Thinking about it, the prevalence of restaurants pretty much everywhere in the multiverse was kind of weird. It was understandable they existed in low-ranked areas with a lot of people in lower grades, but somewhere like the Order? Barely anyone had to eat. Yet they were still in every single district, and from the looks of it, damn popular too.Jake asked Irin a bit about the benefits of consuming food, and besides the minor buffs to regeneration and the fact that eating restored some resources, there wasn’t really any practical purpose. At least, not from the food offered in restaurants like one could find in the Order. Yet it was just a custom to eat among people of all grades, be they D- or S-grade."I think rather than question why people eat, you should ask why they wouldn’t," Irin said as they made their way to the restaurant where Scarlett and her friends were. "We live long lives, and while you are pretty damn one-track-minded, the majority isn’t. People need time to mentally

Jake appeared in his mansion and didn’t hesitate to head to his lab to avoid conversations with both Vesperia and Meira. He felt drained from all the socialization and just wanted to unwind by himself.Entering the lab, Jake took a seat on a chair and took out the item Villy had given him. The energy he had felt when he received it was familiar, but it was only now he realized why. Because it was something he had seen before.[Fragment of Akashic Awakening (Ancient)] – Infuse into a piece of equipment to attempt to awaken or amplify the Records within, upgrading the item to a maximum of ancient rarity. If the item is already of ancient rarity, it will try to amplify existing effects through awakened Records. Overall effects may be unpredictable. WARNING: Touching directly upon the Records of an item may make others related to the associated Records aware. As this is only the fragment of a token, chances of success are reduced based on the level requirement wished by the user. The lowe

Jake reached the bowyer after teleporting to the right district and quickly headed inside. Contrary to most other shops Jake visited, this one was far simpler and had a thoroughly tribal atmosphere. Pelts of powerful beasts lined the walls, and several bows used as showcases were protected behind barriers, proudly on display.One of the four beastfolk that Jake had talked with when he and Irin visited stood in the reception area and noticed him as soon as he entered."Ah, there you are!" he said cheerfully. "The others are in the back with everything ready. Do you want to head back there and get this started?""Let’s get to it," Jake said, smiling beneath his mask."Great!” the man said as they walked to the back. “I must say, it is a wonderful item you brought us, with a very interesting—if admittedly not that unique—type of enchantment. However, it is rare that the system gives out such specialized equipment. Hence why it is such a great frame of reference when making our own simila

Mushrooms were evil existences created only to bring suffering to everything and everyone. No one liked them, and they only created misery and sadness for anyone unfortunate enough to interact with them too much.This innate evil gave them only two valid functions: being destroyed or used to destroy others.Jake refused to see them having any other purposes. Hence why he had decided their purpose would be the latter. He would extract their vital essence and use it to bring down others in the form of poisons. He would allow the mushrooms only this one honor in their entire miserable existence, at least allowing them to display a smidgen of goodness by killing Jake’s foes and⁠—"Lord Thayne?” Meira suddenly called from outside his lab, throwing him out of his incredibly productive thoughts. “Izil said she would gladly visit later today. I finally got through to her.”"Great! Can you call me shortly before she is here so I can finish up and get ready?" Jake yelled back as he kept working

Two weeks wasn’t a long time, in the grand scheme of things, and before Jake knew it, the fated day had arrived. He was honestly surprised at how little he had to do during this time, with no one really bothering him besides Miranda giving him the occasional reminder.He wasn’t dragged out for a shopping trip for new clothes or even informed how things would proceed. Jake also actively tried not to ask, instead focusing all his attention on just doing alchemy while not thinking about the ceremony. Because Jake really wanted to not think about it.Jake couldn’t lie… He was nervous. With every passing day, his nervousness grew, but the lack of knowledge of how the ceremony would work was honestly calming. It gave him the feeling that there weren’t that many expectations for him, and the only thing he had asked Villy was whether he was expected to make a speech or something. For this, the Viper had luckily said no. There would be no need for him to talk publicly during the big announceme