Jake digested Caleb’s words, agreeing with his statements... both that it sucked and that they should let their parents decide how they wanted to live. Jake was a big believer in freedom, and it would be too hypocritical even for him if he forced his parents to do something they didn’t want to, only to make himself feel better.
Caleb noticed Jake’s look and gave him a comforting smile. “It may change in the future, even if I doubt it. There are a lot of years before their status of only being D-grades is relevant, and they’ll keep making some progress for a good while more. It also isn’t impossible for them to evolve more with just their professions. It happens all the time, even if it’s harder.”
“Yeah,” Jake nodded. “Say... how about Maja?”
Maja and his parents felt very much in the same boat. The three of them were people Jake didn’t feel fit in with the new world after what some referred to as the system apocalypse. Although she was a bit better, he still had a hard time seeing her finding a Path that would allow her to progress alongside Caleb and perhaps even Adam in the future.
“That...” Caleb said, looking hesitant for a bit before resolving himself. “Maja changed her mind even if she still isn’t keen on killing things.”
“How did you manage to convince her?” Jake asked with surprise while also wondering why Caleb had hesitated to answer.
“I didn’t,” Caleb sighed. “I tried and failed in several ways, and I’m not gonna lie, I got kind of desperate. Mind you, this was a good while ago... but I reached out to the Augur. He talked to her, and afterward, she seemed resolved and even began actively learning more about magic in her free time. Summoning magic, even. A notoriously difficult school, but she’s making great progress, and apparently, studying law is useful when learning summoning magic somehow, so I guess having her help with contracts and whatnot in the early days of the Court didn’t just help me, but her future Path. She still has a lot of levels to catch up on before she can actively fight anything close to her level, but any progress is good progress in my book. Plus, I think summoning suits her. In that way, she won’t have to fight directly but can take a more planned approach.”
“Jacob, huh...” Jake muttered as he frowned slightly. He was happy to hear that his sister-in-law had found a Path, but with Jacob having helped her, it begged the question: “Say, did he also-“
“He did,” Caleb confirmed. “Now, don’t get mad. I know you had – likely still have - quite a few issues with him, and I’m not a massive fan of the Church either, but Jacob is still an Augur of Hope. He is all about helping people find their Paths, so I reckoned if anyone could convince them, it would be him. Or, you know, at least give me some tips on how to convince them.”
“And what did he say?” Jake asked, not as annoyed at no one having told him about this meeting as he was curious about what Jacob had found out.“What you already know,” Caleb answered bluntly. “They have no desire to reach for power anymore. They still want to at least not be burdens to you and me. That’s also why they insisted on working despite not really having to. But at the same time, we all know that they could never reach a level of power where they won’t be considered weak.”
“It’s not really about being weak or strong but that evolving to C-grade means that-“
“They know, Jake,” Caleb sighed and shook his head. “Of course, they know. Mom and Dad aren’t stupid.”
“I never said they were,” Jake protested.
“You kind of are,” Caleb said in a sharp tone. “Do they fully understand everything being the World Leader and Chosen of the Malefic Viper entails? No, but they understand that the two of us – especially you – aren’t regular people by any metric. You, especially, are a multiversal entity at this point and undoubtedly the most influential person in the entire galaxy, if not the universe. Think a little. Do you know why they never bug you about not calling? Why they don’t complain when you don’t visit? Because they don’t want to burden you. They don’t want to impede your Path in any way... and the best way of doing that is to stay out of your life and only have you engage on your own terms. It’s their way of helping, no matter how small or insignificant it seems.”
Jake didn’t immediately answer. He already strongly suspected some of what Caleb said, but hearing it so bluntly stated still meant Jake needed a moment to think. A moment long enough for Caleb to keep talking.
“Jake... D-grade or C-grade, the difference in lifespan is marginal compared to an S-grade, much less a god. They also know that. Mom and Dad aren’t under any illusion that they’ll outlive either of us, and truthfully, I don’t think they’d want to. They are already more than pleased with how long they’ll be able to live now... in fact, I heard Mom talking about it, almost feeling like too long. Do you understand what I mean?”
“That we shouldn’t try to forcefully drag them into our world more than they already are,” Jake muttered.
Caleb nodded. “Doing so would only make them miserable. Instead, allow them to at least help in their own way. Let them be a place you can return to when you want some peace and quiet. An escape from our world, if you will.”
Jake was silent once more as he stared out at the buzzing city where night and day barely mattered. Closing his eyes, he let out a big sigh before speaking. “Do you reckon Mom and Dad are back from work yet?”
“I have a strong feeling you could confirm if they were home quicker than it would be to ask me about it... but yes, they are,” Caleb said in a lighter tone than before.
“Then let’s go,” Jake said with a light smile as he turned around. “You still have playing cards around, right? I haven’t beaten you three in Hearts for what feels like at least a century.”
