Chapter 572: A World That Makes Sense

He had hoped it would end... but no. The World Congress was a cruel mistress and allowed them to stay within the system event for the remainder of the allotted time. Jake wanted to leave, but a sharp look from Miranda made him know that he better stay. Alas, it was probably for the best, as seeing the newly-elected World Leader run away prematurely probably didn't inspire confidence.

However, even if he was forced to stay physically, no one had told him to not go on a mental journey to somewhere better. Even if he did try to stay engaged and at least feign interest. Hey, he had tried, okay?

Jake would firmly classify the rest of the World Congress as a waste of time. Miranda would probably disagree and call it a "valuable opportunity to calm the doubters and display unity to the many City Lords of Earth, thus inspiring confidence in the council."

In fact, those had been the exact words she had used.

Anyway, Jake had nearly eight hours to listen to mundane chatter, and by the time the subject of tax codes was brought up, Jake completely zoned out and went into his Soulspace to talk to a way better conversation partner: himself.

Within his Soulspace, sim-Jake and the cursed chimera both sat calmly as sim-Jake had a hand on the huge monster. It did not react but let him stay there, and Jake knew what he was doing. Some kind of attunement. The details were still a bit fuzzy, but Jake knew that the curse energy and Eternal Hunger were instrumental to the mythical rarity skill he and sim-Jake hoped to make.

After waiting a while, sim-Jake was done, and the moment he released his hand, the huge beast of pure curse energy attacked, forcing sim-Jake to seal it again. Once that was done, his other self turned around and regarded the real Jake.

"This entire deal with World Leader is a waste of time. Why bother? Just evacuate everyone to the Order of the Malefic Viper and leave this stupid rock behind," sim-Jake said, commenting on recent events. "All you are doing is creating distractions for us."

"Maybe, maybe not," Jake shrugged. "In either case, I don't plan on making it into a distraction but an opportunity. We don't know what benefits being World Leader may offer in the future, but I am willing to risk it leading to nothing for the chance to gain something unique."

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then I will have wasted a bit of time. How much lifespan do we have by now? Do you even know? I reckon at least a thousand years or something, and probably ten times that at C-grade. So what is a few years chasing a bad lead?" Jake argued.

"Ultimately, the choice is yours," sim-Jake shrugged. "You are the one who will have to deal with all of the annoyances. I just don't want you to dilly-dally and end up stuck at S-grade because you decided to fuck around and not focus on what truly matters."

"If I get stuck at S-grade, I will just have to hunt a few gods or something," Jake grinned, unafraid. "Or die trying. Both are acceptable."

Sim-Jake just shook his head. "Anyway, we will need a lot of time to prepare, and especially with this Prima Guardian arriving... do we have time? Can you figure something out with the Viper?"

Jake nodded. "Should definitely be able to. Once we go to the Order, we can look into it. But you are certain that this Path you have chosen to walk down will work?"

His other self just smiled. "I am betting my entire existence on it."

Everything was wrong... at least it had been. Suddenly everything looked so clear; the muddiness of reality washed away as the many strings that held him down were forcefully severed by the system itself.

William felt so weird he had a hard time describing it. He had joined the World Congress as he had practically been ordered to, not sure what he could even get out of it. He had spent the last month just wandering around, unsure of where to go and what to do. Ms. Kim had told him that maybe being lost and working on finding himself for a while wasn't the worst, but William hated feeling so... wrong.

Quite a few times, he regretted wanting more emotions that much, but in the end, he knew it was for the best. It just sucked to feel like he was walking through a swamp and like the endless threads of karma around him were a net made to slow him down and incapacitate him.

That is until he joined the World Congress. In an instant, the threads disappeared. The net was gone, clarity washed through his mind, and he even felt like his body underwent a cleansing. That is when he realized why the Chosen of the Malefic Viper wanted him to enter the World Congress.

In the Congress, nothing could influence him... and all ongoing influence was dispelled. While William could not be sure, he had a fear that Eversmile had placed several karmic magics on him that denouncing the Blessing did nothing to address.

