Chapter 1167 – Undesired Recognition

Ah, who was he kidding? No bloody way Jake would ever select a skill about praying.

Even if the skill did look awesome, praying to get those awesome effects simply didn’t fit with Jake’s Path at all. He’d never made a single earnest prayer in his entire life, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to start now.

Besides, who’s to say it would even work if Jake weren’t sincere in his prayers? Not to mention that Villy would make fun of him every time he had to pray. Spending a lot of time praying also seemed to lean way too much into the Chosen angle and away from the Heretic-Chosen one.

Finally, Invocation was the only one of the skills with Heretic-Chosen in the name, clearly communicating that it was indeed the signature skill of his profession. Jake also believed that the Invocation skill was better, or at least had more potential, than the Prayer one.

There was especially one part of it he was interested in exploring, and not for his own sake. The skill said that when he used it, Jake would echo back far more Records to the Malefic Viper, which told Jake that should he do something extraordinary while using the skill, Villy would benefit from it. Of course, Jake would also benefit from getting the Records of the Malefic Viper in return, but that wasn’t the part that interested Jake the most in this case.

He remembered his conversation with Artemis about the Primeval Origin Energy ritual he was planning for Jasper, and how she wanted to be part of it. He also recalled that Villy had mentioned benefiting meaningfully from Jake’s creation of Vesperia.

With that in mind, what would happen if Jake used Invocation during the ritual with Jasper? Wouldn’t that result in Jake echoing back far more useful Records than usual to the Primordial?

If it did, this would be a way to help pay Villy back, at least a little for all Jake had taken so far. Jake also believed that this aspect of the skill was actually quite important, seeing as it was the first thing mentioned in the description with the “What’s his is yours, and yours, his” line.

Seeing as Jake really didn’t need to spend more time thinking about it and honestly just wanted to get experimenting, Jake picked Heretic-Chosen’s Invocation of the Malefic Viper.

Upon doing so, Jake felt only a sliver of instinctual knowledge enter his mind, telling him nothing more than how to activate the skill. Jake had considered whether there were any hidden requirements or prerequisites for activation, and was happy to see that wasn’t the case, which was another reason why it was better than Prayer.

Armed with a new skill he very much wanted to test out, there was only one question left to answer… which skill was he going to try to empower first?

Alright, dumb question, as the answer was obvious. It just had to be his sole mythical rarity Legacy skill, Sagacity, right?

—

“Once more, I apologize for dragging you away from the experiment, but I concluded that it would be best to involve you in this matter, seeing as you’re the official leader of this diplomatic delegation.” Nature’s Attendant said to the alchemist.

Duskleaf sighed, but nodded. “Aye… this is part of the job.”

Nature’s Attendant just smiled as he continued. “We plan on making the Declaration of Friendship public when, at the same time, we have our first major success with the experiment. That way, we can at least use the joint research as an excuse for the timing of the declaration, while only a chosen few know the real reason.”

“I still find it silly we need a reason in the first place,” Duskleaf muttered. “You were the father of the Mistress, isn’t that enough?”

“That… was a long time ago,” the other god sighed. “It’s been far too many eras since then. Too many alliances have been established and broken since then. It does help and will serve as another reason for some people, but this is an entirely different time from back then.”

“If you say so,” Duskleaf said, not entirely satisfied with that answer as he turned toward the third god present in the room. “Still, you surprised me. I had the understanding you planned on taking a slow approach, but this looks like the exact opposite.”

Artemis, the newly ascended Godqueen, sighed in response. “I did, but I had more time to think about matters, and mixed with a moment of pure impulse caused by my successful breakthrough, things developed this way. Jake and I then had a talk, and now we’re here.”

“No regrets?” Duskleaf wanted to make sure.

“None,” Artemis shook her head. “Not yet, anyway. I still have some lingering doubts and fears, primarily related to his mortality, but those are mine to overcome.”

“I’m sure Jake also still has plenty of things he’s feeling nervous about. And he really should be with a Godqueen partner,” the alchemist smiled. “I hope things go well between you two.”

“Thank you,” Artemis nodded, turning to Nature’s Attendant. “And thank you for keeping it private for now.”

“No problem,” the second-in-command of the Pantheon of Life chuckled. “It would certainly cause a ruckus if people knew the truth. A mortal and a god forming any kind of official pact… speaking of, have you entered any kind of pact with him yet?”

“I have not,” Artemis shook her head. “It’s still too early, and while things have moved fast, there’s no reason to rush that part.”

“Alright, that’s understandable,” Nature’s Attendant nodded approvingly. “If perhaps a little risky.”

“Jake is many things, but I wouldn’t say flaky is one of them,” Duskleaf jumped in to stand up for his Master’s Chosen. “Quite the opposite. His emotions tend to swing to extremes. He’s often apathetic, but when he does feel strongly about something, those emotions are very hard to change.”

“I trust him,” Artemis also chimed in.

“That’s that, then,” Nature’s Attendant just smiled. “Now, let’s discuss this Declaration of Friendship more closely. Yggdrasil left me to handle all the details, and I was also informed that the Malefic One has entrusted you with representing him.”

He said the last part while looking at Duskleaf, making the alchemist sigh loudly. “He’s doing this on purpose. Do you think it’s because I refused to bet if he’d end up forming anything official with Artemis during this excursion to the Pantheon of Life?”

“You two bet on that,” Artemis said in a sharp voice.

“No, I refused to bet on that,” Duskleaf insisted. “And please do not be too offended, Master likes to bet frequently and on the oddest of things.”

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“I can confirm that I’ve had a few thousand bets with Vilas throughout the eras and already concluded three since his return to the multiverse,” Nature’s Attendant added in.

“Doesn’t make betting on the relationships of others less offensive,” Artemis said, crossing her arms. “Did Jake know about it?”

“What? No, of course not,” Duskleaf said, surprised at the question. “Why would he? That would ruin the fun of the bet for Master. He prefers to make bets where he cannot or will not influence the outcome, at least not directly. Besides, if he’d told Jake such a bet was ongoing, he would have found a way to somehow get with you in secret just to get one over Master.”

“That does sound like something he would do,” Artemis chuckled as she smiled and seemed distracted for a moment before looking back up. “Let’s proceed with the meeting so I can get back.”

“Already missing him, are you?” Nature’s Attendant teased her as he laughed like an old grandpa.

“Yes,” Artemis said without a shred of hesitation as she smiled. “Though I do hope that I can be forgiven for not wanting to give any details about what I want to do with him once I return.”

“Please don’t,” Duskleaf sighed. “And I am in full agreement with Artemis. In wanting to get done here, that is. Not about wanting to go see Jake.”

“Speaking of Jake, he told me something about a Primeval Origins ritual?” Nature’s Attendant said.

Duskleaf perked up a bit as his eyes moved to Artemis, who subtly nodded.