Staff of the Warlord

History

Sungjin buys the Staff of Helix from the Darker than Black Merchant for thirty thousand Black Coins after expanding his circle of Chosen Ones. The artifact is subsequently rendered as the Sceptre or Staff of the Warlord, but these names refer to the same authority staff and its continuing functions. (Chapters 115 and 119)

He uses it to inspect allies during raids, teleport to endangered Chosen Ones, and gather the growing group at Ninety Nine Nights for briefings and meals. The staff thus becomes infrastructure for coordinated action across otherwise separate dimensions. (Chapters 135–147, 161, and 171)

Abilities and properties

Draft summons all consenting Chosen Ones and has a one-day cooldown. Mandatory Draft can compel those who refuse and prevents them from leaving the destination dimension for ten minutes, also on a one-day cooldown. Inspection displays a selected Chosen One's situation and lets Sungjin teleport there, with a five-minute cooldown. (Chapter 119)

The consent distinction makes the staff both useful and potentially coercive: ordinary Draft permits refusal, while Mandatory Draft overrides it. Sungjin's routine use centers on voluntary coordination and Inspection, but the forced option remains part of the artifact's authority. (Chapters 119 and 135–147)

Ownership and custody

The Darker than Black Merchant sells the staff directly to Sungjin, who stores it in his Operator Cube and remains its only established wielder. The changing English renderings—Staff of Helix, Sceptre of the Warlord, and Staff of the Warlord—do not indicate transfers or separate objects. (Chapters 119, 135–147, 161, and 171)