Jake knew the question of how long he had been in time dilation was just a stupid joke, but he still thought about it seriously. The last time he had spent fourteen years or something in time dilation, and that had translated to a few months. Would it be more? Jake considered and concluded It couldn’t be more than half a year, even if that would be a while.
However, he did notice one thing. His token had no new messages left behind on it. The last time he was in the time chamber, he had gotten some messages in the meantime, with the messages appearing whenever he exited. This time he hadn’t gotten any. So, maybe less than three months? Forty years resulting in three months passing would be a 1-160 dilation, which seems like… a lot? Was it a lot?
Needless to say, Jake had no way to math it out. But he did have one way to find out quickly without having Villy tell him.
”How about we make a bet on if I can guess the time? Down to the hour.” Jake proposed to tease the snake god in turn.
”Oh, interesting? What are we betting?” Villy answered with genuine curiosity. ”Wait, I know! The loser has to wear an outfit decided by the other.”
Jake seemed to consider it seriously for a few moments. ”Pictures allowed?”
”Obviously.”
”Hm… fine,” Jake accepted.
”I am already assuming I lost, so how does my Chosen have a way to accurately determine Realtime? It tends to be annoying unless you have system timers, and I don’t think you have any of those, and I already scanned the mansion for any kind of timing features on the ritual circle,” the Viper asked curiously. ”Then again, maybe you were bluffing.”
Jake smiled as he spoke up.”Hey, Duskleaf, how long was I in there?”
The sprout-clone of the alchemist god had been in another room, and Jake spoke loud enough for him to hear. Not that Jake doubted he would pick up what Jake said no matter how loud he spoke. As expected, the alchemy god peeked his head in.
”It was-”
”My dear disciple. Do not answer that.”
Duskleaf looked confused a bit as Jake countered.
”If you tell me, you will get a picture of Villy in an outfit of your own choosing,” Jake smirked, offering up the opportunity for him to decide.
”If you tell him, I will-”
”Fifty-five days, eleven hours, sixteen minutes, and… seventeen minutes now,” Duskleaf cut Villy off.
Jake looked at Villy. ”Fifty-five days, eleven hours, and seventeen minutes. Give or take.”
”This is clearly collusion,” he answered defiantly.
”You never said I couldn’t ask anyone,” Jake defended himself.
”Well, excuse me for not expecting my own disciple to so thoughtlessly betray me like that. My dear Duskleaf, what have I ever done to you?” Villy said in an exaggerated hurt tone.
”Left for eras after telling me to make sure the Academy didn’t collapse, repeatedly refused to work with me on anything, forced me into your own projects, forced me into helping others I had no interest in, made me take up the position as Leader in the Academy, is pressuring me to give lessons at the Academy, stole a lot of the ingredients I had gathered while you were gone, proceeded to use those materials for your own goals without even asking, then tried to convince me that I had just misplaced my own ingredients despite full-well knowing I would ne-”
”Okay, so one or two things, I got it,” Villy raised his hands on defense. ”And, to counter, I would have used my own materials if I had any. Plus, you know I would repay you for-”
Duskleaf raised an eyebrow.
”Okay, good point. I wouldn’t,” the snake god shrugged. ”Anyway, why the hell did I even agree to this? And shouldn’t you be getting back to your little planet already, Jake?”
”This could all have been avoided if you had just given me a straight answer,” Jake answered with a deadpan expression. ”I would have probably already been on my way back if you had done that.”
”Yeah, but then I would miss the opportunity to do a dramatic reveal of you being able to endure a time dilation around 1-265 despite still being in D-grade,” Villy said in a tone making it sound like Jake should be impressed or proud.
”…I genuinely have no idea what is considered impressive; you do know that, right” Jake answered. Did 1-265 sound impressive? Sure it did, but what was the standard? Considering how time dilation was often only used for specific things like this or avoided entirely, it wasn’t something he often heard people talk about. But it sounded like it was above standard, so that was nice.
”Sometimes I really forget how ignorant you can be… it is almost impressive. Most people have a hard time even reaching 1-100, while 1-200 is considered really damn good. Anything above that is for chronomancers who are specialized in time magic and have an incredible affinity for the concept. They can reach insane levels and practice often, while your resistance is only due to a few skills,” Villy explained.