Caleb returned his smile. “As long as you don’t cheat using that Bloodline of yours.”
“Not how that works,” Jake shook his head. “But do keep any reflective surfaces away. I still have very high Perception.”
With those words, the two of them headed off home... Jake feeling an odd sense of calm compared to before. He’d had a lot of thoughts and worries about his parents and what the future would hold, but he realized now that he was only doing them a disservice.
Rather than worry about some long-off future, it was better to focus on the now and enjoy whatever time he had with them. He knew that soon life would be busy once more, and he would have to stop being Jake Thayne, the son, and return to being Jake Thayne, the hunter and Chosen of the Malefic Viper.
“We will be sure to keep you in thought as we move forward,” Viridia spoke in a dignified voice as she said goodbye to her guest with a polite bow. The other party returned her bow before leaving, with Viridia simply unable to suppress a massive grin the moment they were gone.
A god had just sought her out and spoken to her not like an equal but someone of superior position. To make it better, this wasn’t even the first time it had happened. Over a dozen gods had visited her over the last year or so, all of them on their best behavior in front of her, a mere mortal.
Viridia was fully aware they didn’t respect her as a person, but what she represented. She was a Hall Master, the highest rank a mortal could get within the Order of the Malefic Viper – besides being the Chosen, of course. This title meant she didn’t speak with her own authority but the authority of the Order.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
She had to admit she’d been nervous in the beginning. After the Malefic One’s glorious victory over Yip of Yore, a lot had changed, with the biggest change being to their reputation. The Malefic Viper had shown everyone that he was still a true pinnacle being, capable of standing with the other Primordials. What’s more, the gods of the multiverse weren’t stupid.
In retrospect, they realized that many other pinnacle factions had helped the Malefic Viper kill Yip of Yore. Valhal had clearly assisted him, same with the Starseizing Titan who had more likely than not faked being injured by Yip. Eversmile had also helped, though many suspected he did so primarily for personal reasons, and even the Holy Church seemed to have provided some assistance behind the scenes.
Even if other Primordial factions hadn’t helped, none of them had gotten in the way either. It was evident there was some unspoken belief that the Malefic One would win. At least none of them seemed to have made any plans whatsoever in the event of his death, and none of them showed any surprise either when Yip was slain.
That being the case, it was clear these factions had set themselves up to, at the very least, have a neutral relationship with the Order of the Malefic Viper. To truly hammer this home, the Academy of the Malefic Viper never had more outside recruits from pinnacle factions than in the last year. At least not since the Malefic One exiled himself to his Divine Realm all those eras ago.
All of this spoke to one thing: the other top multiversal factions recognized that the Order of the Malefic Viper was one of them. That being the case, what kind of status did someone like the Hall Master of this Order have compared to some minor pantheon with a couple of gods in it?
The answer was that they had to be very respectful. It wasn’t as if Viridia could outright be disrespectful back, but no one would bat an eye if she treated them as equals, something Viridia could only have ever dreamed of.
All of these facts made her most recent task way more pleasant and less problematic than she had feared it would be. As the Order of the Malefic Viper regained its status, it also began rapidly expanding like never before. As the sole Hall Master, Viridia was given the job of establishing a new Hall to serve as the headquarters within another universe.
She’d traveled to the 13th Universe with an entourage of primarily A- and S-grades, as well as five gods, only one of whom she’d met. They were there mainly to provide protection as the place her Patrons – the Witches of the Verdant Lagoon – had chosen to set up the Hall was a highly contested Great Planet.
The reason why it was so highly contested wasn’t just because it was a Great Planet but because of what could be found nearby. Only a single long-range teleportation away, one could arrive at the sole World Wonder of this universe. A World Wonder that no faction had the ability to rule, simply due to how much value it held, making it too highly contested for anyone to allow it a single owner.
Now, the Order of the Malefic Viper would also begin to exploit the World Wonder for their own gain. With their rise in status, they had the ability to negotiate with the other factions who had a claim. It wouldn’t come for free, and Viridia had to leverage their newfound momentum a lot, but so far, things had been going well. Viridia knew that things not going well wasn’t an option, as out of all the World Wonders in the multiverse, this was likely the most important, as it would allow them to gain something even the Malefic One needed:
Alchemical ingredients that were suitable for gods.
This World Wonder was known as the Mycotic Depths and could be found within a vast asteroid field roughly the size of a galaxy, where each and every asteroid was held together by fungal growths, resulting in the environment changing on a regular basis. In the middle of this asteroid field, the main entrance to the Mycotic Abyss could be found by entering a cave in the largest of all the asteroids – and the source of all the fungal growth.
Upon entering, one would find oneself in an entirely new world filled with all forms of plants and fungi. It was a paradise for alchemists but also a hazardous location to explore. The environment was filled with toxic spores capable of killing even gods, along with verified reports of creatures with power far surpassing Godkings.
