The palace assigned to Jake was needlessly big, to the level of it being kind of silly. It had at least a few hundred rooms by Jake’s estimate and all the facilities one could ever need, from a fully equipped blacksmith to an alchemy lab. One could run an entire damn product line out of there, and Jake felt very confident he would never set foot in any but one of them outside of this house tour.
When it ca to leisure, it had both an indoor and two outdoor pools and several entertainnt rooms, including a massive library and what Jake could only describe as a hyper-advanced wooden puppet theater. Artemis even introduced Jake to a particular formation he could use to reach out to the Pantheon of Life and request anything he needed. Her example was if he wanted a chef to make him so food or have soone co by to make a painting or a statue of him – sothing apparently quite a few important guests sotis did to commorate their visit.
The sleeping quarters were also needlessly large. Many of the rooms were spatially expanded with great flexibility to make them even larger than Jake could see a need for, which Artemis had a good explanation for.
“While most races can reduce their physical forms, to so, it isn’t very comfortable. That’s why it was decided to be on the safer side when constructing the bedrooms,” she said.
Jake stared at the more than a hundred-ter-wide bed as he scratched the back of his head. “I guess that makes sense; it just looks a little silly.”
“Just choose a room more fitting for the human form,” Artemis shrugged. “There are five main master bedrooms often reserved for the top officials of a faction, and I would personally recomnd just using one of those. Assuming you even plan on using it in the first place. Seeing as you’re the only one living here, the entire place is private, so you could ditate wherever.”
“Good point,” Jake nodded as they quickly stopped by these aforentioned master bedrooms. He just briefly looked inside before they continued on, soon enough ending up in the living room, where they sat down on a pair of sofas with a small table in between, keeping a professional distance.
“I think that’s about it,” Artemis said. “I do recognize it’s very silly for you to live here alone, but usually, a Chosen like you arrives with a huge entourage of servants and slaves.”
Jake nodded as a thought struck him. He had been wondering sothing ever since Artemis introduced that Divine Voidpiercer and decided to just outright ask her.
“I studied the Pantheon of Life a bit on my way here, and I can’t help but wonder... what is your faction’s official stance on slavery?” Jake asked, really hoping the answer wouldn’t be sothing he disliked.
“There isn’t really one,” Artemis answered, shaking her head. “The matter is too complicated to have rigid laws that can be enforced, so it’s taken on a case-by-case basis.”
“What do you an?” Jake asked, a bit confused.
“Hm... you have a solid knowledge of the ectognamorphs, right? I assu you do, considering your creation of a True Royal,” Artemis asked rhetorically. “As eusocial creatures, there is a natural caste among them, with so innately subordinate to others. The drones of a hive are born into what many would define as slavery to their queen, and I personally have no issue with that. That’s just how their race works. The sa is true for others. There are monsters that rely on controlling and enslaving others to defend themselves, as they have no combat capabilities by themself but have everything invested in ntal stats. Then there are parasitic beings that cannot live without invading and influencing a host, effectively enslaving them. I do not see myself as a judge who can decide what part of nature I find acceptable, as long as it doesn’t threaten the ecosystems themselves... even if I do have an aversion to so things.”
Jake listened and could agree with so of what she said. He had a deep, innate hatred of slavery, but when it ca to Vesperia, he didn’t really feel like it was the sa thing. Similarly, he didn’t have any particularly negative reaction during the Tutorial when he fought the rat creatures down there, despite the rat swarms obviously not being creatures of free will.
He didn’t feel completely satisfied with her answer, though.
“What’s your personal opinion on the matter?” Jake asked. “Would you personally take on a slave?”
“I believe that depends on your definition of the word,” Artemis shook her head, with Jake beginning to feel a bit nervous with that answer. “I reckon Vitesse is the cause of this question? I personally wouldn’t classify her as a slave. There’s no contract and no forced compulsion. However, from an outside point of view, the distinction doesn’t seem to matter much. She pledged her life to , swearing she would serve eternally for sparing her life. I have clarified her debt is paid, but her oath still binds her. I personally view her more as a servant now, and most of the ti, she’s free to do as she wants to, and it isn’t as if her life is bound to mine. One day, perhaps she will feel that her debt is paid, at which point she will leave, but I don’t know when that will be, so until then, she is effectively a slave of her own oath.”
