Chapter 1459 - Total Victory Condition (Patreon)

Jake would be lying if he said he had any idea what the fuck Villy had done to cause this kind of divine phenomenon that seemed to encompass all of Venus at once. For a moment, he thought the massive flickering eye that filled up the entire top half of the Minor World was just some visual illusion, but clearly, based on the absolutely horrified looks of the high-tier A-grades present, it was far more than that.

The aura that affected them all was also fundamentally different from what Jake had used before. When he mimicked Villy’s aura using Invocation, he only mimicked its quality, and the second any type of energy interacted with the aura, the illusion would break. It could only be used to bluff, and if he was called on it, he would be screwed.

This was very much not that.

It was incredibly faint, but there were traces of the Malefic Viper’s actual power within the presence. Morsels of the true thing, making Jake solidly unimpressed compared to when the Viper had appeared in the void or shown off his power in front of Jake before; this was nothing more than a small glimpse.

However, to the natives of Venus, who had never even seen an S-grade, their impression was very different. Jake felt the sheer terror even from the two Nomads who were kneeling in front of the statue, though it probably didn’t help them that they were so close to it. Their terror was mixed with an element of reverence, too. A familiar kind of reverence that Jake immediately recognized.

Not reverence born of respect or recognition of someone’s greatness, but something far more innate to any living creature. It was the reverence that meant gods and mortals could never interact normally, and which stopped them from ever forming bonds beyond that of servants and masters.

Even if the Arachnecs and Venusians didn’t recognize the Malefic Viper as a god, or even comprehended what a god was in the first place, this very moment changed that as every single one of them now instinctively understood what divinity was.

“How did you pull this off?” Jake asked the Viper as he stood there, the eye still flickering, and the aura of the statue still that of the Malefic Viper.

As far as Jake knew, gods were incredibly limited in how they could interact with the newly integrated universe, and a display like this shouldn’t be possible. This was the Malefic Viper’s actual energy in the real world... or at least it felt like that.

Jake didn’t really expect a comprehensive answer from the Viper, and was fully ready to be told it was far beyond his understanding, but the snake god proved surprisingly open about his accomplishment.

“Remember when the Eternal Servant manifested through that sculptor kid way back then? Well, I did something similar, but rather than borrow the energy of a person to inhabit, I used the faith energy of the statue, and instead of manifesting my consciousness, I focused solely on projecting my aura. Given how little time has passed, there wasn’t that much faith energy, and even then, the faith alone would never allow something like this to happen. However, some gods do create statues with a bit of their power inside, sealed to manifest should the need ever arise. A waste of time in my opinion, as any god worth their salt would just forcefully manifest their energy from afar in a statue with their faith energy, but I digress. Needless to say, such a statue with energy cannot be brought into your universe, and neither can I manifest energy within one remotely, but I thought to myself: what if I just crafted one here, through you? With that special Bloodline energy of yours, I amplified the faith energy, tapped into the empowered bond, and pushed your Invocation skill further to manifest my presence, now powered by that very same amplified faith energy. It’s not perfect, and those more familiar with gods in general would feel something was off, but this is good enough for these natives. Just be ready for what happens when it fades, because the faith energy is about to run out.”

It was a surprisingly long and in-depth explanation, giving Jake an overview of what the snake had done while not really providing any intricate details. Jake did know that this definitely wasn’t the kind of feat any regular god could accomplish, and he especially took note of one thing.

“You can actually control my Lesser Primeval Energy?”

“Turns out I can. Granted, I’m not sure control is the right word. More like vaguely direct its intent towards what I want it to do. It seems to have a mind of its own, and fortunately for both of us, that energy of yours proved very cooperative. I would be open to getting more in the future, though. Would be interesting to study, though from this brief experiment, I already concluded I don’t meet some base requisite to fully control it. I reckon that requirement is your Bloodline.”

Jake slowly nodded, and while he didn’t like to admit it, felt a bit of relief. He didn’t like the thought of others being able to control his Primeval Origin Energy, not even a lesser version of it. In his mind, these energies belonged to him, and no one else had the right to manifest or use them.

“I could maybe give you some at an opportune time,” Jake answered, though he was unsure when he would think an “opportune time” would arrive. Besides, for now, he had other matters to attend to as the flickering eye in the sky slowly faded away as the aura of the statue coalesced back into it.

