The Primal Hunter

Jake narrated his brief trip to the Seat of the Exalted Prima and talked about the event. Villy asked several questions along the way, even some technical ones, about how the simulation worked and what Jake had learned while experiencing it. He was especially interested when Jake got to the conversation he had with the system together with sim-Jake. Of course, what he was most interested in was sim-Jake himself.

”So, it appears you entered what we call a Parallel World Simulation rather than a Dreamscape Simulation. The difference between these is that one is ”real” while the other one is ”fake,” if that makes sense. Parallel worlds are pretty damn rare but do offer more opportunities and are actually accurate, while a dreamscape is nothing more than a fantasy constructed primarily with pieces from your own mind and inaccurate details, all based on the Records of the one who experiences the simulation,” Villy explained. ”This also does mean the simulacrum you have eaten is truly his own person and even had his own Truesoul while in his own universe.”

”I have figured out that last part,” Jake nodded. ”But, do you have any experience with what happened? What it may mean in the future, any risks, and what I might gain out of it? Also, can you interact with the simulacrum?”

”Yes, maybe, some, depends, and no. You really need to get better at asking singular questions. I have had experience with other simulacrums from Parallel World Simulations crossing over. Not myself, but people I have known in the past. What you will gain out of it and any risks is ultimately dependent on the simulacrum in question, but from the looks of it, there won’t be any issues there. The worst thing I have seen happen is that someone gained a split personality and suffered extreme delusions and even parallel senses. That eventually led to him going utterly insane and destroying a few dozen solar systems, believing that nothing was real and that he was stuck inside an illusion before finally getting put out of his misery. And one of the reasons why no one could ever help him was because no, I cannot interact with your simulacrum. He does not exist in our world, only within your Truesoul. He is still anchored to the simulation as without the simulation, he would not exist, and without him existing, neither would the simulation. They are conceptually entangled in every possible sense,” Villy answered, giving Jake quite a bit more insight into sim-Jake and echoing much of what the system had said.

”Are there risks of me also fucking myself up?” Jake asked as he had bit onto the part about someone going insane.

”Probably not. May this simulacrum slightly affect you? Sure, but not to an extreme level. The primary difference was that in the example, both believed themselves to be the real person and the other the simulacrum. Whenever one was in charge, the other one believed they were possessed and would fight for control resulting in a fucked up Soulspace. In your case, you are in agreement on who is real and who is a simulacrum and that one day you will rejoin,” Villy answered.

Jake nodded along before asking further: ”Are there ways to make my other self persist?”

”Before I answer that, I want to hear why you even consider that something that should be done?”

”Just to, you know, allow him to be him,” Jake shrugged.

”Look at it like this. Right now, he is effectively a clone you separated from yourself at a certain point in life. While bringing a simulacrum to the real world is not normal, reuniting with clones is. Some even purposefully create a clone to send them into areas cut off from the outside to allow them to develop by themselves for a while. Then, later on, the real version and clone reunite and merge, gaining from what each has done in the meanwhile. Granted, this method is risky and leaves you weakened while your clone exists, but it is more common than you would think. In these cases, both are fully aware of who is real and who is the clone from the get-go, and remerging is a given. They both want to remerge. No matter what, this simulacrum will not die as long as you live, for he will be you in both body and mind, and he too will want to merge. Your souls want to be one. To gain all you can for now and benefit for both your sakes,” Villy said, giving good insight as always, adding in the end.

”Just do know there is an innate power imbalance, and it isn’t that you will gain all his memories or Records. So training with him is best. Out of everyone, no one understands you better than yourself, so take advantage while it lasts. Also, I gotta add, having yourself as your teacher is the epitome of ”fuck it, I’ll do it myself,” and I applaud it.”

”Alright,” Jake nodded and smiled a bit at the last joke. Believing they had enough simulation talk, he moved on. ”So, the Seat of the Exalted.”

”Definitely one of the Great Wonders of the ninety-third universe. Well, not this Seat itself, but what links it all together. The true headquarters of this massive undertaking. Perhaps this Exalted Prima is even a Bound God,” Villy answered rather confidently.

