Jackal Among Snakes

“So… Argrave of Vasquer.”

The lead interviewer scrutinized Argrave from behind his glasses, golden eyes moving calculatingly. Despite the suit he wore, he sported many tattoos. It spoke to an accommodating workplace, or a poor one.

“That’s right,” Argrave confirmed cordially.

“You’re applying for the position of Upper-Level Human.” The man looked to the other interviewers, on his right and left. They all wore fancy C-suite suits, with luxurious black fabric and gold buttons. “That would place you at upper management, here with us. I’m Durran, and this is Anneliese and Melanie. Our chief executive officer, Elenore, will still have the final say, but we thought this interview might provide us something to present her.”

“Nice to meet you all. Some of you I already know. All three of you, in fact. Upper management is something I’ve long looked forward to,” he answered cordially, bearing a hint of familiarity.

“Alright.” Durran shuffled some papers, taking one in hand. “Let’s start with your educational history.”

“Sure.” Argrave shifted on his seat. “As you know, I studied with Professor Erlebnis, majoring in Everything in the Known Universe, with a minor in Somethings in the Unknown Universe.”

“Professor Erlebnis in Germany, right? His thesis on Everything in the Known Universe is quite renowned.” Durran’s finger traced the paper he held until it stopped near the bottom. “But we couldn’t find any information about your educational background before that.”

“Ah.” Argrave scratched the back of his head. “I had a name change.”

“A name change?” Anneliese spoke up. “Was it due to any controversial or infamous event that could compromise the company?”

“No, I just got transported to another world. Nothing significant,” Argrave explained.

“Okay, that’s understandable.” Anneliese nodded, contented.

“You came up through the sales department. People there had nothing but positive things to say about you, from your demeanor to your performance.” Melanie looked through some papers, then focused on Argrave. “What other roles have you had before our company?”

“Well, I was the King of Vasquer, managing a population in the millions. After that, I became the Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force Against the Barbarians of the Great Chu. I’ve also been acting as the de facto leader of the Blackgard Union, managing several high-level deities with large portfolios of divinity.”

“So, you’re already well-accustomed to dealing with people that have rather inflated egos,” Anneliese said positively.

Argrave nodded. “Some of them are here

the process was going rather nicely, but Durran’s

does in his or her day-to-day?

off guard. He took a beat to compose his answer carefully,

from. Aside from that, it comes with a tremendous advantage against divinity. They’re sort of like… like an envoy for humanity. Not divine, quite, but like divine.

you mean by ‘like divine?’” Durran

scratched his chin. “If a mortal uses spirits, it’s either in one of two ways—with magic, or by strengthening the flesh temporarily by injecting it inside the body. While they’re both effective adaptations, it’s not really ‘using spirits.’ It’s jury-rigging divinity. But being an Upper-Level Human, we can finally

think spirits are vaunted existences?”

is the peak. Even using spirits to enhance it, there’s only so much that one single spellcaster can do. The gods, though… with the Domain of Law, I can slow time. It might be a very small amount, but it can be done. Is there magic that can achieve such a thing? Sataistador was a one-man-army in more than one sense of the word. Raccomen can

you cheated in university, Argrave?” Durran

that it's taken without

right hand.

Well…” Durran once again shuffled through the papers in front of him. “As we established, most of this information is something we already know. You have

members regardless of their skill. Fortunately, they

set down his papers and nodded at Argrave. “You’re going to start your role as an Upper-Level Human as soon as possible. It should

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with him?!” Elenore

the table and fallen to the floor. Everyone had moved quickly—Anneliese quickest of all, who held Argrave in her arms—but rather than unconscious, Argrave seemed to be

fruit. His eyelids flickered, alternating between open and closed. The hand which held the Fruit of Being continually raised it back up to his mouth, taking fresh bites out of it as he

we pry the golden fruit from his hand, that it might not again grace his lips? Would

within the fruit—an infinitely-expanding universe of possibilities with neither end nor beginning. It was as though he ate the starry skies themselves, taking in the unknown and chewing it up with his teeth until it became part of him. As for whether or not it was doing

to convey much else sufficiently. “Rather, it’s growing in brightness, in

gray eyes on his head glowing green as he called upon [Minor Truesight]. “It’s

get through to him,” Elenore said, massaging her forehead as she paced around nervously. “The connection between us is still there, but I just can’t get through. Can we stop him from eating?

for

needs to go through it all at once.” She looked at Raven, and fearlessly said, “Did you have

arms under Argrave, and picked him up. In his trance-like state, he was much easier to carry—his arm even slid around her neck, like it was natural. He had grown a fair bit heavier, but the enchantments

“I shall find a bed for him to rest in, for now. Rest assured I will have

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