Chapter 511: Friendships & The Question Of Why They Are So Damn Hard.

It ended up taking Reika another few hours to reach a point where she felt confident letting the three of them roam free. Draskil hadn't really taken that much convincing when it came down to it, something Reika partially explained away by him also coming from the newly integrated universe.

Bastilla and Irin were much harder to reach as they had grown up with the system and the status quo, making ignoring someone being a Chosen an entirely foreign concept to them. Reika ended up giving a lot of examples of Earth and anecdotes relating to Jake to ensure them that he really wasn't the type of Chosen they assumed him to be.

Irin seemed to have the takeaway that she had just found the opportunity of a lifetime. Draskil seemed competitive, and Bastilla was... yeah, Bastilla was still rather shell-shocked and seemed to not really get the situation outside of "keep it a secret, that is what the Malefic One and his Chosen wants."

Reika just hoped that with time she could have a proper conversation with Bastilla about it... and hopefully not have a really shitty roommate experience in the future.

Jake was woken up from his Serene Soul Meditation when he felt Reika approach. He opened his eyes and saw that she looked slightly worn out, having fought a valiant battle for him.

When she got close enough, Jake asked: "So... how screwed am I?"

"I believe it is manageable," Reika answered. "At least I believe they all understand that keeping it confidential is best and that treating you too differently due to you being the Chosen isn't what you or your Patron wants. If they are actually able to overcome a lifetime of conditioning and cultural teachings and not act too differently is an entirely different thing."

"Thank you either way," Jake smiled a bit sadly. "This entire thing does suck."

"I understand them," Reika added. "At least partly. Me telling them to treat you like you don't have status is a far more extreme version of someone telling me not to treat my great-grandfather with a high level of respect. I am not certain I could stop doing that, at least not on a whim. So the best thing to do now is to give it time. Don't treat them differently than before, but also don't try to put a lid on who or what you are. Instead, normalize it and make it clear that to you, it is simply part of who you are, and while you are naturally proud of it - as any Chosen would be - you also don't want it to be your primary defining trait. That them respecting you as a Chosen and as a person means not making you only the Chosen of the Malefic Viper."

" Alright... so just give it time, huh," Jake sighed. "Let's get over there. Any tips for things I should or shouldn't say?"

"Don't downplay your identity too much, but as I said, make it clear you do not want it to impact their treatment of you. Not too much at least," Reika once more emphasized. "Also, do not talk about your odd relationship with the Malefic Viper. That is between you and your Patron, and definitely don't think that you talking about how casual you are with the Viper will make them understand they can treat you casually. Also, when we go greet them, you should say..."

Jake nodded slowly as he took her words to heart. He had enough social awareness to know that he sucked at having social awareness, and even if Reika was not some expert, she was far more adept than Jake.

The two of them walked back to Draskil, Irin, and Bastilla. They did all look at him weirdly and for sure differently than before, but at least they were all standing up and not kneeling. Jake sighed again as he got close and said what Reika had told him.

"I do hope this incident won't cause an unnecessary rift between us. I am still the same person as before. The way I have treated you till now is the same as I would have even if you knew, and I will continue to treat you as friends and not merely subordinates, even if I do recognize a difference in status. I can only hope that you will do the same. Also, I hope you all understand that keeping my identity a secret is something I would very much appreciate," Jake spoke, nearly saying verbatim what Reika had told him to.

The mood was still a bit tense and awkward for a few seconds before Draskil finally spoke up with a grin. "Makes sense now how you killed C-grade before I did."

Jake felt relief as he answered. "Now you are just looking for excuses for losing."

"Bah, only to be expected you win; you are Chosen," Draskil dismissed him before smiling. "But I am still stronger."

"For now, for now," Jake acknowledged with a smirk.

"Excuse me," Irin said, a bit too polite compared to her usual demeanor. "We do have a problem. I am required to report what happened during this dungeon run to my superiors... what should I say to them?"

