill Type: Passive

Magic cost: None

Effect: Enemies have two choices: bow or die. You and your selected allies will have slightly increased physical, magical and spiritual damage when outnumbered.

Transcendent Effect: Every enemy killed will add stacking damage effects to your attacks regardless if outnumbered or not. Genocide will also take effect if a single enemy is over 10 levels higher than you.

As Ke'an and System call upon their magic, several trees in the distance burst into sudden flames, streams of fire flow through the air into Ke'an's weapons and System's body. Ke'an deflects Azeraath's follow up strikes as the ground beneath them starts to heat up. White lava spilling onto the ground and its properties intensified by Ke'an's Genocide abilities. Azeraath doesn't retreat; instead his magic cools the lava as he steps.

The interplay between the two's abilities heating and cooling the area around them battle just as fiercely as they are. Ke'an is able to keep up with the much higher level enemy thanks to his skill and dexterity which has been sharpened to a fine point after System's Graveyard trial. Still he is dancing on a knife's edge. He was already caught off guard once and it cost him the majority of his magic and would have killed him had he been a normal human.

System runs around Ke'an to Azeraath's side. As she does, ice melts into streams of water which form liquid brass knuckles and shin guards that float just over their respective location without touching her skin. System's hands and shins however became blindingly hot, so much so that the water guards started to boil in seconds.

As Ke'an defends, System punches Azeraath square in the ribs. Since there is such a high disparity in their level, System being only level seven and Azeraath being level fifty meant that he did not consider her a threat. Azeraath is so focused on killing Ke'an, he already dismissed her as something he did not have to worry about. This proved to be an error in judgment as a sudden explosion staggered him backward.

System chose the combination of fire and water for this effect. She is a master at manipulating elements thanks to her understanding of the fundamental nature of things, since she is the creator of reality. By superheating the water over her fist and shins on impact she is able to create steam explosions, which thanks to her mastery over her magic is singularly focused without recoil. This allows her to use the effect in quick succession without worrying about injuring herself or her allies. Her mastery means that one-hundred percent of the force of the explosion can be pointed in a single spot.

Azeraath is more surprised than injured, feeling that the damage is minimal. However now he knows he can not ignore her as a potential threat. If the disparity in their levels were not so great he would be dead and he knows it. Azeraath is not a mindless beast; his species, the whispered, are as cunning and intelligent as humans, arguably more so. After being ripped from his native reality by a disembodied voice he had been given singular purpose. The same entity that brought him here rewired his faculties and made him crave the destruction of a single town more than anything he had ever wanted before. He wants to accomplish his task more than he needs to fight the two beings before him.

"You both are in my way, Meat." Azeraath says as he jumps back away from the pair. "You all are not my purpose. I must kill them!"

Azeraath points directly at the temple in the distance where the townsfolk have bunkered down.

"That is not going to happen!" System says. "And stop calling me, meat you creep. I am a person not a sandwich!"

"I am generous. Do not interfere and you live, Meat." Azeraath says as he slowly sinks into the ground.

Ke'an does not give him a chance to fully disappear before he pulls one of the rifles from his back and fires. The gun explodes as the bullet strikes the ground with terrifying explosive force. Ke'an looks at his minimap and sees that Azeraath and the other three dots all vanished.

"How many dots?" System asks.

Ke'an held up three fingers and System nodded. As the two started running towards the temple at impossible speeds.

"That means it is a whispered we have to cut it off from the town." System says. "It looks like it doesn't want to fight us but at least I know where the greater wraiths are. Whispered are kind of like your people actually. They find powerful beasts and turn them into power they can utilize through an ability called forge. Unlike your ability, the creatures are still alive when they do this. If they can over power the creature they can literally turn a living thing into whatever they want."

Ke'an thought about the items that were selected along with Azeraath when he used the editor to find out more about him. Other than Azeraath the editor selected two other items. The first was his Greater Snow Wraith Cloak and the second Greater Snow Wraith Sabre, he thought it was weird looking back on it that the items would have levels like people and monsters.

"It seems to be able to use the snow to teleport or move or something." System continues. "So I think you should get rid of all of the snow."

Ke'an stops and holds out his hand and trees along the perimeter of the town all burst into flame at the same time. Ke'an spreads his Authority across the entire town. Earlier while System and Ke'an were looking over the carvings on the trees Ke'an asked if he would be able to remove the snow in the town if the Wraiths managed to get past them. Snow wraiths will be able to move faster in ice than either of them. System talked him through the process of editing large areas in the event they would need it in the fight. She warned him it would take the majority of the trees they carved to do.

Now Ke'an could feel his authority spread out from him like a typhoon washing over the land and even diffusing into the sky. The feeling is not pleasant at first as thousands of individual items are being pressed against his soul. He may have been the dominating force but not without resistance. On an individual item like his bag or a person the resistance is not not noticeable unless he can't edit the item at all. The scale he is attempting now is not just one item and he can feel the combined bite of reality fighting him and trying to push against his changes. It isn't enough though and with a final push he gets the notification he had been waiting for.

Apprentice Administrator Reality Editor

You have selected Kal'sava (Level Settlement). How would you like to edit this item? You are a Apprentice Administrator your choice are limited to the following:

Infuse with magic