Back in the Prima Vessel, Jake headed straight for where most of the strike team had already gathered. The barrier that had been sealed not only due to the lack of a key but also surviving Primas now only had the key symbol left, signifying every single Prima was indeed dead.
“Good for you to rejoin us,” Caleb said with a smile as he poked the barrier. “Need the Keymaster.”
“Eh, does anyone really care about opening it?” Jake asked casually. “It’s just the loot room. Who has time for the loot room?”
“Just open the damn thing already,” Carmen sighed. “Let’s not act like we’re expecting anything good. The real reward is supposed to come after the system event is fully concluded.”
“Who knows, maybe we get a pleasant surprise,” Jake said as he didn’t delay but walked over and placed a hand on the barrier. The moment he did, it naturally faded away, revealing what looked like a large storeroom. Large and pretty much completely empty.
“Unsurprisingly disappointing,” the Sword Saint said, shaking his head.
“It’s not completely empty,” Jake said as he walked into the room. The walls were lined with shelves that were all empty except for one spot where a shoebox-sized container sat. Jake had naturally seen this box from far away, especially because of what was inside:
More boxes. Lockboxes, to be more accurate. Each of them was a black void inside, meaning no items had spawned yet, which effectively made it into a shoebox-sized loot box for their group.
Opening the box in front of all the others, the conclusion of what the reward would be was pretty obvious.
“Rings for everyone, huh?” Carmen commented.“Three of the boxes are of slightly different size,” Caleb pointed out.
“And one of the ring-sized ones looks different from the rest, and based on the key-symbol… I believe that is the one given to the new owner of the planet,” the Fallen King said, also looking down into the box.
“Well, it only seems fair I get my own special boy reward,” Jake grinned, teasing the others a bit that he would get his own unique reward.
Getting to their loot opening, Jake decided to be nice and let the others go first. Counting the boxes, it nearly lined up perfectly with the people who took part in the strike team. There were even boxes for Maria and Casper, who had to abandon the fight. Jake said it nearly lined up perfectly, because there was one too many, but Eron had a good idea who that belonged to.
“The karmic mage did contribute to the fight, if only by a little,” Eron said. “Perhaps just enough to qualify based on the system’s assessment.”
“I guess,” Jake muttered, not really sure who else it could be.
Without further delay, they opened the first of the “regular” ring boxes, Jake wasn’t sure what he should have expected, but based on the reactions of everyone, the reward definitely excheeded expectations. Even if the item looked a little bit confusing.
[Band of the Exalted Prima Guardian Slayer (Legendary)] – A ring worn by one who has managed to slay not just a Prima Guardian but an Exalted Prima Guardian. The Records of the Exalted Prima Guardian seeps through the ring, granting it powers. This allows you to mimic a part of the Exalted Prima Guardian’s powers, giving you adaptable stats. These stats will apply dependent on your situation and your actions. These stats can exceed the stat cap provided by equipment by up to 5% or 2500 stats, whichever is lowest. Enchantments: +10000 Adaptive Stats. Adaptive Stat Amplication. This ring may be upgraded further at the end of the Prima Guardian event.
Requirements: Slayer of the Exalted Prima Guardian
Jake had never even seen an item like this before. It reminded him a bit of his Altmar Signet, except just way fucking better in every way. From how Jake understood it – and with confirmation from the others soon after – the ring functioned just like regular equipment when it came to giving stats, except the 10000 stats the ring provided didn’t allocate themselves before it was needed.
So, as an example, when Caleb swung his staff while wearing the ring, his Agility, Strength, and Intelligence all increased by quite an amount. The Judge from the Court of Shadows wasn’t fully capped out in stats he could get from equipment, so the adaptive stats capped him out on both Strength and Agility and even gave a bit extra.
The Sword Saint also tried the ring, and Jake was very interested to see how it would work for him. One had to remember that the Sword Saint was always capped out on stats he could receive from equipment while wielding a sword due to one of his skills. Yet when he used the ring, he still benefitted. His Strength, Agility, Perception, Endurance, and Vitality all increased as he swung his sword, all up to the “cap” of the extra 5% above the stat cap he could get.
This was just a few thousand extra stats… and that was for someone who was already capped out on what he could receive from equipment.
Arnold also quickly clarified the ring even worked while crafting, giving stats where relevant. Carmen even decided to go as far as to punch Eron to confirm the ring would grant defensive stats. Something it indeed did in reaction to the attack.
