Jake was still within the vision of the Viper repeatedly doing alchemy but no longer focusing much on it. As odd as it was to say, Jake didn’t really have much to learn from the current Viper within this Record Fragment. Jake was already better than him when it came to making potions, and he had already seen all he needed to see during the first few rewinds.Checking his notifications, Jake saw the level-up.*’DING!’ Profession: [Heretic-Chosen Alchemist of the Malefic Viper] has reached level 199 - Stat points allocated, +10 Free Points**’DING!’ Race: [Human (D)] has reached level 197 - Stat points allocated, +15 Free Points*197, Jake thought. He could almost taste the evolution now. With this level and his reaching the peak of D-grade, he also got one more thing: his very first evolution quest. Jake checked it, and if he was being honest, it was pretty much exactly what he expected.Profession Evolution QuestTo walk the Path of a Heretic-Chosen is to not simply be given the power

Jake and Carmen both lay on the grass in the valley outside of the lodge, staring up at the sky and relaxing after their strenuous wrestling session."Why couldn’t we have used the bed, again?" Carmen asked after turning to him."That is a meditation bed," Jake said stoically. "Also, it is super old and comes from a dungeon, and I didn’t wanna risk breaking it. Sentimental value and all that.""As long as you don’t feel the same about the table," Carmen said, referring to the broken pieces of wood in the lodge, as she sat up. "Should we get going? Also… aren’t the others going to start asking questions?"Jake looked to the side and saw a part of the valley pretty damn banged up from their earlier spar, including quite a few craters. "Nah, I think they will just assume we only sparred. Does it matter either way?"Carmen thought for a moment. "I guess not, but I would prefer for no stupid rumors to spread.""Oh, I already got those rumors related to Miranda and me." Jake shrugged."Real

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’d 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 used.Anyway, Jake had nearly eight hours to listen to mundane chatter, and by the time the subj

They did not get along.Well, more accurately, Sylphie seemed to not get along with Sandy in the slightest. She zoomed around Sandy, making angry noises as her blades of wind tried to harm the giant worm. Sandy, in turn, just laughed."He he, the little bird tickles!"Jake just shook his head and smiled. Sylphie probably could do some real damage if she wanted, but she at least had enough awareness to hold back. Then again, Sandy could also just leave in a heartbeat if Sylphie became a bit too much.Hawkie and Mystie just stared at the giant worm that wriggled in the air from the constant assault of the peak D-grade hawk. An assault that would tear most D-grades to shreds in seconds, even if it was just Sylphie playing.Sandy kept laughing as they asked, "So… So you said I can now go anywhere? I did feel something when you focused real hard before.""That is how things should be," Jake answered. "Give it a go?""Sure!"In the next moment, Sandy disappeared, leaving an even angrier Syl

After the Chosen’s disappearance, Irinixis had wondered what had happened for a while. She’d had no way of contracting him, as his token was unreachable, meaning he’d either been dead or not in the Order. She’d reckoned the latter for obvious reasons.Her new teacher, the Velvet Mistress, had also agreed that nothing would have happened to him. Geniuses did not die that easily, and if he had been gone, people would have learned about it. Irin also knew that the many statues of the Viper spread around the Order would reflect the loss of a Chosen through their aura, proving that he should be fine. Or that the Viper was capable of shrugging off the loss of a Chosen without much care.Irin had naturally hoped the Chosen was fine, as he was her golden ticket. She had gotten a new mistress at the peak of S-grade, her status elevated above anything she could ever imagine, and her evolution had even come earlier than she had expected. Irin had always believed she would be able to reach C-grad