XaiJu
Zogarth
Zogarth

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Chapter 1200 - Maybe Kidnapping Isn't That Bad

With most of the gods gone and the situation having calmed down a little, the Viper sighed as he looked at Jake. “Seriously, you can’t even go on one little trip through the void without causing some major incident?”

“Hey, no incidents on the way to the Pantheon of Life,” Jake defended himself. “And I don’t think it’s fair to put any of this on me, as clearly some major stuff is going on that’s way above my pay grade as a lowly C-grade.”

“Yet you’re involved anyway.” Villy shook his head before turning to Artemis. “Not the best first day at work as a new Ambassador, huh?”

“Certainly could have been smoother,” Artemis said with a nod, clearly feeling less stressed now that all the other Primordial-level gods were gone.

“At least everyone’s still alive,” the Viper said, glancing at the teleportation vessel. “Good craftsmanship, that one. Automaton origin, right?”

“Yes,” Artemis confirmed. “One of their newer high-level models designed for Godkings and Godqueens to use.”

Villy nodded again as he looked toward the endless void above and the being that still waited there. “You really don’t want to volunteer any information? Give some tips as to why you helped Jake in the first place, because I have a difficult time seeing why you would owe him a favor of this level.”

Matter between He Who Hunts and I,” Oras answered, Jake feeling the attention of the Void God on him. “Knowledge detrimental. Capacity insufficient. Future unveils comprehension.”

“Fair enough,” the Viper shrugged, not trying to press the Void God in any way. In fact, he seemed pretty happy with the answer he did get. Jake also got the gist of it based on what Oras said.

As a mere C-grade, Oras believed it would be detrimental to explain the matter to Jake, but in the future, he would understand. It was interesting the Oras kept insisting this had nothing to do with the Viper and was between himself and Jake. Actually, it was kind of flattering in a way that Oras viewed Jake as someone he considered a somewhat equal party worth dealing with.

“I also wish to once more give proper gratitude to the Void God for saving all our lives; without your assistance, I don’t even want to imagine what would have happened.” Artemis bowed for the second time.

“Death,” Oras kindly answered her theoretical what-if. “Gratitude unnecessary. Death of companion and mate of He Who Hunts, detrimental.”

Artemis looked lost for words for a moment as the Viper chuckled. “Wow, seen through by the all-seeing Void God.”

Jake couldn’t help but smile as he remembered the other still-awake C-grades as he turned and looked at the Sword Saint. The old man just shrugged, having definitely known already… Jake and Artemis really had to work on being more subtle, huh? Or maybe the Sword Saint was just a damn savant when it came to that area of life.

Deciding he should also thank the Void God properly, Jake glanced upward for a moment, instantly regretted it, and proceeded to lower his gaze as he nodded. “I also want to really thank you for the brisk rescue, and I definitely owe you one, even if you think you’re just returning a favor. No argument.”

The void rumbled slightly in acknowledgment, making Jake smile and give a second nod.

“Jake… before Oras appeared, you said something about this not ending well, no matter the outcome,” the Sword Saint decided to speak up.

“Yeah,” Jake sighed loudly. “In truth, I had no idea what would happen. It was entirely possible I would have spawned a void explosion or some stuff and consumed us all, but in the best-case scenario – which we got – it wasn’t without any losses. It required the sacrifice of one of my most precious items, the Vision of Oras.”

Better known as the best damn Void Lollipop of Perception in the multiverse.

All jokes aside, infusing the Vision of Oras with his Primeval Origin Energy hadn’t been an easy or cheap endeavor. The damn thing had drained far more than Jake had initially expected it could handle before there was any kind of reaction.

He also truly had no idea what the reaction would be. As he said, it could have just blown up, but a myriad of other things could have gone down as Jake truly had no proper comprehension of how the void worked or how his special energy would interact with it.

They truly had all gotten incredibly lucky that Jake had somehow summoned a small aspect of Oras into the item. Or maybe summoned wasn’t the right word; perhaps awakening would be more right? Either way, it was a damn good thing it had happened, as it allowed Oras to instantly know where they were despite the formation, seeing as Jake had effectively placed a part of him within.