Jake frowned a bit as he considered the matter. “That does sound complicated. Have you ever forced anyone to serve you?”
“No,” Artemis shrugged. “There was never a need. The enlightened races of the Pantheon of Life rarely have slaves of any kind; we just recognize that to so creatures and Paths, it’s natural. We also do not judge if others have them. But you asked about my personal opinion... and It’s hard for to really have one. I’ve been a god for a long ti, and gods don’t really tend to have slaves. We never need to. Mortals have a natural instinct to serve and worship gods, aning we can turn the majority of mortals into servants rely by commanding them to do sothing. With notable exceptions, of course. As for having slaves that are other gods... outside of rare cases like Vitesse, that isn’t a thing at all. You would have a hard ti finding a single god willing to beco a slave of soone else over death. Even Vitesse definitely wouldn’t have signed an actual slave contract... not that I have any idea how to make one that could bind a god.”
“I think I should be transparent in that I’m vehently against the concept,” Jake said after listening to Artemis’ words and feeling a bit more reassured. “In my view, it shouldn’t be a thing across the board, and if I co across a monster that enslaves people as part of its Path, well, that just makes it really easy to know my next prey. No matter how natural it is. Regarding the True Royals and the eusocial insects, I do recognize there is so more nuance there, but drones aren’t born with full sapience. I also think it boils down to that they are born into their place in life. Usually, those who are enslaved experience a loss of freedom, which I guess is what I really detest.”
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“The instinct to be free is very natural, and so is your empathy,” Artemis nodded. “Albeit a bit flawed as directly reflecting your feelings onto others is rarely accurate, but I can appreciate the sentint. Do let be clear that if your concern is if I’m gonna suddenly start proposing you create an army of slaves, then you have no need to worry. I would rather recomnd getting powerful and loyal allies and friends, sothing you have already proven you’re quite good at.”
“Good thing we’re on the sa page there,” Jake nodded, relieved. “Now, I do believe I promised you a gift?”
“You did,” Artemis nodded, though she didn’t precisely look full of expectation. Not that Jake could bla her. She probably assud this gift was from Jake himself, in which case, what could he even give her that a god could use? Well, maybe he could create sothing using his abilities as a Harbinger of Prival Origins, but he seriously doubted she expected that or even knew it was an option.
“Before you see it, I need to clarify sothing. I don’t actually know what it is and what it does,” Jake said, trying to cover himself against whatever happened next. He knew Villy well enough to know that even presenting the item to her was a massive risk.
He would definitely not put it above the snake god to have given him a gag gift. However, he also couldn’t write off the option that it was a genuinely great gift. Sothing that would benefit Artemis greatly, and if there was even a one percent chance it was sothing good, Jake wouldn’t be an ass and deny it to her.
“What do you an you don’t know what it is?” Artemis frowned. “Is it sothing you found, or?”
“No,” Jake shook his head and clarified: “It was created by the Malefic Viper specifically to be given to you.”
Artemis’ eyes opened wide when Jake said that as she stared at him. “The Malefic One created sothing for ?”
“Yeah,” Jake nodded, feeling a bit sad at seeing her surprised face. “But I will warn you. As I said, we have a friendly relationship, so while I’m pretty positive it won’t be anything that can harm you, I cannot guarantee it’s sothing that will actually benefit you.”
The hunter goddess nodded thoughtfully, and Jake really hoped Villy hadn’t just given him this gift to fuck with the two of them. With a slight sense of dread, Jake took out the bottle and placed it down on the small table between them.
“Here it is. From my understanding, only you can unlock the seals on it and see what it truly is,” Jake said, wishing internally for it to be sothing good. If not, he definitely had a snake god who needed a kick to the teeth the next ti he went back to the Order.
With a sense of seriousness that Jake really hoped was warranted, Artemis picked up the bottle with careful hands, studying the item closely as she did so. She gave Jake a look, and he nodded for her to go ahead as Artemis unsealed the flask, allowing her to finally see what was within it.
As she did, the room fell silent. She stared at the bottle, and at that point, Jake felt pretty damn confident they’d just been hoodwinked by the Viper. That the damn snake god had given her a gag gift or perhaps just an empty bottle or sothing else stupid like that, just to ss with the two of them.
