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Now, Jake did encounter one problem with his new and upgraded gear. He was getting close to the stats-increase limit one could get from equipment, which had resulted in him actually hitting the cap in one instance. With the new gloves, he noticed how he got fewer stats than he should have, making him frown. More specifically, he got nearly 200 less Strength than he should have, making him wonder what was wrong.

He looked through his status and poked around before he remembered a system rule that frankly hadn’t been relevant for a while. One could only ever gain a maximum of 20% extra in a single stat and a max of 15% extra overall stats from equipment, and Jake had hit the limit for Strength.

Staring at it for a while, he knew things would change when he got a new ring or upgraded his Altmar Signet, but… well, he did also have 635 Free Points he hadn’t bothered to put anywhere after his levels from the whole Vesperia ordeal.

And he did also need more Strength as the stat was falling quite a bit behind.

So, in classic Jake fashion, he didn’t overcomplicate things and tossed every single point in Strength, getting him above the cap and giving him a massive boost. The moment he put the stats in, he felt the rush, and he couldn’t help himself from clenching his fists. He felt like he had just done some powerlifting and like he could lift anything, but the feeling faded within seconds as he adapted. Still, it was a damn solid boost.

Having nothing more to do, Jake decided to do some alchemy while he waited for Meira to come back. Jake still needed to get a good stock of poison before Nevermore began, and he also had to talk to Draskil to let him know he would go public soon. Lots of stuff.

Jake moved to sit down as he took out his cauldron. As he sat down on the floor with his legs crossed, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. The design of his boots meant there was a small flap around on the boots, both of them slightly ruined. Coupled with the leather that was thoroughly worn down, it had been well hidden, and it was only due to the odd angle when his legs were crossed that he spotted it. What he saw looked almost like some kind of writing, and as Jake looked closer, he saw it was extremely small text edged into the leather itself.

He was sure it hadn’t been there before but had appeared after his latest boot upgrade. Jake had been a bit disappointed no new lore or hint had been revealed about the owner in the item description, so he got excited something new had happened after all as he read it:

I look forward to meeting you once more; our meeting brief yet impactful. Hopefully, sooner rather than later. Your Path truly intrigues me.

- A curious admirer.

“That’s… odd,” Jake said, confused.

Jake frowned a bit as he checked the description of the boots once more, seeing it was the same. He just thought it was a bit of a weird message to leave when the boots said:

Boots once offered to an alchemist before setting out on a journey to experience the world outside at the behest of his master.

Why would a master write something like this on the inside of the boots? Or was it the alchemist who wrote it at some point? Maybe he gave the boots to someone else… but… actually, why did Villy even have these boots?

Jake was pretty damn sure they did not belong to Villy, Duskleaf, or anyone alive. He also had a hard time seeing Villy write that kind of message. Also, when had the boots been left there? Jake wasn’t sure how the rewards of Challenge Dungeons worked and if gods could change rewards given or if they were set upon the dungeon creation. If they were set, then these boots stemmed from the first era, which would limit the number of potential people even more.

Could they be related to the First Sage? Jake then questioned. Had they belonged to him somehow? No, that seemed off too. Monsters could not wear equipment, right? Also, why would the First Sage leave that message to Villy when he was actively teaching him? Why leave a message at all in the form of writing and not just say it? It would also be weird for Villy to leave something he had gotten from the First Sage as a dungeon reward, considering how much he had respected his master.

”I have no idea, man,” Jake muttered to himself, kind of lost about what was going on with his old dirty leather boots.

He could ask Villy, but that would feel like cheating, and he wanted to figure it out himself. Shaking his head, Jake stopped thinking more about it and instead turned to the cauldron.

When in doubt, alchemy was the way. Not to actually address the doubt or any underlying issues but just to take his mind off things while simultaneously producing potent toxins to kill his foes.