For some context. While in the Order, Jake had bumped into the mention of Great Wonders quite a few times and had wondered – pun intended – what they were all about. It turns out that with the birth of each universe came places created not just for the native universe but the multiverse as a whole. Chances are the Seat or wherever the Seat led to was one such place.

Jake knew of a few other famous Great Wonders. The most famous one was Nevermore, where the Primordial known as the Wyrmgod had ended up effectively taking it over and ruling the dungeon, but others included the White Sun, a massive star and one of the largest celestial bodies in the multiverse, or the Mothership of Null, a giant spaceship of sorts where no magic could exist. There were many others, but some disappeared with time, some only appeared at set times before fading away for a period again, and most importantly, most were not aimed at anyone on Jake’s level but those who had reached far higher. A place like the White Sun would instantly kill even weak gods just by them getting near.

The second thing was Bound Gods. Bound Gods were not living beings with Truesouls but gods born out of objects or places. They would be real in every way but be limited severely and most often served a function of sorts rather than possessing truly free will. Many believed these Bound Gods were merely apparitions of the system like the Guide, but others believed they were creatures born by the system to run certain places or even as protectors of some zones.

Another reason for a Bound God to exist was also simple enough – deterrence. Most Great Wonders in the multiverse were claimed and controlled by factions, but those with Bound Gods were often different. A Bound God would often have total control over what they inhabited, so even if they were weaker than a god, they still had the ultimate defense of merely making the Great Wonder useless by stopping its functions. Destroying a Bound God was also impossible unless one destroyed the Great Wonder, and destroying one tended to be a good way to make a lot of enemies. Some had been destroyed throughout history, but it was incredibly rare as with every time one was lost, it was lost forever and considered a major setback for the multiverse.

Of course, this assumed anyone was strong enough to destroy a Bound God. Some Bound Gods in the multiverse were more powerful than even Primordials.

”I do find it probable it is a Bound God of some sort and that it is a Great Wonder,” Jake answered. ”Having been there, it was clear that it wasn’t just made for this one event; it even existed in the universe itself and not some hidden dimension. Moreover, with its competitive element, I believe the plan is for someone to gain at least some partial control of these Seats, and with that in mind, there would have to be some protections in place, or this whole Administrator Candidate business would be useless.”

”I second that. It is a massive opportunity to get system-sanctioned partial control of any Great Wonder if it truly is one,” Villy agreed.

”So… this is one of the reasons why so many gods want to get involved in new universes, right?” Jake asked, understanding a bit more.

”Right on. This event is only open to you natives, and you have a first-mover advantage. Having just some influence will allow one a better position to negotiate and form alliances or even sell off eventual rights,” Villy said.

”So, you want me to try and claim this Seat of the Exalted in the Milky Way?” Jake asked.

”I would recommend for you to at least try, not for the Order but for yourself. You said you got a title just for doing this event; imagine what you would get for taking control of something even factions like the Holy Church want? Of course, this doesn’t mean you have to actually want the Great Wonder. You can always just use it as a bargaining chip. Also, for full disclosure, I would one-hundred percent benefit from you doing well as you are my Chosen, so definitely a good idea,” the Viper said a bit shamelessly.

”Aight… finally, do you think the Chosen of Yip of Yore is a legitimate threat right now? Like, can he come to Earth?” Jake decided to ask. He genuinely didn’t know. Considering how much they struggled with making a teleportation network on Earth, it seemed unlikely, but one could never know.

”Why would the answer to that question matter?”

Jake frowned. ”To know if I need to get as many levels under my belt fast in case it comes to a fight.”

”That is up to you. My only advice is that you are truly in no rush for anything. What is the worst that can happen? Either you win, or you should be strong enough to just not engage no matter what you do. Worst case, just leave the planet and go somewhere no one knows who you are. With Shroud of the Primordial, no one would find you,” Villy answered. ”All of this assuming he can go to Earth in the first place and can actually fight you.”

Jake considered the Viper’s words for a bit. He was currently level 169 in both his class and profession, meaning he could focus on either. Focusing on his profession was slower for sure, while he could get quite a few quick class levels if he went hunting for a couple of weeks.

