Man, who would have ever thought that one could miss school? He even leaned into tropes by bringing a transfer student along…
A transfer student that was frozen in panic even as she and Jake appeared in the grassy area outside of his way too large mansion in the Order of the Malefic Viper. Jake’s hand was squeezed so hard he had no way of releasing it as poor Scarlett tried to process everything.
“I… is… is the worm the…?” Scarlett stammered out nervously.
“Chosen of Snappy? Yep,” Jake confirmed casually. “Ah, but keep that a secret too. I haven’t really discussed it with Sandy, but we may as well keep it hidden.”
“Wi… will-“
“No, Sandy does not give a flying fuck about any kind of perceived disrespect or whatever,” Jake answered, already knowing what the poor snake girl wanted to ask. Spending so much time with Miranda really hadn’t done her much good on that front as she now knew far more about the Order and the structure, as well as how important of a character the Lord Protector was.
Scarlett looked like she was about to ask more as movement came from within the mansion. Jake looked over and smiled as a familiar face peeked her head out. The elf’s eyes opened wide as she saw him.
“Lord Thayne!” she yelled and quickly ran out and over to him. Jake noticed her level had grown yet again and quite fast too.
[Elf – lvl 163]
“It’s been too long,” Jake waved at her.Scarlett also finally let go of his hand as she stared at the elven woman running over with a frown. Meira barely seemed to notice the snake girl as she stopped a few steps from Jake.
“Welcome back to the Order, Lord Thayne!” she said with a deep bow and a smile.
Jake smiled as she just stood there. She didn’t ask why he had left so suddenly back when Ell’Hakan had invaded but would wait for him to tell her himself. If he wanted to tell her. Coupled with her progress, Jake also saw she had tended to things properly as she looked over to a certain spot on the lawn. Quite a large spot as the grass had been cleared, and a large formation was made instead with an object placed in the middle – a large boulder of sorts with holes in.
It was the Pollendust Bee Queen ritual circle. Jake had not forgotten it, and he was glad to see that neither had Meira.
“Are things progressing well with the circle?” Jake asked Meira as he looked at it.
“Yes, my lord! In your absence, I had taken the initiative and acquired some extra cores when I ran out to keep supplying it with energy, and I apologize if that was overstepping,” Meira said apologetically.
“You prioritized the ritual; why would that be overstepping?” Jake smiled. The ritual had indeed progressed as he wanted, and with every passing day, the energy within the egg that the boulder housed in its spatially expanded interior grew stronger and stronger. Still dormant, mind you, but Jake was building up to something. He had delayed finishing the ritual and actually awakening the Bee Queen for quite a simple reason: he didn’t want a D-grade Queen.
Jake wanted to hatch a C-grade. Insect monsters – or ectognamorphs – were quite a bit different than other monster types, and queens were even more different. They were very much a caste-based race, and Jake wanted a powerful Queen from the get-go. The chances of birthing what the books described as a true “Hive Queen” were low if done through evolution, but Jake believed it was possible to do using this ritual and some special Jake sauce.
He was not ignorant of the effect he apparently had on beasts and monsters. Sylphie and Sandy were proof of what happened when Jake interfered in the evolutionary process, even just by a little. How or why he was like that, he didn’t know, but he knew it had to have something to do with his Bloodline.
Anyway, to hatch a C-grade, there were some requirements. The most important of which was the source of energy in the ritual having to be at least of that level, meaning Jake had to at least be C-grade to get the result he wanted. However, it wasn’t like he was delaying spawning a C-grade only because he had to wait for his own evolution, as the egg also needed ample time to grow.
Before the egg could even absorb C-grade energy, it needed to grow enough through the absorption of D-grade energy and Records. That is what Jake was currently doing – or had Meira do – and it helped create a powerful foundation. Once it was saturated, Jake could introduce C-grade energy, hopefully leading to a qualitative change and making it into a C-grade egg that Jake could further mutate using Jake Records.
“Thank you, Lord Thayne,” Meira still bowed, even if Jake said it was fine. Finally, she turned and looked at Scarlett. “May I know who the guest My Lord has brought along is?”
He felt like she had an odd emphasis on the word “my” but didn’t really think about it. He probably misunderstood.
“Scarlett, Meira, Meira, Scarlett,” Jake quickly introduced them. “Meira works here and is a friend, and Scarlett is a friend from my home planet that helped me out quite a few times.”
“Pleased to make your acquaintance,” Meira bowed to Scarlett.
Scarlett looked between Jake and Meira before slightly bowing to Meira. “Nice to meet you too.”
Jake was happy to see them be polite to each other. Way better than the last time he introduced friends to each other. “Have you been doing well while I was gone?” Jake asked the elf.