”I see,” Jake nodded. Yeah, he didn’t entirely get it. Maybe it was a bit like adapting to pressure in deep water? He did have Moment and Steady Focus, though he was not sure if Steady Focus even counted as that skill only affected his perception of time.
Turning to Duskleaf, Jake smiled. ”Remember to take a picture whenever you pick out an outfit and send it… I want a nicely framed version if possible.”
”This is why you’re a heretic, Jake. You care more about some silly bet than the praise of your Patron. This is downright blasphemous, I tell you!” Villy said with much indignation.
”I accept such a label with honor,” Jake bowed, also getting a nod of confirmation from Duskleaf. He did not know what the old alchemist was planning, but he was looking forward to it.
”Oh yeah, before I forget,” Villy said as he tossed a crystal to Jake. ”Schematics for the new ritual circle to teleport back here while piggybacking off the main formation the snake made.”
”I had totally forgotten about that. Thanks!” Jake said, saying his goodbyes for real.
Having nothing more to do in the Order, Jake decided not to dally. Meira was gone for a lesson, so he couldn’t say goodbye to her, and he quite frankly had no idea where Scarlett even was. He considered contacting Irin to ask about her but decided not to. Maybe being apart from Jake for a bit was a good thing? It had only been a few months anyway, and if something bad had happened, he was sure Irin would have told him anyway.
With that in mind, Jake left the Order relatively shortly after getting there. Well, in actuality, he had been there for over forty years, but thinking about time passing in time dilation only made Jake feel weird, so he didn’t really count it.
His checklist of things before C-grade had been mostly finished, and there was only one point left:
Actually evolve to C-grade.
Scarlett had been worried about joining the Order from the get-go. Not about if she could join, but if it was okay for her to join. She didn’t know anything about the Order, and she wasn’t even that strong yet, plus she didn’t know how to do any alchemy and, in all honesty, had no interest in the subject. She honed her own personal venom through the consumption of certain natural treasures and practice, and that was all she needed.
Getting taken to the assessment dungeon by that… woman didn’t help either. Scarlett had no idea who that demoness had been and hadn’t liked her at all from the very moment she saw her. She was weak, even for a C-grade, and it was clear she wasn’t a fighter at all. Yet she dared act towards the Chosen like that… Scarlett didn’t like it. At least she still didn’t go too far, and after spending some time with her, maybe she wasn’t that bad. Irin was also pretty helpful and told Scarlett a lot about the Order and gladly guided her around.
Irin had led her to a new area through many of the teleportation gates spread around until they reached a dungeon entrance with many other people.
”Due to recent events, I have gotten quite the promotion and am able to handle everything related to your enrollment personally. As you are not joining the Academy, there is not really an assessment per-se, more just a dungeon that has to be passed. Do note that this particular C-grade dungeon is capable of handling both groups or individuals, and you are free to choose how you want to be assessed. There are always individuals looking for someone to enter with, and I won’t mince words: you getting a party is easy as pie with your Blessing,” Irin explained.
Scarlett thought for a while. ”I want to do it with a group.”
She didn’t know anyone in the Order, and she was still oblivious to the power level outside of her own planet. Entering with others would allow her insight into the general power level of those wanting to join, and with Irin helping her, she could hopefully get a group of people considered above average.
An assessment that proved true less than an hour later as she stood in a full group of five. It consisted of a party of three dragonkin with rather diluted blood who were already a group before this. The last member was individual who had come alone. Scarlett and the other individual were the only beasts, the other one some kind of mammal-like beast who had taken a very hairy human form.
The group was more than happy to have Scarlett join, but as they left, Irin had given a warning.
”Take care, I am not getting good vibes from those dragonkin.”
Scarlett took the warning to heart, though she was not overly worried. Their levels were all rather high, though, all firmly in mid-C-grade.
[Dragonkin – lvl 274]
[Dragonkin – lvl 277]
[Dragonkin – lvl 275]
[Venomtongue Alstmaw Alpha – lvl 297]
And finally, there was herself.
[Alabaster Crimsoneye Snake – lvl 285]
As enlightened species, the three dragonkin all had classes, with herself and the Alstmaw being beasts. This was when Scarlett encountered something unexpected she had not seen coming from the Order of the Malefic Viper – or people wanting to join it.
These three dragonkin looked down on herself and the Alstmaw, only allowing them to join because Scarlett had a Blessing and the Alstmaw was nearly at the peak of mid-C-grade, which was the highest one could be for this test dungeon. All three were clearly proud of their draconic heritage, despite their blood being so thin, their True Dragon ancestor no doubt many generations removed from all of them.
