Chapter 1182 – Seeker

Jake had spoken about the Malefic Viper finding the Shimmershroud Planeswarper a god to bless him, partly in jest, but Vilastromoz had taken it seriously. Primarily because he wanted to, mind you.

Introducing talented youth to other gods was a good way to sow positive karma, and it demanded little to no investment from the Viper’s side. All he had to do was share a bit of his knowledge, and it would be a win-win situation for everyone involved.

Finding talented people to bless could truthfully be a challenge, especially those worthy of a Divine Blessing. Sure, there were always some, but for the gods at the pinnacle, they could nearly always have more, even at a time like this, where a new universe had been initiated and the average level of mortals had significantly increased.

What’s more, the Viper had a good track record, and the people he introduced weren’t just worthwhile geniuses but tended to be truly good investments.

Stormild and Aeon had both expressed they were extremely satisfied with the performances of the Sylphian Hawk and swordsman alike, and it wouldn’t surprise Vilastromoz if both of them were on the list for Chosen candidates. In other words, two of the two individuals Vilastromoz had introduced to Primordials had surpassed the level of merely being qualified for their Divine Blessings.

Now, admittedly, the Cosmic Genesis Worm was a bit more, let’s say, complicated. Snappy had expressed a surprising amount of frustration with his new Chosen, yet he didn’t outright state he was dissatisfied. The worm was a ridiculously talented monster for sure, and Snappy would certainly end up turning a profit with his investment, but the worm definitely inflicted a fair amount of stress and frustration.

Vilastromoz didn’t necessarily see this as a bad thing, though. It was good for Snappy to be forced out of his comfort zone by having a Chosen that outright ignored anything their Patron asked of them, while only getting in contact to demand more food.

This Shimmershroud Planeswarper was quite similar to the cosmic worm in how their Paths worked, though with some distinct differences. The worm had a Path that revolved around consumption and even had the ability to create internal worlds where more food could be cultivated within.

Meanwhile, the Planeswarper didn’t even seem to consume most of the natural treasures it acquired. Instead, it was a hoarder that gained power based on the value of the gained goods through a unique ritual to that particular Lineage of monsters.

Due to his lack of insight about the newly evolved B-grade, Vilastromoz didn’t outright want to recommend that any gods bless it, but he would certainly point one or two in the Planeswarper’s direction for them to observe and judge themselves.

As for who would be a good match for the Planeswarper, now that was a bit more complicated.

Right off the bat, not a single Primordial came to mind. None of them seemed compatible with the B-grade’s Path, and when he considered who would be most similar, it was surprisingly the Holy Mother who came to mind.

She was the one with the least combat-focused Path of all the Primordials and was also a hoarder at heart. True, rather than hoard items and natural treasures, she hoarded Truesouls in the form of believers, which wasn’t the most comparable, but it was the closest.

Someone like the Wyrmgod wasn’t even worth considering. Sure, both of them were good at teleporting, but that was about where their similarities disappeared. The Wyrmgod was a master of space magic, something the Planeswarper hadn’t even proven itself capable of, and he was also as much about creating dungeons and whatnot as he was purely about his specialized school of magic.

Looking outside of the Primordials, one figure did come to mind instant. It was someone else who walked a Path where he loved collecting a massive hoard of valuables and was even a decently powerful god. It was another dragon, more specifically, Aurustromoz, the Dragon of Gold. Leader of the Regalflight and the most powerful dragon amongst all the Dragonflights.

Minor snag with that one… dude was kind of racist when it came to giving Blessings. He’d only ever blessed dragons, and he borderline only blessed those from his own clan, so sadly, he wasn’t a serious consideration.

Perhaps a merchant god could also be considered. The Golden Road Emporium, the most powerful merchant faction in the multiverse, did have some decently powerful gods among them, including their leader, Midas. Midas himself wasn’t a good option, though, but some of the other gods working for him could be an option. Especially those in the “acquisition and repossession department.”

