Chapter 932: Accelerated Difficulty

One thing became clear immediately: this Prima Vessel was far larger on the inside than it appeared. As hundreds of Primas flew out of the many holes covering its surface, they were far from alone. Entire armies followed them, with some having thousands of their kin.

Some of these creatures even grew in size as they flew out. One of these that instantly caught the attention of many was an utterly massive bird with a wingspan of more than two kilometers, followed by nearly a hundred other birds about half its size. Thunderclaps echoed in their wake with every wingbeat as they headed toward the skies.

From below, many Identified them to get a general idea as to the level of these Primas, and while some took a deep breath and frowned... someone like Jake would have found themselves disappointed.

[Thunderstorm Roc Prima - lvl 294]

[Thunderstorm Roc - lvl 281]

These Primas did not get far before a dark curtain fell upon them. Black beams shot up from below as shadowy figures appeared out of nowhere among them, wielding magical firearms and daggers. The regular Thunderstorm Rocs were torn apart as the Prima reacted quickly, summoning a storm worthy of its name.

However, its struggle had only begun. A thin beam shot up from a sniper rifle below, piercing straight through its mid-section as a man used two daggers to nearly tear off one of its wings. It quickly tried to retaliate, but the forces led by Matteo and Nadia from the Court of Shadows were more than powerful enough to utterly overwhelm it.

Not powerful enough to kill it quickly, though. The Prima was almost overflowing with vital energy, and even as it was gravely wounded, it began to heal at an alarming rate. It was as if its health pool was many times larger than usual, making the fights longer. Still, there was no cause for concern.

Similar scenes played out all around as the Primas met the vanguard of Earth. All the factions had shown up in force, and even if there were hundreds of Primas, they had quite the wall to overcome if they wanted to spread themselves across the planet.

This wasn't even to mention that the most powerful people on the planet didn't engage these Primas... instead, they were waiting, conserving their energy, as the World Leader entered the Prima Vessel to unseal and awaken the Prima Guardian.

Jake entered the odd egg-shaped structure and instantly felt space around him warp as the key on his land was glowing. The very next second, he stood in a long white hallway, leading only one way. As he stood there, he also felt the aura of the being deeper within.

He couldn't quite estimate its strength as it seemed to be fluctuating and incredibly unstable. Nevertheless, he didn't hesitate for a single moment before he stormed forward, even using One Step. Jake had almost expected some traps on the way, but he encountered nothing besides the sterile, long white hallway, with locked double doors to both sides, leading into entirely empty rooms.

Soon, he approached his destination as a final large gate appeared. Jake practically drop-kicked it open to get inside, as finally, the boss they would face was revealed in all its glory.

Within a massive circular chamber, sealed within a thin barrier, a single being sat in the middle. Black chains hung from all the walls surrounding it, with hooks piercing into its body while passing through the barrier as if it wasn't even there. Jake counted around a thousand... no, nine hundred and ninety-nine hooked chains.

The creature itself looked like nothing more than a massive blop of flesh. Jake didn't even know what kind of creature it was or if it was even sapient. There was nothing discernable about it at all except for the presence of the other key clearly emanating from the creature.

Using Identify... Jake frowned.

[Revered Prima Guardian - lvl 320]

This... felt wrong. Level 320 was lower than the Twinhead Emperor's level, and they faced that one with five people. Now, they had all gotten a few more levels, not to speak of the Nevermore titles and improved equipment. Sure, the Twinhead Emperor was powerful enough to defeat the combined fighting force of nearly all newly integrated planets, but this was supposed to be Earth's super-hard challenge.

It just didn't make any-

Crack

A single chain cracked as it fell limp to the floor before turning into pure energy that rushed into the mass of flesh. A second crack sounded out a moment later, making a second chain fall. Then a third, a fourth... until an entire cascade of chains broke one by one. Jake quickly used Identify on the boss again as he felt something odd.

[Revered Prima Guardian - lvl 328]

Its aura began to grow rapidly as the chains all around Jake shattered and turned into energy. Jake could only stare at the wriggling mass of flesh as fewer and fewer chains hooked into its body, and the flesh wriggled, grew, and began to take shape as its level just kept increasing. During all this, Jake kept intermittently using Identify.

