Chapter 816: Nevermore: Nearly Halfway

Multi-tasking wasn't something Jake would consider himself good at, but what he was pretty decent at was switching his hyperfocus between different subjects one at a time. This did result in Jake often forgetting a few of his current projects, but in the House of the Architect, Jake found a cheat:

Attendants.

They were like super-assistants who didn't actually wanna assist with anything unless explicitly asked and couldn't do anything that required any skill. However, what they did do was work as perfect alarm clocks that Jake could ask to come tell him whenever he had to switch to another project. They could even follow semi-complex requests, such as not disturbing Jake if he was in meditation but waiting till he was out if he asked for that.

What he primarily used these attendants for these days was to remind him once the cooldown period for crafting Grimoires was soon over. He had them tell him five or so days before every new attempt so Jake could switch and research a bit more on the topic while also making sure he had all the necessary ingredients for when it was crafting time. There were also quite a few things to consider when it came to crafting Grimoires, as it wasn't as if there was just one type to craft.

Now, for a bit of clarification. Jake had come across three Grimoires in the past, all of them Akashic Tomes. Akashic Tomes were pretty much just a high-level version of Grimoires that granted a specific class or profession. They were highly focused Records on doing just that, and while that was certainly powerful, it didn't mean they were superior to other forms of Grimoires.

They did vary a bit from usual Grimoires, though. There existed several ways to make Grimoires, and one wasn't entirely in control of which one was chosen during the crafting process and the primary difference came from the cost and skill required to do different kinds. As an example, If one was incredibly skilled and invested enough time, an Akashic Tome could be made like any other Grimoire; however, many instead ended up making them the "easy" way.

The easy way, in this case, being the one where you added too much of the core ingredient: your own Records. As Akashic Tomes were nearly always an attempt to make direct copies of prior professions or classes to pass down, one could cheat the crafting process by just pouring in more Records. Sadly, this did result in one not getting the full "refund" for a successful craft. Yet, despite this, Akashic Tomes were by far the most popular type of Grimoire out there, and for a simple reason:

They were sometimes the only option. Also, in many cases, the person who made them didn't care about this extra cost. They were people who had already given up on progressing and just wanted to leave a successor, or people who were approaching the end of their lifespan and wanted their Path to survive even after their death.

Crafting other forms of Grimoires took either a lot of research and dedication or a skill specifically suited for it, such as the one Jake got. Grimoire-making skills weren't actually that rare, but many of them sucked and still only made Akashic Tomes the only real option. Many theorized the effectiveness of the Grimoire-crafting skill correlated to how much the system wanted to propagate a Path, which meant rarer Paths got better versions. So, needless to say, Jake got quite a good version.

These people with lesser crafting skills or no crafting skills for Grimoires at all would thus use the easy crafting method by nearly entirely using their own Records to make Akashic Tomes. This was how the vast majority of Grimoires were created, as Grimoire-crafting was difficult in the multiverse, especially if you wanted to make decent ones. Additionally, the system loved distributing these more than regular Grimoires, improving the chance of finding a good successor.

Jake had considered trying to create an Akashic Tome but found himself unsure how to do that properly and instead decided to go for a far more general one, the risks associated with Akashic Tomes also playing a role in putting him off them. These general Grimoires were simply collections of Records regarding a certain Path for someone to consume just before evolving. The incredible influx of Records would, in nearly all cases, lead to huge impacts during the evolution, allowing the user to choose a new class or profession related to the Records associated with the Grimoire.

Also, it had to be emphasized it was class or profession. When crafting a Grimoire, you had to focus the Records on one Path, which in Jake's case was the profession, primarily because he used a profession skill to create the Grimoire. Trying to do both class and profession would end up just being useless, even if Jake read it was technically possible. Just ill-advised.

Either way, Jake wanted to go for a high-level, regular, profession-focused Grimoire. If he was satisfied with just an okay Grimoire, he could have made one months ago, but he may as well make a decent one, right?

Now, it was just a question of what would come first: his new stealth skill or the Grimoire. In between working on these two and some other things, time quickly passed, with Jake especially enjoying messing with innocent beings within the different worlds to test his stealth skill. Temlat also didn't escape unscathed, as Jake often attempted to quickly hide before he entered a room Jake was in. This proved to be really valuable training, as hiding from someone who knew you were there and hiding from those completely unaware were very different.

Ultimately, the winner ended up being the Grimoire. Jake hadn't even expected it to be the case, but on that day, he had just really gotten in the groove while crafting the book. To clarify, yes, one did have to make an actual physical book. The ingredients one needed to craft a Grimoire were very much expected, with there being three primary ingredients: the book itself, the Records, and the ink.

Funnily enough, the book didn't actually matter much; it was the content. One could often buy books that could be used for Grimoires cheap, and the Merit Point Exhange did sell them. The ink was a whole other story. Jake had decided to mix the ink himself as the method wasn't that different from alchemy, so he just bought the herbs, rocks, and this odd liquid mana of sorts and mixed it all together to create this odd multi-colored ink that looked a bit like oil spilled on water.

