Chapter 1189 – Divine & Dangerous Oddballs

Jake seriously had a hard time understanding how others couldn’t view gods the same way he did. In his eyes, gods were just people who had lived for a long time and gotten really strong, but they remained individuals with all the oddities that came with it.

And the Seeker was nothing if not weird.

He didn’t give off the slightest sense of divinity but looked more like a tradesman living out of his van while going on jungle adventures on the weekend. Moreover, his demeanor was that of a guy with zero social awareness as he just stared at Jake and Artemis after asking if they wanted something.

“Oh, no, not in particular, I’m just surprised you decided to stick around,” Jake answered before Artemis had a chance to speak up.

“Am I not allowed to?” the Seeker asked, sounding genuine, making Jake pretty sure that if he said no, the god would promptly leave as requested.

“You can totally stay if you want to,” Jake shrugged as he looked at the cube Jasper had been absorbed into. “How long do you think Jasper will take to do the test?”

“The shorter the better, but if he takes more than a week, I’ll forcefully expel him and leave, this trip having been a waste of time,” the Seeker said bluntly.

“What kind of test is it?” Jake continued asking curiously. “Is it anything like a Puzzle Box?”

“No, it’s quite different,” the Seeker said, now seeming curious about Jake. “Are you familiar with my work?”

“More than familiar, I’m a fan,” Jake said as he took out his Puzzle Box from his spatial storage. He hadn’t had as much time to play with it lately as he would have wanted to, but he also wasn’t in a rush, as he wouldn’t solve the damn thing for a very long time.

“Ah, one of the newer iterations,” the Seeker said, looking at the box. “You seem to have made some decent progress with it. Hopefully, you’ll be able to fully solve it in time.”

“Wait, there’s a timer?” Jake asked, taken aback.

“Hm? No, why would there be a timer?” the Seeker said, looking at Jake as if he’d been dropped on the head as a child.

“Then what do you mean when you say solve it in time?”

“That you do so before you become too high level,” the Seeker explained.

“Ah, like that,” Jake nodded. “Guess it makes sense if this version is for mortals. Do you also make ones for gods?”

“Naturally,” the god nodded.

“Cool,” Jake smiled. “Say… can you give a little hint about what’s inside my Puzzle Box?”

“No.”

“Damn,” Jake gave up after being outright rejected as he leaned back. “Worth a shot.”

“Wouldn’t it be too boring to know now?” the Seeker asked Jake. “Isn’t part of the fun to finally uncover the hidden treasure and see what it is? While the process is certainly entertaining in its own right, without that final moment of joyful surprise upon seeing the reward, the exercise would be missing a crucial aspect, making it incomplete.”

“Guess I can’t argue with that logic,” Jake relented. “Anyway, I’m surprised you came here this quickly, seeing as Jasper only evolved recently. If you had sent an avatar, I could see it make sense, but if I’m not wrong, you’re here with your true body, right?”

“I don’t do avatars,” the Seeker shook his head. “Never made much sense to me. As for your question, Vilastromoz caught me at a good time. I’m making preparations for when your universe allows access to us gods, so I’ve paused most of my important long-term exploration missions for now.”

“I see,” Jake acknowledged. “Makes sense. Are there any parts of the ninety-third universe you already have your eye on? I assume information remains limited due to the system limitations.”

“No concrete targets, no, but I do have some ideas,” the Seeker answered. “All universes are created with sections suitable for gods, and I shall be the first to explore many of those. There’s also bound to be some dungeons that…”

The Seeker continued to explain his future plans, having opened up and become a lot more interested in talking after the subject changed to what was effectively the god’s work.

Jake listened with interest as the god enthusiastically explained his future plans and the types of preparations he had been making, and all the while Artemis was staring at them, evidently not sure what to do or say.

Despite their brief interaction, Jake already liked the Seeker. Not just because he seemed like an interesting guy, but because of how he’d acted so far. Sure, he’d shown up uninvited, but afterward, he’d been surprisingly polite, and not just towards his fellow god or the Chosen of a Primordial.

He’d treated Jasper like an actual person and asked if the little guy wanted to take part in the trial. That in itself was something most gods wouldn’t bother doing. They would have just forcefully thrown Jasper into their test with the base assumption that, of course, the mere mortal would agree to receiving a Blessing from them. Especially when it was a god like the Seeker, who was considered at the forefront of his Path and the multiverse as a whole.

In summary, compared to most other gods, the Seeker seemed to have far less of an ego, even if he definitely still remained arrogantly confident in himself. Even someone like Villy, who treated Jake like a person, certainly didn’t extend the same sentiment to other mortals. In fact, Jake had noticed how the Viper didn’t even bother using the names of mortals unless they had truly made themselves worthy of him doing so.

So, yeah, the Seeker seemed like a nice guy, even if he was definitely an oddball. Then again, all interesting people were oddballs to some extent, and who was Jake to call someone else out for being weird?

His conversation with this weirdo of a god continued for several more minutes until a natural lull introduced itself. A few figures chose this opening to take advantage, as two auras simultaneously appeared in the living room right before the two gods teleported inside.

One was Nature’s Attendant, which wasn’t really as a surprise as Jake would have found it more odd than not if the Pantheon of Life just ignored a top god teleporting into their domain without responding.

The second god was a bit of a surprise, though, as Minaga appeared, already with a giant grin on his face from the moment he laid eyes on the Seeker. The god in question also noticed the arrival of these newcomers as he proceeded to entirely ignore Nature’s Attendant and stood up as he opened his arms in welcome while looking at the Unique Lifeform.

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“Ah, Minaga! What a pleasant surprise,” he said, walking over as he extended his arm for a handshake, which Minaga instantly reciprocated. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m a good friend of another you, but it’s always nice to get to know more.”

“Hey mate, heard a lot about you from our mutual friend,” Minaga said while still shaking the hand with vigor. “I’m also surprised to see you here! I take it you have business with Jake?”

“No, I’m actually here for the Shimmershroud Planeswarper that I understand he recently helped attain that evolution,” the Seeker answered. “I must ask, how is my good friend doing?”

“Ah, sad news,” Minaga sighed. “He died… but don’t mourn, for he died doing what he loved.”

“Oh… I see,” the Seeker also sighed. “What happened?”

“I have no idea; it was inside an isolated space,” Minaga explained with a deadpan expression.