Yet, even with his mind clear, it only became more evident how truly lost he was. William was still afraid of the Chosen, yes, but it wasn't the same kind of fear... in fact, standing there in the World Congress, he had no particularly negative feelings. It made William wonder if the intense fear had ever been his own or just the result of Eversmile doing something.

William had slept once during this month as a test, and for the first time since the Tutorial, he didn't have a nightmare. That at least somewhat confirmed that the cause of his nightmares - all of which just amplified his fear of the Chosen - were not natural in any way.

Hearing the speech of the Chosen also made William realize one thing. The Chosen truly didn't care about a lot of things, and he probably didn't care about William at all either, unless he made direct trouble for him. It was comforting but also disturbing as William realized that the strongest emotion he could detect towards himself using his karmic magic wasn't anger or killing intent. It was apathy. An emotion he realized the Chosen also had before their last encounter...

William simply wasn't a noteworthy character in the eyes of the Chosen of the Malefic Viper. At most, he was a curiosity to the man. Their disparity in power was large, and seeing the other people around him, like the Sword Saint and the King, only made it all the more evident how insignificant William truly was.

It made it clear that William, indeed, wasn't a protagonist of the world as he had gone around thinking for so long. The Chosen was one. The Sword Saint. The Fallen King. But William? William was just a karmic mage who could hopefully one day be helpful to all the people he screwed over. He realized this and could only smile to himself.

William felt a huge weight lift from his shoulders as he was finally free of the endless net of toxic karma and pressure. He wasn't really anyone special... and he didn't need to be. He just had to be who he wanted to be and do what he himself wanted to do. Find out what he actually wanted out of life.

Race Evolution Quest

As you reach the end of D-grade, you have walked a Path seeking perfection. A Path of discovery of yourself and what you want to be. Yet you have not found it. Without determination and vision, there is no Path. Without desire, there is no progress. Without willingness, there is no life.

Objective: Find your Path (1/1)

*Race Evolution Requirements Met*

WARNING: Evolution unavailable during ongoing system event.

William saw the system message as the quest completed, and he could only sigh at how stupidly simple some things could be.

His escape was glorious as Jake was teleported back to Earth after seven damn hours of super engaging political discussions that sometimes disturbed Jake and Sim-Jake's far more interesting conversation. Sadly, he went straight from the pan and into the fire as he had another damn meeting at the main office of Haven just after the World Congress. The Sword Saint, King, and Miranda had been teleported back to where they had entered from, so at least they were all gathered again right away.

More politics. More talking. Luckily, Jake quickly managed to find an excuse to sneak off, but just before he did so, the old man at the table asked for a bit of his time.

The Sword Saint led Jake into another room and erected an isolation barrier around them. Jake wondered what it was about but soon learned as the old man spoke.

"I have considered matters more related to this entire situation with Ell'Hakan. From what I gathered, I believe others here have a misunderstanding. Jake, when you fought him, how powerful did you think he was? How would you evaluate him?" the Sword Saint asked Jake.

Jake considered for a moment. "Elusive, fast, resilient, but overall not a major threat in direct combat. He mainly used his goons against me and took more of a supportive role as a caster. Don't get me wrong, he is strong for his level, but he is a pompous dick using tricks over power."

The old man nodded. "Did you think he faced you seriously at the time?"

After thinking for a few seconds, Jake shook his head. "No, definitely not. His plan was always to throw me to the other side of the planet, and he was just buying time."

"Interestingly enough, I got the same feeling when he fought me," the Sword Saint said. "At least in the beginning. However, as time passed, he did have a genuine desire to kill me. We fought for longer and more seriously than you did. Is that assertion correct?"

Jake nodded. "True. What are you trying to say?"

"While it is a cliche, I do believe one can learn a lot about someone from fighting them. My understanding of this Ell'Hakan from all the explanations before I encountered him was that we were dealing with a politician born with a golden spoon. Yet when I fought him, I met something entirely different. I met a seasoned fighter who has wielded his weapon for decades. A warrior born through slaughter. He also enjoyed our fight far too much, even refraining from using his Bloodline for nearly the entire fight."

"So he is stronger than I initially thought? Does it ultimately matter?" Jake asked.

