Chapter 1242 – Bee-Grade Preparations

Vesperia rose from her slumber, standing up in the pool of thick liquid that seemed to stick to her body. She still felt its energies seeping into her body, but she’d reached saturation for now, reaping few if any benefits.

Walking out of the pool, she released a faint burst of power to clean herself off and look more presentable as she exited the secured chamber. Checking her status menu, she saw this trip to the pool had awarded her eleven levels. A decent amount, especially considering she’d only spent a month in it.

She was truly making her final push to B-grade, now only four levels away. A part of her had hoped to reach peak C-grade so she could at least know her evolution quest, but she knew doing so would have been unrealistic. Besides, she still had things she needed to do before evolving.

“Your progress continues to amaze me,” a familiar voice spoke from ahead of her as her fellow True Royal had teleported in. “I did question whether your trip to Nevermore was truly wise, but seeing the results, I can only capitulate.”

“Thank you. Though Odonestra, should I question why you’re the only one of my sisters ever visiting me?” Vesperia asked the Grand Hive Queen of the Endless Empire.

“Are you unsatisfied with it being only me?” Odonestra asked with a smile. “Because if you weren’t, I’m sure they would all gladly be here shortly. In fact, I’m often asked about you, and they’re very curious about how well you’re improving.”

“I was merely joking,” Vesperia said, shaking her head. While it was true Odonestra was the only Grand Hive Queen visiting her on a regular basis, she still had plenty of interactions with other Hive Queens, including those she commanded from the Vespernat Lineage.

“You should be careful with your jests, lest I take them seriously one day,” Odonestra returned a smile of her own. “But if there was any truth to your concern, then do allow me to fully put it to rest. As gods, our perception of time is certainly warped, and we all believe that you will one day rise in power to stand beside us, at which point, time shall be of no concern to any of us.”

“Quite the vote of confidence,” Vesperia said, though she didn’t disagree. To others, speaking about reaching godhood would be the ramblings of a lunatic, but Vesperia didn’t see it that her. In her eyes, it was simply something she had to do. A responsibility. That, or she would have to leave behind True Royal offspring that could become a god.

In an instance like that, her offspring would inherit many of Vesperia’s memories, the same as she herself had inherited memories of the Vesperia who died many eras ago. They were all connected through their Records and Lineage, so even if this version of Vesperia failed, the next one would succeed. Not that the current version is planned to fail.

“We are all confident in you,” Odonestra said. “But that wasn’t why I came today. You asked me to keep track of any news regarding the Chosen of the Malefic Viper, and while this piece of news is a little outdated, I believe it will bring you much joy to learn. He’s successfully hunted down a True Dragon. A member of the Lumenflight who had recently been excommunicated from the Dragonflight.”

Vesperia raised an eyebrow, though she wasn’t that surprised. “Sire does continue to impress. It adds quite the pressure if I want to keep up with him and remain a useful existence in his life.”

She was fully aware that Jake didn’t actually expect or even necessarily want anything from all his creations, but that didn’t mean Vesperia and all the others didn’t have their own desires to be useful. Vesperia also suspected that some of the Records they’d inherited from Jake had something to do with all of his creations possessing a strong innate desire to progress and gain more power. Then again, most beings from powerful races had an instinctive drive to continually improve, so it could just be that.

“Speaking of useful, we’ve finally begun to have a proper overview of how many Administrator Candidates for the Seat of the Exalted Prima we have in the new universe, and I dare say the Endless Empire is more than well-positioned to be a true contender in the upcoming fight,” Odonestra said, making Vesperia nod.

Many planets had been claimed by the native ectognamorph populations that appeared after the system arrived, as they were often the only monster group with true unity, and the Endless Empire’s aggressive means to locate and bless those of their Lineages had proven an extremely effective strategy.

Also, while most of the Administrator Candidates were initially from the enlightened races, monsters could qualify as well. Many Hive Queens had gained these qualifications, and there were already several galaxies that, after the Prima Guardian event, were more or less entirely ruled by the Endless Empire.

“I take it from your statement that my proposal went through?” Vesperia asked.

“With a bit of pushback, yes, but in the end, it was accepted to move forward with your approach,” Odonestra nodded. “Though details will still need to be negotiated, and we still aren’t confident the Order of the Malefic Viper will accept.”

“Do not negotiate directly with the Order but only with the Malefic One himself. Or at least someone capable of speaking for him,” Vesperia said, shaking her head.

Odonestra frowned. “Circumvent directly approaching the Order? What would that accomplish? Should the Chosen succeed-”

“He will be the one to stake his claim. In a personal capacity,” Vesperia said with certainty. “While he and the Order are linked, do not confuse them as one and the same. The Malefic Viper and my sire are two separate entities working together for mutual benefit, but they do so as equals. That means that should my sire end up claiming the World Wonder, it will belong to him, not the Order. We can expect the Order to still massively benefit due to their connection, but the true ownership should not be confused.”

“If you are certain, then very well,” Odonestra nodded. “Though that does slightly complicate things.”

“I believe trying to keep things simple will be our best approach, and fully defining every detail isn’t paramount yet. As long as we trust them to make us whole, there is no cause for concern… and I trust my sire fully,” Vesperia said.

“Fine,” the other True Royal sighed. “I shall relay your words, and if all goes well, it shall become official.”

“I wish you luck, and I know it’s a lot to put on you,” Vesperia said apologetically.

“Yet I and everyone agree that this approach is likely the best,” Odonestra said, shaking her head. “While I believe the Endless Empire can perform well on its own, ultimately, if we wish to compete for the power of this Exalted Prima, we would find ourselves facing off against your sire. A battle that, even in the unlikely event of our victory, will probably end up harming us more in the long run.”

Vesperia nodded in agreement. To the Endless Empire, maintaining a good relationship with her sire was too important, even if it meant making concessions in the fight for a World Wonder. That’s why Vesperia had proposed that rather than battle for the World Wonder on their own, they would instead ally with her sire and thus also partly with the Order of the Malefic Viper.

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A rather unprecedented move by a faction that usually never openly allied with others, but in this rare instance, it appeared the best way to approach the upcoming battle for whatever power could be gained from the Exalted Prima.

While the battle had yet to start, and B-grades of this generation were only now beginning to evolve, planning and strategizing for the upcoming battle for the World Wonder were in full swing throughout the universe, and no faction wanted to enter the fight without adequate preparations.

The giant made of living armor slowly fell, its knees too corroded to support its weight. It still tried to stand, releasing a final burst of energy, but an arrow wrapped in destructive arcane mana struck it in the chest, blowing yet another hole and finally making the damn thing run out of energy, thus spelling its doom.

Jake landed in front of the more than two hundred meters tall monstrosity, letting out a loud sigh. He was only slightly injured, but his resource pools were struggling because of the sheer length of the fight.

This giant living suit of armor had only formed after Jake had slain all the other smaller living suits of armor, at which point they all merged together and formed this final B-grade guardian. It was a relatively unoriginal concept, but at least it made for a short dungeon, as Jake had only spent a week in this one before clearing it.

Checking his notifications, Jake saw that this dungeon boss had only barely made it into B-grade, which wasn’t that surprising. The only thing it really had going for it was its durability.

You have slain [Armored Guardian of the King – lvl 353] – Bonus experience earned for killing an enemy above your level

Still, for a B-grade, it hadn’t been terrible, though it wasn’t any True Dragon, that’s for sure. Dungeon bosses also tended to wield unique properties one couldn’t find in the wild, with the most notorious being their sometimes insane durability. It made the bosses harder for their levels, which also meant more experience.