“Yes, Lord Thayne. I have attended lessons regularly, and the honored Grand Elder still taught me nearly daily until recently,” she answered with a big smile. “The Grand Elder will surely also be happy to welcome you back. However, I have not seen the Grand Elder for the last week as he has been busy assisting the Malefic One, making him leave me with self-study material.”
Scarlett perked up at the mention of the Malefic One and looked at Meira again a bit weirdly. Jake butted in to explain. “Meira is getting taught by Duskleaf, the disciple of the Viper.”
He had thought that explanation would help, but no. The poor snake girl once again became nervous and bowed. “I apologize for not recognizing the Grand Disciple of the Malefic One.”
“Okay, none of that. Use names, you two. Besides, if you join the Order too, I am sure Duskleaf would also give you a few tips here and there,” Jake said with a shake of his head. “But first, we have to get you into the Order, of course.”
“How would one undertake such an honor?” Scarlett asked with much interest.
“That…” Jake was about to answer when he stopped. He… kind of didn’t know? He had joined the Academy of the Order, but, thinking about it, had Jake ever properly joined the Order? What did it even mean to properly join the Order? He knew from Viridia’s propaganda lesson that for anyone with a Blessing, becoming a member was just a formality, so it shouldn’t be a challenge. He just wasn’t sure how it could be done.
In retrospect, maybe he should have paid more attention during the lesson…
“Do you have any talent in alchemy?” Jake asked her.
“Sadly, this one is only skilled in the cultivation of personal venoms,” Scarlett admitted. There was no hint of shame or embarrassment in the statement, though. Which was good, as Jake didn’t see it as a demerit either. Being specialized was good.
Jake knew that as a member of the Order, Scarlett would also semi-join the Academy in that she could attend lessons if she wanted. The few combat lessons there were would maybe interest her. It would be a bit like Draskil, who Jake knew wasn’t really into any kind of traditional alchemy either.
As he considered how to make her join, Meira spoke up. “My Lord, any official from the Order of the Malefic Viper is capable of initiating new members into the Order, and those with sufficient rank can grant membership without further approval as long as the proper steps are undertaken.”
“Oh?” Jake asked, surprised. “Have you been looking into joining the Order?”
“I… had lessons about it,” she answered. Jake frowned as he knew from her tone she didn’t talk about Academy lessons but those she got before she came to work for Jake. It did make sense, though. Jake remembered the vampire crafter who had helped him upgrade his necklace and her explanation of how she had been a slave once. It made sense that slaves were taught how to potentially stop being slaves and join, at the very least, to give them false hope.
“What do these steps entail?” Jake inquired further.
“Personal approval of a member, signage of a contract with agreed-upon terms, and an evaluation of talent. Usually, a background search will also be done, along with a karmic reading,” Meira dutifully explained. “However, for those with Blessings, none of this is needed besides the contract of terms, and all the contract will entail is that membership remains active as long as the Blessing is not withdrawn or denounced. At least for lower-tier Blessings… I am not sure about the procedures for those with Greater or Divine Blessings, much less a True Blessing.”
Jake nodded. Getting her to join should be easy enough, then. He was also pleasantly surprised by Meira, as getting her to talk so much tended to be damn hard, especially with her not getting nervous. She had spoken with great confidence, and Jake felt oddly proud of her.
“Thanks for the explanation, Meira,” Jake smiled at her and gave her a thumbs-up.
“It… I only did as expected…” she muttered nervously.
And we’re back.
Shaking his head, Jake turned to Scarlett. “Seems like getting you in should be easy enough. Wanna get it fixed right away?”
Jake was not one to delay things, even if he had just returned.
“Yes, please!” Scarlett nodded as if she had just been asked if she wanted a high-tier natural treasure with toxic properties.
Taking out his token, Jake felt how it was now active again after returning. The token did not work on Earth for obvious reasons as it functioned off some grand formation somewhere in the Order, Jake reckoned. He infused energy into it and made a call to someone he hadn’t contracted in a while.
It connected, and he instantly heard her voice.
“Lord Thayne! It has been quite a while since anyone heard anything from you. Is everything all right? Did you enter secluded training? Ah, sorry for blabbering; I assume you contacted me for a reason. What can I do for you?” Irin the succubus asked. She was an official of the Order and the first one Jake thought to contact. He did also have the contact information of the Hall Master, Viridia, but it seemed a bit much to call the CEO of a company with billions of workers to help register a new employee.
“Hey Irin, been a while, yeah. And everything is fine; I just had to deal with some issues back on Earth. An enemy Chosen thought it was a good idea to invade the planet and raise a ruckus, so I had a civil war and an asshole Chosen to deal with before I could return. It is fixed for now, but still annoying. Anyway, the reason I contacted you was that I brought along a friend from my home planet who would like to join the Order of the Malefic Viper. She got a Blessing, so it should be possible, right?” Jake asked her while also explaining what he had been up to. It just seemed nice to tell her after he had gone AWOL.
