Chapter 1140 – Little Fella

Jake honestly felt a bit relieved when he saw it was “only” an S-grade with a Divine Blessing that had shown up. A part of him had feared Artemis would send some lower-ranked god, or worse, come on her own to provide assistance. If that had happened, the situation would have been a bit too much in Jake’s opinion, though even this was a lot.

At least Jake deemed it so based on the looks he got from the crowd, especially Keerla, Solana, and the poor caretaker, who looked like he wanted to jump right off the floating island. Jake wasn’t sure why that guy looked nervous. He should be proud instead, as the first person to ever arrest the Chosen of the Malefic Viper for a hunting violation.

“You came quicker than I expected,” Jake said to the newly arrived S-grade. At the same time, he also made sure to use his own aura to cover the trembling Warpsnatcher that was trying to bury itself in his shoulder.

He had never seen the poor thing this scared before. Likely because it never had to be scared under usual circumstances. Due to just how damn elusive the little monster was, Jake doubted even the local B-grades had a chance to catch it, not even someone like the Forest Fae with her weird magic.

However, an S-grade was on a whole other level. There was no B-grade, much less a C-grade, in the multiverse capable of escaping a true S-grade. Especially not someone at the level of the woman who had just arrived.

“My Patron insisted,” the S-grade answered as she stood up, quickly shedding her aura of over-politeness. “I’m uncertain what the issue is, but I’ve come to resolve it.”

“Not really an issue per se,” Jake said casually as he lifted a hand and patted the little Warpsnatcher on the head. “It’s just that I decided to bring this little guy with me out of the Hunting Grounds, and I predicted doing so could lead to some challenges, seeing as it does technically break the rules.”

“I wouldn’t say it only technically breaks the rules. The rules are very clear in that area,” the S-grade sighed. “However, it naturally isn’t a problem, though it would have been easier if you had informed us beforehand, so this entire scene could have been avoided.”

“Everything was decided rather spontaneously, and I realistically couldn’t give much forewarning,” Jake shrugged, still casual in his demeanor and speech. The S-grade seemed to mirror his casual demeanor somewhat as she nodded and turned towards the caretaker.

“I take it there won’t be any issues if the Chosen of the Malefic One decides to bring along a singular C-grade beast?” she asked a very leading question that the poor peak C-grade really couldn’t say no to.

“N… no, of course not!” the caretaker said, straightening his back. “I’ll make sure to handle any paperwork, and the issue can officially be considered closed!”

Jake could be petty and ask if he had been released from custody, but he decided not to be a dick. The poor guy already had the scare of his life, and making it worse was just unnecessary.

“Good,” the S-grade nodded as she looked at Jake. “I briefly went over the recent reports of what has happened on this planet, and saw that a fair number of B-grades have been slain recently, and the power dynamics have shifted. Am I right to assume you’re the cause?”

“That would indeed be a good assumption,” Jake confirmed. “I just returned from slaying the Darkwood Chimera, which I believe was the most powerful B-grade present on the planet. That being the case, I have no reason to stay.”

Jake’s revelation that he had killed the B-grade Chimera definitely raised a few eyebrows, especially seeing as Jake still wasn’t hiding his level. It was generally accepted that someone at Jake’s level simply didn’t stand a chance against B-grades, and yet he had just claimed to have killed the strongest on the planet.

However, Jake also saw the surprise disappear just as fast as it appeared. Likely because they remembered who Jake was. While barely anyone knew how Jake looked outwardly, they did know about him. They knew about the new top scorer on the Nevermore Leaderboards, and they knew it was the Malefic Viper’s new Chosen. Jake could rightfully be called the most famous C-grade in the multiverse, and he was even a contender to be the most well-known mortal, especially amongst the gods.

“I see. It sounds like you had a fruitful hunt,” the S-grade Hunting Director said, to which Jake gave a quick nod. It wasn’t surprising either. Artemis had been the one to pick this Hunting Ground for Jake after all, and it made a lot of sense that the general power level suited him greatly.