“Isn’t this ring completely overpowered?” Jake muttered in disbelief.
“I’m not sure I would classify it as such… but it certainly is one of the best rings I have seen,” the Sword Saint said. “It’s also not something I think anyone can really craft that easily. The touch of the system is all over it.”
“I think it’s pretty fucking overpowered,” Carmen chimed up in agreement with Jake’s assessment. “Not to mention that last part… it can be upgraded to be even more overpowered at the end of this event.”
“Glad we’re all in agreement regarding its overpoweredness,” Jake said with a smile. He also looked forward more than ever to seeing his own special ring… perhaps it was even better than this. For now, he had to show patience, though.
The three rings belonging to William, Maria, and Casper were all taken by the Sword Saint, who promised to hand them out later. Jake gladly had the old man do it as he really didn’t want to go and give William a cool legendary ring himself.
As for Sylphie, the Fallen King, and Vesperia, they naturally couldn’t get rings on account of them being monsters and unable to use equipment. However, the system hadn’t forgotten them but provided them with three small boxes of their own. Opening them, each contained a small multi-colored bead within, and using Identify, Jake reckoned they were pretty damn valuable.
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[Bead of the Exalted Prima Guardian (Legendary)] – A bead containing some of the power and Records of the Exalted Prima Guardian. This energy is primed to be easily absorbable by any monster and will adapt to suit the one who consumes it perfectly. This item may be upgraded further at the end of the Prima Guardian event.
Requirements: Slayer of the Exalted Prima Guardian
Like with the rings, these beads could also be upgraded at the end of the system event. A bit cruel to force Sylphie to wait with a tasty snack right in front of her, but Jake was sure she could handle it.
He had been a bit worried it wouldn’t really be of any help to Vesperia considering the flood of resources she already got from the Endless Empire, but she seemed incredibly intrigued by the item, and when Jake mentally poked her, he got an expectedly scary answer as to what she planned.
“I believe I could use this item as a catalyst when creating a Hive Queen… though I am unsure if I can create one suitable for reproduction. I may be forced to create a Warrior Queen instead, but it’s too early to tell. Only at the end of the event shall the final form of the item be revealed… and if worst comes to worst, it does look quite appetizing.”
So, yeah, Vesperia could potentially create some Hive Queen with Records of the Exalted Prima Guardian. Definitely scary True Royal stuff.
Everyone seemed happy with their loot so far, which left only one person to open his box. With all eyes on him and a smile on his lips, Jake opened the special final ring box. When he did so, a beautiful ring was revealed, looking very similar to the ones granted to the others. However, it somehow looked even more expensive, with a key-like symbol on the face.
With a big smile, Jake used Identify on the ring and-
[Seal of the Exalted Prima (Unique)] – Proof that you are an Administrator Candidate for the Seat of the Exalted Prima. Grants certain privileges during the Prima Guardian event. This item’s true power is currently sealed and will only be unlocked after the final Prima Guardian has been slain, and will be upgraded accordingly to your performance during the event.
Requirements: Jake Thayne
“… what the fuck is this?” Jake asked out loud as he stared at the ring.
The others had also used Identify, and Carmen couldn’t help but chuckle. “Hey, maybe it’s just a grower, not a shower. Does say it can also be upgraded.”
“Very funny,” Jake muttered as he threw the Sword Saint a look. “Say, wasn’t there an extra ring available?”
“The one we agreed to give to the metal mage?” the old man asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Wow, Jake is trying to steal loot from others,” Carmen said, shaking her head. “You already received a ring, haven’t you?”
“May as well not have,” Jake muttered.
“Perhaps it shall turn great once upgraded post-event,” the Fallen King commented.
“Maybe, but then it would feel like I didn’t get any reward until then. Can you imagine how that would-“
The Fallen King flashed the bead, Jake shutting up.
“Fine… but at least you have the option of eating it here and now, even if that would be dumb…” Jake relented as he picked up the ring and put it away.
With all the shitty loot distributed – save for what had to be given to those who weren’t there – the hunting gang went toward the final unexplored room of the Prima Vessel. While one had housed the control room and one the loot and storeroom, the final one was perhaps the most interesting.
Unlocking the barrier and heading inside, Jake and company found themselves in a large room with a teleportation circle covering most of the floor on a raised platform in the middle. Several instruments lined the walls, with the far end having a big screen that mirrored the one in the control room. Heading inside to explore the room further, Arnold went straight to the control panel and quickly understood what it was for.
