Jake sat in meditation a bit as he went over his gains and familiarized himself a bit more with Fangs of Man and his improved Fang of the Malefic Viper. Having the time, he also reached out to the Viper, who promptly answered.
“So, thoughts on the test dungeon? It is pretty old and outdated, but it still gets the job done, doesn’t it?” the Viper’s voice echoed in his head.
“Rather uninspired interior design, I must say. Very old-timey and old temple-like. Reminded me a bit of an abandoned crypt,” Jake answered jokingly.
“I would have the designer executed if she hadn’t died well over a trillion years ago,” Villy answered.
“Heh. Anyway, I think it was fine, but I don’t really have any frame of reference, now do I?”
“True. But you did at least get to fight a strong opponent,” Villy said with an obviously teasing tone. “Hydras aren’t easy foes, and this particular one sure had you countered.”
“I would have won without the timer,” Jake asserted.
“Maybe, maybe not. It did certainly become a possibility after your powerup and upgrade of Fangs. You used the Path of the Heretic-Chosen skill, right? Or have you gained some new skill or ability since last that makes you ignore cause and effect to travel through space and time?” the Viper asked.
“Nah, just the old and boring Path,” Jake answered, but he felt reluctant to get into details. The vision had not exactly been a flattering one for the Viper.
“Oh? Not spilling the beans what it is about?” the Viper asked. “Come on, you already saw my bad phase at B-grade back then. This can’t be worse.”
Jake decided to not hide anything if the Viper wanted to pry as he just said four words. “Valdemar. Fang of man.”
A few seconds of silence followed. It was enough for Jake to consider if saying it was a mistake, but luckily the Viper finally spoke:
“Was there a golden sphere involved or present?”
“Yep.”
“Ah… right.”
“Yep…”
while before
you need some context?” the Viper
before when people did some messed up shit when
like trash and viewed them as
not, that day was the first time I faced a human lower level than myself after reaching sapience that beat me. I had lost to humans before but always when they came in groups or were vastly higher level. I still held respect for humans, however, not as fighters but as creators. They were some of the best
seem rather
than
their path solely by their actions
the top as an individual, only a collective. They had forced upon them professions that result in inherent non-combat potential, something that in a beast would nearly always come with a trade-off in fighting power. If the power scale went from one to a hundred, a human could never surpass ninety, while beasts and
scale doesn’t matter. Too many ways to grow more powerful exist. Valdemar forged a path I could not comprehend and grasped power beyond anyone else I had ever faced at the time. He was not some paragon of his race or someone more knowledgeable than anyone else. He was just an individual. He opened my eyes to never looking down at someone for their race alone, especially not enlightened species. As time passed, it
He liked the explanation
are actually embarrassed, aren’t
really want
of yours that just shows you uncurated shit. If someone from the Holy Church got such a skill, they would be executed promptly for being able to circumvent all the
gods can learn to grow as a person. And speaking of growing… who is stronger now? You or
question Jake couldn’t
want to fight and create a legend from it. Ah, but if you speak of a duel… well, let’s just say I tend to avoid them as fighting him is a pain. In a
see,” Jake said, not
and he do have some similarities in mindset but are just as different, but if it is just about melee fighting and his application of will, go right ahead. Just don’t try to mimic him too much… he has just as many places where he has absolutely no talents,”
“Such as?”
the resource. Also, his profession was very much neglected, which was part of the reason why he
to be a brewer of some kind?”
only thing he figured out how to really do as his father apparently owned a brewery before the system. Well, Valdemar said his father owned a brewery but later said he just made moonshine and sold it under the table,” the Viper said
made friends later on?” Jake asked half-rhetorically. The Viper seemed to know a lot of personal stuff about the guy after all
and lose some, but more often, it never got that extreme as one party had an advantage making the other back off. After godhood, it ended up being an utter stalemate. It was and still is for all the Primordials, so eventually, we ended up just co-existing and, in some ways, got close. It is hard to personally know someone for countless years and not begin to understand them and get to know them. Of
didn’t strike me as on the friendliest of terms and didn’t you kind of screw over Stormild
they would also come to me and ask, and that both of those have also taken advantage of me in
with a warning not to look down on humans this time around, aight?” Jake thought, unable to
astounded at your benevolence,” the
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