Chapter 805: Nevermore: House of the Architect

Jake closely read the system message regarding the Challenge Dungeon, and outside of the thought that he really hoped he could level up in there, he had a few more opinions. However, overall, it wasn't that bad.

Firstly, it was actually pretty straightforward, if still incredibly broad. Sure, there was some confusion about how exactly these evaluations would work, but compared to that horrible hellhole of confusion known as the Test of Character Challenge Dungeon, you had something truly unique in this one:

People you could actually ask about stuff. From the vibe Jake got, it was even possible these attendants would be helpful and not just be like Minaga, who commented on stuff happening while providing nothing of substance more often than not.

Anyway, even without Jake asking anyone, it was obvious you were meant to make stuff in this dungeon. He would have to ask about more details, but he got the gist of it.

In some ways, the Challenge Dungeon reminded him a bit of Minaga's City Floor. There, one also had to do things to earn points, though here, you would use these Merit Points to buy stuff you needed in your creative endeavors.

Jake also knew that the system had limited his access to his inventory, but when he tried to open the spatial storage, he was fully able to. What's more, he would even take out things like his weapons and other tools, such as his cauldrons. However, when he tried to take out some of the stored ingredients, he found himself unable to do so.

Alright, so you have to buy the raw materials, Jake quickly understood. It was probably for the best, though. It was the same thought as Minaga's City Floor again, where if rules were not in place, someone could just bring in expensive shit from the outside and breeze through.

However, like Minaga's City Floor, Jake also instantly got worried about one thing.

Ell'Hakan is going to get a free ride in this dungeon, Jake quickly concluded. Of course, he couldn't be entirely certain yet, as he had literally just arrived and was still unclear about many things, but he could totally see this being the case.

Not that Jake would let that bring him down. He was pretty skilled at creating stuff himself. Especially unique stuff, which the Architect valued higher than regular goods.

Concluding his initial thoughts, Jake turned his attention toward the actual building he found himself in. As mentioned before, it was a huge atrium-like construction with a sunroof far above. Hundreds of stories ascended upwards from the floor, with the middle of the hall filled with different exhibits. Glass boxes with odd items inside, entire skeletons of weird creatures, and even a few things straight out of some sci-fi could be found if one looked around. Floating up throughout the atrium were also several skeletons of flying creatures and even a spaceship-looking thing.

Through his sphere, he also saw how paintings hung on most walls, and looking to the side, he saw one of them depicting a landscape that seemed to be in constant flux. The painting itself warped with every second, going from filled with light to entirely dark in the very next moment. He also saw that the first to the seventh floor of the atrium was a large circular library that went the entire way around the round building.

Below him was a cellar that also seemed to extend downward for many kilometers. Down there, Jake wasn't quite sure what he saw. Several rooms were filled with what looked like prisoners of all kinds of races, cages with beasts, and even areas filled with water or elements that housed creatures or just plants and other odd baubles. Jake was a bit confused, considering that beings with True Souls could not be submitted as Creations, but it was entirely possible that not all these things were collectibles. It was also entirely possible some of them were for the creators to "make use of" when they worked on their Creations.

All in all, it looked like the home of some mad collector who just liked shiny, weird, and sometimes highly disturbing things. The building was also utterly massive, and that was without taking into account the fact that many of the rooms and floors were spatially expanded based on how things warped when Jake observed with his sphere.

When it came to other living beings who weren't trapped in cages, Jake saw quite a few mull around. However, they all stayed off to the sides, all wearing the same white robes with an insignia on the chest. It wasn't hard to figure out these were the attendants mentioned in the system message.

Jake decided that he would go ask one of the attendants first thing to clarify some things so as to not waste too much time... which was also when he noticed something else about this Challenge Dungeon.

No time limit.

He didn't have any deadlines to submit anything. At least nothing of the sort was mentioned yet. Nevertheless, Jake saw no reason to dally as he walked toward one of the many attendants who stood off to the side of the atrium, currently working on polishing a statue depicting some kind of scaled beast.

"Excuse me," Jake asked as he went over. "Are you available right now?"

Without really thinking about it, he treated the attendant as if they were the average store worker before the system.

The attendant, who was some kind of dragonkin, quickly turned toward him and smiled. "Of course. What can I help you with, Creator?"

