The Primal Hunter 9, page 51
"Alright, I will see what I am gonna do when the time comes," Jake finally said.
Izil nodded before looking at Meira. "I know Meira planned on joining the Order properly, right?"
"That is the plan, yes."
"Wouldn’t it be best if she did that before the ceremony? I have a hard time seeing her having any kind of normal enrollment if everyone knows she is the slave or even servant of the Chosen of the Malefic Viper."
Izil brought up a very good point. Jake looked at Meira, wondering if she had tried to stall her joining till after the ceremony to maybe avoid it altogether, but her face told him that wasn’t the case. Her face was one of realization, as if she hadn’t considered that a potential problem.
"I… should, shouldn’t I?" she asked the both of them.
Izil and Jake both nodded in agreement as Meira looked nervous. "What if… What if I don’t pass?"
"Meira," Jake said, shaking his head, “if you don’t pass, then who the hell has a chance to? I have seen what you work on, and you are pretty damn good at what you do. You may not do that well with poisons, sure, but your potions, flasks, and magic circles are damn impressive."
"But…" Meira tried.
"I must concur—your progress has been unlike that of anyone else I have met here in the Order,” Izil said with an encouraging smile. “In the beginning, you were far from impressive, and your lack of general knowledge was baffling, but as time passed, you improved at an incredible speed, even learning high-level concepts far earlier than others.”
"That’s just because of my teacher," Meira said, trying to write off her own effort.
Izil nodded and seemed to have a thought. "Say, who is your teacher? I had assumed it to be the backer of Lord Thayne, and while the number of surprises I have had today is already overwhelming, please tell me you were not personally taught by the Malefic One?"
"Of course not!" Meira exclaimed.
"Yeah, Duskleaf taught her,” Jake said, nodding.
"Duskleaf… Wait, the Grand Elder and leader of the Academy? The one who recently revealed himself as a god?" Izil’s eyes went wide. "Isn’t he the disciple of the Malefic Viper?"
"Yep, he is.”
Izil just stared at Meira before she stuttered, "Does… Doesn’t that make you the disciple of the Grand Elder?"
Meira looked at Izil before vehemently shaking her head. "No! No… the Grand Elder merely taught me a few things because of Lord Thayne. I can in no way claim to be his real student."
"Pretty sure you are," Jake mumbled before yelling towards the ceiling, "Isn’t she?"
A few seconds passed as the two elves looked at Jake with confusion, making him feel awkward.
"Duskleaf, stop being shy," Jake said, knowing the god was looking.
"I was not being shy; I just couldn’t drop everything on a whim and come here," a voice spoke as the pudgy old alchemist entered the living room, having teleported into the hallway outside with his Sproutleaf Avatar. "But yes, I do think Meira qualifies as my student, considering the amount of time I have spent personally teaching her. As for calling her a disciple, that classification is far more meaningful and requires the active consent of both parties before such a relationship can be formally established."
Izil’s eyes opened in disbelief at seeing Duskleaf, and she quickly stood up and bowed toward the god. "This one greets the Grand Elder."
"At ease," he said, waving her off dismissively. "I just came to clarify that Meira is my student."
"And for me to not make fun of you later for not daring to show up and clarify she is your student," Jake said with a grin.
The old alchemist just shook his head before looking back to Meira. "May as well ask now… After Jake goes public as the Chosen of my master, what do you say to becoming my official disciple? You practically already are."
"I…"
"Just think about it," Duskleaf said before looking at Jake, giving him a nod of approval. "I did also owe you thanks for winning me a bet. Good job with the succubus."
Jake then saw the alchemist briefly glance at Meira.
"Sleeping with her while out a couple of weeks ago was earlier than either of us had expected."
You bloody bastard…
Jake knew Duskleaf had done it on purpose, as he watched Meira freeze up and stare at both him and Duskleaf. Her mouth opened for a brief moment before she closed it again, and she adopted a steely look. Izil seemed to notice Meira’s reaction, moving a bit closer to her in support as the two seemed to briefly talk telepathically. Jake threw Duskleaf a look, and the god also spoke to him telepathically.
"Don’t look at me like that; you started this,” Duskleaf said. “Besides, the girl needs the motivation to keep progressing even after she joins the Order and regains her freedom. Planting the seed of expectation that she needs to attain a status making her able to approach you is a good way to make that happen. That it will create some drama for you is just a bonus."
"Pretty sure we already gave her enough motivation before this," Jake countered, not buying it.
"One can always have more."
"I believe I have said all there is to say," Duskleaf said as he disappeared from the living room, leaving Jake and the two elves. Jake wanted to curse him out more for just bailing after having the last word like that, but he held it in and just stared at where Duskleaf had been.
"Lord Thayne, would it be fine if we also took our leave?" Meira asked a few seconds after the god was gone. "I want to no longer delay joining the Order and getting it done."
"I, too, should attend to business relating to the ceremony and relay the information you have given me today," Izil added as she bowed. "I thank the Chosen for trusting me with this task and will do my best not to disappoint."