[Revered Prima Guardian - lvl 336]

The shape it took didn't make any sense to Jake yet... but that was when he heard a voice, not from the creature itself but seemingly from the Prima Vessel all around him.

"A decision made; perhaps an incompetent leader."

Jake frowned at the words as the being began to take even more shape. More than half of the chains had broken by now.

[Revered Prima Guardian - lvl 343]

"Power corrupts. Makes arrogant. Overconfident."

Jake didn't counter - as countering a big egg-shaped spacefaring vessel didn't make much sense - as he just prepared himself. The level of the Prima Guardian was still growing, and he already felt pretty sure where it would end. The mass of flesh had soon grown what looked like a few legs as it raised itself up.

[Revered Prima Guardian - lvl 346]

"The folly of humanity. You: Living proof."

Arms appeared... and not just two of them. Jake counted a dozen arms growing out of the wriggling flesh as its body began to take a shape reminiscent of a cat or a dog or something, except with more legs and arms growing everywhere. Several long tails also extended, and parts of the exposed flesh got covered with flesh, while other places had scales.

"Yet... bravery. A wish to overcome. A Path to true power."

[Revered Prima Guardian - lvl 348]

By now, Jake realized what kind of creature this was... and he had kind of encountered one before with Eternal Hunger. It was more of a classification of creatures rather than a single race. It was a kind of being that one could never truly understand, as no two were alike... seeing as this was a collection of many different creatures, all in one.

A chimera... and Jake recognized one of the horns growing out of a newly appeared head that reminded Jake of a wyvern or perhaps even a dragon. It was the horn of the Gazelle Prima Jake had encountered while adventuring with Carmen. Jake wasn't one to forget an aura, and he felt the aura of this chimera be a mix of so many, some of which he recognized.

Rather than just a chimera of random creatures, it was the fusion of all the slain Primas during the first part of this event.

Then, the final chain broke, and Jake used Identify to confirm its level as a small smile appeared on his lips before shaking his head.

[Revered Prima Guardian - lvl 349]

The Prima Guardian slowly began to stand up as Jake prepared himself to kite the Guardian out of the Vessel and face it with the others. It was definitely the strongest C-grade Jake had ever seen, and it could put up a good fight for sure, but it wasn't anything he feared.

As Jake was preparing himself... everything just seemed to stop for a moment. He felt as if time slowed down, yet the environmental mana seemed normal. That's when something appeared within his Sphere of Perception. His gaze darted upwards and spotted a floating metal ball with a blue eye-like thing in it. One he recognized from the time he went to the Seat of the Exalted Prima for the system event.

[Prima Watcher of Earth - ?]

That's when Jake realized that what had slowed down wasn't Jake. Only the Prima Guardian seemed frozen in time as this Prima Watcher observed Jake silently for several seconds before its mechanical voice echoed.

"Greetings, Administrator Candidate," the Watcher spoke, the voice different than the earlier calling him overconfident.

"Hi?" Jake said, confused. No system messages had said anything about this happening.

"The planet Earth and you as its leader have been deemed qualified by the Exalted Prima to experience the Accelerated Difficulty Prima Guardian Protocol. Be aware this will increase your potential to become an Administrator and all rewards gained should you succeed. As the World Leader, do you wish to accept the accelerated protocol?"

Now, this was perhaps one of the times when Jake should have tried to use his Golden Mark to communicate with his team or to think carefully about this choice... but in his defense, he was cut off and couldn't communicate with the outside world right now. As for the part about thinking carefully? Well, that had never been Jake's strong suit to begin with.

"Not gonna say no to an improved challenge," Jake responded with a big smile.

The Watcher looked at him for a second more before its eye flashed blue for a second. "Acknowledged. Applying Accelerated Difficulty Prima Guardian Protocol. Good luck."

With that, the Watcher disappeared as if it had never been there, and Jake felt something come alive within the room. Magical scripts, placed where all the chains had been attached to the walls, suddenly lit up as beams of energy shot toward the boss. The entire body of the Prima Guardian exploded with light. A kind of light that even blinded Jake's Sphere of Perception... the kind he only ever saw when a creature was born or evolved.

Then... Jake heard a different voice than any prior.