"I was wondering if you could answer some clarifying questions regarding this place. Mostly on how the Architect will evaluate my creations," Jake asked politely.

"Most certainly," she nodded. "What do you wish to know?"

Jake decided to start with the first question on his mind. "Am I able to submit items I created outside of here for evaluation? Say, if I had made some kind of weapon in the past I believe the Architect will find impressive?"

"Unfortunately, the Architect only cares about what is created within their house," the attendant said as she shook her house. "As the Architect often says, what truly matters isn't only the final Creation but the method by which it was created. Every Creation is a journey that is documented by the building, and the creation process will also serve as part of the evaluation."

"I see," Jake nodded. "What if I make alterations to a current Creations and submit that? Would that be a possibility?"

"Yes, but only the alterations will be evaluated, not the full Creation," the attendant clarified. "The Architect cares much for the journey, and having missed part of it will inevitably lead to a worsened evaluation, so unless the Creation and the alterations are truly impressive, getting a high evaluation will be difficult."

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That was a bit of a bummer if Jake had to be honest. He would have loved to show off Eternal Hunger and even Eternal Shadow of the Primal Hunter, as you could submit even skills as creations. Oh, and also Moment of the Primal Hunter... but maybe that was too similar to Eternal Shadow, as they both had the Primal Hunter tag? Actually, he should ask about that.

"When it is said that similar creations are penalized, what exactly does it mean?" Jake question. "Let's say I submit two bottles, where one is a mana potion, and the other is a poison that destroys mana. Will they be viewed as similar?"

"Uniqueness comes in two forms. One is the Creation itself, and the other is the method by which it was created. To truly achieve great diversity in Creations provided, there should be a difference in both of these aspects, but either will count and be looked favorably upon. In your example, both the poison and potion have many similarities in their crafting process, but the Creations themselves do vary somewhat. Overall, I believe the Architect would view there to be acceptable, if still a bit low, diversity between such two Creations. I also have to point out that the Architect appreciates improvements as part of the journey, so simply making Creations you are fully familiar with will not gain bonus points for improvement to your crafting process during the final evaluation, but do not let it push you too far away from making what you are comfortable with. The quality of the final Creation and the complexity and skill required for the crafting process is still imperative to the evaluation," the attendant gave a pretty in-depth answer. Way more so than Jake had expected.

Jake thought for a bit, and while making entirely new stuff he wasn't familiar with would give him some bonus points for improving, he ultimately decided it was best to at least stick with things he was familiar with for the most part. Deciding that now was a great time to become a super plant cultivator was definitely not the play. But he still had some questions about the diversity part.

"What about if I create a weapon using transmutation and a powerful poison? Both use alchemy, but different schools of alchemy?" Jake tried to probe more.

"I cannot comment on specific examples, but I would guess that transmutation and concocting poisons have more differences than concocting poisons and brewing potions. However, I cannot comment on a specific case without knowing all the details. Also, I would warn that the nature of what is transmuted shall matter much. If you transmute something crafted by others, their Records will also be part of the final Creation, worsening your evaluation. Of course, this can be made up for with a wonderfully executed transmutation, and considering a better-crafted product by another will lead to a better final Creation and a higher skill requirement to successfully transmute, you may still consider doing it."

Okay, that made sense, and once more, the answer was quite informative. It was definitely a breath of fresh air to have a Challenge Dungeon that didn't purposefully try to obscure information. Jake did have some more questions, but for now, he decided to ask just one.

"Final question. Will I get to keep any Creations I make when I leave here again?" Jake asked.

"Sadly, that is not for me to answer. Only the Architect can decide such things," the attendant shook her head. "But the intangible Creations can never be taken away from you. No skill can be taken, no enlightenment can be taken back, and no improvements gained will be lost."

He pretty much got a non-answer. Jake was already pretty damn sure the system would not outright take a skill from him, much less wipe his memory of the Challenge Dungeon and what he had achieved. That would make the entire place meaningless.

Now, if only he could also get experience in the Challenge Dungeon, he would be golden. He just had to figure out if he could... so...

"Actually, final, final question. Can I get experience points here?" Jake asked as he grabbed back the attention of the attendant, who was turning away to continue wiping down the already pristine statue.

