If Jake was being perfectly honest, he had hoped to just quickly bail and get out of Nevermore City as soon as it was convenient. He would first want to visit the Order and check everything was good there before making his way back to Earth, where he was certain quite a few changes had also taken place. After his Chosen Ceremony and all that had happened surrounding that, this was pretty much a given, and he hoped Miranda hadn’t been too overwhelmed.
However, it appeared that was not an option, and Jake ended up following Viridia and the Fallen King to a large conference hall of sorts. When Viridia had said this after-party was for the top performers on the Leaderboards, she didn’t just mean those from the Era Leaderboard. In fact, those from the Universe one were far more interesting to have there due to their newness to the multiverse.
As Viridia explained it telepathically while they walked over there:
”It has long been known the most effective way to forge an alliance and recruit new members is through first creating a positive relation between a member of your faction and the one you want to recruit. While it may sound cynical, the objective is to effectively use friendship to convince someone to join a faction. This is especially true when it comes to those from the new universe, as they often have a difficult time relating to a large faction, while the bond between themselves and another individual is far from comprehensible.”
”To be clear, you are not actually expecting me to do any recruitment or alliance-forging, right?” Jake wanted to clarify before he arrived at the conference hall.
”Not actively. Your mere performance will serve as a recruitment tool in its own right, and many factions and unaffiliated individuals are already showing much interest. This is a time when the Malefic Viper is making his comeback to the multiverse, and your performance in Nevermore will be their first impression of him. They will see that only a few years after his return, he already has a Chosen who has proved himself a talent at the pinnacle, which is about as good of a showing one can have.”
”So… what am I even meant to do?” Jake asked, genuinely unsure. ”I don’t see it doing the Order much good for me to be in a room with Ell’Hakan alone. While we can’t fight due to being in Nevermore City and all, there is a good chance we will enter a battle of words… and as much as I hate to admit it, I don’t think that’s a fight I’m gonna win.”
Viridia was silent for a moment before answering. ”I cannot tell the Chosen what to do… but I would avoid getting into any squabbles needlessly. You have nothing to prove and only prestige to lose if you engage with the other Chosen. Let others handle Yip’s Chosen, and simply try to learn about and maybe even get to know the other top performers, especially those from your universe. Information is scarce on them. It also won’t hurt to get to know young talents from the other large factions, as there is a good chance you may reencounter many of them in the future during your adventures. The system has a tendency to push talents together, either directly through system events or in subtler ways none can truly understand.”
”In other words, you’re telling me to try and make friends?” Jake asked, clarifyingly.
”You can view it like that. But more than that, you are there for them to try and make friends with you, as I am certain the majority will be more than happy to approach you. As the Order has not been in the best state for the last many eras, we have adopted a very neutral position in the multiverse, resulting in us having few enemies and allies. This lack of any strong relations means you become more approachable, as doing so won’t lead to any political issues. So I believe it highly probable you will be sought out by most of the talents on the Era Leaderboard.” ”That all sounds very logical and extremely annoying… but fine, I’ll try to play nice,” Jake finally relented.
At least he wouldn’t be alone there. Using a Pulse, he spotted others also making their way toward the conference hall, including his Nevermore party members and quite a few familiar faces from Earth. Arnold was walking with his group of void-related life forms, and surprisingly, they were all headed toward the hall. He also saw Carmen heading there with some people from Valhal. So, yeah, he would have some pleasant company.
”Hey, who exactly will participate? You said people toward the top of the Leaderboards, but I see a lot heading there. Like, a lot,” Jake asked.
”Top 250 on either Leaderboard. With the repeat of names between them, I expect no more than four hundred individuals to participate. Do also note that only you C-grades will take part. The rest of us will be busy in the interim, dealing with other political endeavors,” the S-grade Hall Master patiently explained.
”Got it,” Jake confirmed once more as soon they reached the hall. It was just a large building, with the inside further spatially expanded. Looking to the Fallen King, who had been floating alongside them, Jake gave him a look.
”You got briefed on what’s going on?”
”The vampire gladly did so,” the King answered.
”Thanks for getting him up to speed,” Jake said as he looked at Farleigh, who quietly walked with them on their way there while apparently telling the King what was about to happen.
”It is the least I can do,” he smiled and bowed. ”I’m also uncertain if this information is useful, but I came to learn from an acquaintance of mine that this get-together will be hosted by a trusted person of the Wyrmgod of Nevermore.”
Jake looked at the vampire before sighing. ”Probably Minaga again…”
”That… I cannot rule it out. But I do not believe it is,” the vampire patriarch scratched the back of his head.
”Guess we’ll see.”
Soon standing before one of the entrances, Jake and the Fallen King were already beginning to gather a lot of attention on themselves. Especially Jake, but a Unique Lifeform also gathered interest in its own right. Seeing no reason to stand outside and get ogled, the two of them entered the large venue, as Viridia and Farleigh stayed outside, seeing them off.