As Jake was still mourning his loss, something absolutely incredible happened. The void once more rumbled above as the Void God mobilized some energy and spoke.

“Lost. Regained. Restored. Another.”

Like a miracle from the admittedly pitch-black heaven, a familiar-looking item appeared just above Jake and floated down to appear in front of him. Jake’s eyes were wide open as he used Identify and felt his heart get filled with happiness from the result.

[Vision of Oras (?)]

It was another Vision of Oras. Not the same one, as that had disappeared into the flood of eyes, but an entirely new one that Oras had either been holding onto or just made. Which did beg the question… where did these things come from, and how hard were they for the Void God to make?

Were they even hard to make? For all Jake knew, Oras could have a few million lying around or the ability to summon them at command. Perhaps Oras didn’t even value them at all.

Not that any of that mattered, because to Jake, his Vision of Oras had been pretty damn awesome, and he was ecstatic to see another.

“You’re seriously just giving me a new one after I broke the other?” Jake asked in disbelief, nearly not believing his own Perception – which is saying a lot.

“Yes,” Oras merely answered, once more not seeming in the mood to elaborate. Not that he had to, as Jake was more than happy to take the new Vision of Oras, a massive smile on his lips.

“Yeah, alright, I definitely owe you one now,” Jake said, holding his precious. No, he more than held it as he couldn’t resist but give it a little lick, instantly feeling the energy from the item enter his body and increase his Perception… something that came as a surprise until Jake realized something.

In the chaos of it all, Jake had completely ignored any system messages he had received. He actually hadn’t expected to get any, making him quickly check to see what was up.

Apparently, he had accomplished quite an achievement… actually, scratch that, two achievements.

Congratulations! You have successfully managed to escape the ambush and kidnapping attempt of several unknown gods through the use of your prowess as the Harbinger of Primeval Origins by calling upon [REDACTED] – A new feat has been accomplished. Bonus experience earned

This first message had come right after the gods had all erased themselves, recognizing Jake’s success at infusing his Primeval Origin Energy and having Oras come help. It was interesting that apparently Oras was a redacted entity... but then again, it wasn’t that weird, now was it?

He doubted the Void Dweller’s status menu – assuming he had one similar to Jake – said Oras, or just called him a Void God. It likely had a different title or long name that the system wouldn’t freely disclose in a notification. Of course, it was also possible that the Void Gods simply weren’t beings that the system usually categorized in system messages.

Either way, Jake wasn’t complaining that the system at least recognized Jake’s efforts to escape the perilous situation. However, he was actually a little surprised at the next system message he’d gotten.

Congratulations! You have successfully assisted your Patron in uncovering information related to beings he recognizes as unknown enemies, all while in the presence of other powerful gods to acknowledge your contribution – A new feat has been accomplished. Bonus experience earned

It felt pretty damn weird to get experience from sharing the faces of people who’d ambushed him. Like, it was the kind of thing that didn’t feel like it should be recognized in the first place, as Jake hadn’t done much despite summoning a few images for all the gods to ponder on.

Then again, without Jake there, the many gods would have had far less to discuss. His intel was critical, no doubt about it, so maybe he did deserve some reward, especially when one factored in that Jake had acted as a proper Heretic-Chosen. As a Chosen, he had helped his Patron, and as a Heretic, he had spoken up and acted as if he were on equal standing and capable of participating in a meeting between Primordial-level figures, something not even Artemis dared to do.

However, even considering all that… Jake sometimes really felt like a cheat character with the way he tended to get levels in his profession. Sure, it could be argued that Jake deserved some reward, but as he saw his level-ups, it just felt like too much.

’DING!’ Profession: [Heretic-Chosen Alchemist of the Malefic Viper] has reached level 328 - Stat points allocated, +35 Free Points

’DING!’ Profession: [Heretic-Chosen Alchemist of the Malefic Viper] has reached level 337 - Stat points allocated, +35 Free Points

Jake honestly had to do a double-check as he counted all the notifications before confirming that he had indeed ended up getting ten fucking levels from being ambushed in the void and trying to find out who the hell tried to kidnap him.

