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Chapter 767: We Chosen Few

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“And… that’s it! Our reigning champion has been defeated! Markus Tralen is the new King of Mages!” The announcer called out, the divine power of Udona finally receding now that the tournament was over. She let out a low breath of relief, standing up just a little straighter. “Will our new champion please come down to the stage?”

From within the crowd, the black-haired halfling rose from his seat, walking down the path. His eyes seemed almost unnaturally calm, staring forward until he had arrived next to the kitsune announcer. Just as she was about to speak, a wave of pressure pressed down on the stadium, a third figure appearing on the stage.

Although he appeared rather ordinary in appearance, the presence he exuded made none question his identity. Particularly the announcer herself, who was finding it hard to breathe so close to the source of this intangible pressure. In fact, only Markus seemed entirely unaffected as the man walked forward.

When the Keeper saw the state of the announcer, he gave a small smile, the presence around him vanishing. She let out a deep gasp, one hand going over her chest. Her back was covered in a cold sweat, and it took all of her concentration not to completely abandon her position. Although she had been in the presence of gods before, they typically concealed their own auras, or their powers weren’t enough to have such a drastic effect.

“E-Everyone, please offer a round of applause for today’s special sponsor, the Keeper!” She spoke up after she had recovered, standing up as straight as she could. “I suppose this means that you are ready to hand out your special prize, then?” She turned, looking directly at the Keeper himself.

The Keeper nodded, his eyes turning to look at Markus. “I am. But first… is there anything special that you would wish for?” This was a question that many people had been anticipating. The chance to make a personal request of the Keeper himself. With this, a man could become a king or a god, or fulfill many long-standing dreams.

Markus turned to face the Keeper, before dropping to one knee with his head lowered. “Honored Keeper. There is one thing that I would request, if you will hear of it.”

“Go on?” The Keeper nodded his head, a faint smile on his face as he listened to Markus’s request. However, that smile soon froze when he heard what he had to say.

“I would like you to remove one of my titles, which has become a curse to me.” Markus’s voice was completely emotionless as he spoke, but there was a firm will in his eyes. “My soul has been shackled by the world’s system, and I wish it to be free.”

The Keeper seemed to think that over for a moment, before nodding his head. With the wave of a hand, he produced a sheet of paper, and began reading over it. “The title you’re talking about is called ‘Shackled Self’, correct?”

For the first time, Markus’s shoulders shook, a small emotional response springing up from him. “That’s… correct, sir.” He nodded his head. “Is it possible for me to use this as my reward?”

“This and your reward are two different matters.” The Keeper shook his head, conjuring a pen. “Let me just take care of this, first.” As he said that, he brought the pen down to the paper, and a wave of holy power spread out. Markus’s eyes were drawn to a window that had appeared in front of himself, eyes transfixed.

The title Markus wanted to rid himself of was not entirely without its benefits. Due to it, he could rapidly adapt to any restraints placed on his person, whether physical or otherwise. If his sight was blocked, his hearing would grow stronger to compensate. If sound was blocked, he would be able to ‘feel’ the tremors along the ground.

However, there was a downside that he had been searching for a way to get rid of. It was this downside that made him attend these magic tournaments, looking for inspiration to craft a spell that could release him from this ‘curse’. His emotions, his very soul was shackled by this title. He could only feel the smallest tremor of emotion from even great shocks. This was a state that he knew that he had to get rid of.

Once he saw the message appearing, he focused his mind to immediately deactivate the title. He could faintly hear the sounds of chains falling to the ground, his emotions rising to the surface. His cold, red eyes turned an almost peaceful blue before growing wet with unshed tears of gratitude.

Soon, the holy light faded from the stage, the Keeper smiling as he saw the results of his work. “Now… for your reward.” The Keeper said, lifting his hand. From his shadow, an old tome arose. This book seemed to have golden embellishments, but it had no title that could be seen.

