Chapter 1414 - Unsettling Implication (Patreon)

The atmosphere among the three instantly shifted when the Eastbound Monk brought up the topic of the void ambush. Jake and the Sword Saint quickly shared a look, both having the same question on their mind:

How the hell did he know about that?

Very few were aware it had happened, and as far as they were concerned, it was supposed to stay that way. The Daofather knew, and perhaps some of the Daolords also did, but that shouldn’t explain why the monk had been told anything. Why the hell would they share something with a mortal?

“You seem perplexed,” the monk said before Jake or the Sword Saint even had to say anything. “Understandable. It’s considered confidential, after all.”

“Then how do you know?” Jake asked outright.

“They told me, or at least one of their representatives did. Although they framed it more as an attempt to recruit you than an ambush, with my Patron clarifying the situation after the fact,” the Eastbound Monk answered, once more seemingly way too fucking casual about some rather groundbreaking information.

As far as Jake knew, finding anyone related to this faction was pretty much impossible, especially ones that could communicate, yet the Eastbound Monk claimed to have been contacted.

“You are in contact with them?” the Sword Saint asked skeptically.

“I wouldn’t frame it like that. They approached me once, not that long ago. They wanted to recruit me, as while I suppose they are rather powerful, this mystery faction does lack young talent. Ah, for the record, they also approached Ell’Hakan, but ultimately deemed him too dangerous due to his Bloodline,” the Eastbound Monk explained.

“How do you know all this? Did this recruiter just spill the beans or what?” Jake questioned, super confused by now.

“Surprisingly, yes. Of course, I believe their plan was for me not to survive the encounter should I refuse. As you can see, things didn’t quite go as they’d wanted,” the monk chuckled a bit to himself before turning serious. “But I do question if others have accepted their outstretched hand.”

“Why would anyone do that?” the Sword Saint questioned. “What do they offer to make joining them appealing, knowing that one would make the entire multiverse their enemy?”

“Ah, there, I believe you are wrong,” the monk chuckled. “The vast majority of the multiverse does not care. You care, and the Chosen of the Malefic Viper cares because they targeted you, but why would others? To them, this appears to be just another faction among many. In fact, I’d guess there are many out there who would be ecstatic if a new major faction could rise from the shadows and disrupt the current status quo. Not everyone is happy with how things currently are; Yip of Yore is a brilliant example of this.”

“I get the hate for the current Primordial establishment and all that, but why bring up the topic in the first place?” Jake asked what was perhaps the second-most important question after why the monk knew.

“Because I want you to inform the Malefic Viper and Aeon of what I’ve told you,” the monk smiled. “For my Patron has not.”

Jake and the Sword Saint both frowned as Jake asked a follow-up question:

“Why wouldn’t he?”

“Why not, indeed,” the monk said with a sigh. “If I had to guess, because he isn’t necessarily opposed to what this new faction represents or wants to achieve. Perhaps he’s just curious to see what will come of their existence and doesn’t seek to disrupt them. Either way, I don’t agree. Right now, while the multiverse isn’t exactly peaceful, it is stable. Chaos will only bring more needless suffering.”

“If sharing this with us goes against the wishes of your Patron, won’t doing so cause issues for you after you leave the simulation?” the Sword Saint asked. “When the Viper and my Patron hear from us, it won’t be hard to deduce you were the source.”

“Paradoxically, I don’t believe he will care,” the monk shrugged. “My Path is my own, and he knows my views. Me sharing with you in the wider multiverse under the potential gaze of many would be questioned, but sharing it with only you two who are already deeply involved while within a simulated world will be far more acceptable.”

“It will cause trouble for the Dao Sect, though,” Jake muttered. He knew Villy, and he knew that the snake god wouldn’t be happy learning that a faction that worked with them on the surface was purposefully hiding information. He didn’t think the snake god would outright attack them, but he would definitely be miffed.

“Once more, I find that highly doubtful,” the monk shook his head. “The reason for which I believe is best learned by yourself once you converse with the Malefic One.”

Jake wasn’t quite sure what the monk was getting at, but ultimately just nodded in agreement. He did have more questions, though.