After a brief period of silence, she responded.
“That sounds… way above my pay grade. The Chosen stuff. When it comes to joining the Order, it is nothing more than a meager formality only simplified further by her already having a Blessing. Would it be possible for me to come by?” Irin asked.
“Sure thing,” Jake approved.
“I will be around in a few minutes. Good to hear from you again, Lord Thayne,” Irin finished. He disconnected the call and turned back to Scarlett.
“I will have a friend come by in a bit to help you join,” Jake said with a smile.
“Thank you!” Scarlett bowed once more.
Jake went over to do a quick check-up of the Bee Queen formation while he waited and made sure nothing had gone awry. As he analyzed the formation, he noticed a few spots where it felt… lacking. Jake was not sure that was wrong, but he knew there were faint flaws or at least places with room for improvement. He made mental notes to address this later and once more thanked his high Perception for allowing him to notice the problem. Without the stat growth he had experienced since he upgraded the formation last, he would not have noticed these minor elements at all.
As he was still looking things through, a new figure appeared. Jake instantly felt the familiar yet slightly foreign aura that washed out from this arrival. He looked over and saw someone he clearly recognized as Irinixis, but there were some slight differences. The horns on her head had grown slightly and now curved like that of a goat, though they were still small, and her body had some… changes. It was easy to know what had happened.
[Demon – lvl ???]
She had naturally evolved to C-grade. The evolution had also not only led to growth in power but also in certain other areas. The red dress with a low-cut front showed off these features quite nicely, and she flashed a radiant smile when she saw Jake while bowing deeply, only emphasizing her improved assets further.
Jake did not have a hard time figuring out why succubi were quite a popular race among the humanoids in the multiverse. Not gonna lie; she is fucking hot, Jake admitted. She also was before, but damn, had the evolution done work.
“Thank you for calling upon me, Lord Thayne,” Irin greeted him. He also noticed how she threw quick glances at both Meira and Scarlett. Both glaring back at her.
“Thanks for coming,” Jake answered with a smile. “And congratulations on the evolution.”
“I should be the one thanking you for my recent advances,” Irin answered happily. “The opportunities our relationship have offered me are hard to comprehend, and even without those, the Records alone simply from knowing you allowed me smooth sailing. So, please do call me if you ever need anything.”
After getting done thanking each other, Jake finally got back on topic. “This here is Scarlett, a friend, and ally from my home planet. Could you give me a hand and get her into the Order? Oh, while you’re at it… Meira, what do you say about also trying to join the Order?”
Meira seemed taken aback. “I believe that is premature, Lord Thayne…”
Jake frowned a bit, not sure why it would be, but still shrugged. No rush. “Okay, just Scarlett then.”
“It shall be done swiftly,” Irin said as she greeted Scarlett. “My name is Irinixis; I am from the Humanoid Resources Department in the Order of the Malefic Viper. The Chosen alone referring you to join makes all of this simply a formality, but I would still offer you to go through the usual evaluation if you so desire.”
“Oh, a dungeon again?” Jake asked curiously.
“Indeed,” Irin confirmed.
“Should definitely go for it,” Jake approved.
“Then I shall take part in this evaluation,” Scarlett nodded.
Irin smiled at Scarlett as Jake considered aloud: “Should I also go for reevaluation at some point? Maybe at C-grade?”
“If you desire to, Lord Thayne. However, realistically it will be done for nothing more than vanity, as all the additional bonuses awarded from a better token are meaningless to you. Getting a dark green token would only result in more attention being placed on you,” Irin explained.
“Maybe I shouldn’t then,” Jake muttered.
The demoness smiled and turned to Scarlett again. “Do you wish to begin right away or delay?”
“I wish to join as soon as possible!” Scarlett nodded enthusiastically.
“Then let’s go.”
With that, Jake sent off Scarlett and Irin right away, Irin making sure to give a low bow to show off before leaving. Meira looked as they left and threw Jake a few questioning gazes but didn’t say anything. Jake decided to just initiate the conversation himself.
“Let’s head inside, and you can give me the low-down of what has happened around here recently,” Jake said to Meira.
“Yes!” the elf agreed as the two of them headed inside.
As it turns out, not much had happened, at least not on a large scale. The entire thing with Ell’Hakan and Yip was clearly not knowledge spread openly, as it likely was – as Irin said – above their pay grade. Jake instead mostly heard of how much Meira had been studying and how she was still hanging out with that other elf Izil. The elf and human then divulged into alchemy talks, and Jake had to admit…
It did feel good to be back in such a low-stress environment. Not for too long, though. As in, only for a bit. Jake prepared to get started immediately with his checklist right away once he had caught up with Meira, and for the next two parts, Jake had a feeling he would need to consult his dear Patron god.