--

Irin had contacted her mistress shortly after parting ways with Lord Thayne and asked for direct teleportation to her private quarters to avoid going through the usual gateways. She knew that if she returned to the office, her colleagues would instantly notice and question what had happened, and it would invite unwanted speculation. Best she kept herself away from most others for the next month or so until after the ceremony. After that, she could return proudly and flex on them all.

Her mistress was fast at responding and used the token she had given Irin to locate her. Irin felt space in her immediate surroundings distort a bit later as she was teleported away and straight into the private chambers of the Velvet Mistress.

”Mistress,” Irin instantly kneeled.

”You sounded so urgent; what is the-”

The Velvet Mistress stopped halfway through her words as she definitely noticed Irin’s sudden growth. She got off the large bed she had been lounging on and swiped the veils hiding her form aside as she walked towards Irin. Irin looked up and saw the woman of such beauty she couldn’t even properly describe it. Her entire being exuded charm, and Irin understood why even gods failed to resist her advances. No matter how many times she saw her master, she failed to hold back her sheer sense of awe at seeing a succubus so close to divinity.

”My dear disciple… if I remember correctly, you were supposed to be assisting Lord Thayne during these last couple of days, am I correct?” the Velvet Mistress asked with a radiant smile.

”Yes,” Irin said, forcing herself to look at the floor.

Her mistress kneeled down and took her hand as she made Irin stand. ”So, my assumptions were correct; he is indeed the Chosen of the Malefic One. Curious why a Primordial would choose a human, but I am certain the Malefic One has knowledge we are not privy to. Nevertheless… I believe congratulations are in order, Irinixis.”

The Velvet Mistress led them both towards the large bed as she asked in a curious tone. ”Now, how did you manage to do it?”

Irin did not tell everything but did give a quick explanation about how he had suddenly just agreed, and they had gone into the hotel. She also briefly mentioned the conversation afterward, where Lord Thayne had mentioned it didn’t need to be a one-time thing.

Her mistress looked incredibly interested and happy throughout, especially when she mentioned it was just the two of them and their talk afterward.

Sitting on the bed, the Velvet Mistress looked at Irin after she was done talking and leaned in to whisper in her ear. ”Now, you never told me the most important part… how was he? Was he good?”

Irin subconsciously nodded before stopping herself and pulling back a bit. ”I… I believe that should be kept between the Chosen and me.”

”How fun; you are already defensive of him, huh?” the Velvet Mistress said with a small giggle. ”Interesting… and he wants to see you again too. Oh my, that is something, isn’t it, my dear disciple?”

Irin once more nodded in confirmation.

”Truly, truly impressive. To snatch a Chosen after such little time and even hold his interest… marvelous. You have gone above and beyond, my little Irin,” the mistress said with a happy tone.

Irin was glad she had been recognized and returned the smile. ”I got lucky…”

”Luck, you say… or perhaps we had misjudged how difficult it would be? He is still a newly integrated young human man from the ninety-third era, after all, and even as a Chosen, he is still a C-grade man, isn’t he?” her mistress said as Irin got a bad feeling.

The Velvet Mistress nodded to herself as she looked in thought for a moment. Then, she smiled even more than before and spoke words that made a chill run down Irin’s spine.

”Maybe I should go visit and have a taste myself…”

Irin’s eyes opened wide as her mistress continued.

”Or… you could invite him here for a private lesson. One you can both attend.”

As much was happening within the Order of the Malefic Viper to prepare for the ceremony, so did the rest of the multiverse react.

Across the multiverse, the news put out by the Order of the Malefic Viper spread like wildfire. This was the first event open to the public that the Order of the Malefic Viper would hold since the return of the Primordial, which in itself was massive.

More than simply a celebration of his return, it was also the grand reveal of his Chosen, someone many had speculated about. Rumor had it that the Chosen was someone from the new universe and was at least in part a reason why the Malefic One even returned to the multiverse, which just made everyone all the more curious.

