”You really gotta be like that?” Minaga complained. “We were just about to get to the good stuff!”
“I question why we had to cut the feed too,” the Wyrmgod chimed in, as he had nevertheless done as Vilastromoz asked. “Not that I see any value in observing it either, but there is no purpose in not simply continuing like normal.”
”Because if you kept recording, I would be the one who would get shit for it from Jake later on,” the Viper grumbled. “Plus, wouldn’t that hunter god also complain if you choose to make an unauthorized recording of her?”
“Hm, perhaps. I had not considered that to be an option,” the Wyrmgod said, deep in thought. “This is the first time it has happened, at least when I was actively monitoring the situation. Despite the images being created to mimic a level 0, they are still gods, making this rather unprecedented. Usually, the Nevermore attendees only get with the dungeon-created characters if they desire an outlet.”
Vilastromoz nodded slowly with the explanation. While one could make a level 0 clone, they were still at least partly linked to the Records of their true selves, which was one of the reasons gods were willing to put their images in Nevermore to begin with. It would intrinsically form a connection with powerful rising stars of the multiverse through karma.
Umbra was a prime example of this. A faint karmic connection would be formed with all she faced in the arena, and through her powers, she would, at the very least, become aware of them. Anyone who could beat her image was someone she would thus investigate or even purchase recordings of the Wyrmgod to see more of.
While Vilastromoz did not know much of Artemis as she had risen as a god after the seventh era, he at least knew she was a pretty powerful hunter goddess from the Pantheon of Life and worked directly with Yggdrasil and Nature’s Attendant. However, this told him nothing of her personality.
“Say, would this Artemis happen to be the more “open” sort of person when it comes to this kind of thing?” Vilastromoz asked. If that was the case, it would make sense. Some gods would get in bed with anyone they found even remotely attractive, with some going through several partners on a daily basis, sometimes even with multiple avatars. Of course, in the vast majority of cases, they didn’t reveal they were gods at all but disguised themselves and went to random taverns and whatnot.
Minaga grinned. “Oh, quite the opposite, which is why I find this oh-so-interesting. There have been many who have shown interest in Artemis, even amongst the gods, but she doesn’t even bat an eye at them. It even got to the point where some swear she is sworn to celibacy or maidenhood or something to make themselves feel better about being rejected. Needless to say, I don’t believe she is that closed off to having partners… her standards are just rather abnormal and through the roof.”
The Viper already felt a headache coming on.“See, I have a theory… I think Artemis is the kind of gal who only likes those who are stronger than herself. She wants someone who is even more of a predator incarnate than herself, someone who can dominate her, and Jake, that little monster, definitely fits that bill,” Minaga shared his thoughts proudly.
“And what do you base this theory on?” Vilastromoz asked the Unique Lifeform, who possessed no reproductive organs and was ostensively asexual by nature.
“Well, I met her a few times,” Minaga scratched his chin. “Though I can admit the majority of my theory was formed based on recent happenings.”
“Right, so pure guesswork, more or less,” the Viper sighed. There probably was some credence to Minaga’s theory. Vilastromoz just hoped this wouldn’t turn into an annoying situation.
“I do remain curious. The images have the same personalities as their true selves, and besides their level, they are the same person… especially after they lose,” the Wyrmgod muttered.
“Wait… you actually implemented that?” Vilastromoz asked, recalling a conversation from many eras ago.
“He sure did, and I helped make it happen with my awesome magic!” Minaga grinned.
As for what they were talking about? Memory restoration.
Upon losing but not dying, the image would become fully aware of its identity as a god and regain its full memories. This was in part done so the god’s image could attempt to form a connection with someone who walked a similar Path to them and thus recruit them, but also because the gods just thought it would be more interesting that way. However, that being the case did just further complicate the situation.
“So, you are telling me that the image that dragged Jake back to her residence was aware that she is actually only an image of a god?”
“Yes,” the Wyrmgod nodded. “Interesting, is it not?”
“I am going with the “not”…” Vilastromoz sighed. Yep, this could definitely turn into an entire “thing.”
