In Jake’s defense, he had a lot of other stuff to deal with than upgrading a weapon he didn’t really plan on using anyway. It wasn’t like he had all nine weapons before a few hours ago. Besides, the divine-rarity necklace kind of took away all other attention.
Now, while he was sitting around and waiting anyway, it was a great ti to rge them. With the Sword Saint and Carn observing, he took out the Count weapons one by one. He had a total of seven as he had rged three into one already.
First, he tried to rge the other six into the upgraded one but got no response.
It can’t be.
He then rged three of the weapons, creating an epic-rarity version. He repeated this and now had three epic-rarity weapons.
For real?
Putting the three epic-rarity weapons, they all reacted as they began lting into black tal.
“A bit cliché, isn’t it?” Carn comnted after the three weapons had all turned completely into liquid tal and slowly blended with each other to form sothing new, as its aura also grew.
“Totally,” Jake agreed. Nine turns to three, and three turns to one weapon. It was like another damn video ga. Well, perhaps that was only to be expected, coming from vampire Counts with terrible boss dialogue.
The rging process was smooth, and soon the process stopped as the tal took a more stable state. The weapon now gave off a powerful aura, and Jake had to admit it was likely the most powerful weapon he had ever seen. However, it didn’t resemble a blade anymore but looked more like a black tal stick. Not a staff either, but a twenty-centiter-long stick. It wasn’t even thick.
Jake used Identify on it together with the two others.
[Vampiric Chira Weapon (Ancient)] – A weapon created by recombining the full Chira weapons once wielded by Counts of Blood, all of which have been soaked in the blood of countless enemies throughout the ages. Now that it is whole once more, it still hungers and seeks to grow. Crafted using a special type of steel, the weapon can absorb the lifeforce of vitality-based lifeforms to repair itself. Allows this weapon to steal a portion of the lifeforce of anyone injured by attacks using it. Can change form between various weapons. Enchantnts: Hemoabsorbant Self-Repair. Vampiric Weapon. Chiric Transformation.
Requirents: lvl 150 in any humanoid race.
Oh, so it’s like the Omnitool, but a weapon? Jake thought as he read it over. It looked all nice and dandy until he got to the last part about the requirents. He needed to be level 150 to use it.
“Looks cool, I guess,” Carn comnted again.
“Indeed a peculiar tool,” the Sword Saint agreed.
“Yep,” Jake said and put it back into the Hunter Insignia. It looked like he would be stuck with only the scimitar against the Sword Saint their duel anyway.
“Can’t use it?” Carn asked as she saw him put it away.
“Not 150 yet,” he answered truthfully.
“Oh.”
She looked at him up and down again. “I kind of assud you would be around there. Wait, am I higher level than you?”
He quickly identified her.
[Human – lvl 136]
Jake shook his head as he hid his smile under his mask while answering. “Nah, you still got ways to go.”
“How many?”
“Oh, plenty.”
Sylphie looked at them confused as she flapped her wings and made screeches and odd gestures as she ford constructs of mana. Jake quickly tried to tell her to not blow his cover, but it was too late as Carn had understood what Sylphie tried to communicate. On that note, who the hell had taught his bird to summon green mana constructs, much less the nurical system!?
“You’re fucking one level above , aren’t you?” she said, glaring daggers at him.
Jake just looked at Sylphie, who was rapidly switching between being confused and ek as she flapped her wings to make all her mana in the air disappear. “Little traitor. I’m gonna tell your mom and dad when we get ho.”
“Hoh,” the Sword Saint laughed as he joined in with a jovial mood. “Since we are sharing, then I appear to be lowest among us at 135. Seems like I cannot keep up with you youngsters at all.”
They kept chatting for a while as they all regenerated and exchanged pointers. As ti passed, Reika and Caleb also joined them, with even Maria joining in later on. She was especially interested in asking Jake questions about Haven and his city.
“If I may ask,” Caleb said as he turned to Maria. “Why did you choose to join the Holy Church despite being associated with a god that isn’t?”
“Because I t them first, and it made sense at the ti. Finding a competent party was also difficult, and Sanctdomo had the best there was to offer, not just when it ca to party mbers, but also in providing materials for my profession and facilities to work,” she answered, adding. “There is very much an “ask, and you shall receive” kind of culture if you are one of the stronger ones there.”