Jake could not exactly tell them to stay and was more than fine with them leaving. He was surprised neither of them brought up what Duskleaf had said, and he wasn’t sure if their silence was a good or a bad thing.
"Alright, you two take care,” Jake said, nodding.
Meira proceeded to escort Izil to the teleportation gate, but when they got there, they both teleported away, leaving Jake confused. Was she planning on joining the Order here and now, or what?
Shaking his head, Jake tried not to think about it. Instead, he headed back to his lab to do something he at least understood:
Torturing mushrooms to make poisons.
Miranda was rather used to meetings, if she said so herself. She had acted as the head of the World Council ever since its inception and was used to dealing with all sorts of faction leaders who repeatedly hounded her and the rest of the council.
Not once during all these meetings had she been fazed. But… this time was different.
She found herself sitting in the heartlands of the Verdant Lagoon while using her legendary dream skill. Out of pretty much everyone on Earth that was D-grade or above, Miranda guessed she was the one who slept the most due to this skill and its ability to dilate time while she slept. It allowed her to catch up when there weren’t enough hours in her day, and to keep practicing magic while not failing to live up to her responsibilities.
Yet today, she found herself within the Verdant Lagoon not to practice magic or catch up on tasks or any of the other things Miranda usually did there. Instead, she found herself surrounded by four individuals who all surpassed her in every way imaginable.
Three of them were the Verdant Witches themselves, Godqueens and high-level leaders of the Order of the Malefic Viper. The fourth was someone Miranda had only encountered once before during a prior visit to the lagoon: Viridia, the Hall Master and leader of the mortal part of the Order. A late-stage S-grade who was expected to reach demigod status before long, as the Verdant Witches had recently taken her in as a disciple. There were even rumors she would soon become their Chosen.
As for why these five women had gathered? Well, what else could it be besides Jake?
"I have confirmation from the Altmar Empire, Endless Empire, sixteen major tribes of the beastfolk, the Risen, and—"
"Tell us who has not yet answered that they will attend among the major factions," the first of the three sisters asked Viridia, who had been explaining who would attend the event.
"Notably absent is the Holy Church, but even more surprisingly, Valhal has been silent," Viridia explained, shaking her head. "The Risen did also raise a ruckus over the many vampires who have so openly shown themselves and joined the Order, but I do not believe they will cause any trouble."
The second of the three sisters nodded and smiled. "Still, it will be quite the event. When was the last time the Automata Legion and the Endless Empire existed within the same space without it resulting in bloodshed?"
"It could still end in bloodshed," the third sister chimed in.
"Which would definitely make it more entertaining," the second one said, grinning.
Miranda just listened in as the four far more powerful women discussed the upcoming event even more. She wondered why she’d even been asked to be there until one of the three sisters finally addressed her.
"How about you, little sis? You got confirmation from those blessed by the two Primordials, didn’t you?"
She still felt uncomfortable with being called little sis, but she nodded without showing her discomfort. "I have indeed. Moreover, I have ensured that Sandy will also join us for the event."
The four witches looked at her weirdly before one of the three gods tilted her head. "Who is Sandy? Oh, is it the Unique Lifeform!?"
"No, the Unique Lifeform is known as the Fallen King." Miranda shook her head. "Sandy is the Chosen of the Lord Protector."
The women’s gazes stayed on her as the third witch spoke in a confused tone, “The Lord Protector has a Chosen?"
"Yes?" Miranda said, equally confused.
"I had not heard this," the first of the witches said as she tapped her finger on her chin. "Oh, well, how fun! The more, the merrier, right? Two Chosen revealed in one day!"
Miranda stared back at them as she seriously questioned:
This entire ceremony was going to be a shitshow, wasn’t it?
Chapter 58
Lodge Meeting
Two weeks wasn’t a long time, in the grand scheme of things, and before Jake knew it, the fated day had arrived. He was honestly surprised at how little he had to do during this time, with no one really bothering him besides Miranda giving him the occasional reminder.
He wasn’t dragged out for a shopping trip for new clothes or even informed how things would proceed. Jake also actively tried not to ask, instead focusing all his attention on just doing alchemy while not thinking about the ceremony. Because Jake really wanted to not think about it.
Jake couldn’t lie… He was nervous. With every passing day, his nervousness grew, but the lack of knowledge of how the ceremony would work was honestly calming. It gave him the feeling that there weren’t that many expectations for him, and the only thing he had asked Villy was whether he was expected to make a speech or something. For this, the Viper had luckily said no. There would be no need for him to talk publicly during the big announcement part of the ceremony.
As for the exclusive after-party that would follow the ceremony… Villy said Jake would probably have to say something there. What this exclusive after-party was all about, he didn’t know, but he assumed this was where they would discuss the details of what to do with his ability to create True Royals and whatnot.
Ah, but one big thing did happen during these two weeks.
Meira returned three days after she left with Izil, her very own gold token in hand due to successfully passing the test and becoming an official member of the Order of the Malefic Viper. Izil had joined her when they returned, and the three of them had a small celebration where nothing of note really happened.
