Vilastromoz just leaned back and smiled, still within the streaming room that was now just showing the Nevermore City square and all of Minaga’s antics. Well, one of Minaga’s clones anyway, as the god was also still in the room with a god clone.
”Man, ain’t that host the most handsome Unique Lifeform you’ve ever seen? His presentation skills are also just through the roof!” Minaga praised himself loudly. They were all waiting for the grand reveal… and soon it did when his clone announced the dramatic twist of one more person appearing.
To many of the mortals in the square, it was perhaps a surprise… but to the gods in the living room, they had just waited for this to happen. They had watched Jake and his party for the last many years, and they knew how well he had done. For him to not even have been on the top 10 made it clear to everyone that he would appear at some point for a grand announcement.
Something he did… making Vilastromoz grin even more. The Wyrmgod and Minaga’s clone both looked at him as Jake appeared and his performance was revealed.
”Congratulations,” the Wyrmgod said with a slow nod. ”A joyous occasion.”
”Found a good one, huh?” the Blightfather said, acknowledging Jake’s achievement.
”A fortunate and earned victory,” the Holy Mother said, also showing her respects.
”Glad to see he did well,” the Nature’s Attendant added happily. ”For little Dina to have been in the same party as the new champion of the All-time Leaderboards… it was a good decision to have her join him. Thank you, Vilas.”
The Viper just smiled back at the second-in-command of the Pantheon of Life. ”She pulled her weight; you have nothing to thank me for.”
”But I do,” his father-in-law insisted. ”I expected him to do well, but this still exceeds it. The impact on her future will be felt for certain, and she has been granted a great boon. She was even on the top 100 of the Era’s Leaderboards, doing far better than I thought possible.””Well, in either case, you shouldn’t be thanking me, but Jake,” the Viper shook his head.
”I will make sure to,” the god nodded as he turned to Artemis. ”What say you, shouldn’t we have him visit the Pantheon of Life once he is available? I am certain Ygg will also want to see him. We should probably wait a little, though… let things calm down a bit.”
”My image already effectively extended an invitation within the Colosseum of Mortals, and I’m sure the Malefic One’s Chosen is more than aware he has an open invitation standing,” the archer god responded, sounding a bit more confident than before, having gotten quite used to being in the presence of so many far more powerful gods over the last nearly two decades.
”Well, he strikes me as the sort to easily forget things, so perhaps we should remind him,” Nature’s Attendant commented.
”I’ll do it for you, no problem,” Vilastromoz waved it off as he looked at Artemis and smiled. ”I have a feeling he wants to visit anyway. I heard something about archery lessons.”
Artemis averted her gaze as the Viper just grinned. This was fun, and he was feeling pretty damn good right now about how everything was going.
”Ya done talking? Finally! Anyway, bloody well knew he would do it,” Valdemar grinned as he waved his hand. ”And if it ain’t a feat that calls for a proper celebration. Drinks are on me!”
A large keg appeared, and the god held it up and yelled toward all the observing gods. ”Hey! Get over here already; grab a mug!”
Receiving a direct invitation from a Primordial was not something any of the many observing gods would ever refuse. Quite the opposite, as they reveled in the opportunity. Many gods went by and offered their congratulations to the Viper for how well his Chosen had done, which Vilastromoz gladly accepted.
Everyone got their mugs of ale one after another, and the Viper saw no reason not to accept as he joined in on the festivities and grabbed a mug. Raising up a mug of his own, Valdemar spoke loudly as he infused his voice with energy. ”To Jake Thayne and a new record!”
With that, he downed the entire mug, joined by a few others, who only a second or two later stumbling back as the alcohol brewed to be strong enough for a Primordial to get drunk entered their system. Vilastromoz also had a taste, and he found the taste quite pleasant, even if it did carry too spicy of an aftertaste for the otherwise sweet initial impression.
For once, the Viper simply enjoyed the moment. There was cause for celebration, after all. Jake and the Viper both had things to celebrate… while a certain other pair of Chosen and Patron were probably feeling quite the opposite.
Jake defeating Ell’Hakan on the Leaderboards had most definitely been within their margin of error for the story the two were trying to spin. Either they would spin one story where Ell’Hakan beat Jake and would thus begin his comeback to either defeat or turn Jake to the ”good side.”
Or, the other possible path was for Jake to win, in which case Ell’Hakan would remain the underdog… the problem was that Jake hadn’t just beaten Ell’Hakan. He had beaten both of them. The announcement Jake had also beaten Yip of Yore was a brilliant strategic move by Jake – certainly made entirely accidentally – as it helped undermine the god who sought to become the first slayer of a Primordial.