"Prove thyself, leader of man. Best mine Exalted Guardian."

Jake felt a sense of utter power within the voice as he instinctively knew he had just heard the Exalted Prima itself - the one he and Villy theorized to be the Bound God of the Seat of the Exalted Prima. However, he didn't have much time to think about any of that as the light faded, and the Prima Guardian was revealed once more. It looked about the same, but its aura had just risen to a whole new level, as it had indeed just evolved.

[Exalted Prima Guardian - lvl 349]

At the same time, a message from the system also arrived, and not just to Jake but everyone else on the entire planet, too.

Message to all residents of Earth: the Prima Guardian has been freed from its seals and can now roam the planet freely. Defeating Primas will no longer serve to weaken the Prima Guardian.

WARNING: Through the decision of the World Leader, the Accelerated Difficulty Prima Guardian Protocol has been engaged. Revered Prima Guardian evolved to Exalted Prima Guardian. The Prima Guardian has grown substantially in power, but so have the rewards for defeating it. The Exalted Prima wishes the denizens of Earth luck.

Within the Prima Vessel, Jake scanned this message as he felt eyes lock in on him. The Prima Guardian had finally settled on a form as a monstrosity stood before him. It had eight legs, with four like that of a cat, with two more growing outs on each of its sides, seemingly just dangling there. Three heads with the necks of snakes and the heads of dragons showed its front side, while the behind had five tails... reminding Jake a bit of the very first Prima monkey he had killed.

From its back, countless tentacle-like grows spurted out, many of them looking like arms due to the hands at their ends. Some parts of its large body were covered with scales, while others had skin, with the chimera clearly not having settled on any kind of consistent color. The random horns and bones sticking out in random places didn't help it look pretty, either. The entire creature looked mismatched and broken... but its aura definitely told another story.

It was strong enough for Jake to quickly make his decision as he stepped down and teleported backward down the hallway he had arrived from. He saw that the Prima Guardian didn't move after him immediately, likely because it couldn't. There was still a very thin barrier around it that was growing ever-thinner by the second. By the time Jake turned a corner, it fell entirely.

At least, that's what Jake assumed happened when he heard a loud roar that sent a shockwave through the entire Prima Vessel right before he reached the exit and flew out.

Appearing in the real world, he was instantly reconnected to everyone through his Golden Mark, and he didn't delay a single moment.

"Brace yourselves, boss incoming!"

The entire strike team was already staring either at Jake or the exit of the Prima Vessel, which proved to be a good thing, as Jake had barely gotten out when a head flew out of the doorway that was practically a portal. It extended far out, like that of a hydra, as it moved to attack.

Jake had to quickly dodge to the side as a breath of pure light shot after him, but before the chimera could even fully unleash its attack, it stopped as a swordsman appeared at its side with his sword raised high. He cut down as a curtain of water fell, and blood sprayed into the air as the head was nearly entirely cut off.

Before the swordsman could follow up, a second head poked out before a third also appeared. Everyone began to move as they charged, and Sylphie even managed to fly down and, using the cut left by the Sword Saint, severed the head of the chimera entirely.

Not that this seemed to bother the Prima Guardian much as its entire body soon emerged. It was around fifteen meters long, not counting the heads and tails, and everyone took a second and stopped to observe the beast they were facing, as Carmen couldn't hold herself back.

"Damn, it's ugly."

"Definitely doesn't give off any exalted vibes, that's for sure," Caleb agreed, as he lifted his staff and dark lightning began to charge up.

Jake was flying away at full speed as all the melee fighters engaged the Prima Guardian. A few burning arrows struck it in the side as Maria unleashed a barrage, with the Fallen King shooting a golden beam straight at one of the heads.

However, the beam never arrived as a barrier of magic appeared, blocking the blow. The flesh on the severed neck also wriggled as a new head promptly emerged, so fast the Sword Saint barely had time to dodge out of the way and make some distance.

The initial exchange had been brief, and far from everyone had time to even do anything yet. However, they were all aware immediately. This could perhaps have been an easy fight, but Jake just had to go and activate some super-difficulty protocol. This turned the fight from a simple show of force and utter dominance...

Into something that could actually be a bit of fun.