The Primal Hunter 8: A LitRPG Adventure, page 27
However, what was important was that it was not done, allowing Jake to feel part of the process. The first thing he picked up on was that each wing was different. It was like the Viper poured in different energies and manipulated the blood with variance, with each wing having different mixes of concepts as a result. Jake felt them both and noticed what differed.
One wing held blood that would be able to corrode passive energy, and the other wing held blood that would corrode mana with intent. Jake was momentarily confused, then realized why this was actually brilliant. Poisons of similar natures tended to amplify one another, while those of opposite natures would attack each other. This did not fully apply due to the sheer variety of concepts in each wing, but it eliminated most of the potential conflicts that could arise. Also, the Viper’s infused intents in each wing were now physically separated, and focusing his intent to accomplish the two tasks in separate wings was far more efficient and easier.
Next up was the process of creating the cocoon. On this note, Jake had thought that the fast movement Villy had displayed in the first vision was part of the skill’s effect, but that was quickly proven wrong. Nothing done would actually make him faster, but due to the nature of the magic, it would rapidly increase speed momentarily. The mist would erode everything in his path, effectively allowing him to fly in a vacuum of concepts. Considering the limited time the cocoon would last, fast movement right off the bat was also a necessity, and then one just had to let the momentum carry forward.
The vision progressed more or less as expected as Jake watched the Viper adapt and make the Wings’ skill effect on the fly—pun intended. Feeling it like this, Jake had to admit that the Viper had truly been a monster. The toxic concepts that had taken Jake days to identify were found within hours by the Viper, and his level of energy control when it came to the toxic energy was utterly insane. He was at least slower than Jake in some places, but they were few and far between.
After what Jake estimated to be roughly five total days in the cave, the Viper opened his eyes and got ready. Scales covered his body as he flew out of the cave and into the storm of comets. He dodged them more easily now due to his smaller humanoid shape, but it was clear he was not as fast in this form.
He flew for a quarter of an hour, periodically checking the compass he had brought until he was at the right spot. It was a weird, fractured point in space that looked almost like a broken phone screen with microcracks everywhere.
The Viper took a deep breath as he got close and slowed down. That was when time also slowed down, and Jake felt the skill being used for the first time. Both wings were infused with a lot of energy, and Jake’s eyes opened wide at discovering how he infused it… He summoned several wings pretty much on top of each other at the same time.
An explosion sounded as both wings blew up from energy overload. Jake felt the pain, as he experienced Villy’s body like it was his own. The Viper rapidly gathered the energy and wrapped it around himself like a barrier. When he did so, Jake saw his body turn green and knew it was not due to his body changing… It was simply Jake seeing the effect of everything being corroded all around him.
A second explosion sounded out when the Viper shot forward towards the broken space. A faint trace was left in his wake as he went into the fractured exit point. The poison around him revolved at nearly impossible speeds, each particle of mist able to break down the fundamental laws of reality itself.
Once the Viper entered the fractured point, he simply phased into it. Even if the Viper was strong, he was not strong enough to break a space tunnel like this… but he could burn a small hole into it and pass through. Space reformed behind him like he had never been there, and Jake only saw a faint glimpse of darkness before Villy appeared in the outside world, surrounded by large, snowy mountains. Behind him, a crack in reality had been formed, but it healed within a fraction of a second, so fast a simple blink would miss it.
The cocoon of mist dispersed nearly instantly, and the Viper began to fall to the ground, clearly exhausted. Jake felt a profound sense of weakness all over, and moreover, like a part of his Soulshape had been sacrificed to make the escape possible… which was when Jake found the final piece of the puzzle.
What he had been stuck on was how to control the poison. He now realized he didn’t control it at all; it would control itself. What the Viper had done was sacrifice the wings to infuse parts of himself into them. His own will and desire.
The last thing Jake saw was Villy turn in a certain direction, murder in his eyes. Clearly out for revenge against those who had dared to try and trap and kill him.
Everything then rewound, and Jake saw the vision again. Even if it appeared long, the entire vision had only been about fifteen minutes total, considering all the fast-forwarding.
Jake slowly hammered out the errors. He smiled as the vision ended, confident, and returned to the real world.
He appeared sitting inside Sandy’s stomach, and instantly the worm launched into a tirade.
"Wow, what did you do? I felt something super weird just now, like, you were gone and then back or something? That was sooo weird… You were still kind of there, but not really, you know?"
"I did special magic," Jake answered jokingly.
"Boo. You should share.”
"How about I share with you the results? Can you stop for a moment, so I can test this out? Just be warned, I will try to get out of here, and I can’t promise this won’t be a little painful. I may just make a hole or something on my way out.”
"Oh, go ahead; I will try and stop you, right?"
"Go ahead," Jake said confidently.
Jake focused as his wings appeared. The skill had already upgraded the moment he returned, and the learned knowledge turned instinctual. Everything happened instantly with the system’s assistance: Dozens of wings superimposed upon each other and exploded, forming a cloud of mist around him. He then sent himself flying forward towards the wall of the stomach chamber.