“And what do they demand in return?” the Sword Saint asked pointedly.
“Protection, order, and to so extent, obedience. I am in a way better position than pretty much anyone else as I am associated with another powerful god and thus far harder to control. I haven’t experienced any serious issues besides the atmosphere being a bit unsettling,” Maria answered truthfully.
“In what way?” Jake asked curiously.
“People are almost too kind… it’s hard to explain. It feels like no one ever says no, and you are handed whatever you want, but the sa is also expected of you. If anyone in charge cos and asks you to do anything, you are expected to do it without question or even an explanation for why you have to do what they tell you to. Again, I am more or less excluded from this, but that this ntality is so prevalent does make it hard to make any friends, even with my party mbers. In my eyes, we are just colleagues, and I doubt I will ever be able to view any of them as true friends. Much less that they will view as one,” she said, continuing to be open.
“Why not just go solo?” Carn chid in. “Way easier to just be your own boss and do whatever.”
“Contrary to soone else,” she said, nodding towards Jake, “we archers don’t tend to do that well alone. Sure, while we can hunt alone, being with a party is just so much more effective. It’s like how a guardian or a healer isn’t ant to hunt alone, but put a guardian, an archer, and a healer together, and you have a powerful combo far more effective than the sum of their parts.”
“I guess,” Carn recognized. “By the way, you keep ntioning being blessed by so other god?”
“Gwyndyr,” Caleb answered, with Maria nodding in confirmation.
“That na sounds familiar,” Jake said, trying to rember where he had heard it before.
“It damn well should,” Maria said, glaring at him. “He invited you to his divine realm after your tutorial, and you rejected him.”
“Oh yeah, that was a thing,” Jake recalled. “Should have tossed in a bottle of vodka if he wanted to co that badly.”
Everyone just stared at him as Jake elaborated. “Oh, it was this inside joke between the Viper and where he promised a bottle of vodka, and apparently it was also an excuse to toss into a vat of poison that helped get so skill upgrades, even if it usually kills people, and-“
Caleb put a hand on Jake’s shoulder as he laughed. “Sounds like quite the ti, eh?”
Getting the hint to shut the fuck up, Jake just agreed. “Yeah, sure was.”
“Good for you, I guess,” Maria said. “Gwyndyr did ask to not antagonize you and instead treat you as an ally considering your position as Chosen of a Primordial. So yeah, I guess he wants to suck up to you.”
“Quite open about it,” Jake comnted.
“Sure, it isn’t like the gods can peek into the Treasure Hunt, so may as well be frank. On that note, you have t the Viper in person… isn’t it kind of unsettling? From what I heard, he is a monster with no regard for mortal life, a complete psychopath who likes torturing and has an Order that-”
“No, I’m good,” Jake answered, frowning. “And I don’t have a habit of shit-talking my friends behind their back either. I think a better question is why so god is trying to invite soone who already has a Patron god to his realm when he isn’t even associated with the tutorial?”
Maria looked a bit taken aback at Jake’s shifting attitude but quickly recovered. “Sorry? And I think he invited you specifically because of that. He was curious who could get a Primordial out of hiding and even get a blessing. Much less beco his Chosen right off the bat.”
“How did he even know about ?” Jake asked, still more than a little miffed.
“With so much attention on your tutorial from other Primordials and powerful gods, he also spared it so attention. He didn’t take notice of you till he found out he couldn’t take notice of you. He discovered that you had been hidden by the Viper, and that truly piqued his interest,” Maria kept explaining. “There was nothing negative about it; he just thought that getting positive relations with the Viper’s Chosen would be a good move. I also can’t rule out that he wanted to get a feel for the Viper’s power through you.”
“I am not sure why any of this is relevant?” Caleb butted in.
“What I am trying to say is that I don’t really care about the Holy Church, and I don’t want my current status as working with them to an I am against anyone else. I am not so spy or anything either. My true allegiances lie sowhere else,” she said, defending herself.
“Why stay?” the Sword Saint asked curtly. “Many other organizations exist, and from what I know, Reika is looking for worthwhile team mbers, are you not?”