However… the more he thought about it, the less wise it seemed to focus on his class levels at the current time. Recent happenings made Jake reconsider many things, and he knew he would need a lot of live combat to properly learn to fight in melee, which would include a lot of hunting. However, before that, he would need sim-Jake to be ready to teach him and for Jake to probably practice with his simulacrum for quite a while.

It has also been a while since he had been back at the Order and done some alchemy. He had many shelved projects like the Bee Queen ritual he needed to get going, and he could always use more time doing alchemy. If the orange asshole did come to Earth, it wasn’t like the planet was defenseless either. Shit, who was he even to think he was the protector of their world? There were many C-grades stronger than him, and even the King had him beat. The Sword Saint also felt more powerful than ever when they met in the Seat of the Exalted Prima.

To summarize… Jake would just focus on himself and what he needed to do. He wanted power, and he was playing the long game to get it. He would need to get his profession leveled up anyway, so why not now? He could then save his class for when he and sim-Jake began their melee training session.

”I am planning on heading to the Order again then,” Jake said. ”Let’s hope some good lessons are coming up.”

”I will have beer ready,” Villy just said as the connection faded.

Jake shook his head and began retreating a bit from the jungle. He was lucky to find a hill with a cave in it and promptly headed inside, where he got to work. He pulled out a small pamphlet given by Villy on how to set up the teleportation formation.

Reading it carefully, Jake quickly got the gist of it and began working. With the ancient skill Soul Ritualism of the Heretic-Chosen Alchemist, Jake figured things out far faster than expected as it filled in the gaps where needed, and in less than an hour, the formation was complete. He was surprised when it was done as it seemed to become one with the environment, and he could barely feel it was even there.

After a bit of testing, he stepped into the middle of it. ”Oh well, here goes. Let’s hope no Void Dwellers decide to poke me along the way,” Jake said a bit jokingly.

As he activated the formation, he felt Villy assist with energy. Before long, he was teleported away, his final thought before disappearing being about a certain elf he hadn’t seen in a while.

I wonder how Meira is doing and if she is keeping up with her lessons.

Meira studied the tome carefully to make sure she understood everything properly before she had to go take care of the garden. The book was about the energy circulation systems and physiology of different creatures in the multiverse. It was complicated, but her teacher had emphasized that she memorize as many diagrams as she could before the next lesson.

It was a bit harder than usual as she had to copy down some parts. Nella and Utmal had asked for her to do it for them, and Meira had naturally agreed as they were friends. She had discovered that the books in her Master’s library were a notch above what others had publicly available, and many of the tomes were considered of the highest tier. Naturally, she couldn’t take out any books of real value but only the most common ones, so she had to copy down anything important to show the others. Nella and especially Utmal had pressured her a bit to just bring the books, but Meira was hesitant as she didn’t have permission.

Contrary to what many would perhaps expect, Meira didn’t question her Master’s absence in the slightest. It was natural that his residence within the Order was but one of many, and she was sure he had plenty of servants and slaves elsewhere. Anything else would just be weird for someone as esteemed as the Chosen of a Primordial. She knew he wanted to keep his identity a secret in the Order, which was why he only had a single slave, but he no-doubt had more on his home planet.

She still, of course, hoped he was doing well and that he would return someday. Until then, Meira would just keep up with her studies, and hopefully… maybe… her Master would even be a bit proud of how well she had done and even that she had made some friends.

Meira smiled a bit at the thought as she finished copying down the final diagram and got up to head towards the garden. On the way, she checked the mansion was in good condition as usual and didn’t think much as she opened the door to the living room.

The moment she did, she froze on the spot as her eyes opened wide.

”I am just saying Jake should have stayed longer the first time around, and he needs a good talking to about staying firm and the true importance of alchemy! He didn’t even get to study any proper ritualism or formation magic. Just look at how slow he is setting down that magic circle!” the Grand Elder and leader of the entire Academy, Duskleaf, said disapprovingly.

”And I am arguing that going back finally got him laid, which is invaluable for his personal development,” the Malefic Viper, the almighty Primordial and leader of the Order, argued.

Meira didn’t even have time to properly register what they were talking about before she passed out from the sheer presence of the two gods.