Despite the dangers, the treasures in there were simply too valuable, and needless to say, a World Wonder filled with poisonous mushrooms was invaluable to the Order of the Malefic Viper. And not just the top-level figures.
While the main entrance to the Mycotic Depths led to an area even gods had to be wary of, it was far from the only entrance. All throughout the asteroid field, more caves serving as portals to the Depths could be found, and based on their size, they would lead to different separate areas of the Mycotic Depths, with the lowest-level one safe even for relatively powerful C-grades.
Viridia had yet to enter this World Wonder herself, but a few of the A-grades with her had gone to explore together with members of the Altmar Empire, Risen, Holy Church, and even Automaton. Their exploration jobs were partly diplomatic in nature and partly to report back on how some of their unique skills and variants of Palate of the Malefic Viper reacted to the environment. From the latest reports, it was promising on both of those fronts.
She couldn’t help but consider if she should perhaps visit herself, as even if she wasn’t an alchemist, it would be good to have a better understanding of the World Wonder, but just then, she was interrupted.
“Excuse me, Hall Master?” one of Viridia’s assistants spoke as he teleported into the room, shaking the Verdant Witch out of her thoughts.
“What is it?” Viridia asked, turning to the dragonkin as she wondered if more guests had arrived to try and form good relations with the Order of the Malefic Viper.
“I just received a message that the Order will be sending exploratory teams of C and B-grades to enter the Mycotic Depths, and you are to ensure they have spots available,” the assistant spoke curtly.
“How many are we talking about?” she frowned.
“Initial estimates are around two thousand C-grades and a thousand B-grades to arrive within the week,” the dragonkin answered.
“That should be easily manageable,” Viridia nodded, happy to hear they weren’t talking about that many people. It would have been rough if she had to try and pull some strings to make space for everyone, as securing these slots to enter the Mycotic Depths wasn’t easy due to how much competition there was around entering.
To clarify, there was nothing system-enforced to limit the number of people who could enter the World Wonder. All restrictions were imposed by the factions who controlled the Mycotic Depths’ entrances to prevent them from damaging or overrunning the World Wonder. It wasn’t a dungeon, and what was harvested from there wouldn’t simply pop back up whenever someone new entered. While the place was utterly massive, the fungi still needed time and space to grow.
“Also, If I may... I have been told that a number of promising prospects from the new universe will likely soon come to explore the World Wonder, with the Malefic Dragonkin, Draskil, already confirmed.”
“Is the intent of the Chosen known?” Viridia asked, perking up a bit.
“Unknown as of now,” the dragonkin said, much to Viridia’s disappointment. Alas, better safe than sorry.
“In either case, bring me the head architect. I’ll need an update on the current construction progress. No matter what, inform them already now to push forward the resident spaces for C- and B-grades,” she made a quick decision.
If the Chosen of the Malefic Viper was coming, she had to ensure the place was at least presentable... because currently, she was standing in one of the few completed buildings.
“Oh, and ensure to keep enough land open to provide a space worthy of a Chosen,” Viridia said before finally dismissing the dragonkin.
With him gone, Viridia went over to a crystal tablet that helped record the number of slots the Order of the Malefic Viper currently possessed. While they had plenty for A-grades and below, they barely had any for S-grades.
As for gods... they didn’t use this slot system. Which did make her wonder out loud...
“How do the gods decide who can and cannot enter?”
She had spoken merely to herself... not expecting an answer to come from right behind her.
“They don’t, not outside certain periods with too much of a rush,” a voice she recognized entered her ears.
Without even a moment’s hesitation, she spun around and knelt down as she pressed her head against the floor. “I greet the Malefic One.”
The second she’d recognized who had appeared, she also felt the aura flood over her. It was even more awe-inspiring than all the other times she’d felt it, the Malefic Viper no longer bothering to hide his power as much as before.
“At ease,” he spoke, Viridia feeling her head forcefully raised from the floor to look up at the god. “You’ve made decent progress lately; the little trip to Nevermore is doing you good. Even so, I would warn you not to relax. The sisters are considering taking a Chosen of their own soon... and you've got pretty tough competition.”
Viridia’s eyes opened wide as she momentarily made eye contact with the Malefic Viper, sending a shiver down her spine. Nevertheless, she focused and answered. “I will heed your words, Malefic One.”
“Up to you,” he smiled, Viridia noticing only now how she’d tensed up her own body. “Oh, and don’t worry about the lack of a proper welcome. I don’t plan on staying for long.”
The Malefic Viper turned to look in the direction of the Mycotic Depths as he smiled. “A World Wonder that’s essentially a cave full of mushrooms. How could I resist paying such a wonderful place a visit? Almost makes me nostalgic thinking about it.”
“May the Malefic One have a successful expedition,” Viridia managed to say despite how nervous she was.
“Oh, I’m sure it’ll be quite... let’s go with scrumptious.”