The Primal Hunter 7: A LitRPG Adventure, page 8
"Independent Worlds and Unusual Unions," the Sword Saint cut in, stopping the two men from airing their personal grievances. "I do believe there is much positive to be said about independence, but so is there for unions. To call the current situation on Earth an unusual union would not necessarily be an incorrect description. The only question is, is what we are seeing on Earth truly a union or merely a temporary moment of peace? Not that Independent Worlds is that much better, as many of us are independent forces as it stands."
"This vote is clearly as much about what we want Earth to become as what it currently is," Caleb said. "The Court of Shadows has little input on these options, but the prior conversation about the future of Earth is very relevant. Do we want it to be an unusual union of forces, or an independent entity capable of functioning regardless of the factions? In many ways, was the goal not to become an independent world through an unusual union, mixing the two a bit?"
"That is one interpretation," Priscilla said. "The Independent Worlds choice can also have an emphasis on the ‘worlds’ part. As it currently exists, Earth is but one world, but there are ways to make several smaller dimensions or even small worlds within the same area. I do find it entirely possible this choice is not about uniting the factions in any way, but instead having each capable of properly isolating themselves."
"Fair enough," Caleb relented with a nod. "In that case, is that truly something we want? It would also inevitably result in only one faction ruling the true space of Earth with little interaction between each force."
"It is a safer choice, if that is truly what it is about, but we also have to question what exactly these Paths will be about and what the majority of the denizens of Earth would resonate with," Jacob said, reentering the conversation. He was clearly done with the useless bickering with his father, and besides the two throwing sharp looks at one another, they stayed civil.
Definitely something there, Jake thought, nodding. Now, what was Jake’s opinion on this vote? Well, to be perfectly honest, he didn’t really care much. He was clearly also the only one who would even be fine with the heretic choice. Speaking of which, it was interesting the system even offered such a path. Then again, it was just one extreme end of the spectrum, and so far, it felt like the system was impartial on the topic.
Miranda also began participating, and although Jake listened in, he ultimately knew this truly didn’t concern him. As Jacob had said, this choice was as much about what would resonate with those of Earth, and Jake hadn’t even been on the planet for the last couple of months. He would leave again the moment this World Congress ended, assuming where he currently was could even be considered on Earth.
To believe he had any fucking clue what those who couldn’t find their Path needed or wanted to "pull themselves up by their bootstraps" would be stupid even for him. Jake was privileged and knew his own Path already nearly perfectly, and he had his own goals. In almost all ways, this entire vote had nothing to do with him.
Luckily, it appeared the discussions soon reached an impasse, and it was decided that the factions would spread out and have some more intimate discussions and deal-making. It was also an excuse to have all the space mages group up and discuss space-mage stuff, and likewise for the merchants. Lillian went with the merchants, and Neil was, of course, a space mage.
Miranda went over to the Sword Saint right away, and Jake considered what his plans were for a moment before he decided to head over to the only other person who looked about as bored as he was: Carmen.
Also, he had noticed her throwing him the occasional glance during the meeting. She looked like she wanted to talk to him, and as he had nothing better to do, why not?
Jake went up to her and waved. "Long time, no see."
"Hey," Carmen greeted in return. "How is Sylphie?"
He should have known. Sylphie had talked about Carmen a few times, calling her the "nice punchy lady," and it seemed like Carmen also liked Sylphie equally.
"She is doing fine," Jake answered with a smile. “Had some fun doing a dungeon and is otherwise just flying around in the forest and hunting things. That, or she is hanging out with her parents, probably still hunting things for some quality family time.”
"Her parents?" Carmen asked, interested.
Jake realized Carmen truly only knew Sylphie from the Treasure Hunt, and seeing how they had the time…
"Oh, boy, let me tell you about the time I was attacked and taught how to fly by a random hawk just after getting my wings, and said hawk decided to bring me to his and his mate’s nest to make a super baby hawk."
The two of them ended up heading for Haven’s booth and isolating it, just chatting while everyone else was working. Jake had considered doing alchemy during this period, but he was currently working on poisons, so he wasn’t sure he could attempt to concoct something during the World Congress lest the fumes count as attacking others.
Carmen also shared what she had been up to in recent times. Primarily that she had focused on her profession like so many others and was currently forging her "weapons."
Jake was a bit confused at what the weaponless fighter meant until she took out a dagger and jammed it down onto her own palm, only for the blade to be deflected, unable to even scratch the skin. "The Path I walk is one where my body becomes my weapon. I am good at punching people—that is all I am good at—and while I could use gloves before to somewhat alleviate damage to my fists, I recently became able to refine them."
"Wait, how strong can you make them?" Jake inquired.
"Remembering your battle with the Sword Saint at the end of the Treasure Hunt, I am pretty sure I would be able to directly block the blade with my fist once refinement is complete," she explained with a confident smile.
"How exactly does it work? And… well, can I do it too?"
Yeah, Jake was shameless, so what? Seriously, he had his gloves, which became incredibly durable when infused with mana, but the mana expenditure was great and only grew the more powerful a blow he blocked. To passively have his hands be as tough as an actual weapon? Oh, boy, he could only imagine his Touch of the Malefic Viper-powered punches.
