The Primal Hunter 8: A LitRPG Adventure, page 61
He did at least see some familiar figures he hadn’t heard much about in the last month. Two people in particular. The first one was Maria, the fire archer who had been with Bertram and his party as a mercenary and had helped in the fight with the Monarch of Blood. She looked to be with an entirely different crew, and from what Jake could observe, she had probably split entirely from the Church.
The second person was someone Jake himself had told to be there but was still surprised to actually see. William stood on a platform way at the back of the room and looked unassuming as hell. His presence was oddly muted, and even if he had just appeared, Jake saw his eyes wide open as he looked deep in thought. He didn’t get the feeling William would make any trouble, as he had far too many internal issues to deal with. At least he hadn’t found his Path yet, judging by his level still being 199. In fact, scanning the room, no one at C-grade was present. A few were at level 199 here and there, but no one had evolved. What stumped them, he didn’t know, but he guessed it was either natural barriers caused by Records or an issue with quests.
Standing there and scanning everything, it felt oddly hollow. So little mystery remained about who those unknown City Leaders were. All intrigue about hidden experts on the planet had been killed. Besides a few odd rumors about standout individuals who didn’t bother with politics, there really was nothing. His only hope was in the unexplored parts of the planet and what monsters might hide there.
Jake had appeared on the platform together with the usual suspects. He, Miranda, Lillian, and Neil attended from Haven just like all the other times, but all the others who had been in Haven appeared on their respective platforms. From what Jake could gather, the Sword Saint had given up control of his Pylon when he pretended to die to better sell the ruse, but had now gone and reclaimed it without any opposition. Carmen and Arthur had also appeared at their original Pylon locations despite being in Haven.
He was still looking around when the welcome message appeared.
Welcome to the Third World Congress of Earth.
Two World Congresses have passed, and it is time for the final scheduled one.
The World Congress is an opportunity for the newly integrated denizens of Earth to establish political connections and an arena for discussion, voting, and international politics that can impact the planet as a whole. Note that no fighting will be allowed during the World Congress. Each booth has an aura that will offer privacy to each city.
During the Third World Congress, two votes will be held with a maximum length of five (5) hours per vote. After one vote finishes, the other will immediately begin. During this World Congress, a World Leader must be elected, and if none has managed to accumulate 60% of the total votes, the candidates shall be cut down and options limited until the World Leader is elected.
The first vote will pertain to the election of a World Leader. The World Leader will automatically have their noble rank advance one stage and must be elected during this World Congress. The Second Vote pertains to the final trial of the enlightened races on Earth.
The first vote will automatically begin in thirty (30) minutes.
Jake read it over and saw only minor changes from the last time. More freedom with voting periods, an inclusion that the World Leader must be elected, and finally, information about the vote for a final trial of some kind?
Everyone read it, and Jake also double-checked that the voting rules had not changed since last year.
Voting rules of the World Congress:
The number of available votes is based on the nobility rank of the attending members. The number of votes per nobility rank is as follows:
King: 1000
Prince: 250
Duke: 100
Marquiss: 25
Earl: 10
Viscount: 5
Baron: 3
Lord: 1
The noble in question may distribute their votes as they choose if there are multiple options. The noble may abstain from voting. Votes are final and cannot be appealed. Any agreements will come into effect until the next World Congress or if all included parties choose to revoke it. All tie-breakers will be decided by the highest-ranking noble present at the World Congress.
It was the exact same as last year, indeed. Jake still questioned how and why Prince was a thing, considering the prince was usually the son of the king, but hey, who was he to question the omnipotent system?
Jake also knew that he would advance to Marquiss after this vote. It was still a bit odd that he, as the World Leader, would still be three entire nobility ranks below the Fallen King, but there wasn’t really anything he could do about it. Unique Lifeforms were pretty bullshit like that.
Also, no, the King could not give others nobility ranks. The nobility title of the King was a bit of a weird case in more than one way. Monsters could not have nobility ranks, but despite that, the King had one, which also did make it kind of funny when the system talked to everyone within the Congress like they were among the enlightened races.
After Jake had read through everything, including the usual prompt to vote for World Leader, he turned his attention back to all those in the chamber. He felt many gazes upon him and knew what he had to do. Miranda had told him many times, and sometimes he still had to do a bit of politics. With a mental command, Jake made his mask invisible and clapped his hands together to get everyone’s attention.
"So here we are again at the third World Congress, but we all know this one is quite a bit different than the first two," Jake spoke, the speech only semi-practiced. He was mostly just winging it. Seemed more genuine that way. “With how things have gone in recent times, how couldn’t it be?
"Enemies were invited onto our planet due to naivety, ignorance, stupidity, and deceit. Millions died due to the decisions of a few, and countless more now find themselves struggling from the aftermath. As I am sure you can all see, the Risen are gone. I know many of you didn’t like them, but out of everyone, they were one of the most peaceful factions. At the same time, the Holy Church has also chosen to leave. Why, you might ask? Because they realized their goal of world domination was not feasible, and they were the kind of people who either want everything or nothing." Jake saw a few frowns here and there. Probably the idiots who still believed in the Church.