It was just dumb to get that many, and if Jake didn’t enjoy doing alchemy, it would seriously feel like a waste of time to arduously study and experiment for months on end for a single level when he could just have encounters like this instead.

Of course, he knew that he couldn’t have one thing without the other, and while an event like this gave a lot of levels, it didn’t help Jake progress his Path at all, outside of just gaining levels. It led to no skill upgrades or increase in capabilities, so if he did gain all his levels like this, he would end up being a pretty shitty alchemist.

Besides, there had to be a massive level of diminishing returns on things like this, right? Yeah, there had to be… if not, maybe kidnapping attempts weren't that bad if Jake found himself starved for levels again, and he wouldn't complain that much if it happened again.

One thing was for sure. Jake’s way of gaining levels couldn’t be considered standard at all, considering he was killing entire populations of B-grades to gain class levels while getting involved in multiversal-level events when progressing his profession.

Anyway, with the profession levels had naturally also come a fair deal of race ones.

’DING!’ Race: [Human (C)] has reached level 330 - Stat points allocated, +45 Free Points

’DING!’ Race: [Human (C)] has reached level 334 - Stat points allocated, +45 Free Points

All in all, Jake was now another step closer to B-grade, and this event had moved the timeline up a fair deal. Before, he had even been afraid of being the last of those around him to evolve – besides probably the King and Dina – but now that fear had been dispelled for the most part as he had likely saved at least half a decade of alchemy grinding.

Finally, Jake had felt kind of good leaving the Pantheon of Life with his class ahead of his profession again… that sure hadn’t lasted long. Oh, and for the many Free Points Jake had gotten, he instantly tossed them all into Perception as he had planned to do for the rest of C-grade.

With a smile and now back to being in a good mood, Jake smiled and looked up, once more instantly regretting it, before looking down again. “Thanks, Oras, you’re definitely my favorite Void God.”

The Void Dweller didn’t comment on how meaningless that statement was, but just took his words at face value as the void rumbled.

“Wow, you’re really good at avoiding experiencing losses,” Villy commented. “Not that it’s a big thing. Anyhow, let’s actually get moving and return to my little Order.”

“You’ll come with us the rest of the way, I guess?” Jake asked to clarify.

“Yep,” the Viper nodded. “Granted, I don’t think a second ambush is set up in case this first one failed, but better safe than sorry.”

“Can’t argue with that,” Jake shrugged, definitely back to being in a good mood again. Yeah, this entire encounter had, in retrospect, turned out to kind of be a good thing for Jake.

Granted, he did already have a horrendous headache, and he was sure that it would take him at least a few days to be back to normal, but such was only to be expected after spending such a prolonged time within the void. Without the teleportation vessel, things would have been far worse, and it had at least protected those unconscious within.

“Just to clarify again, we’re gonna return and act as if nothing happened. As if this were just another routine teleportation from one faction to the other,” the Viper said. “You mortals have the excuse that teleporting through the void can take a toll, so we can excuse your absence for a few days, but Artemis will need to get to work pretty much immediately.”

“I understand,” Artemis nodded. “Thanks to the potion provided by the Malefic One, my injuries should be fully healed within a few days, but I can suppress any signs till then.”

The Viper nodded, and after he, Artemis, Jake, and even the Sword Saint gave their final farewells to the Void God observing them above, everyone entered the teleportation vessel. However, just before doing so, the Viper briefly checked out the hole that had nearly opened up one entire side of the vessel.

“Oh yeah… this entire thing will definitely need to be tossed and not seen by anyone,” the Primordial said in a joking tone as he went and stood in the center formation. “It should be able to handle one last jump, though.”

And with those words, they were off, finally returning to the Order of the Malefic Viper despite the unpredictable traffic along the way.

--

Back in the empty void, only Oras remained, his form ever-shifting. The sea of eyes moved, bending and twisting until it suddenly opened up, revealing one eye among an endless ocean that looked different from all the others.

If Jake were there, he would have recognized it as the Vision of Oras he had infused his Primeval Origin Energy into.

Oras observed it. Inspected it. Embraced and made it part of his being. In the next moment, the Void God departed, having accomplished what he had come for.

