The Primal Hunter

Chapter 1004: A Real Royal Mess Jake, Carmen, and Bobby stood alone once more, now having an hour’s break before it was time to continue, and they all had some thoughts.

”It does feel a bit too easy, doesn’t it?” Carmen muttered, clearly also unsure of how things were flowing. “He definitely wants your story to be true, but he almost wants it too much. Pretty sure you could tell him that everything you’re doing is with the express intent to fuck him over, but just add on a little giggle and a “hypothetically” at the end, and he would instantly ignore it, if not help you explain it away…”

“I do find myself surprised,” Bobby also agreed. “But, and I must reiterate, does it matter? He seems to be going along with everything we’re planning so far, and while he may be scheming and making his own plans in the background, we just need to be ready for those when the time comes. Who knows, perhaps our interests may even genuinely align. It’s possible he views Yip of Yore’s victory as a done deal even if the Malefic Viper is trying to put a struggle by using us, and he is thinking the same things we are right now, that despite our schemes, it doesn’t matter to him in the end. Ultimately, it all comes down to who is more powerful in the end: the Malefic Viper or Yip of Yore.”

“Out of curiosity, who are you betting on?” Jake asked with a raised eyebrow as he playfully smirked. “To sell our story, we will need to make the preparations for me to usurp the Malefic Viper, so if he does end up falling, who knows what will happen…”

Bobby took his words a lot more seriously than Jake expected him to and slowly nodded as he looked Jake in the eyes. “If the Malefic Viper does fall, everything we said today simply becomes truth. At that point, you will have no reason not to usurp the Path of the Malefic Viper and take whatever Records you can. As Ell’Hakan mentioned, there is a good chance it will instantly make you significantly stronger. We are talking about immediate upgrades to Legacy Skills and likely even an instant influx of a lot of levels. After that, without the god whose Legacy you are usurping being alive, progress will prove a bit more difficult, but in terms of immediate gains, it would be a huge boon.”

Jake didn’t really comment on what Bobby said, but he had read up a bit on usurping during the day he spent with Carmen, and Villy had also given him some details for him to help sell that he actually intended to usurp the snake god’s Path. If Jake had a bad relationship with the Viper, he could totally have seen himself try to genuinely become a Usurper, but seeing as they were best buds, it all remained purely theoretical. Hopefully.

There was going to be some nagging feeling within Jake until Yip of Yore was dead that things wouldn’t go as planned. The rising star coming out of the ninety-second universe was incredibly powerful; no two ways about it, and he was still rapidly growing even more powerful by the day. Even the Path he walked was one recognized as impressive by all the top figures of the multiverse and one that could take him to the top… Jake just hoped that as he got toward the top, he would encounter a Viper in the bush, ending him for good before he had to change to truly reach the peak.

“Say, I just had a weird thought,” Carmen muttered as she looked at Jake and Bobby. “Here we are talking about Jake becoming a Usurper when Yip of Yore kills the Malefic Viper… but what if Ell’Hakan wants to become one when the Malefic Viper kills Yip of Yore?”

Bobby and Jake both looked at Carmen for a bit, both silent. She stood there, scratching the side of her head for several seconds, looking a bit embarrassed before trying to excuse her words. “It’s just a weird thought, and-“

“Fuck,” Jake blurted out as the cogs began to turn in his head. “Fuck me.”

“No, fuck us,” Bobby also said as he seemed to be going through the same thoughts and emotions Jake was right now.

It really was proof Jake had been all up in his own ass about the story he’d been cooking up that he’d completely neglected to consider that Ell’Hakan could also have some sneaky plot not aimed at Jake or the Viper in the oven. He’d also gone with the impression that Ell’Hakan was a loyal Chosen who wished to see the victory of his Patron, and while it was possible that was still his ideal outcome…

“He’s totally the kind of guy who would, at minimum, have a backup plan in place should Yip of Yore lose, right?” Jake asked with concern.

“He totally is,” Bobby wholeheartedly agreed. “Though it is unsure if Yip of Yore would be okay with this, as he’s bound to know if Ell’Hakan has a backup plan.”

“Maybe he doesn’t care?” Jake asked, asking himself as much as Bobby. “Maybe he’s so self-assured he truly doesn’t believe it matters… shit, questioning himself by questioning Ell’Hakan may even be bad for him due to his story-teller bullshit…”

“It’s obvious if you really think about it… and it makes everything fit so damn well. Ell’Hakan doesn’t need to care who wins. He just needs Yip of Yore to be as powerful as possible at the end, no matter the outcome. If he wins? Great, Ell’Hakan will be the Chosen of the first Primordial Slayer and a figure of immense renown. Yip of Yore loses? He can become a Usurper, and seeing how cozy he is with the Holy Church,

explains why that King Iludar guy isn’t some Yip of Yore loyalist. He’s sure that the people closest to him would follow him no matter who wins,” Jake continued as

as she muttered. “Now I almost feel sorry

her. “It’s good to keep in mind as an

planning something like that or if it was just their own imaginations going wild.

think so?” Bobby said, not entirely certain either. “Just focusing on our side is probably for

thought for a while, considering things. “Say, how long yet till the

Bobby answered. “Why

phone call,” Jake

the Malefic Viper directly may be trackable if you do it

been stolen; if detected

him off. “I’m gonna quickly talk to Miranda. That shouldn’t be suspicious and easily explained away with me doing so to keep selling

of the barrier before doing so as no skills to contact her will work

actually her he wanted to talk to, though. Instead, he wanted to be put in

later, Jake was back inside the barrier, and just in time for things to get started again. His conversation with Arnold had gone well and would hopefully lead to something good in the future, but as always with things like this, only time would

dot, the magical conference call resumed, and this time, Jake spoke first when he saw the three fully

How did your talk with your Patron go? Is

chosen to defer to my judgment in this matter, and I believe moving forward with our discussed plan is the best course of action. We shall make a joint declaration to establish this truce and plant the seed of doubt in the hearts of those who

hour ago?” Jake asked in a curt tone, acting like he truly saw the break as a complete waste of time. “Guess this intermission was entirely meaningless, but I guess it makes you feel better to have gotten permission from your honored Patron.

goes well, we will not have to speak much once all this is after and can go our separate ways. You make it no secret you are not a fan of mine, and I have no

Ell’hakan, meeting his gaze. “Can’t say I’ll

Ell’Hakan potentially being a Usurper. If he truly was, the Holy Church was likely helping him set up everything. That means they had significant investment

of Yore was dead, Ell’Hakan would likely end up being part of the Holy Church. Becoming a Usurper would also be him proving he never had any true loyalty to Yip of Yore in the first place, and any actions he did could easily be excused by the Holy Church as something he had been forced to do. They could spin a story of a hero who’d

a very thin reasoning behind it. Shit was bound to turn into a real royal mess if Jake’s theory was right and he really decided to go after Ell’Hakan, and many would likely expect him to back off. However… Jake wasn’t sure he

cross that bridge when I get there, he thought, trying to