The Primal Hunter

It wasn’t good enough. It was never good enough. With disappointment in his own incompetence, the sculptor shattered his half-made creation. Only a bit of the material was lost as he could still use the marble-like rock by refusing it, but some material was gone forever. Fortunately, the City Lord understood the importance of his task and provided him the funds necessary to do what had to be done.

Felix had not left his workshop for… a long time. He wasn’t actually sure how much time had passed. All he knew was that nothing was more important than making the perfect sculpture. The only breaks he took were those forced upon him. It was good that he had at least evolved to D-grade so he didn’t have to really sleep anymore but could keep focusing on his work exclusively.

The image was still vivid in his mind. The sculpture displayed by the Chosen of the Malefic Viper depicting his Patron had been near-perfect. It held meanings Felix could not understand and profound concepts he would not even dare to try to comprehend. He did hold questions such as what the purpose of the bottle was and the link between it and the mushroom, but such were not his questions to ask or his task to understand. He was merely the sculptor – a tool to bring about magnificence.

If only he was more talented. Even if his skills upgraded and the system called him a “prodigy,” he did not view it as enough. How could it be? All that he created was trash. Poor imitations. Not a single one was even close to being able to house the presence of a Primordial infused by his Chosen adequately. He didn’t even aim for perfection… just adequacy.

This was a task given to him by the Chosen of the Malefic Viper himself. Felix knew he had the backing of the entire Primordial Church behind him, and his Patron had even upgraded his Blessing to Divine in recognition of the importance of this task. The Malefic One had not had a statue made by one of their own for a long time… much less had the chance to have the Primordial’s Chosen infuse it.

Felix collected himself and prepared to start again. This time… this time, he would surely do it. If not, he would just have to wait a bit and get his level 180 skill in his profession. If that wasn’t enough, he would just have to wait for C-grade. Felix was not in a rush. The Chosen had not given a deadline, and he would rather see himself die of age than present a subpar sculpture.

Because if he failed, he truly did believe he deserved death just to make up for a fraction of the sin that a failure would be.

Yeah, that sculptor guy probably moved on to other things by now or asked Chris about what kind of statue he should make, Jake thought as he stayed zoned out during the boring orientation marked as a lesson. It wasn’t as if Jake had actually ever shown that Felix guy what kind of statue to make.

Anyway, refocusing a bit on the lesson, Viridia kept explaining stuff and taking questions, and from the vibe, Jake got the feeling a huge portion wanted to officially join the Order. Those who weren’t interested fell into two camps – those with existing backings or those who were just on the fence.

Jake understood from a logical standpoint why one would join the Order. In the simplest of terms, it offered safety. It was why many factions could function. Even if it didn’t lead to someone not killing you, it would make them think twice before doing so.

It was also important to note that many in the Order were faction leaders or at least highly influential figures on their home planets. While returning was maybe not currently possible for them, if they did return in the future, they may want to make their planet part of the Order.

There were, in general, quite a few draws when it came to joining a major faction. Some had likely already applied to become a member. One of which was the guy sitting beside Jake.

“Hey… have you officially joined the Order?” Jake ended up asking Draskil.

The Malefic Dragonkin looked at him. “Of course. It got me free stuff.”

Jake nodded at the reasoning of his dragonkin buddy. As Viridia had explained, then members would passively just get more things. They got more Academy Credits, had access to certain stores that no one else did, and even got a stipend of sorts to further their own power. All in all, if you had no other obligations, joining just made sense. As a member, you also had a lot of freedom.

Most other factions were largely restrictive of what their members could do. There were high levels of expectations when it came to loyalty, and going to wars for your faction and risking your life was simply a given. The Holy Church was the most extreme example of this, as when you were part of the Holy Church, leaving it again would get incredibly difficult, especially as your entire planet was often part of the Church, and you were born into it.

However, with restrictions also came benefits. The Order of the Malefic Viper would not just shower their talented members with help. They would not assign them teachers or give them all the materials they needed. In the Holy Church, you would never want for anything as long as you stayed loyal and fulfilled all expectations. In the Order, you would get tossed out if it was decided you sucked too much and was a leech.

It all came down to the fundamental difference in ideology. The Order believed in freedom over everything else - to always offer the choice. If the Order wanted something from you, it would be far more transactional. Naturally, the Order would come out on top in these transactions to not fuck itself over in the long-term.

Now, it has to be mentioned that this kind of model could only really work with the Order due to how they operated on a multiversal scale. The Order did not engage in wars or chose sides in larger conflicts. Their members could join as mercenaries on either side, and there were several examples of Order members even killing each other on the battlefield. Something the Order of the Malefic Viper naturally didn’t do anything about. If you joined a war and got killed, that was on you.

of studying and listening to Viridia’s lesson.

you join?” Draskil also

I?” Jake instead just asked

too many AC not to be a member, and I am pretty sure that when one of the Verdant Witches had you registered in the Humanoid Resources Department, she did as a member of the Order,” Villy answered. “Not to mention what happens when

He was. Maybe. Jake looked at Draskil. “Yeah, I did. Kind of.

his response. “This lesson is boring.

that isn’t a complicated answer. Yeah, very much a waste of time with no real information for me or you. But it seems like it is good

for a few moments before changing the subject

had quickly picked up on it being off, especially as Jake openly discussed a few things to make him suspicious. Ultimately, Jake prioritized a good conversation with Draskil over hiding his true level, and Draskil didn’t seem like the type to

all three balanced,” Jake

back,” Draskil shook his head. Jake faintly felt approval from a certain simulacrum within but ignored that guy as he

don’t

now,”

I will be stronger than you in

you,” Draskil scoffed. “Power

especially considering his recent advances. One also had to remember

more before smirking himself. “Then prove it. You are a member of the

eyebrow. “What do you

Dragonkin pulled out a piece of parchment – yes, old-looking parchment – from his spatial

parts of the mission. It was a dungeon run, but not just any dungeon run: an alchemy dungeon run. Kind of. It was a dungeon designed and created by the Order for their late to peak

faction had its own dungeons and general areas. That the Order

Jake agreeing to go. “We leave in three

we?”

and two more alchemists if we bother,” Draskil

of

to pass areas. Maybe potions too

demon, only had a social profession and her race without any class to speak of. Sure, she could learn alchemy,

she is hot,” Draskil just answered

argument to bring her, Jake laughed a bit internally. “Fair enough. Any other

do it alone?” Draskil

But even if I could, wouldn’t it be

considered it much before

Wasn’t it about time to see how far Reika had come in her alchemy? It would also give them a chance to catch up and do some alchemy together. Jake had

how well they had jelled working together back then. So why not invite her? Maybe she even had another

into a dungeon. Especially not with Draskil around. He was

you find more alchemists,” Draskil nodded. “You have