One would expect this ink would then be used to draw magic circles or something like that on the inside of the book's pages. This was what many of Jake's drawings looked like, but it wasn't like it was a requirement. In truth, it didn't matter what one drew on the inside; all that mattered was that the crafter was the one who drew it, as one had to infuse energy and Records during the entire process. Jake chose to make different symbols he remembered from alchemy as he believed that represented his Path as an alchemist, but he also made different motifs here and there. Perhaps there was even a beer bottle or two mixed in on some of the pages as Jake poured in memories of his journey so far along with his Records.

Jake had expected to purposefully discard the book toward the end of the craft but stopped himself. Everything just felt right this time along, and as Jake finished the last stroke, he didn't have any complaints. This was where he could either choose to summon his Alchemical Flame to burn the book and start over or commit... and this time, he committed. With a sigh, Jake grasped both sides of the book and slammed it shut as a faint shockwave of energy was released and the book sealed shut.

The entire thing locked up as the pages seemed to merge, and the book was filled with energy that turned it into more than just a simple collection of pages. Its durability skyrocketed as it began floating by itself in front of Jake, and the entire aura of the room changed.

In the next moment, It felt as if something descended from the system itself as runes Jake couldn't recognize formed on the cover of the book as a title was written with a motiff also forming on the cover just beneath this title. The runes and new drawing hummed for several seconds before everything fell silent, and the book began falling to the ground. Jake quickly caught it and stared at the overly large tome right as a system notification came.

*You have successfully crafted [Originator's Grimoire of the Heretic-Blessed (Unique)] - A new kind of creation has been made.*

The book was leatherbound with the title written on top and the motif of what looked like two mountains standing side by side with humanoid figures standing atop both. Symbolizing equality between the two or something, Jake guessed. After checking the cover, he continued with excitement and checked out the description of his newly made item.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

[Originator's Grimoire of the Heretic-Blessed (Unique)] - Grants the opportunity to potentially unlock a Heretic-Blessed profession if compatible. Must be consumed within 1 day (24 hours) of evolving a profession at maximum, or all effects are lost.

Requirements: Lvl 99-199 in any profession. Compatible user.

Alright, Jake had to admit that the description wasn't overly exciting and looked as basic as it could be. Then again, it looked nearly exactly like the Akashic Tomes Jake had encountered before, with the only new addition here being the requirement to use the Grimoire within 24 hours of evolving. The others naturally didn't have that, as they would directly just cause an evolution to happen if you could use them. This one, not so much.

Consuming an Akashic Tome would always trigger an evolution, even if one used the Grimoire in the middle of a grade, such as at level 140 or something. Jake's Grimoire could also trigger an evolution at any level, but it was only a chance, not a guarantee. This was why most people or factions saved Grimoires to be used right before natural evolutions and not in the middle of grades, as if one didn't trigger the evolution mid-grade, the Grimoire would be wasted.

However, despite the basic description, Jake wasn't disappointed. In fact, he was incredibly pleased when he saw the "Originator's" tag in the book title. It had been just the thing he was going for, and seeing it there made him confident it would be a damn good submission.

As the name implied, the Originator tag signified the item was made by someone who Originated the Path. In Jake's case, he was the one who Pioneered the Heretic-Chosen Path, which the Heretic-Blessed Path seemed to be a lesser version of. He could admit he was a bit perplexed no one had been Heretic-Blessed before, but maybe no one just ever been able to make a proper Path out of it. Who knows, and honestly, who cares... Jake being the first was only a good thing for him.

This prefix, signifying it was made by the Originator, added more Records than usual, and just to get the tag, you needed a certain level of Records for it to be recognized. In the uniqueness department, it also couldn't get any better, as what was more unique than a unique Path never really seen before, crafted by its progenitor? So, yeah, to conclude, it was a damn good creation Jake was proud of and felt certain it would add a lot of bonus points.

With the Grimoire in the bag, the next project to complete was his stealth skill, which was taking longer than he would have hoped. It was that final snag of "moving" himself on the visual spectrum that really messed him up every time. He was making some progress, though.

When sitting still, he had gotten really good at hiding himself completely, to the level where Temlat had no way to find him. He even fooled the C-grades in the different worlds enough to be able to stand in the middle of a group of them without anyone knowing he was there.

His only minor problem was that this was only while he was still. He couldn't move, or the gig would be up instantly. There really wasn't any sudden moment of insight or anything Jake lacked to understand what he had to do at this point. All he could do was practice as the idea of the upgraded skill began to ever so slowly materialize.

Jake went from having to stand entirely still to being able to take single steps without anyone noticing. It progressed to several steps quickly from there before Jake could walk without any problems. It did take a lot of focus to do, though, and he had to make sure he didn't give himself away.

The primary problem was that whenever Jake moved, he used stamina, which would inadvertently release some energy. This energy could then be picked up by pretty much anyone, as it included Jake's energy signature.

If Jake wanted to be able to run around and even use some skills, he couldn't let anything leak at all. Any kind of distortion ruined his shifting on the visual spectrum, but Jake believed he was getting close to achieving his goal as the days passed. Close enough that as he made his progress, yet another skill upgrade had appeared when Jake pushed for it.