“At least tell me Artemis does not have any request to see anything outside of the battles she loses, so she won’t be informed of this?” the Viper continued. What she didn’t know couldn’t cause any problems, and if she didn’t, it would be entirely up to Jake if anything had to be shared.
“Hm?” the Wyrmgod grunted. “Oh no, she doesn’t have anything like that. That is not standard at all, and I am sure she never expected her image to act as it did.”
“Well, that’s good at-“
“So I naturally informed her of her image’s irregular behavior as a courtesy.”
The Viper looked at his fellow Primordial as the dragon smiled, clearly amused.
“So, you’re from the Pantheon of Life?” Jake muttered as he leaned back in the pool, which was pretty much just a hot tub of healing. “How exactly does that fit with your Path as a hunter, which is about taking lives?”
Artemis, sitting in the water across from him, smiled. “The mere fact you gloss over my revelation that I am a god belonging to one of the most powerful Pantheons in the multiverse to question my Path… you continue to intrigue me.”
“I’m trying my best,” Jake chuckled as Artemis continued.
“To answer your question, the Pantheon of Life is about more than simply healing and preservation of life. It is also about the transformation of life, the natural cycle, and the glory of nature itself, and predators are as natural to the ecosystem as a tree or a herbivore. We hunters are also part of the natural cycle, but not as mere cogs. We are the ones who can control it. Bend it. We are the regulators who decide its direction, as we can hunt down anything we deem unnecessary or unwanted,” Artemis said with conviction. “Of course, we cannot overdo it. If we hunt down every living being in the ecosystem, there is no ecosystem anymore. No new life… nothing to hunt. And is a hunter with no prey truly a hunter at all?”
Jake listened intently. This was his first time meeting not just another powerful hunter but a being who had walked her Path all the way to divinity. He didn’t necessarily agree with her – in his opinion – somewhat limited definition of what a hunter was, but he still respected it.
“I see you are not entirely in agreement,” the elven goddess said, clearly amused. “Good. What kind of hunter would simply follow another’s Path blindly?”
“Someone with not enough Perception,” Jake joked, surprisingly enough getting a giggle out of the god.
After a brief pause, the god spoke again.
“Say, you are a C-grade outside of Nevermore, right? Based on the fact you are a G-grade human, one of the people from the newly integrated universe?”
“Yep,” Jake confirmed.
“What would you say to becoming my Chosen out there? To join the Pantheon of Life? I fully expect you to be with some other god already, but I doubt there are many as qualified to have a hunter as their Chosen as I, and I will handle any compensation required to the one who has currently blessed you,” Artemis offered as she looked at him seductively. “I will be sure to give you plenty of private tutoring, and if you happen to become a god…”
“Tempting offer, not gonna lie, but I already have a Blessing,” Jake said, shaking his head. “Quite a good one at that. The True Blessing of the Malefic Viper.”
“Wait, the Malefic Viper? As in the Primordial? Wasn’t he sealed away in his divine realm or something?” she questioned with interest.
“Well, he was. Now he’s not,” Jake shrugged casually. “He reappeared just around the integration.”
“And you are his Chosen? Disregarding everything else, It’s odd for a snake to have a hunter as his Chosen… but perhaps even more odd for you to submit to one, even if it is a god. How does that conform to your Path as the ultimate hunter?” she asked pointedly.
Jake smiled, knowing that even if he and Artemis were clearly friendly, he shouldn’t just share every secret he had. “Let’s just say we have an arrangement quite unlike what most Patrons and Chosen have. One rather unique to the two of us.”
“Fine, I won’t probe,” Artemis shook her head, reading his intentions quite clearly. “I will also retract my prior offer to not embarrass myself further. While I do believe I have quite a lot to offer, it is not to the level of a Primordial.”
“He does have a lot of shiny stuff,” Jake said, enjoying the warm, healing waters.
Artemis looked in thought for a while before she spoke. “Are you aware how these images that we gods have left in Nevermore work?”
“I thought I did until you clearly proved you are fully aware you are a god,” Jake said. “But I will assume that as an image, you are pretty much entirely separate from your true self, and your self on the outside won’t be aware of your memories.”
“Right,” she said. “In fact, the second you leave this Challenge Dungeon, I will cease to exist as I am erased alongside it. Ah, but don’t feel bad; that’s just how things work and what this image was created for in the first place.”
