Two weeks passed.
His profession leveled, his stats raised and his confidence in alchemy grew steadily. From level 1 to 25. From a lowly [Human(G)] to a less lowly [Human(F)], and he crafted his first ever common quality poison, and dozens of common quality healing, stamina, and mana potions. He also prepared himself to rise from a lowly Alchemist of the Malefic Viper to a Prodigious Alchemist of the Malefic Viper. With that rise in level for his alchemist skill came a subsequent rise in Wisdom and Vitality.
Those levels got him 50 for Vitality, 100 for Wisdom, 25 for Willpower, 25 for Toughness, and 0 for free points because they all went into wisdom.
He was just about to accept his new class when he read over the screen.
[Prodigious Alchemist of the Malefic Viper
A Prodigious Alchemist of the Malefic Viper has come far from when first concocting his first poison. You have displayed speed and skills at the pinnacle. Allows the alchemist to combine the natural treasures of the world to make potions and pills, transmute one material to another, and employ a slew of other mystical means to be discovered. This rare type of alchemist specializes in the production of poisons, contrary to the craft of potions. Your proven talent as an artisan of death stands above all peers, signaling the coming of another harbinger of decay following in the footsteps of the Malefic Viper. Only his chosen may walk this path. Stat bonuses per level: +4 Vit, +4 Wis, +3 Will +2 Tough +2 Int, +5 Free Points.]
Only his Chosen, he had almost forgotten but accepting this class was what would let him meet the Malefic Viper. God he was fucking terrified, but if he didn't do it who would? What were the chances that his Transcendence would fry his brain just by appearing there? Hopefully zero because the system would protect him, but this was still a gamble.
[Jake: I just want to say, if I die, being a member of this chat group has been one of the best experiences of my life.]
Messages rang in his ear from nearly everyone in the chat asking about what the fuck he was doing, or if they could help. They couldn't, he would either get the support of one of the greatest beings in this multiverse or he wouldn't. He would rise to the greatest existence has to offer or die trying. No more cowardice, no more fear, no more hesitation he accepted the class.
The world shifted and his eyes began to bleed as he instinctively tried to comprehend the phenomena, he quickly forced that instinct back. Reality bent and twisted under the system's omnipotent ministrations twisting as his home of three weeks replaced itself with an endless expanse of polished granite. A cloud of endlessly poisonous smoke separated only by a bubble of system fuckery—the scientific term—so of course he glanced around.
Oh, he wanted to try to understand this poison, but knew that his brain would melt before that was possible. It was again between seconds as this reality bent to it's master and from the darkness stepped the Malefic Viper himself, not nearly as awe inspiring as he had expected. Jake just smiled at the man he knew could crush him like a microbe. He had long black hair and eyes that shone like polished emeralds. No that wasn't a fitting description, they bubbled like twin suns of poison their slight interest enough to kill a lesser man.
Jake's bloodline did not allow him to be a lesser man. So he stood against the primordial god's pressure not bending an inch. Even as the Skalekin man strode forward garbed only in a tattered black robe.
"Now what do we have here?" The man's voice was raspy, and Jake felt a little racist for assuming it would sound like a hiss. Still even though the man could kill him Jake internally sighed in relief when his danger sense said he had nothing to fear. He had remembered correctly, the system would protect him.
"No clue, I was evolving my profession, the system did itself a fuckery, and now I'm here." Jake just shrugged, still half boggled at how far beyond him the system's fuckery was.
"Oh… That is… Interesting." The man's eyes shone brighter, the suns exploded supernova then quasars splitting the darkness of the night sky. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Jake wanted that. Wanted to be such a fucking baller that just looking at something with interest is cooler than anything the current Jake had ever done.
"Ah, I see…" The man nodded, not explaining anything. Well he didn't need to, Jake already understood. The system did a fuckery now he was here.
"So what now?" Jake asked.
"You obtained a profession related to the Malefic Viper?"
"Yup."
"Well, I am the Malefic Viper; nice to meet you and all that crap," He waved dismissivly, "Now fuck off."
Jake just stared dumbfounded for a moment, he had forgotten that happened. Hmm, "I told you to fuck off," He said, "You must know who I am right? So do as I say and leave me alone."
"Uh, why?" Jake asked?
The primordial just stared at him and snapped his fingers. Behind the scalekin a giant snake roared, but nothing happened to Jake. The system had his back after all. Then a pressure descended on him greater than before trying to crush him down but he stood undaunted. The system stopped him from putting any energy into the aura because then it'd be an attack.
Still to most people standing as an equal in front of a primordial is impossible, but to a Primal Hunter? That's just a tuesday. When he saw Jake not budge he was a little shocked, still all Jake did was shrug "Honestly man I'm here until the system puts me back."
"Your a member of the order right?" The Malefic Viper asked, and Jake shook his head.
"Then how in the hell did you get my legacy? And why did it bring- wait" the Malefic Viper suddenly understanding everything chuckled and nodded, "Your a newly integrated human to the system right? In one of those tutorials," He asked amused.