He observed everything carefully. He felt and saw himself impact the stomach wall, and the moment he did, it seemed to simply disintegrate. Everything turned black for a moment. No concept reached Jake—not even light. He felt entirely isolated from everything, and even his sphere went haywire for a second. He felt the mist fight against everything and slowly consume itself to burn him a path, and then…
And then he was in the outside world.
Jake stopped and saw he was still in rocky, mountainous terrain, as the mist had already dispersed upon escaping. He took a moment to collect himself and saw the giant worm flying just above, and as he looked up, he also felt Sandy’s attention on him.
"You escape—I mean, got out!" Sandy said with surprise.
"That I did," Jake answered. He had to admit that he had expected the fatigue to be more prominent. Then again, he had a monstrous mana pool.
There were no marks anywhere on Sandy, and Jake wondered why that was.
"That was so weird!" Sandy said, explaining to him what had happened. "I was just waiting and wondering what you were doing until you disappeared again and then just popped right out of my skin! Like, it makes no sense; it was like you weren’t really inside me at all…"
Jake considered it for a moment before he understood the explanation. He had not even interacted with the physical body of Sandy, only the Soulshape, and one couldn’t even say he had done that… it was more like he had been spat out of the Soulshape. He had to admit, even now, that he still didn’t entirely understand how the skill worked, and he had a feeling the Viper hadn’t one hundred percent either when he made it.
Not that Jake would complain. He finally opened his messages and saw the upgraded skill.
[Wings of the Malefic Viper (Ancient)] – Refusing to remain earthbound, the Malefic Viper sprang wings to devour the skies. You too refuse to be earthbound. Allows the alchemist to summon two phantasmal wings and take flight. While active, you can burn the blood within the wings and release potent toxic fumes. The toxicity and effect of the poison are based on Blood of the Malefic Viper. Toughness and maneuverability of the wings and speed are based primarily on Agility but receive a bonus from all physical stats. The wings count as part of your body for all relevant skills. Passively provides 1 Agility per level in Prodigious Alchemist of the Malefic Viper. May the sight of your wings be the harbinger of death.
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[Wings of the Malefic Viper (Legendary)] – Refusing to remain earthbound, the Malefic Viper sprang wings to devour the skies. Refusing to be bound or trapped anywhere, the wings of the Malefic One shall always leave a path of escape. Allows the alchemist to summon two phantasmal wings and take flight. While active, you can burn the blood within the wings and release potent toxic fumes. The toxicity and effects of the poison are based on Blood of the Malefic Viper. Toughness and maneuverability of the wings and speed are based primarily on Agility but receive a bonus from all physical stats. The wings count as part of your body for all relevant skills. Allows the alchemist to further infuse and sacrifice both wings to create an opportunity to escape if in a perilous situation. Doing this makes resummoning the wings impossible for a variable duration, dependent on Agility and the amount of energy infused into the wings upon the sacrifice. Passively provides 3 Agility per level in Heretic-Chosen Alchemist of the Malefic Viper. May your wings be the harbinger of death and instruments of escape to feed another day.
*’DING!’ Profession: [Heretic-Chosen Alchemist of the Malefic Viper] has reached level 184 - Stat points allocated, +10 Free Points*
*’DING!’ Profession: [Heretic-Chosen Alchemist of the Malefic Viper] has reached level 185 - Stat points allocated, +10 Free Points*
*’DING!’ Race: [Human (D)] has reached level 182 - Stat points allocated, +15 Free Points*
Wings was a contender, if not a winner, for longest skill description by now. The added description did not say much he didn’t already know, but it did explain one thing he was unaware of… He couldn’t summon his wings again. It was like the Soulshape framework itself had taken damage from using the skill. The more Jake looked at it, the more insane it seemed. The Viper had found a way to summon a new appendage to the soul and then used that added appendage as a way to sacrifice a part of the soul. Jake had known before that it was possible as a concept, but he’d never seen it used like this. The most common variant was severe boosting skills that could leave long-lasting damage to the soul.
The problem with the soul was that one really had to just give it time to heal. While there were treasures to hasten it or very special things like the Soul Renewal he had used on the King, the best medicine was truly just time.
Oh, and then there was the added Agility, which Jake would definitely not complain about. Two levels in his profession were also a welcome addition, if a rather expected one.
"So…" Sandy said after a while.
"Sure, sure, go ahead and gobble me up again," Jake said, sighing as the worm happily ate him like a tasty snack. Once he was inside, Sandy began moving again, continuing their adventure across the world.
"Hey, human Jake, can you tell me more about that weird magic before?"
Jake wanted a break anyway and obliged. "You see, my good friend Villy—the Malefic Viper we talked about before—has given me a Legacy that has a lot of skills and…"
They talked and relaxed, and Jake realized he only had one thing he felt a bit sad about. The vision of Villy had not really been the embarrassing moment Jake had hoped for, but more just the snake god showing off how skilled he was.
Oh, well, better luck next time. There had to be a vision where Villy was caught in a really embarrassing moment, right?
Chapter 31
Godly Interference & Advice
"This is complete bullshit," Carmen said as she stared at the golden projection.