“Did the Malefic One really create this for ?” Artemis asked after several seconds, looking up at Jake with confusion.
“That’s at least what he told ,” Jake sighed, preparing an excuse for his immature and idiotic friend. “Look, sotis he’s-“
“This is too much,” Artemis shook her head. “The level of debt sothing like this creates... oh... I believe I see why...”
Jake was beginning to get rather confused as Artemis continued speaking. “The Malefic One truly values you. I’m in no way worthy of receiving a gift of this level from him, and I believe he has only one reason for doing so... he wants to communicate he does not disapprove and that you have his full backing, no matter the case.”
“What exactly did he give you?” Jake asked, incredibly curious now because it definitely didn’t sound like a gag gift anymore.
“A Transcendent-level Elixir,” Artemis answered. “As in, the kind of item that can only be created through the use of a Transcendent skill. The type of item one cannot even ask for.”
“What does it do?” Jake continued asking.
“As you said, this truly is an item created for ,” Artemis said as she admired the small bottle. “It’s an Elixir that will help trendously when I try to break through to Godqueen. Each ti a god advances, they have to overco a wall of varying difficulty, and while I did have confidence in advancing on my own, this will speed up the process significantly and make my chance of success exponentially higher.”
“That actually sounds... useful,” Jake muttered, full of surprise that Villy had really co through for him this ti around.
“This is the kind of item people of my level tend to go into wars for. The kind we enter system events with the hope of obtaining, nine gods dying only for one to advance. For him to have created and given sothing like this to soone like ... it truly can only be a statent. I have nothing of value to offer him, and it’s evident his only reason for giving it to is because of you,” Artemis said before letting out a small sigh.
“You’ve been transparent with so far from what I can tell, so allow to return the sa energy. I cannot in good conscience say I wasn’t looking forward to eting you without ulterior motives. Selfish motives. Progress as a god at my level is tough, and I had hit a wall I hoped this new era’s influx of Records would help overco, but at most I hoped for it to be a slow process. However, ever since we t in Nevermore, my stagnation has disappeared. I have beco able to progress again... and I see no other explanation than my encounter with you and all that has led to,” Artemis confessed.
She was clearly reluctant to confess that, which she really shouldn’t have been, as Jake just shrugged. “That’s good, right? You also helped progress and even improve my archery, so at most, that just makes us even. I already confessed I had ulterior motives of getting free archery lessons.”
“I don’t think those two things are comparable,” Artemis sighed. “As a C-grade, it’s expected for you to progress easily. At most, I can help marginally speed up your progress, while to , a single level could take countless years. At least they could before. For , as a god, to try and take advantage of my relations to you to further my own progress is improper to say the least.”
“Let’s not act like it isn’t also pretty damn audacious of to expect a god to give personal training,” Jake said with a smile. “Everything in this world is a give and take. You telling that my presence has had a positive effect on you is only good from my point of view. It’s not like you’re the only god either; the Viper seems pretty pleased with the progress I helped him with.”
“The Malefic One has seen tangible returns?” Artemis asked with a high level of skepticism before falling into deep thought. “No... that does make sense. The qualitative power in the Records born from creating a True Royal and taking the all-ti spot on the Nevermore Leaderboards has to hold so value to even a god of his level, if for nothing else but the novelty and uniqueness of those achievents.”
“So, no need to feel guilty,” Jake shook his head. “As you said, for a proper bond to be forged, one needs to be equal. I view the Viper as an equal, and so do I see you as one. For to help you only makes happy, knowing I’m not the only one benefitting. While I don’t think it’s proper to keep score between friends or people who care about one another, it does still feel bad to only be on the receiving end.”
Artemis looked at Jake for a mont before sighing. “You know, sotis I forget you’re even a mortal.”
“Hey, no worries, it’s only a temporary condition,” Jake smiled, saying such an arrogant line with so much confidence that Artemis didn’t even feel like she could question it. “Also... you are right that this entire place is definitely way too big for one person to live here, so wouldn’t it make my visit more comfortable if at least one more person stayed here?”
The hunter goddess looked at Jake before smiling and shaking her head. “Well, I was assigned to be your escort and to make your stay pleasant, so I guess I’ll have to sacrifice myself this once.”
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