There were a lot of powerful gods focused on thievery there, some of whom could be candidates. The problem with these was that the Viper didn’t care to get closer to them and forge a better relationship. They weren’t powerful enough to ever steal from anyone Vilastromoz would want anything from, and besides, why would he ever need to hire a thief?
Trying to subtly steal from the dead just seemed pointless.

Besides, why would the Viper ever need those not at the apex of their Path? Because there was one being far better at acquiring whatever one desired than any other. A god who was always at the forefront of any exploratory team and was a master at breaking into anywhere and everywhere, all to fulfill his insatiable demand to collect things he deemed valuable. Be it knowledge, weapons, natural treasures… even entire worlds and people weren’t beyond the scope of his greed. What’s more, the harder anything was to get, the more tempted he was to try. A god always seeking something, thus his name:

The Seeker.

Perhaps best known for being the creator of Jake’s beloved Puzzle Box – the creation of which was one of the god’s hobbies, as he loved sharing the experience of spending a long time trying to break into something. In the words of the Seeker, nothing was ever unreachable; it was just a yet-unsolved puzzle of how to get there.

Unless it demanded too much combat, that is, because the Seeker was quite honestly a weakling. Oh, sure, his level was high, and many compared him to figures like Umbra, the Autarch of the Altmar Empire, Gwyndyr, the Eternal Servant, and other gods that were not Primordials but still at the pinnacle. However, that didn’t mean he knew how to fight.

The Seeker was a thief, a safecracker, an explorer, a scholar, a hoarder, an adventurer-for-hire, a cartographer, and many other things, but a warrior was not one of them. Even when facing far weaker individuals that he should, by all rights, be capable of easily killing, he would just run away. In his view, fighting was a waste of time and effort, and his energy was better spent doing something more productive.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

He’s certainly the best candidate, Vilastromoz thought to himself. Moreover, he was someone it was good to get closer to. Even if the Viper didn’t need anything from him here and now, just having a way to get in contact would be valuable, and if he ever did need a fellow god to explore some newly discovered unknown area, there was no better option.

The more he thought about it, the more sure Vilastromoz was that the Seeker would also appreciate the Shimmershroud Planeswarper. The two did walk very similar Paths, but perhaps more importantly, the newly evolved B-grade was a unique creature. That in itself was enough to pique the Seeker’s curiosity, as he had been known to collect and bless interesting and unique creatures in the past.

Ah, but one thing the Viper would have to clarify to Jake was that when the Seeker “collected” a living creature, that didn’t mean he entrapped them or hid them away. No, he merely farmed karmic relationships with them one way or another and observed them, sometimes even stepping in to provide assistance if he believed that would allow them to successfully evolve.

Not out of kindness, mind you. The Seeker did it purely for selfish reasons. Like a flower that needed care, he wanted to make sure the environment for those he collected would allow the most growth and would lead them to live the longest time possible, as when a living being died, he would lose something he’d collected. So he allowed them to be free and hoped they would perhaps even reach godhood to live forever. A long time ago, he had tried to capture them and create “safe” habitats, but he learned that Interesting creatures tended to die quicker when kept in captivity. Especially the more free-spirited ones.

Having decided on whom he wanted to introduce the Shimmershroud Planeswarper to, Vilastromoz only had one more important thing to do. Something that likely wouldn’t be very easy:

Actually contacting the Seeker. Someone who was a mostly solitary god who traveled all the time and loved going to hidden realms all across the multiverse. Oh yeah, he also happened to have some of the best stealth skills in the multiverse, so if he wanted to stay hidden, he would be an absolute pain to find, if it was even possible.

Being put to work by my Chosen once more… what has the world come to, Vilastromoz chuckled to himself. He couldn’t complain too much, and he did feel like he somewhat owed the Planeswarper.

Because the Viper had been more than satisfied with the rewards he’d reaped from the ritual, Invocation having proved itself a worthwhile boon for both Chosen and Patron alike.