Reika, who had just been sitting silently, quickly nodded. “I am indeed, Patriarch. Of course, we always need more powerful mbers, and naturally do not impose any restrictions upon them.”
“Thanks for the offer, but I have an agreent in place for now. Not with the Church itself, but the Augur and Bertram. And no, I can’t share details. Once more, not because I am not allowed to, but out of respect for them. We can always revisit it when those obligations are fulfilled,” Maria answered, swiftly shooting it down while still keeping the door slightly open for future collaboration.
After that, their conversation went to other less serious topics, with the occasional important subject brought up here and there. More than anything, this entire situation created a foundation for the future. The Noboru Clan, Court of Shadows, Valhal, at least partly, and Haven cented their diplomatic relationships.
Carn didn’t really speak for Valhal the sa way Jake didn’t really speak for Haven. She didn’t have Sven, and he didn’t have Miranda, so while they could make promises, it wasn’t like they would enact anything. That did an that they really didn’t want to swear up and down and make formal pacts and all that.
Hours passed by as soon others began returning towards the center. Throughout this ti, they also found that leaving the Hunt didn’t actually spawn an Insignia, indicating that one would keep their loot. To be honest, that did make a lot of sense to Jake, considering the Treasure Hunt was more or less over, and all of this was just bonus ti.
Also, the reason why everyone was returning was apparent. From the center of the Mistless Plains, Jake could see the world collapse far off in the distance, and it was closing in. Yalsten didn’t have much ti left, and they all knew it.
Jake brought up the window with the tir and saw the countdown had passed to under one and a half hours.
Treasure Hunt will end in: 1:24:57
He looked at the Sword Saint, and the man made a big smile and nodded. He understood. The two of them stood up at the sa ti, drawing all attention to the two n. One a young masked hunter, and the other an old man in a deep blue robe.
Caleb threw Jake a glance, and Sylphie made a loud shriek of encouragent. At the sa ti, Reika and those remaining from the Noboru clan gave the Sword Saint an encouraging bow or salute. Carn, Eron, and many others were neutral, but that didn’t an they didn’t pay close attention. They all knew this would be a battle to once and for all decide who was the strongest human on Earth.
The two of them entered the center of the Mistless Plains, not far from where the Monarch had been buried. The ground was bare, and destruction from the long battle was present everywhere, but neither was bothered as they looked at each other.
“A year ago, I was bedridden, my one leg having given out due to my age. I was deed too old for a hip replacent, and I understood. Even when my grandson insisted to the doctor, I asked him to stop. I was ready for death, for I had lived long enough,” the Sword Saint said. “I would never have thought a second chance would co like this. A second chance to stand tall and lead my clan towards greatness.”
“Don’t you an a second chance to wield a blade and challenge yourself?” Jake asked teasingly.
“That is rely secondary. The thod in which I uplift my clan. My own power is the power of my clan. If I was not there today, the Holy Church would not respect us, and would the na of my clan even be known to you?” he countered with a light smile, not offended at all.
“I don’t disagree,” Jake said as he rolled his shoulders and summoned his scimitar. “But don’t delude yourself into thinking you’re standing where you are right now for your clan.”
“You’re saying a proof of strength and growth from a duel such as this will not help my clan?” the old man chuckled. “I believe we are rely talking in circles at this point.
He also drew his blade as he shifted his stance.
“Still not what I’m saying,” Jake said. “I am saying you’re here right now because you want to. Not for your clan or whatever. You want to fight, nothing more, nothing less.”
“You sound like the Monarch and his insistence that the pursuit of power and power alone is the only true way forward,” the Sword Saint shook his head.
“No, because I don’t believe that myself either. Maybe he was right, and that is a good path, but I don’t think everything is so black and white. Power is all fine and good, but you need to use it for sothing, or it is just there. For a long ti, I also thought I just wanted power for power’s sake… but I really don’t,” Jake said as he flashed a smile.
“I like power because it allows to see more of the world and gives the freedom to do whatever the hell I want. And what I want is to experience all there is to experience. Fight everything there is to fight. I am just a selfish asshole who likes fighting way too much.”
He got into position as energy revolved around him. Jake pointed his blade at the Sword Saint, smiling as he charged the old man.
“And so are you.”
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