It was publicly known, at least among the gods, that Yip held the top spot before. That he was the greatest genius of the multiverse, and for the top genius, what were truly his limits? As an unrivaled genius, it was only natural he would keep improving, perhaps to one day even become strong enough to slay the Malefic Viper. To slay the Primordial who had kept hidden away for so long and was, in the eyes of many, the weakest of the twelve.
Now… now he was no longer the top genius. Jake had stolen that throne – that legend. Ell’Hakan was also troubled now, for he was no longer just the underdog fighting another Chosen genius; he was fighting the top genius. Was he even qualified anymore to challenge Jake? So much doubt had been sown with that one announcement.
And doubt was the biggest enemy of those two storytellers. They needed certainty and steadfast belief in the legend they tried to spin, not potential confusion and people questioning the validity and possibility of their claims.
All in all, Jake had performed damn well, and Vilastromoz definitely owed him a beer. Not just in regards to the stuff with Yip… the Viper also had to thank him for the personal rewards he got from having his Chosen be the new holder of the top spot on the All-Time Leaderboards.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Ell’Hakan held a stoic expression as the Unique Lifeform known as Minaga announced the arrival of the Viper’s Chosen. This was not an unexpected turn of events, as he and his Patron had already discussed the possibility of the Viper’s Chosen doing extremely well within Nevermore.
On a personal note, he did find it disappointing that he lost to the human. Ell’Hakan had done his utmost within the World Wonder, even beating the other Chosen in regard to how many floors he had completed. What was perhaps even more infuriating was that Ell’Hakan had genuinely started to believe he would take the top spot.
When he announced his Challenge Dungeon’s multiplier, none had surpassed, only tied him. This gave him the false belief there was a good chance the Viper’s Chosen hadn’t surpassed him either. If he had, why wouldn’t he have revealed it? Getting a 100% multiplier would have led to much prestige in its own right, so even if he had failed to take the Era’s Pinnacle spot, he would have won at least a minor victory.
Due to this lack of an announcement, Ell’Hakan proceeded with the assumption the other Chosen had equaled his score at best. This meant the next years after the Challenge Dungeons would be crucial. In order to get a leg up, he had even prepared a welcome party on the city floor after floor seventy-five to receive the Viper’s Chosen and have him waste some time dealing with them while trying to sow discord within his group. However, Ell’Hakan never even heard of him appearing on the city floor, his rival having just skipped right past it to proceed to the next floor.
Even so, Ell’Hakan just focused on himself and his own party. Sure, they ended up losing a member, but the one who died could only blame himself, and Ell’Hakan’s Patron would handle any blowback from the god backing his fallen party member.
He had kept doing his utmost until the very end, where he at least had the foresight to make sure he would finish before the Viper’s Chosen. There were only upsides to this; if he did ultimately win, finishing first would block the Chosen of the Malefic Viper. Meanwhile, if he lost, he would at least still get the title. A title that was most certainly nothing to be scuffed at.
Era’s Conquerer of Nevermore – You have done what few could ever hope to achieve: proven yourself the pinnacle of an entire Era. No matter how brief the achievement or how fleeting this position is, this accomplishment can never be taken away from you. Attain first place on the Era Nevermore Leaderboards, proving yourself an Era’s Conqueror of Nevermore. Only one Nevermore Performance title can be held at a time. As an Era’s Conquerer of Nevermore, you are a near-unrivaled expert of dungeons, increasing stats gained from Dungeoneer and Dungeon Pioneer titles by 40%. +10% All Stats.
It was a truly great title that Ell’Hakan was more than pleased to have achieved. He was fully aware that if the Viper’s Chosen and he did not share a generation, Ell'Hakan would truly have no equal… but then again, perhaps he was only as powerful as he was because of the Primordial’s Chosen. It helped Ell’Hakan push himself further and truly seek to be the pinnacle of this generation… no, this entire era.
All in due time.
As the light beam descended upon the newly arrived Chosen of the Malefic Viper, and Minaga announced how he had won, Ell’Hakan saw the shift on the Leaderboards as his own position fell one. Clenching his fists, he maintained his composure, even if the situation didn’t particularly-
”… I failed to clarify what I meant by top dog… because I’m not just talking about this era. It’s with pleasure I can announce that for the second era in a row, the All-Time record has been broken!”
For a moment, Ell’Hakan let his expression drop as he stared toward the Chosen of the Malefic Viper in the distance, and for a moment, he met the eyes of the other Chosen before regaining his wits.