"Another question you might have is who this invader was. I am aware most of you have no idea, so let me clarify. His name is Ell’Hakan, an alien who has already dominated his home planet and is the Chosen of Yip of Yore, an incredibly powerful god that even the Pantheon of the Holy Church is wary of. His reason for coming here quite honestly had nothing to do with any of you. He never cared about Earth. He came for me."
A bit of chatter was heard here and there, but Jake raised a hand. "I know, I know. Rumor has no doubt gone around that I am the Chosen of the Malefic Viper, an even more feared god than Yip of Yore and one with quite the… let’s just say, reputation. I do realize it is somewhat my own fault for not really bothering to let you all know more about me, leading you to believe I am some evil bastard, but I hope that you have come to realize I have no desire to lead Earth down a bad Path. I just want the planet to survive and be defended, nothing more. That is also what most of you want—for Earth to remain independent—but you must also realize that simply isn’t possible. Without backing, we are like a poor country with pointy sticks trying to defend ourselves from global superpowers. And not just any small, impoverished country, but one with a shitload of oil that everyone wants."
Even more chatter, only a handful of people with some muted chuckling. All of them were people Jake knew, sadly. The joke did not land.
"What I am saying is that Earth would be fucked without someone big and scary to intimidate multiversal forces. Arthur, the former leader of the newly dissolved United Cities Alliance, tried to have Valhal be this big, scary force, but needless to say, his plans fell apart and were built on a foundation of lies and naivety. However, through talks with Arthur, I came to realize that we do want the same thing, so I am proposing that we use my backing as the deterrent. That we use my identity as the Chosen of the Malefic Viper as a shield. Again, I know a lot of you are probably skeptical of this idea, but the Order will have no influence on the planet.”
There were still a lot of skeptics in the hall, but Jake continued nevertheless.
"Instead, Earth will be led by a council of five, me not included. I have no interest in actually leading anything. Thus, everything will be up to their discretion, with me only getting involved in matters I care about or find important. The same way as I have led Haven thus far. And before anyone asks, let me just address the question of why I then don’t just make someone else the World Leader and sit on the council. The easy answer to that one? Because I don’t want to. Because if there is one thing I want less than to become World Leader, it is for someone else to become World Leader." Jake grinned. "Anyway, that was my big speech. I will now take questions."
"How will you—"
"What are—"
"If you—"
People instantly began yelling, and Jake raised a hand to silence them again. "That was a damn joke; I am not actually answering any questions. If you want to know more, ask the people on the council. After the vote."
Someone with a particularly loud voice yelled, "Are we not even gonna dignify a discussion of alternatives? Not even going to act like this is the democratic election it is?"
Jake did not recognize them at all and just shrugged, confidently answering, "Not really, no. Not gonna lie; you people are way out of your depths by even being here. Didn’t you hear what I said? Gods decided to fight over our planet. Beings who can blow it up with a wave of their hand. Does anyone here really think they can do shit to defend Earth? The answer is no. This is not a democratic election, either, and I bet you that after this vote, we will come to learn that there are more violent ways of attaining the title of World Leader. I hope that anyone open to being voted for is also fine with having a constant mark on them. People who are not just from Earth will come after you. That is another reason I think I am the best candidate. I welcome my would-be assassins.”
His response seemed to shut down the guy, allowing Arthur to speak up. Just as planned. "What Lord Thayne is saying is that he will act as a shield for Earth from the multiverse. Outside forces will hesitate to even have machinations on Earth due to fear of the Chosen of the Malefic Viper being the World Leader there. Assassins who would be interested in Earth would not dare risk offending the Order by attempting to assassinate him. In addition, they will refrain from killing anyone they perceive to be working for him out of fear. His role will be nearly entirely passive, and from my understanding, he will not even be on Earth the majority of the time." Arthur looked over at Jake.
"True, I will not,” Jake confirmed. “I have a multiverse to explore.”
Jake didn’t really think there needed to be more talk, but damn, was he wrong. He had been warned beforehand, but it was still annoying that it happened. Even if they had the vast majority of votes and could just vote instantly to make him World Leader once that first half an hour ended, they still freaking talked. However, the four council members had made it clear that simply brute-forcing the vote was a bad idea.
Instead, they wanted to bring everyone there on board with their decision. Jake could only sigh and sit back as he allowed the council members to show their prowess and convince everyone. The Fallen King especially had some heavy lifting to do before he would get a proper approval rating.
The only ones with good approval ratings were Arthur and, surprisingly, the Sword Saint. Arthur because of his former status and existing connections, and the Sword Saint because… well, Jake would describe it as old-man energy. Who would dare disagree with an old man’s wisdom? Plus, he just seemed authoritative whenever he spoke, making everyone subconsciously agree and take all his advice as sagely. Again, old-man powers.