Jake nodded, already knowing that part well. “What are you getting at?”
“Impatient, are we?” she smiled, tilting her head. “What I am getting at is that my true self will not be aware unless someone informs it. I shall leave the ultimate choice of what you will do from here on to you. Out of the two of us, you are the only “real” being, are you not? You can choose to seek me out as a god, which I will admit may prove difficult, as I will be less than receptive to some random C-grade approaching me – even if he is the Chosen of a Primordial - but if you ever do want to meet, just show me or one of my followers this sigil.”
She raised her hand as she summoned an intricate seal that didn’t really depict anything in particular. She held it there for a few seconds before she dismissed it, Jake having already committed it to memory.
“Is it some kind of identification seal?” Jake asked.
“Something like that,” she nodded.
“Of course, you also have the choice of never bringing up what happened in this Challenge Dungeon with my true self. Assuming the Wyrmgod hasn’t already informed me, that is,” Artemis continued. “If he has informed me… well, I may send someone to fetch you, but seeing as you are the Chosen of the Malefic Viper, it may instead turn into a subtle political exchange that I will sneak into. Do you currently have any connections to the Pantheon of Life?”
“One of my party members in Nevermore is the granddaughter of Nature’s Attendant,” Jake shared. “In all honesty, I got enough going on that pretty much every Pantheon wanting meetings with me these days wouldn’t be overly surprising or out of the ordinary if you sent someone.”
Many were thirsty for some of that Jake Juice to make some banger variants, after all.
“Due to your Bloodline?” she asked, making Jake raise an eyebrow.
“What? You thought it wasn’t obvious you have one? The pure suppression of instinct and domineering aura I felt was not something a mere level 0 G-grade could have, but something of a far higher concept. While I was still in the arena, perhaps it could be argued you had an equally powerful instinct, but that you still surpassed me even after I regained my memories… A Bloodline or Transcendent is the only reason, and I wage it’s the prior,” Artemis laid out her thoughts while licking her lips.
Jake nodded, feeling like the hunter in front of him was too damn good at seeing through stuff. It wouldn’t surprise him if she also had some improved intuition or something to make such accurate deductions all the time. Then again… she was a god.
“Say, seeing as you are a goddess of the hunt and all, how about offering a lowly mortal hunter some hunting advice? Perhaps a few archery tips here and there?” Jake had to shoot his shot.
“Sure, we can exchange some pointers, but not more than that. My power and ability to display my power is still restricted to the same level as when we fought,” Artemis shrugged, actually surprising Jake a bit. He had expected her to outright reject the notion, especially seeing as he was the Chosen of another god. It was pretty nice of her to do tha-
“Mind you, I am not just doing it to be nice but to sow a seed of karma with you, which will make it far easier to track you down if the Wyrmgod does inform me in the outside world,” she smirked. “Does that disappoint you? Ultimately, you are still only a mortal, and if I get no benefit, why would I selflessly help you?”
“Only a mortal, huh?” Jake said as he stood up and walked toward her through the shallow pool.
“But one who brings plenty of benefits,” Artemis smiled, leaning back as Jake approached.
The next few days were spent with Jake taking advantage of having a god with experience in archery give him some pointers, primarily by just fighting with him in the forest outside of her residence. With her healing pool, recovery was also swift, and Jake had to admit that the company while healing up made the experience quite a bit more enjoyable.
Alas, Jake would not delay for too long. About a week after his fight with Artemis, he returned to the Colosseum to sign up for his sixth Champions fight against the Mistress of Shadows, or Umbra as she was actually called.
Jake had gotten used to fights either happening really fast or only after a month, so he was a bit surprised when Umbra scheduled it for eighteen days after he issued the challenge. It struck him as a bit of a random time until he returned to Artemis’ residence, and she shared that day would have a crescent moon, and considering Umbra had scheduled the fight to be as late in the day as possible… yeah, it was definitely not random.
Not that Jake complained about having a bit more prep time. He didn’t really need it, but he wouldn’t say no to having more time to duke it out with Artemis in the forest. They even did some archery training in between.