This… was not part of the plan, and Ell’Hakan cursed internally as he knew they would have to shift and adapt the narrative even more… potentially toward a direction Ell’Hakan was truly not a fan of.
Jake remained as composed as he could while the music blared, and all eyes were on him. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do or say. When he had done the Chosen Ceremony, he at least had a game plan and could prepare himself, but now he was just thrown onto what was effectively a stage. Should he say something? Smile and wave?
It didn’t get better when people started to actually fucking clap, as Viridia stood right behind him with her head slightly bowed and an incredibly happy grin on her face. Jake also saw Farleigh, the vampire patriarch, making him want to say hi, but the situation didn’t seem to allow it. The Fallen King noticed Jake’s discomfort and sent him a quick mental message to assist.
“No need to act. Simply be. Remain stoic and reveal no emotion. Just maintain a straight back and forward-looking eyes to exude confidence. You are the Chosen of the Malefic Viper, and someone recognized as the most talented genius of this generation, if not the entire era. To you, this result is naught but a meeting of your expectations.”
Jake took the words to heart as best he could as he did just that. He simply stood there and let everyone observe him as they clapped. It felt unnatural to him, but seemingly no one else thought so. Seconds passed, and with every moment, Jake really hoped something would happen… maybe Valdemar could swoop down and kidnap him to try and force Jake to join Valhal? Yeah, that would definitely be preferable to his current situation.
Luckily, Minaga continued before things got too awkward.
“Alright, calm down people. It’s just someone breaking a record that has existed for a few billion years and beating every single other living being who has ever competed on the Nevermore Leaderboards. No big deal,” Minaga said in a lighthearted tone before he turned a bit more serious.
“All jokes aside, the overall performance surpassing that of previous eras should only bring us joy. It’s representative of the growing base of Records supporting every faction and individual through the continued expansion of the system. Represents progress on a wider scale. Jake Thayne is simply the one standing atop a new generation that will be the first to lead us into the ninety-third era. These C-grades you see before you represent the future of every faction. They represent possibilities of Paths never seen before and even more new Records to populate this multiverse.
“Finally, to the ones who do not find their names on a Leaderboard despite hoping so, do not see this as a failure you should take to heart. You were beaten by the strongest generation ever, one you are still a part of. The Path to godhood is no sprint, and to try and reach ultimate power is an endless trek. You are still in the early stages of walking that Path. So, if you believe what you did was a failure, don’t. Become a success to show the multiverse what you are capable of, as it’s your future that defines you… and if you ascend to godhood, no one will give a damn that you did horribly in Nevermore while still a C-grade.”
Minaga was surprisingly wholesome as he spoke some words of encouragement to everyone, especially those who may be feeling dejected after realizing they hadn’t qualified for the Leaderboards. Looking at the Fallen King, the Unique Lifeform sent him a quick answer. “I got top 100 on the Universe Leaderboards and top 250 on the Era one.”
He didn’t sound disappointed, so Jake just nodded as Minaga seemed to finally be ending his presentation.
“Anyway, time to wrap things up. Thank you all for coming to this little ceremony of ours to celebrate the next generation and the revelation of the Leaderboards. Quite an eventful one this time around, eh? I hope you all enjoyed the show and will continue to revel in all the amenities of Nevermore City during your stay. Goodbye for-“
Suddenly, Minaga stopped as his eyes went wide, and he yelled loudly.
“Wait! How is this even possible!? There was one more!?”
A beam of light descended from above, and Jake stared over along with many others as he saw the new arrival…
Which was a Minaga clone wearing a funny hat while holding a sign saying “made you look," with a dumb grin on his face
“Gets them every time,” Minaga grinned as he bowed. "Toodle-oo!"
With that, Minaga disappeared along with all of the beams of light and projected figures. Jake also felt much of the attention on him begin to fade as he subtly breathed out a sigh of relief. Now that everything was finally done with, Jake was just looking for a way to get out of there… until the words of Viridia washed away all hope.
“Congratulations, truly. You have brought honor to the Malefic One and the Order of the Malefic Viper, and I cannot even hope to begin to express my gratitude,” she sent. “Now, are you ready to meet the others?”
Jake looked at her and sent back. “Meet the others?”
“Ah, you perhaps weren’t aware. It’s customary for all of the top performers of the Leaderboards to have a get-together after the rankings have settled down a bit,” she politely explained as Jake realized he was still not yet free, as he faced one of his most dreaded challenges: forced social interaction with strangers.