"Well, probably not," she explained, putting a damper on Jake’s hopes and dreams. “It is tied to my profession and is expensive as fuck. Moreover, it doesn’t work if I use weapons.”
"Well, that’s too bad. Speaking of which, what god is it that blessed you?" He didn’t actually know, and it was time to finally ask.
"Well, Gudrun. It was first another guy who seemed cool enough, but he quickly said I didn’t really fit his teaching anyway, so instead, I got blessed by Gudrun. She is apparently the wife of the bigshot of Valhal, Valdemar. Gotta be honest—doesn’t feel good to be tossed from god to god like that, but Gudrun has been great so far, even if she is a bit hands-off, and I mainly get advice from C-grades these days through some rituals from my profession."
"Huh. Gotta say, sure are a lot of Primordials hanging around Earth." Jake chuckled a bit.
Carmen snickered. "All your fault, oh mighty Chosen of the evil ancient snake god."
"Hey, it is what it is. He is a friend, and that is that.” He shrugged.
"Sure." Carmen just shook her head, changing the topic. "Remember when you said you owed me a favor after that thing with Limit Break during the Treasure Hunt… Were you serious?"
Jake sure did remember, and he nodded. "As long as it isn’t anything ludicrous."
"You are a hunter, right? Do you know how to track people? Not now, but when I am done with my refinement, and you got time."
"I can do a bit of tracking, but it really depends. I do have a tracking skill, and my Perception is decent enough. Moreover, I am always up for a challenge. Why? What do you need to track?"
"Not a what, but who… I wanted to ask your help to track down my family. I think it is about time for a proper reunion." Carmen gave Jake an odd smile that he wasn’t quite sure what to make of.
Chapter 9
A Good Chat & Hidden Agendas
Jake knew he wasn’t exactly a tracker. He could track a little, and his senses were sharper than ever. With some clues, his tracking skill would allow him to chase mana signatures and other signs, though, of course, there were many who were significantly more qualified. Jacob was probably the best on the planet, but there had to be many more who were far more effective than Jake. Something he felt like he did need to voice.
"While I can track, I am not exactly good at it compared to others. I am sure you can ask some seer or something who is far better at it.”
It was primarily that she wanted to find her family, which meant it was solely a tracking job. Jake had kind of assumed she needed help tracking some powerful beast or something, but if it was just some humans, she could find far better. Jake had kind of assumed she’d asked him because fighting strong stuff would be involved.
"I am already on it, and have worked with some to boil down the general area,” she said. “However, it looks like they are on the other side of a large body of water. Based on some space mages from Midtgaard, it is probably around where that guy Arthur and many of the independent factions are located.” Carmen’s explanation still didn’t address one key point.
"I am still sure you can find better once you get there, and if you wanted assistance getting across this body of water, you could have just asked for that," Jake answered a bit suspiciously.
Carmen just sighed. "Yeah, but I want someone to help who isn’t affiliated with Valhal or anything like that. This is purely a personal thing."
Jake finally nodded. "Okay, fine. Do you have any plans on when you want to go and how we are supposed to get there? You know, all the logistics."
"No fucking idea quite yet, but from what I hear, the space mages in a nearby port-city should soon have a circle up and running. Once that works, I can get word to Miranda, and she can contact you about getting to the port? It will be a bit from Haven, but hopefully the teleportation network will reach there by then, making the journey not too annoying. I know you are currently busy elsewhere, but you can return to our universe, right?"
"I can." Jake nodded. "How do you know I am not on Earth currently? And does everyone know?"
"Miranda told me, and no, I don’t think others know. Apparently, you are super hard to track. Ah, but don’t blame her for telling me. She did it after getting permission from those gods who blessed her. By the way, how does that work? I thought you could only be blessed by one god at a time.”
"A mix of god stuff and system fuckery, I reckon," Jake answered incredibly accurately.
"Makes sense," Carmen nodded, not a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Well, it made as much sense as any other answer. "We have an agreement, then? I will tell Miranda, and then she will send a response back? Don’t worry, I already got ways of contacting her. Or, well, she's got ways of contacting me with her weird witchy magic."
"Miranda does have weird witchy magic," Jake said, nodding in understanding.
He had to admit he had no fucking clue how any of her skills worked. Despite learning a bit about formations and such, he only came to realize her magic was even more complicated and reliant on an entirely different school of thought than the kind of magic he wanted to learn.
The two of them kept talking a bit longer about random stuff, and Jake learned how Carmen was taught. Apparently, she could set up virtual battlefields of some sort and fight echoes of individuals located pretty much anywhere, even in other universes. The echoes had corresponding magic circles on their end set up by Valhal to facilitate all this, with Carmen essentially being a summoner. These echoes couldn’t actually interact with anything non-simulated outside the battlefield, but it was still an incredibly valuable tool.
Valhal was an organization all about war. Not just the act of fighting but war as a concept, which had also led to Valdemar being called the God of War. Legends spawned from war, the songs of bards, the concept of morale, armies clashing, celebrating after a victory, or dealing with the emotions after a lost battle—all of this was part of what Valhal stood for, and in many ways, they were a truly neutral faction in the multiverse in that they didn’t have any enemies.