“Appreciate the thought,” the Viper said. “Anyhow, as you probably felt, this has now turned into a real proper statue. An object of faith, through which I can somewhat manifest my power, though in reality, it’s more there for others to contact me. Your next job should be to get those leaders of the major factions to pray to the statue while touching it. If you do, this will be a total victory. You’ll be on your own, though, so good luck! I believe in you, my dear Chosen!”

Jake wanted to curse the damn snake god but also understood immediately as he scanned his surroundings, waiting for the best time to speak. He considered doing so right away, but decided that it was best to let them get somewhat over the shock and try to comprehend what they had just witnessed. He even noticed how a few of the Venusians and Arachnecs seemed to be praying, perhaps as an instinctual response.

The Grand Weaver and two Venusian leaders fared a little better, though both were clearly significantly impacted and looked utterly flummoxed about how to proceed. They didn’t even try to hide as they turned toward each other, definitely communicating telepathically from afar, perhaps to get some level of shared understanding.

Seeing this, Jake acted, partly as a way to not give them too much time to try to rationalize what they had witnessed.

“How unfortunate that the Malefic One could only appear so briefly. Alas, the universe remains too sealed, and it will take time before he can fully manifest, allowing us only to see a glimpse for now,” Jake spoke, ending the silence and waking many from their prayers, including the leaders of the Nomads and the Great Sea Serpent.

“Not to play down the fortunateness of your situation,” Jake said, unsure whether “fortunateness” was even a word, but without Villy feeding him lines now, he kind of had to improvise. “You have all witnessed something few will ever be able to. What’s more, it’s not the end of your fortune.”

Jake, naturally still standing in front of the statue, infused a bit of energy into it, making its aura flare. It was nothing compared to before, but it still conveyed that the statue remained infused with the Malefic Viper's aura.

“Through his grace, the Malefic One has granted us this statue. A true object of faith that will serve as a conduit to connect this Minor World with the Malefic Viper,” Jake explained as best he could.

From his understanding, this statue would also be a pretty damn great faith magnet going forward. It had apparently already been that before, given the amount of faith energy it had accumulated, but now it was far better at it, and could serve the function for the entire world.

Moving on to what was definitely a gamble, Jake spoke directly to the Grand Weaver as well as the Venusian Oracle and Shaman. Villy had clearly stopped directing him in any way, so he wasn’t sure how to make them actually touch and pray to the statue, but he hoped that the manifestation of the Viper’s aura would make it possible to get them on board.

“I invite those who still doubt to join me. To lay hand upon the statue and pray, opening their soul to the Malefic One, and if fortune allows it, receive something far greater than a mere glimpse,” Jake said, looking between the massive turtle shell and dead bug which housed the Venusian and Arachnec leaders, respectively.

He could have probably said something smarter to convince them, and Jake considered asking the Great Sea Serpent for assistance... for a moment anyway. The leaders of the two factions acted surprisingly decisively as both of them made their move in unison, faster than Jake could properly react.

Three figures appeared beneath the stage a moment later, all of them already in kneeling positions, even the Grand Weaver, who usually floated. None of them said anything immediately, making Jake just continue speaking, a little proud of himself for not even having reacted when they all appeared so quickly.

“Come. Join me on stage,” Jake said, motioning towards them. He got a few nods, as it was pretty clear that while they were paying some attention to Jake, they primarily focused on the Great Sea Serpent as well as the statue. The statue more than the Great Sea Serpent, which was quite a change from before, where they seemed to primarily care about the peak A-grade, even when Jake was speaking.

Clearly, they still didn’t quite understand what a Chosen was, which was fine. They’d learn eventually, and for now, his main objective was still to make them all touch the statue and allow Villy to do his thing. He had a good idea what would happen should they interact with the statue, and if he was right, it would indeed result in total victory.

As directed, the three A-grades who were all nearly at the peak went up to the stage under the watchful gazes of tens of thousands of their kin. After joining him, the first of them also finally spoke, with the Grand Weaver turning to Jake.

“Could you explain what exactly a god is?” He asked a pretty basic question, but probably a good one. Thinking about it, had he ever given a clear description? Probably not.

“Sure,” Jake said, not infusing his voice with power anymore as he didn’t see the need to project his voice to the audience anymore. These three were all he needed. “After A-grade, one enters S-grade. Like with A-grade, S-grade is another 250 levels, with the peak being level 999. Above that is godhood. However, unlike any prior evolution, ascending to divinity is infinitely harder and requires meeting certain thresholds not even I am fully aware of. Should one achieve godhood, it comes with power far beyond that of mortals, but, perhaps most importantly, it grants immortality. Infinite life. The Malefic Viper, my Patron, was one of the first Gods in the multiverse, and has lived longer than you can even imagine. To him, the length of your entire lifespans would account for nothing more than a drop of water in this endless ocean surrounding us.”