Jake nodded, "Yeah, I just went through a challenge dungeon and got the profession."
The viper laughed even louder, "You have no idea, kid. This brings back some memories. Oh man, I can't believe you actually got through all that bullshit," he said, trying to pat Jake's back. Still the system-fuckery shield protected him.
Jake just nodded, "Yeah I mean the spike was a little much, and the acid. . . Really liked the statues though."
He just laughed, "Yeah, yeah berate my design, you probably won't understand but it's funny so I'm going to tell you."
The viper went on to explain that records are important to gods, and sometime during the first era he made that challenge dungeon. By doing that he gambled some of his records to create it, and with Jake being in his domain it meant he had probably already broken even on the investment.
Jake was about to open his mouth but was interrupted, "Don't bother I don't give a fuck, and I can't answer any questions. The system's a little sensitive. Shit you being here's proof of that, I've never heard about anything below S-grade surviving in this part of my realm."
Then the viper moved, Jake couldn't follow the land and the stone shattered for dozens of miles, but still the little platform Jake was standing on floated. As the stone exploded towards the sky the viper explained that he couldn't harm Jake hell Jake probably couldn't even kill himself right now. . . though he really didn't want to test that. His transcendence might find a way.
The Viper explained about when the multiverse was young the rules were more flexible and he bent the system to make that challenge dungeon. "The requirements were bullshit made up on the spot to make the challenger feel special, going like "Oh my god, I barely fit these, this must be destiny!". And then, just after entering the first room, I would have them get inpaled by a poison spike."
"Yeah that almost got me." Jake nodded, and the viper laughed.
"It was a bit funny right? The only sad part is that you don't actually die in a challenge dungeon. At least not normally. Quite prous of myself for gaming the system on the last part of the challenge where ya have to cure yourself. Took quite a few workarounds to make that work and have the lethality stick," He laughed, clearly very proud of this grand work of murder.
"So I wouldn't normally die in a challenge dungeon, you cheated and are laughing about that to my face?" Jake asked, tilting his head.
"Yep."
Jake couldn't help himself from chuckling, "God, you're an asshole."
"Guilty as charged. How was the part forcing you to feed me stuff not to die while on a timer? Forced to study my history, only to be rewarded with a mural of me being awesome?" the viper bragged.
"Can I keep the statue?" Jake asked, "Oh, and that sun in the garden?"
The viper laughed at him, and said smiling "You're surprisingly un-angry."
Jake tilted his head to the side and thought about it. His possible death, the possibility that he would never get to learn about magic. Then he imagined bitching out because he was afraid of dying. Of not pushing himself, of not reaching the dreams he knows he could reach. His bloodline thrummed and he smiled, "Why would I be angry? Doing all of this on a death timer will probably get me better records. Plus what's life without a little risk," Jake answered his own question. He said the word like a curse, "Survival."
He thought back to the unmotivated years as Alex, and the years as Jake supressing his bloodline like Elsa from fucking Frozen. Jake honestly just wanted to get better at magic, fight strong people to the death, win, learn more magic then repeat ad infinitum. Jake added, "Plus that timer makes it all a lot more exciting." Jake didn't want to accept second best, and the only way to sharpen a sword is to cut away the excess.
When the viper realized he was serious he laughed, "That's some fucked up logic, I like it!"
"So, Why'm I here?" Jake asked, glancing around. Truthfully he didn't want to leave this place, it was cool, and the viper was a lot easier to talk to than he expected.
The viper looked deep in thought, "Now that's an excellent question." Then he met Jake's eyes and shrugged, "No idea. Well, some idea, but it's more fun if you figure it out yourself."
Jake just laughed, this was how a god should act. Uncaring of other's opinions, flippant to the absurd, disrespectful.
"So where are we? You said your realm. That's a god thing right?" Jake asked, and the viper answered, "It's kinda my world you see. It's pretty darn awesome, right?"
Jake glanced side to side, the endless planes of sheer black stone, poisonous winds ready to kill anything below S-grade, and Jake nodded solemnly, "The awesomest. So what's the whole god thing?"
"Totally am one, just keep doing things. Stuff, gain levels, evolutions, all that jazz, and you'll get there eventually. It's hard work, but it's totally worth it just for immortality alone." The Viper said with a jovial smile.
"My turn to ask something, how are you so calm despite how fucked up this is?"
Jake shrugged, "Probably my bloodline, or the willpower stat. I think it's the bloodline though." Mana regeneration was good and he had gotten quite a few points even though he hadn't used any of the free ones. Plus he half remembered something about a speech here, though he was almost sure it was the bloodline. It was the reason he trusted the shield after all.
"Yeah, probably the bloodline, that isn't how willpower works, mate. You don't suddenly become a bastion of calmness from a stat," the Viper explained, as he turned uncharacteristically serious. "Stats may change some parts of you, but your mind remains untouched. You become able to think faster, process everything far more efficiently, and remember every single detail, but changes to who you are fundamentally will never happen. It has never happened. Many beings of unimaginable power, having a willpower stat at an incredible height, have fallen to the plagues of the mind."
