The hours quickly passed as Jake just sat back and chatted with Carmen. After a while, the two of them went to talk a bit with the old man too, but he was busy being the leader of the Noboru Clan and all that. Honestly, Jake wasn’t a big fan of this entire World Congress, as there were two votes that didn’t matter at all to him personally. He was also annoyed at so many people staring at him constantly, including this guy who kept trying to be sneaky about it and even used some weird scouting skills.Nevertheless, he was still glad he had attended due to the appearance of the King, and he still had a good talk with Carmen, but he sure wouldn’t classify it as productive or a good way to spend his time. Once the political maneuvering was coming to an end, Jake gathered with Miranda and Lillian again, with Neil still busy with other space mages, having occupied a booth by themselves while not allowing others to interfere."So, what is the expected outcome of the vote?” Jake asked Miranda

Jake spent the rest of the World Congress chatting with a few people, including checking in with the Sword Saint to tell him that Reika was doing fine at the Order. He had expected Arthur to talk to him at some point, but it never happened. Jacob’s dad had approached nearly every other faction but had stayed clear of Haven for some reason.The last five minutes were spent chatting with Miranda as they set up a time for the next meeting. They had to plan it around Jake’s lessons, but also Miranda’s meetings and work. Scheduling was hard work.As Jake just waited to be transported out, he mentally went over his near-future plans. Participating in the Path of Myriad Choices event was going to happen, so he needed another fragment before that. He also had a current list of classes in the Order he wanted to finish before heading back to Earth.On that subject, he had to figure out how easy it was to travel between Earth and the Order, so he would have to chat with Villy about that. As thin

Jake had many questions and doubts as he stood before the vampire. First of all, why was the Patriarch of the Nalkar Family there, and not just some lower-level leader? Heck, why was there a leader to begin with? Even if Jake assumed the vampires just placed a lot of importance on history and lineage, this still seemed like overkill.Based on the line of questioning, it was possible they suspected him of being more than he represented himself as. The poking into his views on the Viper’s return seemed very deliberate, as if they wanted him to reveal something, but even that made little sense. If Jake was the Chosen, would using lie-detection and trying to make him reveal his identity be a smart choice, not just one that would piss him off?No matter the case, the Patriarch was willing to negotiate, and he did seem interested in the Alchemy Token."An old relic, perhaps, but still one that would be honored," Jake answered. "The Order of the Malefic Viper would undoubtedly adhere to its

Jake had asked for alchemical ingredients with hemotoxic properties as well as those with blood affinity. Most blood-affinity ingredients were easily translated into products with hemotoxic properties, making it an ideal material to use. The other function of the blood affinity was in making Blood Potions, which vampires very much enjoyed. As well as quite a lot of beasts that could actually use them as natural treasures to gain experience and levels.This led to the vampire clans cultivating these herbs in spades. Hemotoxin was also a preferred poison of the vampires, as it synergized with many of their skills. An ability that thinned the blood of a foe and made it more difficult to control one’s vital energies just worked incredibly well with blood magic for rather obvious reasons.So Jake had high expectations. He had asked for the good stuff, but had not been overly specific besides mentioning a few herbs he knew he wanted. Jake was not foolish enough to believe Fairleigh wouldn’t

Before returning to Earth, Jake needed a proper method to travel back and forth that didn’t rely on being in Haven. Luckily, he had already talked about this with Villy quite a few times and knew the snake god was on it. They both wanted to give Jake the possibility, as there were still many things to be done back on his home planet and in his home universe as a whole.So, a quick telepathic phone call later, the snake god popped into his living room. Meira was away at a lesson, with Jake not even having talked with her since exiting his little isolation session."Had a nice time doing alchemy?" Villy asked when he appeared, smiling."Pretty good, if I say so myself—lots of levels, skill upgrade, a new skill, Hemotoxins for days. You know, all the good things in life.""Nice to know my dear Chosen at least enjoys what I am known for. Well, known for in at least a semi-positive light." Villy flashed his own cheeky smile before continuing. "I remember you mentioning you took a skill for