"It wasn’t my call, but it comes all the way from the top," the projection of Sven said, shaking his head. "This may sound curt, but it is partly because of you. Your personal relationship with the Malefic’s Chosen is both a merit and a demerit. On the one hand, it ensures us a spot in this world, but on the other, then if someone else gets in charge, we may be ostracized."
"Still complete fucking bullshit," Carmen now raged. "Do you really think Jake will just be all fine with us supporting this orange Cheeto fuck? Do you think he will just go, ‘Oh, well, what can you do?’ and let us go about our day like nothing? Fuck no—there will be hell to pay."
"You are talking as if his victory is a given," Sven answered. "Even if he is stronger than this Ell’Hakan, it does not mean he will beat him in the political arena. Besides, it is not even Ell’Hakan we are supporting, but Arthur, another human. We are not betraying anyone, for we were never on the side of Lord Thayne to begin with. He will get even better terms than Arthur if he comes out on top, and with Miranda likely around, she will be a voice of reason."
"Funny," Carmen scoffed. "You think he gives a shit about some terms or benefits? Jake is an impulsive kind of guy, and if he thinks you slighted him, that is the only thing that matters."
"Carmen, we are not getting anywhere if we talk in circles." Sven sighed. "The decision has already been made, and none of us can do anything about it. All we can do is make the best out of the situation. The top brass thinks this will have the highest overall chance of success, so that is why we are going with it. You can agree or disagree, and it changes nothing. If you want to do anything, it should be to make sure Jake stays positive towards us if he wins."
Carmen just kept frowning as she abruptly turned off the projector with a huff, still thinking it was fucking bullshit.
"Ree?" Sylphie asked, still sitting beside her and not entirely getting everything that was going on.
Sylphie had chosen to stay with Carmen since Jake left, and the two of them had used Paradise as a home base while exploring. Renato was the kind of two-faced asshole Carmen expected and did not choose any side at all, only fortifying the city itself in case anyone chose to target them. Not that she cared; he let her and Sylphie do as they wanted, and Carmen’s mother was doing way better. She had settled down and now just worked as a tailor. The original plan of bringing her to an area Valhal controlled had been delayed due to the Salvento family having a lot of assets to claim and Renato being very good at convincing them to stay "just a little longer" all the time.
"I don’t know, Sylphie," Carmen said, sighing. "This entire situation is fucked up, and they just expect me to sit tight and do nothing? You know what? How about we go fuck up some of their cities? Go punch some City Lords to give them a bit of their own medicine?"
"Ree!" Sylphie screeched, excited, probably just wanting to get in a few good fights.
"Let’s do i—"
Carmen’s eyes opened wide as she felt a headache come on. She knew what it was and gritted her teeth as she heard the voice of Gudrun.
"Carmen, I understand your feelings. You remind me much of my husband, you know? Like Valdemar, you never see the bigger picture because you personally don’t have to. But this entire scenario is quite delicate. Earth is a melting pot right now, and in an untenable situation if one has even the slightest foresight. The Holy Church and Risen would never get along, and not even the Viper’s Chosen could create peace among two factions that have warred for trillions of years. In the same way, some humans will never come to accept the Order of the Malefic Viper either. They will never be able to disconnect the Chosen from the Order, for historically, there has never been any such separation. You know him as a person; they know him as a symbol.
“Conflict is inevitable and healthy, and this entire conflict will only lead to Earth entering a more stable state. No matter who wins. All we want to make sure of is that no matter who wins, we keep an opening. If the Chosen chooses to close this opening, then so be it. Removing ourselves as an organizational presence from Earth is truly not that big of a loss, and as per the doctrine of Valhal, you would be able to stay if you wanted. Anyone would. And remember, we have not actually chosen a side; we have, in fact, done the opposite and said that we will support either side that wins. If the Malefic’s Chosen is the kind of individual that will make a "me or them" ultimatum, then I will only feel strengthened in this decision. For that is not the kind of man we would want to work with in the long term. So, Carmen, all I am asking of you is to do nothing. For remember, what you do will be the actions of Valhal. I cannot tell you what you can or can’t do, but I can implore you to think about it. If you are truly confident the Malefic’s Chosen will win, then just sit tight and keep trusting in him to handle it."
It was a damn long message that came like a huge package. Carmen took a while to process it all and wasn’t sure what to think… Gudrun had been incredibly hands-off for Carmen, and she was surprised any god from Valhal would suddenly contact her, much less the wife and de-facto leader of the day-to-day operations of Valhal.
This is why Carmen found it suspicious, and even if she had a damn headache from receiving a divine message, she still responded. "You do care about Earth… If not, you wouldn’t go this far as to contact me and try to explain things.”
Carmen got an amused chuckle in return as Gudrun answered, "No, we care about the people on it… which is also why I mentioned that you could stay on Earth even if Valhal was made to leave. People like Jake Thayne care about the people they choose to care about. He has chosen you as someone he cares about. So even if Valhal leaves Earth and you stay, we won’t have lost anything worth mentioning. And if the Malefic’s Chosen loses, I think it wise for you to bring your loved ones and leave Earth altogether, even if we do enter a partnership. For the safety of both you and the potential new leader of your planet."
"The way you talk makes it sound like there is even a chance Jake loses," Carmen still argued.
