Jake definitely felt like he had unlocked so secret quest chain or sothing. Delivering to a B-grade through a Special Courier Job this early on was already a pretty big achievent, but now even an A-grade had appeared before him. Plus, because Jake did know a bit about the world he found himself in, he understood how important soone like a Duke was.
The specific country Jake found himself in had only three total dukes and one king. All the dukes and the king were A-grade, with the strongest fighting force of the entire kingdom being part of the duke factions or directly under the king. This is to say, soone with the Duke title was pretty much at the top of the Challenge Dungeon world both in power and influence.
There were also so S-grades out there, but they were few and far between. So were hidden Lord Protectors, so were like the Founder of the Guild and did their own stuff, while others were in isolation or had left the world for the stars, with no one knowing where they were.
However, despite all this, there was still one tiny problem with the Duke showing up.
It is a pleasure to et you, Jake said with a nod. But I still have to make my delivery first and despite you being his father and the true client, my job doesnt specify any of that. Would it be possible for you to give us a mont alone? I am certain we can discuss after.
The Duke seed taken aback as he looked Jake up and down for a few monts. The Baron also stared daggers at Jake, and looked like he wanted to blow up the magic circle beneath Jake any second. There was definitely tension rising until the Duke let out a slight chuckle that turned into a full-on laugh.
Good! Even before , you refuse to compromise in the slightest! Very good! I shall do as asked and give you a mont. My son here will signal when we can return to the true discussion at hand, the Duke said as the flaming figure faded away, and a second later, Jake confird he was no longer peeking, actually sticking to his word.
You are lucky you werent reduced to a re pile of ash, the Baron said with a scoff. To dare show such disrespect toward the Duke
I showed no disrespect, rely the professionalism I was hired to display, Jake said in an as professional voice as he could. Now that it is just the two of us, let us confirm the delivery.
Waving his hand, Jake took out Eternal Hunger. Let just retrieve it right quick.
Considering Jake had eaten the item, he also needed a way to get it out again. While forcing himself to throw it up was certainly one possibility, he felt like it was a bit too nasty to show in front of a client. Stabbing himself in the stomach and pulling out the Sealed Elental direct was definitely more polite, right?
The Infernal Baron looked on as Jake gutted himself, frowning a bit when Jake pulled out the orb. Jake assud he was just nervous that the item had been ruined, which was almost offensive. He was no amateur Courier who would ruin the delivery in such a reckless manner. Shit, Jake even made sure not to spill a single drop of blood on the Barons floor but kept it all inside, and what little did drop out was burned away with destructive arcane mana before it ever reached the ground.
With the item successfully extracted, Jake quickly removed the stable layer of arcane mana around the Sealed Elental and used Identify on it just for good asure because the result definitely took him by surprise.
[Sealed Elental (Unique)] A sealed elental of the fire affinity can be found within. Due to the shoddy work of the ones who sealed it, this item is slowly deteriorating and will reach critical failure in less than a week (6 days). Any attempt to interfere with this item may result in the seal breaking prematurely.
The seal on the item was ant to last seven days in total. However, despite around three and a half days passing, it said the seal would still last another six days. Jake suppressed a frown as he didnt outwardly display any of his surprise. Internally, he did wonder what was going on, though.
Wait maybe its a bit like those items the Nalkar vampires tried to preserve back in the Order? he considered after a bit, and the more he thought about it, the more right he thought he was.
Every item decayed with ti. Even equipnt would lose its enchantnts if long enough passed, just turning into inert objects worth less than the raw materials it was made up of. It would take a long ti, with equipnt pretty much always outlasting the lifespan of whoever originally wore it, but it was inevitable. With maintenance, an item could be kept active for an even longer period, if not nearly indefinitely, by effectively replacing the enchantnts with new identical ones, using the sa frawork set by the original creator. If one could get an equally skilled crafter with a similar Path to the original creator, of course.