Once inside, Jake scanned the area and found a nice empty spot for him to chill at. Throwing the Fallen King a look, the Unique Lifeform gave a small nod and followed him as the two stuck together. Luckily, it wasn’t just the two of them for long as a bird entered the hall and headed straight for Jake.
The Sword Saint also soon walked in before even more familiar faces made their appearance. Arnold and Eron both entered next and after only briefly looking around, headed toward Jake and the others. Jake smiled when he saw Carmen waltz in, and she did not even think twice before splitting off from the others from Valhal to head their way.
Jake had barely said hello to her when he saw two more Earthlings walk in. Both of which he kind of hadn’t expected to see there. It was Maria, the fire archer blessed by Gwyndyr, and Jake’s very own brother, Caleb. Waving them over, Jake soon had gathered quite the group… as Casper also arrived together with a group of Risen that he quickly bailed to walk toward Jake and what had soon become quite the gathering who all had one thing in common:
They were all from Earth.
Jake, Sylphie, Sword Saint, Carmen, Fallen King, Caleb, Maria, Arnold, Casper, and Eron… ten people from a single planet in the new universe. Okay, the Fallen King kind of wasn’t, but he had been revived on the planet, so Jake counted him. This gathering reminded Jake a bit of the get-together they had on Minaga’s City Floor, just without Jacob and Bertram, with the setting also quite a bit different.
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Quite a lot of attention was garnered as their diverse group gathered. So many factions represented in one group were rare to see, and many were throwing them looks as if to find out what this group had in common.
Ell’Hakan had also entered and stood a good distance away with his own gathering of people. Jake just ignored him as he followed Viridia’s advice and acted like the other Chosen didn’t even exist. Which was quite easy as he did a bit of catch-up with old friends and family.
”Who in the hell did you scam to make it into the top 250?” Jake asked Caleb shortly after he arrived.
”You,” Caleb said with a smile. ”At least I’m pretty sure that’s why Umbra suddenly wanted me to join an even better team after the Challenge Dungeons to try and get more Nevermore Points.”
”So what you’re saying is that you owe me big time?” Jake grinned.
”Sure, sure,” his little brother waved him off. ”I would say I’m also surprised to see you take the top spot, and Umbra sure seemed like she was, but honestly, I can’t say I am.”
”Glad to impress an ancient god and meet my little brother’s expectations,” Jake said jokingly.
After a brief talk with Caleb, Jake also briefly checked in with Maria, who had joined a group of followers from the Crimson Flame and apparently done quite well for herself in Nevermore. She did know she had primarily been chosen for her group because it was required to have someone from the new universe in the party, but she still believed she carried her weight.
She also recognized that her relations with Jake made Gwyndyr want to invest more in her. Even if they weren’t close in any way, she was still the closest Gwyndyr had. Jake also learned that the reason everyone had gathered around Jake near-instantly wasn’t just because they liked his company. They had borderline all been told to seek out Jake once in the conference hall, in large part to communicate their faction already had an established bond with him. Bullshit politics that Casper confirmed to be true. Not that Jake particularly cared, and he felt many of them gladly used the excuse of wanting to forge a stronger bond with the top performer on the Leaderboards to chill with all the other Earthlings.
He also asked Eron some stuff and generally just caught up and got a feel as to how others were doing. Carmen mainly complained about her party members disappointing her with how fragile they were while throwing in jabs about a certain Challenge Dungeon that may or may not have contained labyrinths. Besides that, they just shared stories of Nevermore and had a good time.
Arnold was just using their group as cover as he stood and fidgeted with a tablet, not engaging with anyone. Just as Jake expected of him.
All in all, things were chill for a while as the entire hall filled up, and due to the already pretty large group Jake was with, no one really bothered them quite yet. The fact that they hadn’t officially started yet also helped, as people were still arriving.
Soon, there were just shy of four hundred people in the hall… and with that, a magic formation activated that sealed them off from all observers who wanted to spy on them. Jake instantly felt a few dozen observers disappear as it activated, most of which were gods or high-level mortals, as far as Jake could tell.
Shortly after this formation activated, a stage was raised in the middle of the hall and a figure appeared on top of it. Jake looked over and saw the newcomer, who was definitely not a C-grade.
”Welcome, everyone. It’s my pleasure to have you all here, young talents of the multiverse. I will be your host today and am present to ensure everything proceeds calmly and peacefully, and I will also admit that it will be nice to make some new acquaintances I may come to know better in the future,” the man Jake recognized to be… probably A-grade, said.
”Now, I am not much for speeches, but let me still give a small one. One that can also serve as a small warning and food for thought. All of you have already proven yourselves, but do not forget Minaga’s words. You may be exceptional now, but who is to say the same will be true in a few centuries or even just decades if you stop striving to improve? If it’s worth anything… when I was in C-grade, I didn’t even crack the top 1,000,000 on the Leaderboards as far as I could tell. I was just a wyvern back then, trying my best to find my Path, teamed up with a ragtag of others who also didn’t have any trusted comrades. Compared to me back then… you all definitely have a better start on your Paths. Revel in that knowledge, but do not let your momentum and potential go to waste.”