The man looked undaunted, but he seemed a little sad. Jake wished he could help, but honestly didn't know how. He wasn't good at all this communication shit. He could shout orders, he could make non sequiturs and comments, maybe he could talk a bit but he really wasn't optimistic about that part of himself. All he could do was listen and try to help if he had the chance.
"Willpower will allow you to endure the endlessness of immortality, it will help you resist attacks on your mind, and it can help you keep calm in situations of great danger. However, for those to be possible, you have to possess the ability to do those things to begin with. Some never learn to endure… and time doesn't heal all wounds." The Viper's look was very downtrodden at this moment as he stared out into the vast desolate wasteland that was his realm.
Turning back to Jake, the man continued, "The path to power is a long and lonesome one, but you will meet many along the way. Friends, comrades, subordinates, and superiors, an endless web of karmic threads will be left in your wake. But the march of time is ruthless, the need for constant progress endless. Those friends will be left behind; your comrades abandoned as they fail to keep up, your subordinates lost, superiors surpassed. Families… taken from you."
"Sorry, I'm rambling again. Haven't spoken a word to anyone for a very, very long time," the Viper apologized.
Jake closed his eyes and collected his thoughts. Should he say something, what should he do, follow the cannon. What did he say in the cannon? Fuck cannon, Jake spoke, "You've been through some shit man. I can see that. I can't even begin to understand what you've lost, what's happened to you but I know something."
"Doing nothing accomplishes nothing," Jake said. He had lived it surviving day after day accomplishing nothing but wasting away and surviving.
"And what makes you think I haven't done everything," The Viper asked that aura that Jake had thought previously at the limit increasing dozens then hundreds of times. Jake felt like he was standing in front of death itself, and his bloodline pushed back. He refused to submit
"Nothing is impossible unless you quit trying." Jake said from the bottom of his heart. He would do everything, he lived in an infinite multiverse so he too could become infinite. Not let anything stop him not the system, not reality, and not common sense.
Jake continued softer, "But I know that's hard, when you've tried everything you can think of and it isn't enough.
"You've just gotta keep trying, nothing is impossible, you just haven't figured out how to do it yet." Jake believed this to be true, knew this to be true because if it wasn't he would make it true. The Viper seemed taken aback at his choice of wording and Jake remembered that that was what the viper's teacher The First Sage had told him.
"You can't do something, your banging your head against a wall trying everything you can think of, but it clearly isn't working," Jake ventured.
"Then what would you have me do? When you lose everything, what else can you do but regain it?" The viper threw the question like a blade, and Jake stumbled.
"It's just a challenge you haven't beaten yet, and I find that when I'm stuck on something it is helpful to take a step back. Do something else and come back later with fresh eyes." Jake shrugged, "there are new things every integration, bloodlines, transcendence, hell why limit yourself to what's inside the system. If you aren't enough right now, become more. Improve becomes greater than you are so that your future self can look back at this moment and cringe at how you were acting. That I've found is the greatest sign of personal growth."
The viper didn't seem convinced so he continued, "If my preach mumbo jumbo isn't working for you remember, It doesn't have to be better just good enough." You can always improve. A step back is still a step, and you can step forwards. There are always going to be trials, tribulations, something's going to go wrong, you've just gotta keep moving forward. You'll eventually find what you've been searching for.
The viper just stared at Jake for an era, then he smiled genuinely—the first in a long time and hopefully not the last.
"Oh man this is absurd. A mortal comforting a god, what has the world come to."
Jake just shrugged, "In strange eons even death may die, and your pretty strange man."
"Coming from the mortal that can stand in front of a primordial, that for some reason knows about transcendence."
Jake just shrugged, and they started talking. Sharing anecdotes, and The Viper giving advice that Jake listened to with half an ear. It was clear the Viper hadn't talked to anyone for a while, but that didn't matter to Jake. All that mattered was he had a new friend, a friend that needed him. Of course he would be there. Jake heard about the viper's rise in the multiverse and how he fell in love with another god.
It was just two people caring neither for the power disparity, or the status disparity. The conversation eventually moved back to the topic at hand, "It seems it's time for you to go back,"
Jake was a little sad, "So, did I get the job?"
"You got lucky young man!" The viper joked, "I won't give you anything concrete but focus on mana."
Jake just joked, "What do you think my transcendence is for?"
The Viper raised an eyebrow, "Oooh, interesting." Still he put his hand forward and Jake reached to meet it. Shaking hands Jake smiled, "Something for your journey a small string of karma if you may."
Jake smiled and felt the world shift in the last instant making eye contact with the viper and activating his Transcendence for a single heartbeat,
"Thank you Jake! Cya later!" The viper bellowed even as Jake began to bleed.
The viper looked at his hand, the aura was so small, so insignificant compared to him, and yet it felt strong. Limited for now, but powerful. Something deep within the aura though gave him pause. And whatever Transcendence the kid made was almost as ridiculous as Valdamars.