The Keeper handed this book to Markus, who looked blankly at it, wondering why this was the reward that so many people had fought over. In his mind, the chance to have a personal wish granted was far more valuable than anything that could be recorded in a book. However, he knew that this was likely no simple book, as well. This thought was confirmed when the Keeper’s voice entered his mind

This book represents the divine domain of water. It will be up to you to determine how you wish to use it. The Keeper nodded his head, using another wisp of divine power to form a string between Markus and his reward.

Let’s not risk someone trying to steal that from you, shall we? The Keeper asked mentally before withdrawing his power. Markus stared down at the book in his hands, unsure what to think. Opening the cover, he saw strange symbols, which he vaguely recognized as ‘divine script’. Though the script was normally unreadable, he was somehow able to make out that the word written on the inside cover was ‘Water’.

The Keeper turned towards the announcer, speaking with the same smile that he had used to look at Markus. “I apologize for intruding on today’s festivities. However, I was quite impressed by the show. Thus, thank you for putting up with me today.”

The announcer quickly waved her hands, as if to stop him from saying anything else. “Please, sir, it was no bother! We’re always happy to have the Keeper watch over us. If you have any other requests, please feel free!”

The Keeper simply chuckled, shaking his head. “I think that’s enough for me for now.” He said, his body wrapping itself in golden light before it simply vanished.

Clearing her throat, the announcer turned to face the crowd again. “Well… that’s not something we see every year, right?” She asked with a light laugh. “Now that the special award ceremony is out of the way, let us get on with the typical prizes.”

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I let out a small sigh as I returned to the citadel, rolling my shoulders. I had to admit that Markus’s wish surprised me. So that’s how he was able to fight with all of those restrictions…

I had never tried to edit or remove someone’s title before, but I knew that it should be possible. After all, Ashley had created entirely new systems for the world, so what was editing one or two titles? All that I had to do was create a representation of his titles by linking the Paper and Games, and then edit it while infusing my divine power.

As for the book that I had given him, that was one of the ‘item embryos’ I had established some time ago. I noticed during the tournament that they had finally taken shape, and had split a portion of my perception to investigate them.

I was… surprised when I saw that the domains did not take the form of weapons or items related to their power. Rather, each and every domain had formed a book. These books radiated holy power, and it was clear that they were anything but ordinary. In order to help avoid the chance of Markus being targeted in the future, I used an illusion power on the book I gave him, sealing the holy aura it was releasing.

And for why I chose the Water domain to give him? There wasn’t really any deep meaning. I could access the Ocean domain through Bihena even if the true owner of the Water domain were to die, so I wouldn’t lose out by giving him that book either way.

However, this whole award ceremony did give me another idea for something that I wanted to try. Making my way back inside, I saw Lifre, Tsubaki, and Dana all waiting for me in the study. Lifre’s eyes stared at me expectantly, and I could only blink in response, unsure of what she was wanting until I checked her surface thoughts.

She didn’t know what book I gave Markus, but with her new divine artifact being a library, she was hoping that I would give some of them to her. I let out a chuckle at that, shaking my head. “Dana.” I called out to the little elf, who looked over at me curiously.

“Yes, boss?” She asked, unsure of why she had been called out.

“How would you like to have a divine power?” I smiled, earning an incredulous look. Dana was currently the only member of the citadel’s staff that did not have her own divinity, making her the perfect individual to test this with.

“Do you mean… making me a god?” Dana asked in confusion, which only grew when I shook my head.

“Not quite. Though, the end result won’t be too much different.” As I said that, I sat down at a table and conjured a piece of paper with the Papers domain. “Similar to the item I just gave Markus, I’m going to give you an item that allows you to operate a domain without being a god.”

Dana’s eyes went wide at that. “Do I get to choose the domain I get?” She asked in excitement, causing me to chuckle.

“As long as it’s one that is already in the world.”

She thought about that for a moment, rubbing her chin. “Can it be the Crafts domain, then? I’m usually making things, anyways, so that will help.”

I gave a small nod, and began to write on the paper. I drew the divine script for the ‘Crafts’ domain, channeling that domain personally and imbuing it with a large amount of divine energy. Afterwards, I began using the Games domain, writing in the details for the title which would contain this power. Once I was done, I passed the paper over to Dana, using both the Games and Possession domains to bind it to her ‘status’.