“Did you learn anything else about this faction? Their goals? Any estimate of how powerful they are? Where they might be hiding out?” Jake asked.

“Their goals... to be capable of entering the light, I would guess. I do not know, and everything will be sheer guesswork. That also concerns how powerful I believe they are. Clearly, they do not have anyone with the power rivaling any of the Primordials among them; if they did, why hide away? That they are hiding also naturally means I have no idea where they are, and I’m certain the gods would have far more qualified guesses than I.”

“So, in essence, all you want us to share is that this faction has been actively recruiting young geniuses, with you among them?” the Sword Saint asked. “Isn’t that odd, though? Why did they only approach you, Jake, and, as you said, potentially Ell’Hakan? None of the others from the top spots on the Nevermore Leaderboards have mysteriously died as far as I know, and I doubt all these people successfully survived rejecting their recruiter. Unless you’re implying several of these top spots are now occupied by secret agents of this mystery faction.”

Jake was wondering for a second what the Sword Saint was getting at before he realized. The monk had already been deceitful once, so why outright trust what he was saying? Thinking about it, if what he said was true, it was weird why he hadn’t heard of anyone dying or getting exposed as newly recruited agents.

“Ah, but that is the devious part of their scheme I haven’t shared yet. How they recruit people,” the Eastbound Monk said with a smile. “Because even those who have been recruited will not know. It’s rather insidious if I say so myself.”

Now Jake was once more confused, and the Sword Saint gave a look that very much demanded elaboration.

“I’m not entirely clear on the details; all I can say is that their recruitment involves a rather unpleasant soul-related experience. I was infected by something that sought to take root within my soul, but I fought it off. During the infection process, I felt it merge with me, and if it had fully become one with my soul, I wouldn’t even have questioned its existence. I fear others might indeed be infected and just not know it. Not even gods can detect it either, as not even they can forcibly gaze into the Soulspace of another,” the Eastbound Monk actually explained, though it did make Jake a little skeptical.

“I have never heard of anything or anyone being able to forcibly implant something within someone’s Soulspace. It goes against the fundamental rules of the system,” Jake pointed out.

“Unfortunately for us, Transcendent Skills can bypass those rules to some extent,” the monk shook his head. “But you are right, and it’s not perfect. That’s also why their first approach seems to be to convince someone to join, as willingly accepting the infection will be far more straightforward. Alongside one other major flaw... some people are immune. Namely, those with Transcendent Skills and Bloodlines. Your souls are already altered, and in the same vein that a slave contract cannot affect you, neither can this infection. Ah, I learned this part from my Patron who analyzed the remnants of the infection on me.”

“And you’re saying that no other Primordial besides the Daofather knows this?” the Sword Saint continued questioning the monk, still looking skeptical.

“Precisely. Though I do agree with that decision,” the Eastbound Monk said. “Doubting everyone is a good way to create chaos, especially in a world where no one can confirm the truth about whether someone is infected or not.”

“What exactly is this infection?” Jake asked, choosing to believe the monk for now. “What does it do?”

Jake’s imagination was already running wild, imagining movies with body snatchers, parasites controlling one’s mind, and a whole bunch of other utterly cataclysmic scenarios.

“That I cannot tell you. All I know is that when infected, it has the ability to make one forget the infection,” the monk shook his head.

“Any guesses?” Jake followed up.

“Many, but none I have any confidence in,” the monk sighed. “But I can say that the effect can’t be too invasive, lest it would be detectable by powerful gods. Perhaps it allows communication, or for the one in charge of the infection to manifest power within the victims, possibly to kill or coerce them. Not that unlike a Blessing in that regard, I guess, though without the powerful karmic bond.”

“But you don’t know, and it’s even a possibility that there is no true infection, but you were just made to believe there was to sow chaos,” the Sword Saint said. “Or, you could be lying.”

“I could for sure, but why would I?” the monk asked, not seeming offended in the slightest. “In either case, I know you will inform your Patrons of what I told you today, and they will be able to confirm or debunk my claims.”

The Sword Saint slowly nodded, not disagreeing with that statement. He still looked very critical of the monk’s claims, while Jake’s immediate reaction was that he was telling the truth, and if he was... yeah, that had some unsettling implications. As he heard the explanation, a thought also struck as he asked:

“Have the two of you encountered a Virtual Mind Devourer here in the World of the Exalted Prima?”