Perhaps what came next should not have come as a surprise…
The fighting in the dungeon had been too easy, according to Scarlett, and the dragonkin party happily did most of the work while forcing the Alstmaw to act as a tank and had Scarlett designated as ”rear support” despite not having any support skills. She didn’t even have to reveal her true form but had just stayed humanoid the entire time. When they reached the end of the dungeon, signifying they would be allowed to join, it was time for loot distribution… which was just three items. Two natural treasures of a highly toxic nature as well as a spear of epic rarity.
”Unfortunate. We of the Grehalstrom tribe will naturally have first picks of the bounty, and it appears there is not enough for anyone, but us,” the leader of the dragonkin said as he sneered at the Alstmaw before looking at Scarlett.
”Though I guess an exception can be made, and we can allow you one, snake,” he said with a smile turning to Scarlett. ”I will even offer you the honor of joining our group. With your Blessing, it should make things a bit easier, and my father has bothered me about taking more mistresses to sire more children, so you will-”
And that was the moment Scarlett reconsidered if going into the dungeon was a good idea. She had hoped to make a better first expression, but sometimes things just didn’t pan out. The dragonkin had thought themselves powerful, not realizing one of the basic strategies of any good ambush predator. Considering what made snake’s so dangerous.
Their ability to strike instantaneously and decisively.
The first one barely had time to react as Scarlett assumed her true form instantly. It was the healer, and she knew finishing off her opponent swiftly was important, hence why she went all-out right away. Surprisingly, the Alstmaw reacted only a second after her, going for one of the other two.
Scarlett injected a dose of neurotoxin into the healer, making him unable to properly react to the following dozen or so rapid bites, ripping his body to pieces. The Alstmaw turned far larger than before, looking like a bear walking on two legs with a far too large mouth. He was decently strong, but Scarlett still found him lacking.
A slaughter commenced. The three dragonkin looked astonished that the beasts had even dared to attack, and one of them even screamed for the projection in charge of the dungeon to offer assistance. Only to be met by silence and the fangs of a superior predator. The begging of the leader had been pleasant, too, as his body slowly rotted away.
After the fighting, she regarded that rather injured Alstmaw as she resumed her humanoid form. She preferred it and wanted to get used to it, even if she knew her snake form would forever be her most powerful state. The Alstmaw looked at her and the corpses. Scarlett picked up a severed limb and took a quick bite before spitting it out.
The other beast took this as a go-head as he proceeded to consume all three corpses with quite a gusto. They didn’t even taste good, and Scarlett left for the exit, with the Alstmaw coming a bit later. They got a natural treasure for each of them, and a spear none of them knew what to do with. Scarlett had got it in trade for the corpses in the end, even if she didn’t really want it.
”I thank the mistress for her assistance and mercy,” the Alstmaw said after they reached the exit, also back in his way too hairy humanoid form.
Despite over a week in the dungeon, no names had been exchanged, outside of those dragonkin yelling about their clan all the time. There simply had been no reason to.
”It’s fine?” Scarlett said. She and the Alstmaw were not enemies, and she saw no reason to attack him.
”Does the mistress think we will still be allowed to join the Order after killing those three? The rules state killing other members of the Order isn’t allowed…”
That is when Scarlett learned that she could get better at listening to things, as she came to know that the three of them had been members of the Order of the Malefic Viper for over a century already and were all three part of a small dragon clan with a B-grade True Dragon leader.
And also the day she learned how insignificant rules and some dragon family was for someone brought to the Order by the Forefather’s Chosen.
Jake appeared back on Earth at the Mangrove circle. Old Grumpy was also there down a tunnel, and Jake flew by and informed him that Scarlett was still doing stuff at the Order before he headed off. He considered getting a second katar as he was about to do some hunting but decided not to. He wouldn’t need it.
As for what he wanted to hunt? He considered going for the termites, but honestly, he couldn’t be arsed to go into all those tunnels again after just spending so long cooped up. That frost wyvern was also out of the question as, quite frankly, Jake didn’t think he could beat it.
So, Jake decided to finally explore the forest Haven was placed in the outskirts of. Properly this time. He had been interested to see what was at the core for a while, and now seemed like a perfect chance to check it out and finally tick off that final subject on his checklist.