"What exactly are you required to report?" Jake asked. "How in-depth?"

"I will have to submit a report and then do an interview," Irin said. "If I lie during it or obfuscate the truth, it may have repercussions... and I doubt I will even be able to hide it due to my contract."

Jake nodded and thought for a moment before finding a solution. "Alright, then just do as usual and report the truth. I will handle it on my end."

Taking out his token, Jake dialed the highest of the higher-ups when it came to the mortals - the Hall Master. She picked up instantly.

"How may I be of assistance?" Viridia asked.

She sounded a little bit too excited he had called, but nothing he could do about that. "My identity as the Chosen of the Malefic Viper has been discovered by three new individuals, and I will need you to help cover it up."

"Very well, are they already slain, or do you wish for me to do it while cleaning them of karmic bonds?" she promptly answered.

"No killing," Jake shut down the murder-hoboing. "One of the people is Irinixis from the Humanoid Resources department and another the Malefic Dragonkin Draskil. Irinixis will need to file a report of what happened during a dungeon run we just had, and I want you to intercept that report and make up an excuse that you wanted to keep track of Draskil's progress or something like that. Maybe use his Divine Blessing as an excuse."

"As you command, I will handle it, so have no further worries. Is there anything else I can help with?" Viridia said, not missing a beat.

"No, that is all for this time. Thanks for the assistance."

"The honor is all mine, Lord Thayne," Viridia said as Jake cut off the magical phone call.

"Alright, I got that angle covered," Jake said as he put his token away again. He had only taken a few seconds talking to Viridia through the power of telepathic efficiency. If not, it would be rude to make them all wait around.

"How?" Reika asked curiously.

"I am the Chosen, am I not? I had the Hall Master deal with it. She naturally already knows who I am," Jake said a bit jokingly, seeing no reason to mention that her finding out had also been a complete accident.

Irin nodded with some relief, not at all surprised. "Thank you, my lord," she bowed before stopping herself. "Oh, I mean, I am sorry, I-"

"Irin, just take it slow, alright?" Jake smiled. "No need to fret over minor things like that. Take your time and just treat me normally, okay? And a better thing to do than talking about this situation would be to address the loot we got from clearing the dungeon. But I must warn all of you... while I have not seen the properties of these items, only their appearance, I can already tell you they fucking suck."

With a very necessary warning, Jake summoned the two items. One of them was a scepter just like the one the Mushroom Man King had used, while the other one was just a mushroom cap formed like a crown. With disgust, Jake identified them.

[Scepter of the Indigo Caverns (Epic)] - A scepter crafted from unknown wood that has fused with the Lifecore of a once mighty fungus. Through time it has further been improved by the Mushroom Man King and empowered by the Indigo Caverns. Allows the user to directly manipulate and take control of fungi, using them as their weapon. This scepter can be attuned to specific fungi to further improve this effect. Significantly more powerful when used by one also wearing the Mushroom Cap Crown of the Fungal Lord.

Requirements: lvl 180+ in any humanoid race.

[Mushroom Cap Crown of the Fungal King (Epic)] - The crown of the Mushroom Man King. Contains elements of his authority, making you inherently intimidating and hold authority over other Mushroom Men of a lower level than yourself. Allows the wearer to far more easily manipulate fungi using any form of magic. Significantly more powerful when used by one also wielding the Scepter of the Indigo Caverns.

Requirements: lvl 180+ in any humanoid race.

His sheer level of disgust only increased after reading what they did. Without hesitation, he voiced his own stance as he disowned them both.

"Not me!"

"No," Draskil muttered decisively.

"I have no need for them," Reika quickly made clear.

"It would feel inappropriate to take anything," Irin said.

All of them turned to look at Bastilla, who had not spoken a single word since Jake had come out as the Chosen of the Malefic Viper. She looked bewildered for a moment as she stared at the items and the party. "Really?" she finally spoke.

"I believe you can at the very least sell them for dismantling," Irin pointed out.