This presenter had shoulder-length silvery hair and a fair, almost androgynous appearance. He wore what looked like an expensive medieval shirt, pants, and boots and looked entirely human outside of his eyes. Rather than pupils, it looked like he had a spinning wheel of lights in there. Again, could still be human, but Jake felt an aura he had gotten quite good at recognizing: that of a dragon.
As Jake looked at the dragon in human form, he also felt an odd sense of pressure. One he could easily resist… but it hit somewhere he hadn’t ever felt be hit before. It wasn’t that of grade suppression or even power, but one born of Records related to something Jake hadn’t expected:
His Blessing.
An Identify quickly confirmed the reason, as Jake realized this was a first.
[Dragon of the Silverstorm Fissure – lvl ??? – True Blessing of the Wyrmgod]
Ignoring the overly long name, this was Jake’s first time ever meeting the Chosen of another Primordial.
”Ah, where are my manners. A few of you seem to have already checked me out yourselves or realized who I am, but allow me to introduce myself: I am known as Silverstorm, Chosen of the Wyrmgod of Nevermore. Currently A-grade, but with hope I will reach S-grade soon. It’s truly a pleasure to meet all of you.”
Jake observed the man closely, and he didn’t have a shadow of doubt in his mind: this Silverstorm was definitely already at the level of a weaker S-grade. Jake also felt that despite his gentle outward appearance and words… he was hiding quite the bloodlust. He was not someone who had reached his current level of power through making labyrinths and crafting but through slaughter.
”Now, let me not delay things anymore. Enjoy, all of you.”
With a clap of his hands, tables appeared all throughout the hall, containing food and beverages. A few dragonkin also entered the hall, and as Jake checked out a few, he saw they were all C-grades and all held Blessings of the Wyrmgod. Jake had expected them to join the get-together but soon realized… they were the catering staff.
The stage in the center also lowered into the ground, just fading into solid matter, as the Chosen of the Wyrmgod returned to ground level. Nearly instantly, he was swarmed by people from the different large factions, and Jake truly knew the dragon’s pain. Living the life of a Primordial’s Chosen wasn’t easy.
”This is going to be so awkward,” Carmen commented after a few seconds. ”Who thought it was a good idea to throw a bunch of strangers into a conference hall? They could have at least set up a dueling ring in the middle or something.”
”Doubt you would find many willing to fight you. All that would do was expose your skills in front of hundreds of potential future rivals,” Caleb shook his head. ”I sure wouldn’t want to fight anyone here.”
”… I hate that you’re probably right,” Carmen mumbled, annoyed. Turning to Jake, she threw him a look. ”So, what’s the supreme genius of our generation going to do?”
”I have absolutely no plans, and I’m currently in full survival mode,” Jake answered, only half-joking.
”Just take it easy and deal with whoever approaches you,” the Sword Saint advised. ”You are the Chosen of the Malefic Viper, and as Carmen said, the top performer on the Leaderboards. It’s only good etiquette they come to you and not the other way around.”
Jake slowly nodded as he looked toward one of the tables right next to them. Reaching out, he sent out a string of mana and pulled a glass to him, not spilling a single drop. ”Well, in preperation for that, I think I’m going to check out if they at least got some proper alcohol.”
”Ree?” Sylphie asked.
”I feel like you shouldn’t,” Jake said as Sylphie asked if she could also have something to drink.
”Ree…” Sylphie screeched dejected.
Jake took a swig of the drink he was holding, and as he felt it burn its way down his throat, he got an idea.
”Alright, alright,” Jake shook his head, and using a bit of mana manipulation, he made a small bubble of the liquid float out of the glass and up toward Sylphie. ”Have a taste.”
Sylphie, with glee, opened her beak and consumed the bubble. Half a second later, she began flapping her wings rapidly while making screeching sounds. Having fully expected this result, Jake had erected a sound-sealing barrier around the two of them while Sylphie learned alcohol maybe wasn’t for her.
Still smiling, Jake saw the Sword Saint motion, making Jake remove the barrier right as Sylphie had also calmed down.
”Approaching on your six,” the old man said.
”I noticed, but kind of hoped he was gonna change his mind,” Jake said while calming down dear Sylphie as he had indeed seen the approaching man. Turning around to meet him, Jake saw the one he recognized as the Demon Prince of the Fourth Hell and third-place finisher on the Leaderboards, trailing only after Jake and Ell’Hakan.
Guess it makes sense the number three approaches me first… though I don’t hope it becomes a pattern.
Something Jake feared it would, as he saw the elemental called Wintermaul throw a look toward Jake’s group, seemingly checking out when they were free next…
This is going to be a long day…