“I’m glad to hear the facilities of the Pantheon of Life have proven worthwhile,” the Director said. “Unless you have more matters to settle here, are you ready to leave?”

“Yeah, just one more thing,” Jake said as he briefly glanced into the crowd of onlookers and made eye contact with Keerla, who stood frozen beside Solana.

“Don’t forget you two still promised me a mean dinner,” Jake sent telepathically, once more being nice by not singling out the two from the crowd. He knew just how annoying being the center of attention could be, and it wasn’t a fate he wanted to lie on them.

Turning back to the Hunting Director, Jake nodded. “Alright, ready to go. Do I need to do anything more to bring this little guy?”

The S-grade briefly glanced at the Warpsnatcher that still looked afraid of the far more powerful entity. “No, not from my point of view. We’re already breaking convention here, so there’s no official protocol to follow. Besides, I was ordered by my Patron to handle any obstacles you request of me, so even if there were administrative challenges, I would address them.”

Jake got the feeling the S-grade was subtly trying to probe him for just why Artemis had given her such orders. She very clearly outlined that Artemis had done a lot to help Jake, which likely didn’t make much sense from her point of view.

Even if Artemis had been assigned to ensure Jake had a good stay, it wouldn’t make any sense. She was a god, so why would she be this personally involved? Jake totally understood the S-grade’s suspicion and made sure not to give anything away.

“See, I told you things would be fine,” Jake said as he took the Warpsnatcher off his shoulder and held it in his arms like the cat-like creature it was. The little guy snuggled into his arms, still looking around nervously at all the hunters who stared at it.

Following the motion of the S-grade, Jake stepped onto the teleportation platform, and without further ado, he was whisked away from the Hunting Grounds, the Warpsnatcher in tow. When Jake arrived on the planet, Artemis had helped him get there directly, but this time, he returned through more official channels.

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The teleportation took Jake, the Warpsnatcher, and the S-grade to another planet within the Pantheon of Life’s territory. Right as they appeared, Jake naturally released a Pulse, and the first thing he noticed was how dense yet small this place was.

Jake could detect the curvature of the planet, meaning it couldn’t be that large, likely only the size of the moon pre-system. Give or take. However, the place was absolutely packed with buildings everywhere, and just the hall Jake appeared in was absolutely massive.

They had appeared on the top floor, standing on what was clearly the S-grade Hunting Director’s personal teleportation circle. Far below them, Jake saw what he could only refer to as the portal room. The building they were in was tower-shaped, and most of the other floors were one big portal room, filled with what had to be tens of thousands of portals.

If Jake’s guess was correct, each and every single one of these portals led to a Hunting Ground… and this was just one of many towers a single Pulse could see.

“Is this your first time here?” the S-grade asked, even more casual now than before.

“It is,” Jake nodded.

“Curious. You would ordinarily have had to pass through here to enter the Hunting Ground,” she commented with a raised eyebrow.

“Curious indeed,” Jake said in a dry voice. “I take it this is some kind of hub that allows access to all the different Hunting Grounds?”

“All of them?” the S-grade asked as she chuckled and shook her head. “No, far from all of them. Just this sector I’m the Hunting Director of.”

“How many Hunting Grounds are you managing in total?” Jake questioned, genuinely curious. There had to be at least a few hundred thousand, right?

“It does fluctuate a little, with some being added and others decommissioned, but as of the last census, just above ninety-six million, two hundred and eleven thousand,” the Hunting Director answered as if spouting out such a high number wasn’t absolute insanity.

“That’s a lot of Hunting Grounds,” Jake muttered.

“Some are more populated than others, and it takes a lot of work to manage them all,” the S-grade answered, glancing his way. “Especially when individuals appear who upset the balance by slaying a lot of the monsters in charge.”

“Sorry for giving you work,” Jake shrugged, not really meaning his apology.