Much speculation about this Chosen was made, but few even considered the possibility the person was a human. Whispers of a Malefic Dragonkin were often brought up, while others pointed at other powerful entities. There were a lot of scalekins from a snake Lineage as examples, all of which were now scrutinized.

Considerations of what kind of gift should be given were thus rife. This was an opportunity, and all factions – big or small – knew this was the time to strike if they wanted to forge a new and powerful relationship or simply strengthen the one they already had with the Order of the Malefic Viper.

These gifts were all aimed at the Chosen, of course.

Trying to find something for a C-grade Chosen was difficult but possible. Finding a gift worthy of a Primordial was impossible for all but a handful of individuals in the multiverse. Even if they did want to present something to the Malefic Viper, the resources they would have to put into it would be enormous. A relationship with the Order was valuable, yes, but not worth going bankrupt over.

Hence why everyone tried to find something a C-grade would need or want. With little information about who or what this Chosen was, most went things generally useful to C-grades, with many even getting multiple potential gifts based on what kind of race and person the Chosen turned out to be so they would have various options to present.

Many also simply tried to figure out who the Chosen was. It quickly became clear some factions knew, but they kept their cards close to their chests. This left the vast majority to speculate based on little information.

Then, a bit after the initial announcement, more news about the ceremony came. Everyone knew this was a strategic choice to truly take advantage of the existing buzz to spread the news even further, which made them curious. What did the Viper have he wanted to add on that he believed warranted a separate message?

The added news turned out to not even be related to the Malefic Viper himself, but his Chosen. Scoffs were heard in meeting rooms all throughout the multiverse, individuals questioning if the Malefic One had truly lost his marbles by focusing so much on who was ultimately still just a C-grade mortal… until they read the contents of the message.

A second wave rocked the multiverse, one rivaling the first announcement.

True Royal of the Vespernat Lineage.

Six words that meant little to some factions but echoed in the halls of others.

Followed by unbelievable words that none would believe if they did not come from a Primordial… this True Royal had not appeared by happenstance. Had not appeared because the Malefic One had done a crazy experiment. The Hive Queen had instead been created by a mere C-grade Chosen from the egg of a lesser variant and the unique talents and items of this mortal.

To add to the insanity, the message even included the fact that this wasn’t a one-time thing. It was something that could be replicated, and not just with ectognamorphs either, but all Lineages. Yet another utterly outrageous claim that only held weight because of the source… but precisely because of the source, no one doubted it.

Even if details for limited, who cares? Even if the Chosen could not do this repeatedly, so what? The ripples went through the beastfolk tribes as a council was gathered, and other factions convened to discuss the impact of this. Some merely sat back and considered how they could take advantage of the situation, while a few silently seethed in rage.

Especially two factions took these news heavily.

The Automata Legion mobilized at the news of a True Royal appearing, their tone less than pleasant as they seemed keen on entering negotiations with the Malefic One to obtain this True Royal and eliminate it before it could become a threat.

The Endless Empire did just the opposite and reached out, making it clear they wanted to discuss ensuring the safety of the True Royal and would be more than willing to send protectors or take her in instantly. If not, then at the very least, offer support for her being there and more than generous gifts to ensure she stayed safe.

Throughout all this clamoring, the Order stayed silent, responding to no one despite the numerous attempts to contact them regarding the Vespernat Hive Queen. It was only after another full week a message was sent out. An utterly flummoxing announcement, relayed by the Malefic One himself:

“This ability is not mine, and the True Royal does not belong to me. The creator is my Chosen. It is his ability, his Path, and his sole decision. Every choice he makes is with my full backing. Every action taken by my Chosen is with my support, and every action against my Chosen will be viewed as directed against me personally. Expect retaliation.”

Fuel was added to the fire as the discussions only got more intense.

A lot of speculation, a lot of doubt, and a lot of intrigue about the situation, with only one thing being clear to everyone:

This ceremony would be interesting and definitely one to remember.