"No, perhaps it does not. But I do feel like I need to warn you. Do not underestimate Ell'Hakan in battle, even if you manage to isolate and fight him alone. While our battle did appear to end with my victory, I had far from won. He still had far more to show me, and he was far too calm. I truly believe now that without inviting springtime fully, I would have died if we had kept fighting. So do not mistake his schemes as a sign of weakness, as I fear that when he is backed into a corner without any schemes, is when he gets the most dangerous," the Sword Saint finished saying his peace. "Less annoying, perhaps, but more deadly."

If it was anyone else saying all this, Jake could have probably brushed them off or maybe even considered that Ell'Hakan had messed with their heads. However, this was the Sword Saint, probably the human Jake respected the most as an equal. If he thought Ell'Hakan was more than met the eye, he could only take it to heart.

"Got it," Jake said with a serious nod. He still firmly believed he was stronger than Ell'Hakan bar any tricks or schemes, and he would keep thinking that until the orange fucker proved him wrong or was dead. But... there was a chance the gap was not as large as Jake believed.

"That is all I wanted to add. Now continue your journey. I shall remain here a bit before I, too, head out and finish the final steps before my evolution," the Sword Saint said.

"Good luck with it all," Jake smiled as he headed off back toward the lodge. Carmen joined him shortly as she walked beside him on the way back, looking deep in thought. When they made it back, she finally spoke.

"Do you think I made a mistake by joining Valhal?" she asked, a bit unsure. "Fuck, even asking that is being a heretic, isn't it?"

Jake looked at her and shrugged. "If they consider that heretical, then fuck 'em. Besides, I doubt they do. And I would not say you made a mistake; quite the opposite. They fit you. Just ignore all of the political shit like I do. I don't blame you for what Valhal chooses to do as long as you don't blame me for whatever nefarious shit the Order of the Malefic Viper is up to."

Carmen smirked. "A bit unfair considering you are the Chosen, but sure. Does feel weird to dedicate kills to them and do stuff in their honor, though."

"Just think about doing it for Valdemar. Valdemar is a cool dude, as far as I can tell. Or just dedicate kills to the concept of Valhal. There are plenty of ways to make the Path you walk make sense to you. Worst case, just become a heretic who doesn't actually believe in anything Valhal does but still want their skills and Records," Jake shrugged. "I am really not the one to ask advice from for things like this; you do know that, right?"

"Or maybe you are," Carmen sighed. "Either way, I want to do some soul-searching, I guess. By soul-searching, I mean wander into the forest and kill shit alone until the world makes more sense to me, or I have at least punched all my frustrations out."

"Totally fair," Jake said. "Killing things is a great way to clear your mind. Very zen."

Carmen shook her head and punched him on the shoulder. "Say goodbye to Sylphie for me. I don't really wanna delay but just head out right away. Before that cute little ball of feathers makes me want to stay."

"Have fun," Jake waved to her as she had already begun heading off. Within a few seconds, she was out of the valley and headed toward the forest. Wait, what if she kills all the good prey? Well... I guess I can share a bit.

Jake used his bond to search for Sylphie and realized she was somewhere far up in the sky. Really far up. Not quite at the layer of C-grades, but close. If he had to guess, he would say the small hawk was showing off to her parents.

Referring to his checklist of things to do before C-grade, Jake now only had four things left to do before evolving. Besides getting those last few class levels, of course. Though he could do that pretty quickly after he was done with all the other things he wanted to do.

1. Upgrade Sagacity of the Malefic Viper

2. Go to Order and defeat baby Snappy

3. Mythical skill creation with the help of sim-Jake

4. Actually evolve.

Jake had checked off two things, and he planned to do all his remaining goals - besides the evolution itself - at the Order. But before going, he had to do one more thing he did not add to his list. Becoming World Leader had not really given him much value, but there had been one useful benefit.

The ability to allow C-grades to visit human areas.

Seeing Sylphie was gone, Jake headed straight for the Mangrove River, this time not to visit them but to allow Scarlett to visit him. Then afterward, he could head up and say hi to Sandy and also allow his worm friend to go wherever they wanted. Finally, he would see if he could have a certain whale visit.

Because what could possibly go wrong by bringing a group of powerful C-grades into an occupied human city?