So items were a bit harder or complicated to maintain. In the case of the Nalkar vampires, they didnt want to re-enchant anything, as that would effectively destroy the original items as it was, while other items simply couldnt be maintained. This mainly happens with items of legendary rarity or above. Finding soone capable of re-enchanting these items was often borderline-impossible due to the Records in the item and the difficulty of finding a crafter with a similar enough Path. Luckily, they would last a long ti by themselves anyway, but even they would lose their power with ti. In these cases, the best way to preserve them was to simply make sure they didnt degrade as fast.
The vampires used complicated formations to make this possible, each creating a beneficial environnt for every individual item, but for so, all they could do was isolate it from all outside influences which was exactly what Jake had done with the Sealed Elental.
Jakes stable arcane affinity was really fucking good at isolating things. In all honesty, Jake hadnt expected it to work as he assud the item was breaking down primarily due to system-fuckery, but seeing it work was a pleasant surprise nonetheless. He knew that even with total isolation, deterioration would still exist, but to see how effective his stable arcane affinity was with just a simple barrier was nice.
Let see it, the Infernal Baron said as he waved his hand, and the ping-pong ball-sized item flew toward the B-grade. Once he had the item in his hand, he made a small hand motion as sparks flew, and a big smile appeared on his face.
Great, and its in an even better condition than I expected, the man said, looking incredibly pleased. And now that I have the item, I presu you have no more complaints if the Duke rejoins us?
My job here is done, Jake shrugged.
Snapping his fingers, a faint pulse of mana was released, and less than a second later, the flaming figure of the Duke of Flas flared back to life. I assu all is well now?
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Yes, father, the Baron said as he held up the item. An early C-grade fire elental variant.
The flaming figure nodded as he turned his attention back to Jake. Now for you, Courier. I rember you saying you t so challenges along your journey. Would you enlighten as to the details?
Jake considered for a mont if he should explain everything or not and in the end, saw no good reason not to. Plus, based on the words the Duke of Flas had said about Jake being what they had been looking for, he was pretty damn sure this was the start of a major quest chain, and withholding information could potentially lead to him missing out.
Very well Jake said as he briefly explained what had happened. He included how he had t the adventurers, fought and killed the Silent scalekin mage, and the subsequent appearance of the shadowy figure that used or had soone use karmic magic to kill every witness. To finish with, he inford the Duke of Flas and the Baron of the offer they had made him to give the elental to them instead while noting that these people did not seem to know what Jake was actually delivering.
I see things were much as we had expected, the Duke of Flas said after Jake was done talking. With a serious gaze, he looked directly at Jake. Let ask you first, Courier are you willing to take on work that may be more risky than any you have encountered prior? Jobs that may very well prove lethal if the slightest mistake or slipup is made?
Jake was more sure than ever that he had just stumbled across a special quest chain and quickly nodded. If the job is worthwhile doing, I see no reason to reject it. Of course, I will need to know the details first.
The Baron glared at Jake again, clearly not happy he would even insinuate he wouldnt downright agree with anything his father wanted. The man in question, on the other hand, didnt seem offended in the slightest.
I expect nothing less from a Courier of your level, the man said with a smile. Do not worry. Everything I will ever ask you will naturally go through the Guild. You are a Courier, after all.
In that case, I will temporarily agree, Jake said.
Good. Now, allow to get you up to date as to why I may need your assistance, the Duke of Flas began as Jake felt a big lore dump and quest description incoming. The elental you have just brought us is not for or my son, but my daughter. Our Legacy revolves around consuming elentals to progress and refine the powers of our flas, and the more powerful and higher-tiered the variant of the elental, the better. Many do not agree with this Path, so of which you encountered on your way here.
Jake nodded along. He did know such things existed, and there were even quite a few alchemists who consud nurous Soulflas. Actually, wasnt Jake a bit like this? Just that instead of eating elentals to progress, he could eat poisons.
This organization, as they call themselves, has been hounding my household for the last century or so. In the beginning, they were just a minor nuisance, creating so ultimately inconsequential challenges, but in the recent decade, they have grown in power at a frightening speed. Especially the last year has resulted in more trouble than ever before. I believe powerful forces have gotten involved, but I cannot prove anything or have uncovered any evidence I need soone like you to help with just that, the Duke of Flas explained, giving Jake a good background for the upcoming quest chain. He did have one burning question, though.