Because an enemy would mean war, and Valhal had never lost a war. The mere thought of Valhal declaring war on a faction was almost like a scary story one would tell their kids. Stories such as Valdemar picking up his axe and leading what was known as a Warband into battle. Individuals of all grades, hundreds of gods, descending all at once with no regard for their lives, caring for nothing but a good battle and dying with honor.
Other factions were constantly at war. The Holy Church and the Ghostlands—the land of the Risen—were embroiled in fighting. Several factions who weren’t fans of the Court of Shadows had declared war against the assassins. Jake also learned that the Automata and the Endless Empire were at war, and had been for the last thirty eras. The Endless Empire was a faction Jake had never heard of before; it consisted of some of the most powerful ectognamorphs in existence, led by a large coalition of powerful Hive Queens—Insect Queens who had ascended to godhood and commanded armies of unprecedented scale. They were, in general, incredibly warlike, as they viewed it as a healthy way to constantly thin their herds and grow in power by weeding out the weak.
Yet not even they wanted a war with Valhal.
And if Jake was being honest, he totally understood why. It was a bit similar to why no one wanted conflict with the Order of the Malefic Viper. Most wars only involved the mortals, but if Valhal went to war, they pulled out all the stops and made it a war where one side was annihilated. Meanwhile, Villy would ensure that even if the other side won, it would bring so much devastation and death upon them it wouldn’t be worth it.
The reason for this was simple enough… Villy didn’t care about having a controlled war, and Valhal viewed war as something where a side had to win. They still wanted to battle, of course, and members of Valhal were primarily known as incredibly powerful mercenaries who joined the side they agreed with the most in a conflict. Carmen even told Jake it often happened that two members of Valhal found themselves facing each other on a battlefield. The result of that would nearly always be one of them dead and the other one having a toast for the fallen comrade he had just slain.
So, yeah, Valhal was a paradise for battle maniacs, and Jake felt like he would have fit in pretty damn well. Carmen also seemed happy with it and had an interesting perspective on fighting former comrades or people from the same faction.
"Fighting is fighting. I used to do boxing, and it was normal to fight friends or former colleagues. I was in quite a small town with only one noteworthy gym, and in tournaments I often ended up fighting people I had trained with and gotten along with before. That didn’t mean I would show the slightest restraint in the ring, though. The same is true for the warriors of Valhal… In fact, holding back when you see another member on the opposing side would just be disrespectful. Valdemar allegedly once said that dying in battle is an honorable death, and an honorable death is a good death. A good death means it was a worthy life, and all worthy lives are worth celebrating and remembering."
Jake had once more found himself nodding along. He’d had a lot of rather infantile views on honor in his early days of the system. He remembered burying the guy Nicholas, as he had put up a good fight, and he had refused to loot entire beast corpses, as he found it disrespectful. His opinion had eventually been refined, and Jake now no longer cared as much about a concept such as honor. He had his own rules of sorts, and while those rules might be considered honorable by some, Jake didn’t particularly care.
They did agree on a good death being a worthwhile death. Jake viewed dying to anything other than a good fight as a nightmare. Carmen was like him, also a battle maniac, and as they talked, they both looked back on the fight with the Monarch of Blood fondly, even if Carmen had found the conclusion of it incredibly frustrating.
"By the way, is it fine for us to talk in here?” Jake asked, jokingly adding, People may start rumors we are plotting an alliance or something. Not that I am complaining. I am sure Miranda will view this as good diplomatic work."
"Nah, who cares? Sven also kept insisting I should get closer to Haven and the old swordsman, so I guess this counts.” She shrugged.
"Where is Sven, by the way?" Jake asked. He wasn’t at the World Congress, which was a bit weird.
"In a dungeon, I think? He entered with his party a good while ago and has yet to get out. Who knows? Maybe they all died." Carmen just shrugged. "Not sure if people can enter the World Congress if they are in a dungeon or if they were just too busy doing other stuff. He is there with a party of five, and he would only bring one of them if he went to the World Congress, so bailing on more than half the party would also be a shitty move. Sven had at least made plans in case he and the others would not be back in time.”
"Huh." Jake nodded. "You done the dungeon? Is it any good?"
Yeah, probably not the part he was supposed to bite onto. Jake hadn’t found any good dungeons in a while, and he knew his class was probably going to get a bit behind his profession if he kept focusing on alchemy within the Order. So a good dungeon would be a great way to catch up on some levels.
"Eh, I have been in there once but didn’t clear it,” she said. “It seemed okayish. It was a plant dungeon, and most of the enemies were around level 140. It was not that hard, honestly, and I saw nothing that could take down Sven and his party at all, but it was large and annoying to navigate, as the entire dungeon seemed to rearrange itself constantly with a lot of ambush predators lurking about.”
"Aight." Jake nodded, not sure if he wanted to do that dungeon even if he could. 140 was way too low for him, though it was possible more powerful foes would appear further in.
"Speaking of challenges… how the hell did you beat that masked monster?" Carmen finally asked.