"If you don't want them, I would be fine with just destroying them here and now," Jake added on.

"I'll just take them..." Bastilla muttered as she swept them up. Jake threw Reika a glance, and she gave him a look making it clear that the beast woman was still not entirely on board and handling the situation properly. But, as her roommate, Jake believed Reika would have plenty of time to figure things out.

He was at least happy that even after everything was said and done, they could still bond over their shared hatred for mushrooms. A true unifier.

"Alright, thanks, everyone," Jake said with a genuine smile. "Let us head on back to the Order?"

All of them agreed, and Jake tried to make some casual small talk with the succubus on the way back, but all the responses were a bit strained from Irin's side. Draskil was a pleasant surprise as he seemed to have come to terms with things rather quickly and acted almost the same as before.

Reika walked with Bastilla as they made it back as one group, no one bothering to race this time around. They made it back to the teleportation station before splitting up. Jake didn't know how everything would be whenever they met again, but he could only do as he always did and just take things as they came.

Jake stepped through the gateway and walked to the living room before sitting down, exhausted. He had already seen that Meira and Duskleaf were busy inside the library, and he had no interest in interrupting them as he just took a breather.

He got half an hour of rest by himself before he saw Duskleaf whisk out of existence within the library. A few minutes later - after cleaning up - Meira also left and went straight for Jake in the living room, likely having been informed by Duskleaf.

"Lord Thayne," she bowed upon entering the living room.

"Hey there," Jake said with a smile. "How have things been while I was gone? Duskleaf treating you well?"

"The Grand Elder has treated me very well, and I have made much progress," Meira said enthusiastically. "I also did as you said and invited over some of my fellow students."

That made Jake perk up. He looked at Meira with surprise and motioned for her to elaborate.

"We only went to study in the library due to the many tomes Lord Thayne has available, and I swear that not a single book has left the residence. I thank you once again for allowing me to invite them and also offer thanks from them," Meira explained.

Jake felt genuinely happy that at least Meira seemed to have some real friends. It was good to know that she could at least have some healthy relationships considering Jake's recent issues in that department.

"I would love to meet them the next time they come over," Jake added. Meira seemed quite a bit happier recently compared to how she was when Jake first met her, and there was a good chance that had something to do with her friends, right? Her just having friends was a major improvement.

He did notice that she seemed a bit hesitant when Jake asked to meet them, but he didn't really dwell on it. It was normal to be a little nervous when introducing your friends to who was essentially your boss.

Now, Jake was not entirely ignorant and knew that Meira likely didn't have the same understanding of what friendship was as he did. This was part of the reason why he wanted to meet her friends, also to see if they were good or bad influences.

"I shall relay your wish," Meira said, as she added on a bit nervously. "Uhm, one of them, named Izil, also said that she wanted to meet you if possible..."

"Oh?" Jake asked, surprised. Why would she want to meet Jake? Okay, there were many reasons. She knew he had a black token, so that was likely it. But he didn't want to judge right away and think that she was just after his status or trying to take advantage of him. Heck, she maybe had a status of her own.

"Who is this Izil?" he asked.

"She is an elf from the Altmar Empire," Meira explained, adding on with a smile. "She has helped and taught me a lot of things."

Okay, so she does have some status of her own and doesn't seem like a shit person, Jake noted.

"Well, I already said I would love to meet your friends, so of course, I will also talk to her," Jake said, still smiling comfortingly.

"Thank you," Meira bowed again. "I shall let you know when next they request to come over."

Her phrasing did make Jake frown a bit, but he didn't dwell on it. The two of them talked a bit more before Meira had to leave for a lesson, and Jake also quickly got busy himself. He had a few Malefic Viper Legacy skills he wanted to work on improving and he also kind of wanted to take his mind off things and be by himself a bit.

At least until Meira would have friends over.

A day that came sooner than expected as Meira told him they would come the very next day, not even two days after Jake returned from the dungeon.