I fail to understand why you would need a C-grade Courier that badly. Are there not more powerful and skilled people available already working under you? Jake questioned.
I cannot make any moves myself. As a Duke, everything I do is closely monitored. I cannot even leave my residence in peace without potentially causing a conflict with another faction, and as you co to learn more details of what I need your help with, my limited abilities to act will beco even clearer. My family, for the most part, also suffers the sa fate of inability to assist, as does all those officially part of the dukedom. While I do have so hidden cards, their affiliation with this kingdom is impossible to hide. You, however, I have looked into. You are related to no one and nowhere. A clean slate that even my best spymaster nor the Guild could find a single detail about before you appeared and signed up to be a Courier. That is exactly why I need soone like you.
I take it this organization causing you trouble is based in another country? Jake guessed after hearing what the Duke had to say. It made sense based on everything else the man said, especially when he ntioned his inability to act directly.
The Duke smiled. That is correct, but alas, things are not that simple. If it was just a faction from another country, I would have been able to make so moves, but the last ti I tried to, I found myself blocked by an unknown power. Coupled with the recent rise in power of this organization, I can only reach one conclusion. Soone from this kingdom has gotten involved with them, and if I am right, it is one of the other dukedoms, if not the royal family themselves.
Assuming you are correct, why would they choose to ally with an organization actively trying to sabotage one of their fellow nobles, especially one from a different country? Purely internal politics?
So politics, yes, but primarily fear. The other dukes and even the king himself have stagnated. The Lord Protector is peak A-grade but failed to evolve even after so long, and his lifespan is running out. If the Lord Protector dies, I will take the top spot as the most powerful person in the kingdom, sothing a lot of people dont want. My problem is that all of them are publicly supporting , and there are even talks of naming Grand Duke, the A-grade continued. anwhile, behind the scenes, I already know many of them are subtly trying to keep in check, as I am the only one remaining who has a legitimate chance at reaching S-grade.
Listening to the story, Jake honestly thought all these other nobles were either short-sighted or just downright dumb. Sure, if they were talking about the kingdom in isolation, it was more understandable to try and keep the competition down, but if everything the Duke of Flas said was true which Jake got the feeling it was wouldnt they just leave themselves in a vulnerable situation after the Lord Protector died if they had no one to take their place?
Jake also didnt like the entire notion of keeping others down to remain strong in comparison. In his opinion, those dukes and the king should just get their shit together and stop being wussies who had stagnated.
Stagnation was just a bad excuse for having stopped trying to progress. It was sothing people who had taken the easy route said when they stopped being able to pick the low-hanging fruits and didnt dare to try and climb the tree itself. Any of these A-grades could stand up right now and seek out whatever powerful beings lived in this world, or maybe just fly into the starry sky and look for the monsters roaming in space.
I am still not entirely certain what exactly you want to hire for, Jake said after hearing everything the Duke of Flas had to say and better understanding the situation.
It is a lot to ask but I need you to get an in with this organization, and you have already been presented with a golden opportunity, the Duke of Flas answered as he threw the Infernal Baron a glance. The Baron nodded and tossed the Sealed Elental back to Jake.
Take the delivery and give it to them, just as they asked, he explained. In truth, we dont really need this particular variant much. Getting a Courier into the organization is far more valuable, at least. Of course, we have to ensure they do not know you are doing this with my knowledge, so you need to find a way to hide it before eting them in order to not raise any suspicion. Are you up to the task?
As the man asked this, it finally appeared. The kind of system ssage Jake had been waiting for.
Special Courier Side Job: Assist the Duke of Flas in delivering the Sealed Elental to [Unknown] without letting them know you have t with the Infernal Baron yet.
Objective: Package delivered (0/1)
Accept Side Job?
With a nod to the Duke, Jake accepted the system prompt, too. Jake had many thoughts about what this Challenge Dungeon would be about, but in all honesty, he had never expected him to get a job as a double agent in a political ga while working for a late-tier A-grade Duke.
It was definitely a novel experience, and Jake was all for it.
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