“This teleportation circle is linked to every single Prima Vessel but only established pathways to those who are part of the alliance,” the scientist shared.
“Does that mean we will be teleported directly into other Prima Vessels if we use it?” Jake questioned.
“No, they appear to link up with other teleportation circles on each planet,” Arnold shook his head.
“When entering the Prima Guardian Alliance, the system would grant the planets a blueprint to a special teleportation circle linking them to other planets part of the alliance,” Caleb shared, naturally having some insight as a Judge of the Court of Shadows. “That’s how most did all their preparations before this event and met up beforehand.”
“Can anyone teleport to this circle here on Earth now that we entered the alliance?” Vesperia questioned with some concern.
“Yes, but only those who have used it to travel in the past,” Arnold said as he kept scanning the circle and the documentation provided by the system. “That is to say, if you use this to teleport to another planet, you can use it to teleport back again. Even if you teleport to other planets from the original one, as long as you use this teleportation circle to leave Earth in the first place, you can always return again. I will warn you that I can find nothing about bringing others back with you, though. So that may be a potential danger.”
“Do the planets part of the alliance have no say if we teleport there?” Jake asked, frowning a bit.
“They do,” Arnold said. “They can block anyone from teleporting to them or only give certain planets permission. I also see some have messages attached to who they wish to come help. Not all of them are part of Ell’Hakan’s group, but the vast majority most certainly are.”
“I see,” Jake nodded. Before they decided to teleport anywhere, they still had to get topside and meet Miranda to plan out what they planned to do. He just hoped he could teleport the entire Prima Vessel back up to the surface again because trying to dig and fly the entire way seemed like a pain.
“I’ll go check if we can teleport back up again so we can have a meeting about our plans,” Jake said as he turned to go toward the control room. However, a question from the Fallen King stopped him in his tracks.
“Can we use this circle to also teleport to the Prima Vessels on the planets not part of the alliance?” the Unique Lifeform questioned.
“Or, at the very least, use the connection this Vessel had with theirs to create our own method of transportation. Because if not, won’t we have to wait till every single planet has dealt with its own Prima Guardian before the event concludes? That could turn into quite the wait,” Caleb quickly recognized as he followed up.
That… was something Jake hadn’t really considered. He remembered that unless triggered on purpose, the Prima Guardian would only be released from the Prima Vessel in a thousand days or so under natural circumstances. Based on their estimates, this was how most planets would handle their Prima Guardians.
They would spend the next nearly three years hunting down regular Primas all over their planets to weaken the Prima Guardian. Then, once free, they would face the Guardian if they felt ready. Considering they then had five years to beat it… that meant Jake could potentially be stuck with his shitty un-upgraded ring for several years.
Jake was already cursing this system event as Arnold looked deep in thought before he spoke, sparking hope in Jake’s eyes.
“It shouldn’t be impossible. Perhaps we cannot use this teleporter, but it should be possible to use the map to roughly estimate the spatial coordinates of all the other marked planets in relation to ours. Using this, we can teleport, at the very least, to the vicinity of the planets with Prima Vessels on them,” the void scientist said. “However, we will need skilled space mages, and it will take a while to ensure we will not teleport people into the middle of nowhere. Focusing on the other planets that are part of the alliance should be our primary objective for now.”
Just hearing it was a possibility, Jake was in a lot better mood as he headed back to the main control room. He knew he still had a lot more features of the Prima Vessel to explore, and instinctively, he also recognized that the entire thing pretty much belonged to him now. He was the only one who could control it, and if he wanted to, he could even reestablish the different barriers.
In the core room, Jake also luckily discovered that the teleportation feature worked again. With relief, he quickly activated it, and in a flash, they teleported from right next to the Planetary Core all the way back to the desert.
“Hey, Miranda, I think we may as well hold our meeting within the Prima Vessel. Just enter through the door toward the top of the egg,” Jake sent to Miranda after a bit, as he was joined by the Sword Saint and Fallen King in the control room.
“Are you prepared for what’s to come?” the old man asked. “You will soon be face to face with quite a few people who may or may not be big fans of you.”
“And servants of the Chosen of Yip. Individuals with warped emotions and unnatural loyalty toward a sworn enemy,” the Fallen King added.
“Ready as can be,” Jake shrugged. “I’m more worried about who we should even send off-planet to go help the alliance… but we’ll talk about that when the others get here.”
As he said this, he also got a response from Miranda. “I’m gathering those relevant. Some may join only as projections. See you in a few.”