"You can most certainly gain experience," the attendant answered. Jake got the feeling she didn't really answer, though.

"So I can level up?"

"You can level up your creative process and abilities as a creator for sure."

"So... that's a no," Jake muttered to himself. Why in the living hell did these Challenge Dungeons not give any experience? He also hadn't gained a single level in Minaga's Labyrinth, even if he did kill a few gatekeepers. Not that many, mind you, but it never said he got any experience when they died. Sure, that could have been because they were just summons bound to the barriers and that this one would give some, but alas, it wasn't gonna be that way.

Having gotten all the answers he needed for now, Jake decided to do something he rarely did as he sat down and began to formulate a plan for the Challenge Dungeon. He couldn't just rush through this and do everything purely based on his instincts this time around, but he had to actually use some brain power.

From what Jake had gathered, three things were important when it came to Jake's Creations. The first of which was naturally the requirement for there to be diversity. The second one was the complexity and difficulty of the crafting process. Finally was the quality - likely expressed through rarity - of the final Creation.

Thinking about it, 10 Creations was kind of a lot, especially if you shouldn't submit similar things. Unsure exactly what he planned to do, Jake sat down and decided to write out a list of ten things he could make. However, he quickly ran into some problems as he tried to keep things relatively diverse, ending up with a list that, while it was useful, couldn't exactly be called a plan of action.

Looking down at the paper, he sighed as he read over the options he had impromptu come up with.

1. A poison, using either hemotoxins, neurotoxins, or necrotic poison, mixed with soul-based poison and plenty of Blood of the Malefic Viper. Potentially try a mix of all the different toxins for maximum effect.

2. Something transmutation-based.

3. Maybe elixir?

4. Grimoire

5. Use Teachings of the Heretic-Chosen for something?

6. Skill-related thing. Based on magic and mana.

7. Skill-related thing. Based on archery or melee combat and stamina.

8. Origin-related Creation. This may be done during one of the prior Creations.

9. Something weird Bloodline-related?

10. Ritual stuff.

So... yeah, things could be a bit more concrete, and Jake was sure he had missed something obvious. Jake wouldn't call himself super creative, as most of the unique Creations he made were something he kind of stumbled into. He hoped that could happen again inside this Challenge Dungeon, but if not, he would just have to make do with what he was confident in already making.

One very notable option Jake had put on there was the Grimoire one. When Jake had evolved to C-grade, he had also gained the ability to create Grimoires related to his path as a Heretic-Chosen Alchemist, and quite frankly, Jake had no idea what to use that skill for. At least not before now.

A damn Grimoire granting a profession or class related to a Path that the system called unique quite a few times had to give a lot of bonus points for diversity and uniqueness both, right? Jake had also never made one before, so he would get bonus points for learning something new. Finally, Jake also believed the final product would be of high quality, making the Grimoire one of his trump cards for this dungeon. He also considered if maybe he should use a bit of Jake Juice to spice it up but ultimately decided to put that plan on hold.

First of all, he was pretty much still out after his fight with Valdemar. He could feel a bit of it had recovered, but a few years just wasn't enough for him to get much back. Even if Jake had felt that after his visit to the divine streaming party, he had gained quite a bit from the level-ups, he was still pretty darn low.

Secondly, Jake believed he could make a pretty good Grimoire without using any of his unique energy. It also wasn't even certain it would improve the Grimoire much in the first place. If his Origin Energy made something "return to Origin," what effect would it have on something where Jake was already the Origin? That was an answer Jake didn't feel like wasting his limited energy on finding out.

Jake would still use his Origin Energy, mind you. Just somewhere else or maybe through some wholly unique creations. Who knows, maybe just a bit of the energy itself could be submitted as a Creation?

However, before he began to do any of that, one thing still bothered him. The attendant had not said Jake would necessarily get back all his Creations and be allowed to leave with them, which begged the question: where would they go?

Who would see them?

Because Jake wasn't sure if it was a good idea to hand over or even show things that included many of his deep-rooted secrets to the Wyrmgod. Especially not ones related to being a Heretic and whatnot.

So that was definitely something he had to ask this Architect about... though, of course, that was also another question in of itself.

Who exactly was this Architect?