The Primal Hunter

Jake had not talked that much with Sultan recently. He knew the merchant was still busy and operating out of Haven while making liberal use of the teleportation network. In fact, he had been a pushing force to integrate more cities into the network and establish more connections with factions like the Holy Church and independent cities.

Miranda had been the one keeping Jake up-to-date on this, but clearly, she had no idea about everything the shady merchant was up to. Jake was already aware the guy had a Blessing due to earlier conversations, but Sultan had divulged no details when it wasn’t necessary. It also didn’t seem like something worth bothering Villy over.

“I do not tend to pry in the personal business and work of the citizens of Haven,” Jake just answered Renato. It was the truth and also a way to not just make himself look more ignorant than he actually was.

“An understandable and respectable position. I have already shared more than I perhaps should then,” Renato sighed. “Oh well, in for a penny in for a pound. Sultan and I both belong to the same organization, and both have ties to the Golden Road Emporium. I guess you can call the Emporium a Pantheon of sorts, even if it is merely merchant gods banding together in a mutually beneficial alliance.”

“And Sultan is blessed by the leader of this Emporium?” Jake asked with raised eyebrows.

“Midas, the Golden God,” Renato answered with clear respect in his voice.

“Midas, huh,” Jake mumbled as he shook his head.

“One of the cases where the Records of the multiverse bled into our unintegrated universe, a bit like Valhal and many other such cases. Our world’s connection to a mercantile system and focus on wealth and capitalism no-doubt only strengthened this bond and resonated with the Path that Midas and other merchant gods followed,” Renato said. “Of course, this is merely my interpretation, even if it is one I am confident about. Please do enlighten me if the Chosen has other insights.”

“No, it seems reasonable,” Jake agreed. He did know that the multiverse as a whole had affected their world. Shit, just looking at all the mythical creatures should be proof enough. Dragons, phoenixes, and just the existence of entire races of monsters were already legends before the system. That was too much to be a coincidence.

Renato nodded as he smiled. “I do hope that today and this visit can lay the groundwork for a long and mutually beneficial relationship. While you may not be a fan of some of the things we do here in Paradise, do know we are no slave traders. We merely have a more liberal and open market than anywhere else, allowing those who offer more questionable services to find clients.”

“Through my initial exploration, I did not find much… so do share. What kind of controversial services? And please hold nothing back. I came back from the Order of the Malefic Viper recently, don’t think anything we Earthlings get on will surprise me,” Jake asked. He wanted to make himself appear more like the Chosen than he probably had to, and sharing his ability to travel to the Order and back was also very deliberate.

“It is no secret that we have no set rules besides the obvious ones you have already been informed of. As long as the cornerstone of consent has been reached, we do not interfere. Even if one party consents to get killed by the other. As for some anecdotal examples, we have some individuals with certain interests. Fantasies they like to carry out. Before the system, carrying out these fantasies would involve some rather unfortunate consequences, but now with healing magic and the human body being far more resilient, they can indulge.

“One frequent client enjoys the fantasy of assaulting and killing women, something he, to my knowledge, carried out even before the system to great cost and inconvenience. Another is a woman who has specific fantasies related to a concept called vore, I think, or perhaps we should just call it cannibalism. She likes to eat the member of her partner after intercourse.

“These are just some of the sexual ones. Others simply want to experience beating someone beyond recognition or torture others. For some, Paradise is merely about being themselves and partaking in whatever drugs they so desire. With overdose being no risk with a good healer and an alchemist with an antidote on hand, you can imagine how many substances they can experience at once.”

would have very varied tastes. Any Path could legitimately lead to power, and staying true to yourself was fundamental to avoid stagnating. Renato viewed himself as nothing more than a

world a better place… at least not all of it. As long as his small world – himself and

only prohibited selling and buying them. The rule did also extend to slaves being unable to offer services and be pimped out to others, meaning they could only act as personal servants. Jake was repeatedly assured every individual who worked there did so with consent… even if he did admit some did so out of desperation and to get some semblance of safety. Others were just as fucked in the head

and Jake had a feeling this was exactly what Renato wanted to make clear. Paradise was no threat to him or

to the principal topic of this

do not know the details, but I want to know if Paradise can expect any… trouble coming from this

I know is that she was looking for

but he truly didn’t know her intentions. That

or the Runemaiden, but I will ask a favor. Please inform me before anything violent happens. Just a bit before or right when it begins, and

eyebrow as the man

that none dare stand against. If my base is shaken and a seed of doubt is sown, it can mean the end of my city. So, if the unfortunate happens and killings take place, it will need to look like these are approved and accepted by Paradise. In other words, I will justify whatever actions you choose to take. Retroactively if I have

of the city, try to be subtle about it, or even outright tell them to leave if they planned on killing anyone. There was even the possibility the man would choose to oppose them. It turned out he would just sweep things under the rug while

allies and friends

“You misunderstand. Sultan and I have many disagreements, but one thing we share is that we do not have friends. If it was people other than you and the Runemaiden who had come, I would have already mobilized everything to kill the both

they were not really allies but just temporarily partners of convenience. But oh well, such was the world of merchants, and Jake already knew. Everything was a calculation of risk and benefits, viewing people and personal relationships the same as a business would view deals and partnerships.

“Fine,” Jake agreed.

before cellphones were a thing. “Merely activate the device when something happens. It will briefly scan your surroundings and send it to my chief of security. After

it,” Jake said. They had more or less been granted free-pass in the city

Jake smiled deviously. “I think I have some time before Carmen

recently changed the rules to have maximum betting amounts and limited

feel like this is targeted,”

you feel that way,” Renatos joked in kind. “Perhaps sticking to poker would be preferable? I am certain many rich folks are more than willing to play

head and decided that ripping off

his hand as it took in his surroundings and recorded everything. He went towards the seedier areas as a few members of security spotted him, but they left him alone once they recognized who he was. He could only smile, knowing they did not actually know him and had purposefully refrained from investigating him further to

Carmen. Peter did feel a bit bad about deceiving the two of them by just acting like a follower, but he had a job to do. Paradise had long been growing beyond what was healthy. As he scouted around, he confirmed it had indeed grown not only in size but also in power. Below the

that even if an early C-grade attacked, the city of Paradise would be fine. The defenses were just that powerful. It was lucky he had been let inside with open arms, and from the looks of it, everyone assumed he was working for