Okay, granted, Jake wasn’t fully sure about that last part, as he didn’t know how old Villy actually was, but it shouldn’t be too far either, especially not if one counted time dilation, avatars counting separately, and a bunch of other flimsy justifications for Jake’s claim.

“Excuse me,” the Venusian Oracle also spoke up after a couple of seconds. “Are you saying that these gods were once lower grades like us? Even this Malefic Viper?”

Again, a pretty silly question for anyone who knew anything, but ignorance was one hell of a thing, and Jake couldn’t blame her too much as he nodded again.

“Indeed, though in an era far before this one. Everyone theoretically has the chance to become a god if they’re talented, hard-working, and fortunate enough. No, even without talent, there are cases where those considered lesser in that regard still managed to ascend by overcoming countless dangers. Naturally, the vast, vast majority of S-grades fall short and fail, dying either while attempting to ascend or their lifespans running out,” Jake explained, seeing no good reason not to have them know all this.

The two Venusians shared a gaze before the Horned Warlord asked a question Jake found quite pertinent:

“Why would such powerful beings bother with those like us? What reasons could they have? What do they gain?”

Despite definitely being overwhelmed and still affected by the instinctive reverence towards divinity, the Warlord managed to keep cool-headed enough to ask something like that, which was pretty impressive.

“I cannot claim to know the thoughts of all gods, but they do get certain personal benefits from having followers. As a Warlord, I would assume you have skills making you stronger while fighting alongside others, or at least making others stronger. The concept is similar, though on a far different scale. Other times, gods bother with mortals because they create factions, often to nurture worthwhile subordinates. Subordinates who may also one day reach godhood. Finally, there are Blessings. Blessings are a system function that not only grant the mortal power but can also benefit the god. It’s an investment of sorts, and the progress of someone Blessed gives a slight return to the god. It’s a synergistic relationship. Even then, some gods never bother to interact with mortals at all, and can spend countless years just by themselves, pursuing whatever obsession they have,” Jake answered, once more fine with giving a lengthy explanation.

“One piece of advice, though. Don’t try to fully comprehend the minds of gods. Immortality and years of experience no mortal can compare to have shifted their mindsets to be far beyond that of mortals, making them see and understand things we never could,” he followed up, even if he personally thought that one was a little bullshit, given how damn simple some gods were. Others would claim it to be true, though, and based on how the Great Sea Serpent who was listening in nodded, at least one big snake seemed to agree.

The Venusian leaders and Grand Weaver asked a few more pretty basic questions, with Jake giving general answers while making sure to play up the awesomeness of gods. That honestly wasn’t hard to do, as being a god was pretty awesome, and it didn’t require much marketing to tell the idea of immortality and untold power being a good thing.

He also answered a few questions regarding the Order, which he found a very good thing. Not that he had to socially interact with the frogs and undead spider for longer, but just that they asked at all. It showed their mindsets had changed quite a lot from the start of all this.

Jake was tempted to ask what exactly had happened to them, so much more open to the idea of the divine over the last year, and what had made them attend this ceremony in the first place, but he decided not to, as that wasn’t very conducive to achieving his goal.

The conversation was watched by everyone surrounding them, many of them with looks of nervousness, as thousands were also still praying towards the statue. The Nomads, who had already been fully on board before, were now looking downright fanatic, and many of the spiders and frogs were right on the edge.

A final push was in order, as Jake directed the three leaders toward the statue.

“Let us proceed to why you came down here,” Jake said, raising a hand to touch the statue. When he did, he closed his eyes, muttered a few words, then opened them again. Nothing had actually happened, but he thought it was a good move to sell something cool occurring should they do the same.

“Place your hands upon the base of the statue. Infuse your energies, open your souls, and allow yourself the experience of a lifetime. One that will change the course of not just your lives, but that of this entire world,” Jake said to them. “I swear on the name of the Malefic One that no harm shall come to any of you. The Great Sea Serpent shall also serve as assurance.”

On cue, the big snake nodded in agreement, which finally seemed to be enough to convince the leaders. With some slight hesitation, all three of them touched the statue at once, and a few seconds later, Jake felt the change as he smiled.

Total victory indeed.