He knew the Sword Saint hadn’t, but he still asked both of them not to make it sound as if he was singling the monk out. As for why he asked about the Virtual Mind Devourer... the talk about this infection making one forget being infected reminded him way too much of that creature. The more he thought about it , the more he also questioned why such a thing had existed in this virtual world in the first place. Everything else, as far as he could tell, was somewhat based in reality and what could be found in the real world, so what’s to say the Virtual Mind Devourer wasn’t?

What if this creature, or at least something with a somewhat similar ability, existed out there? Or what if the creature had been born from the Records of a similar Transcendence? If that was the case, his encounter with this Virtual Mind Devourer definitely hadn’t just been a coincidence.

“I have not,” the Sword Saint shook his head.

“Neither have I,” the monk also answered. “Nor is it a creature I have heard about before. Now it’s my turn to wonder; why do you ask?”

Jake threw the Sword Saint a look, and the old man didn’t shake his head or indicate Jake probably shouldn’t share, so he shared his experience while fighting for the ambiguously-leafed golden flowers back in the Outer Garden.

Once he was done, the monk was frowning and looking deep in thought before he spoke. “Even imagining such a creature is unsettling, and if its existence has any basis in reality, I can understand why you asked me.”

The three of them were quiet for a moment, all digesting their conversation for a few seconds before the Sword Saint let out a sigh. “Ultimately, all we can do is speculate, and all the decisions will be made by our Patrons and factions. This is a matter far beyond us B-grades. Given that, let us focus on what we all came here to do.”

Yet again, the atmosphere shifted as they all naturally knew what the Sword Saint was getting at. While it was a very enlightening chat, they hadn’t come there to talk, but to decide which Administrator would be the last one standing.

“So how do we wanna do this?” Jake asked, cracking his neck while feeling a bit excited. He was tempted to offer that the two of him could come at him together, not because he had any confidence in winning, but because he thought it would be interesting to see how long he could last against both of them.

“Seeing that the monk has a preference for pacifism, surely he isn’t interested in fighting the two of us, but would gladly bow out?” the Sword Saint said, throwing a bit of a cheeky smile the Eastbound Monk’s way.

“I would indeed prefer not to fight the two of you,” he nodded before letting out a sigh. “But as I spoke of earlier, I’m here because I was tasked to be, and my task includes doing as well as I can. If that includes fighting you two, I have little choice but to do so, though, again, I would prefer not to. I assume it would be insulting if I asked the two of you to surrender or perhaps duel for second place?”

“That would indeed be very rude,” the Sword Saint confirmed before looking at Jake. “Unless you suddenly experienced a massive shift in personality, I assume you don’t have any intentions of surrendering either?”

“I would be angry if you two surrendered,” Jake stated bluntly.

“Now that sentiment I can agree with,” the Sword Saint chuckled. “I guess that’s all that needs to be said. None of us are willing to surrender, so let us settle this the old-fashioned way.”

“So it seems,” the monk sighed before looking to the sky. “I hope this shall not sow unnecessary discord. Know that I act without malice, and have nothing against the two of you. I can only ask for forgiveness.”

“No hard feelings here,” the Sword Saint said, putting his hand on the handle of his sword.

“Never gonna bear a grudge over a good bout,” Jake smiled as he slightly bent his knees, ready to move at a moment’s notice.

“Thank you,” the monk said with a relieved smile. “Then I shall act.”

The monk slowly raised his hand as a khakkhara – an intricate golden staff with metal rings hanging loosely from it - appeared in it. Before Jake or the Sword Saint could move, he slammed it into the ground as the sound of the clashing rings sent out a shockwave, propelling Jake and the Sword Saint away. In an instant, the monk’s aura had immediately shifted from weak and nonthreatening to just downright mysterious, as Jake still couldn’t get a proper read on him.

But, hey, at least he could see with his own eyes that the monk’s hype wasn’t all for nothing, as the sky was filled with golden scripture, the Eastbound Monk standing there, seemingly ready to face both of them at once.