In retrospect, Meira joining was really just a formality. There was no way she couldn’t pass, and the only reason she got a gold token was her limited scope of knowledge when it came to alchemy, as she ultimately hadn’t been taught for that long. Jake estimated she would get a black token within a few years max, though she still had a bit to go. She had gotten a pretty low-level version of the gold token, after all.
Jake did consider how close he was to a dark green token… until he remembered it didn’t mean shit. His current token was already a custom-made one by the Viper, and he didn’t doubt the snake god wanted to do some more special stuff with it after the ceremony. Maybe even give him some special Chosen token.
With a gold token, Meira had also earned her own residence, though she hadn’t visited it even once. Jake also hadn’t brought it up, as his promise of allowing her to stay was naturally in effect. This meant that nothing had really changed despite her joining. Their day-to-day was the same as before, and any discussions of what Meira planned on doing in the long term were shelved till after the ceremony.
Jake also made nice progress over these two weeks, managing to create his Sleeping Night Toxin and generally stock up on both poisons and potions. The plan he had agreed on with the Sword Saint, Sylphie, and the King was that they would head off to Nevermore pretty much right after the ceremony without returning to Earth.
While it wasn’t entirely unexpected, this did end up netting Jake one final level before it was Nevermore time.
*’DING!’ Profession: [Heretic-Chosen Alchemist of the Malefic Viper] has reached level 206 - Stat points allocated, +35 Free Points*
This was under the assumption the ceremony would not randomly give him levels, but he really hoped it wouldn’t. He already felt like 204 in his race level was higher than he wanted it to be.
Packing up potions and poisons in his lab, he took a final count of the inventory before he prepared to head back to Earth. There were still twenty or so hours before the ceremony would begin, but he wanted to be back there with time to spare. It would also be nice to catch up with everyone before they were thrown into political turmoil while also discussing their approach to recruiting a fifth party member.
Jake needed to be the one to fetch them, as teleporting to another universe was still considered incredibly difficult, and as far as Jake knew, no one on Earth was capable of doing it anywhere close to as easily as him. At least, not if they wanted it to be a two-way kind of thing. Hence why he would just bring them along.
Before he returned to Earth, Jake went to the lawn outside of the mansion to check up on one of the main characters of today’s event.
"How are things?" he asked as he walked over to Vesperia.
She was currently cradling a small, hairy, bee-like creature and rocking it back and forth. She smiled and looked up at Jake as he arrived. "It is going well; I am making fast progress toward spawning a proper Bee Hive Queen." The bumblebee-like creature looked up at Jake with big, cute eyes. He barely had time to regard it before Vesperia waved her hands, and the entire creature disappeared. "I can feel them, you know. The call of the other True Royals. They know I am here, just as I know they have appeared within the territory controlled by the Order."
"Looking forward to going home?" Jake asked, smiling.
Vesperia looked at him for a while before sighing. "My feelings on the matter are complicated, but yes, a part of me certainly does look forward to returning to the Endless Empire. You joining me would be optimal, but I am fully aware that is not a possibility."
Jake sat down on the grass in front of her. "You know, you could always come to visit."
"That could prove… difficult."
"Well, then I might just end up being the one visiting the Endless Empire." Jake smiled at her again. "If not, then don’t worry too much. I already talked to the Viper about giving you something so we can stay in contact."
Vesperia looked surprised before giggling. "Funny. I had considered asking the other True Royals for something similar, though I assume they will want to gift you such an item either way so they can contact you, and you can contact them if you ever want to talk."
"Great minds think alike," Jake said, grinning.
The two of them stayed there a bit longer, just chatting. Vesperia was very independent, so even if Jake had wanted to talk to her during these last few weeks, she had been busy working on her own tasks or studying her Lineage knowledge.
Soon, Jake had to leave and go get the others. Vesperia wasn’t sure if she could come along, and Jake wasn’t gonna risk anything going wrong by trying to bring her. Besides, he would have everyone go to his mansion before the ceremony, so they could all meet her then.
Going back to his lab, Jake activated the teleportation array and was swept through the void. The next time he opened his eyes, the familiar scenery of his underground laboratory back in Haven met him, and his sphere spread out.
He saw that the lodge above was already filled with people. Miranda, the Fallen King, Sylphie, and the Sword Saint were all there, which was expected. However, he had not expected to see a few other familiar faces. His little brother, Caleb, was also there, drinking tea and chatting, while Maria, the archer blessed by Gwyndyr, lounged in a chair and listened to them all talking.
It truly was a meeting of powerhouses. The only one missing was Carmen, but Jake understood that some weird shit was going on between Valhal and the Order behind the scenes.
Making his way up the tunnel, he briefly swung by to check in on Rick and the small trolls. Upon poking his head in, he saw they were all in a big pile sleeping, making him not want to disturb their quality family time. He did see that Rick was pretty damn close to C-grade, though. Thus, Jake briefly used his privilege as World Leader to make sure Rick could stay in human lands even after evolving. Jake wasn’t sure if he would be thrown out, but better safe than sorry.
Using One Step up the tunnel, he reached the valley in seconds and became aware of another person who had arrived. Sandy was floating in the air several kilometers above the lodge, seemingly just swimming through the air impatiently.