*Skill Upgraded*: [Superior Arcane Stealth (Epic)] --> [Superior Arcane Hunter's Stealth (Ancient)]

This upgrade added traces of the concept Jake wanted to bring forth. It was a skill that would allow Jake to stay entirely hidden as long as he didn't exert himself too much. He could walk and run casually in the middle of a crowd, and even if he slightly bumped into someone, as long as others were nearby, they wouldn't notice.

It was as if Jake didn't exist in their minds until they recognized he did. The problem with this method of stealth was that the moment you were seen, getting into stealth mode again was incredibly difficult. It was akin to how someone could look at a picture for an hour without noticing anything was wrong with it, but the second someone pointed out a minor error, you couldn't unsee it. This was sadly just one of the downsides of this stealth method, but compared to some others, it was incredibly minor. Plus, Jake already had some budding ideas as to how he could exploit the concept... but all of that wasn't for this upgrade but something far down the line.

For now, his only goal was to make the kind of stealth skill Jake had wanted for a long time. He had one more upgrade to go, and this one would likely be the biggest as it was the one that would bring everything together.

Weeks turned to months and soon nine entire months had passed since Jake first entered the House of the Architect.

On one fateful day that would be remembered in the kingdom for centuries to come, Jake found himself walking in the capital city of the medieval world's largest faction as he approached a castle. A transparent and extremely thin barrier of stable arcane mana covered his entire body, making his form look slightly see-through and shimmering, remnicent of those cloaking devices in games pre-system. He definitely looked out of place with his cloak and mask and shimmering form, yet no one seemed to notice him.

He didn't exist to anyone, as he even grabbed a fruit from one of the many stalls and tossed a few coins of the local currency into the till. The moment he had the fruit in hand, it was affected by his stable arcane barrier, too, promptly disappearing. If anyone had been looking, they likely wouldn't even have registered what had happened.

Walking up the stairs to the castle, Jake easily slipped by the many guards who didn't even glance at him. Opening the gate to get inside wasn't something Jake had confidence in doing undetected, though, so he had to take a small break. However, he did notice that the detection magic circle didn't pick him up at all, so that was nice to see.

A minute or so later, the gate opened as a guest arrived, and Jake slipped inside and went toward the throne room. Today would be the day he would succeed. It had to. Jake was running out of major faction's capital cities to do this kind of thing in.

Reaching the throne room, it was smack-full, just as expected. Jake had chosen this day on purpose as he knew it would be full, which would give him more test subjects. The throne room had a classic design, with a king and queen sitting on thrones up a few steps, with ministers and such lining the sides of the throne room. The middle was entirely clear, which made this a brilliant place to test something else Jake would bake into the skill.

At the entrance to the long throne room, Jake took a deep breath as he tested the first thing that had to work. Taking a step forward, everything around him distorted as Jake used One Step and appeared twenty meters ahead, only seven or eight meters from the king and queen. The two royals were both around level 230, with the highest-leveled individual in the room - and the entire kingdom - a level 239 general.

As he used the skill, Jake focused on stabilizing his arcane barrier and keeping himself hidden. After the teleport, Jake stood extremely still as he observed everyone around him, but no one had noticed anything, not even the king, who seemed to be looking around where Jake had just appeared.

So far, so good, Jake thought with relief. He had done this before, and he had a feeling he would have gotten an upgrade already if he mentally pushed for it the first time he succeeded... but Jake wanted more.

Standing there in the middle of the throne room with dozens of C-grades nearby, Jake took out his bow. His eyes opened wide as he focused with all his might. The stable arcane barrier that hugged his body began to slowly shimmer as it moved. It began expanding as a bubble was formed with Jake in the center. It soon had a radius of nearly five meters as Jake stopped, finding himself safely within the stable arcane sphere.

No one had noticed him yet... it was time for the final test.

Feeling a bit nervous and strained mentally, Jake lifted his bow and nocked an arrow. The barrier around him remained stable as Jake kept focusing on keeping it hidden as he took a final deep breath.

Here goes nothing.

Arcane Awakening actived with full power as Jake's entire body erupted with burning arcane energy. The nocked arrow and bow also began burning with energy as Arcane Powershot was charged, Jake aiming his bow directly at the king sitting on his throne.

Yet, despite all this... no one even glanced his way as the king whispered something to his wife, and they both laughed.

Jake smiled in unison with them as the system recognized his efforts the moment he mentally pushed for the upgrade and consolidated his insights.

*Skill Upgraded*: [Superior Arcane Hunter's Stealth (Ancient)] --> [Unseen Arcane Hunter (Legendary)]

Grinning to himself, Jake aimed the Arcane Powershot upwards as he released the string. His stealth bubble shattered immediately as a large arcane explosion obliterated the roof of the entire castle, sending rubble and burning arcane energy flying everywhere. The throne room was instantly in a panic as everyone noticed Jake who just gave them a wave.

"Thanks for the assist, everyone!"

With those words, he jumped through the hole in the roof he had just made and summoned his wings, flying away before anyone could react. By the time they did, Jake was already far gone, feeling quite good about himself.

Four Creations down... nearly halfway.