Miranda was also working hard, primarily in the department of convincing everyone that while the Order was pretty damn evil by human standards, it was not the Order but Jake taking charge. She also had to explain the differences there. Everyone on the council was working damn hard.
As for Jake?
Jake was fighting the temptation to just zone it all out and do some damn alchemy as he had during all the other political events…
Luckily, it was soon time for the vote, and for Jake to finally get to see what one got out of becoming World Leader. As long as he could stay awake long enough, that is.
Chapter 70
Earth's Final Trial
After half an hour, the prompt appeared to vote for World Leader. Jake opened it and saw that it, too, was the same as every other time.
Please place your vote for World Leader of Earth. You have 10 votes and can distribute them as you desire or choose to abstain with any or all of your votes.
Votes remaining: 10/10
Time remaining: 4:29:59
Jake naturally and instantly dumped all votes on himself while the others continued talking. And damn, did they continue to talk. A lot of people just voted right away, from the looks of it, but as far as Jake could tell, the voting period would only end once all votes had been made. Jake would naturally prefer for them to just get things over with, but all he could do was wait as the negotiations happened.
In the meantime, he stood there valiantly as he, in reality, zoned out and entered his Soulspace using Serene Soul Meditation while still keeping an eye on the outside world using his sphere. In there, he discussed future matters and plans with sim-Jake for a good while until they finally finished, and in the least suspenseful vote for World Leader Jake could imagine, he got the title… which wasn’t even a damn title.
The election of World Leader has now concluded!
Results: Jake Thayne has been elected World Leader with 93% of the total votes.
Congratulations! You have been elected World Leader.
As a World Leader, you gain access to certain special privileges and abilities.
Due to the previous vote for Paths of Unusual Unions, the World Leader can formally invite native monsters of any grade into protected lands.
Allows the World Leader to announce future World Congresses.
Allows you to appoint a maximum of five (5) Ministers and delegate responsibility.
Allows the World Leader to lay claim to any area controlled by Pylons.
Allows the World Leader to…
…
More privileges and abilities will be revealed after the conclusion of Earth’s final trial if the World Leader manages to fully take control of the planet.
Jake read the many messages that popped up in front of him, but he ended up skimming most of them, as he quite frankly didn’t care about most of what they said. He adopted the same attitude as he had towards Haven. All of these things were for the council to figure out after he appointed the five Ministers and got everything delegated out.
There was also a pleasant surprise he had not expected. Jake had not thought much of the Unusual Unions vote and knew it had just resulted in some more interesting classes and professions popping up, but the positive working relationship between humans and monsters had kind of been ruined by the actions of William and Ell’Hakan. It was recovering now, but it would take time.
So to see that it had resulted in Jake gaining a very useful ability was awesome. If he read it correctly, it meant that he could now remove the restrictions C-grades had so they could go everywhere, allowing him to finally invite people like Sandy or Scarlett to Haven without any problems. That was definitely a great bonus.
Finally, there was the section about a final trial also mentioned in the welcome message to the Congress. Jake did not ponder on this much, as he could just wait for the upcoming vote that would no doubt include far more information on this trial.
He also checked and saw that his nobility title had been upgraded.
Titled Upgraded: [Nobility: Earl] --> [Nobility: Marquiss]
[Nobility: Marquiss] – A noble who has been voted World Leader and begun his true Path of planetary domination. Allows you to control several Pylons of Civilization as well as claim control of Planetary Pylons. Grants access to certain events and opportunities exclusive to nobles. Opens many new paths to power.
Jake read it through and saw some interesting things, especially the note about Planetary Pylons. If a Pylon of Civilization could claim and form a city, then the Planetary Pylon could claim a planet. It more or less functioned as the mainframe and primary controller of all other Pylons on a planet. It was kind of a natural upgrade to see, considering the message about this final trial.
All in all, not much had really changed from him becoming World Leader. Anyone with any kind of political aspirations or skills would probably vehemently disagree with him, but overall, Jake saw no real gains. He had to admit a part of him had selfishly hoped that by becoming World Leader, he would get some kind of new title or at least some passive bonus to stats or something while on the planet he supposedly led. Alas, stuff like that was probably reserved for people with social professions. If Jake had to guess, all he would really gain was another option to skip over during his evolution.
Even if it wasn’t a big deal to Jake, others seemed to disagree, as all eyes were on him. Oh… I probably have to speak again. Damn.
"Well, thanks for the vote of confidence," Jake said casually. "I will do my job, which is to stay alive and make sure no one else can claim Earth. For actual leadership, you will have to look to my Ministers. Speaking of which…"
Seeing no reason to delay, Jake turned around and instantly offered for Miranda to become a Minister. She accepted instantly, and Jake repeated this with the King, Sword Saint, and Arthur. Arthur was the only one who hesitated for a moment, but he still agreed.