A promise had been fulfilled.

His reward was reaped.

Records planted.

Desired future… closer.

Comments

Still a Chekhov’s gun

Colin

My gut tells me Oras is cool. No one who gives away perception lolipops can possible be evil. He's just a lil insane by our standards.

Inv7ctus

He also has that, it's just his bloodline

Parker Bond

My guess is he just used the situation to his advantage, but I could be wrong.

Parker Bond

Hey, did it’s just get a baby? And…omg, was Oras the one behind this whole thing? Because he definitely seemed strangely invested and pleased. Hm…Or other Void gods, because they have unknown, weird abilities.

ABTelford

Oras the opportunist or Oras the sneaky void god. I cannot decide.

Jamie

TYFTC!

Rachel Clements

Tyftc

SuperAzureReader

Insane theory - love it!

Barkus1231!

Yeah this was my thought. Other was that Oras as all seeing can view time differently so the favor repaid was Jake infusing the eye.

Nick Brakhage

I like to think its because he can feel there is something up there connected to him, cause he probably has a karmic link to the eye he just empowered.

Meyster

Villious Blasphemy!

Samuel Granderson

I believe that the various void gods are each an aspect of the first sage with Oras being the sage’s sight

Spencer Needler

So i haven't seen it yet but the void gods are connected to the first sage.

Kuniku778

As the culprits are still ultimately a mystery, the obliteration will have to wait a little bit haha

Seen Death

Stormild might be my new favorite primordial.

Cody

Tyftc

Chloe

Oras wants what Managa wants and what the king desires. Variations of themselves to call offspring. Everyone wants a little me that's different and better, or just happy.

Tyler czerniejewski

I think it was him taking advantage. He probably knows who the group is and is watching the timelines. I wouldn't be suprised if void gods have a unique relationship with the system like bloodlines, therefore is able to watch Jakes futures

Timothy Spradlin

Seems like oras could have been the culprit as he is the only one in the situation the has the means to do it. And it says at the end of the chapter his reward had been reaped. Maybe the favor owed to jake was the void bead empowered and he set up the whole situation in order to use jakes ability’s on himself. The plan would have worked either way, either jake figured out to use to bead to contact “help” giving a karmic free way use his powers or jake would be forced to after artemis failed to protect the vessel.

Ryan Page

Well, he started at 327 (hence why he was able to level up to 328) so yes, 10 levels.

Alex

Bro Ora's is so nonchalant hahahaha

Boffadeez

328 to 337. "ten levels" lol

Justin Lucier

So does oras just pluck out a eyeball and hand it to Jake

Death56

Tyftc Zogarth! 🍻

JW Saxby

So was Oras behind the plot or did he just use the opportunity

Bent Sommer

Do void gods have the same blessings system as normal gods?

Dave

You’ve also got to keep in mind that Void Gods like Oras are eldritch entities with alien sensibilities. A lot of the stuff he does that makes no sense isn’t him trying to be secretive and mysterious, it’s just that he’s an incomprehensible, weird creature.

Alex

I hope Oras upgrades Arnold’s blessing to True. Definitely Chosen material.

Hayden Leech

When speaking to someone out the order I think he would call it that

Nano

Very interesting chapter but there is one line that I find odd. Would Villy really refer to his order As the order of the malefic viper and not just say lets return to the order instead? “Wow, you’re really good at avoiding experiencing losses,” Villy commented. “Not that it’s a big thing. Anyhow, let’s actually get moving and return to the Order of the Malefic Viper.” I don't know why it just seems off for him to refer to his order by the full name when it's his order.

Xerecs

Tyfc! I find the whole Jake looks up then regrets his decision and looks back down to be freaking hilarious.

Indevan Jones

I love the developments with Oras. He is by far one of the most interesting and mysterious characters of the story. Every time he speaks it's always so criptic and leaves a mystery to think about and solve. What's his goal? Is his agenda good or bad for Jake? I feel like Arnold wanting to understand him more every time we interact with him

Childish Jordino

Mysterious as hell. Now I have even more theories but I’ve theorized incorrectly waaay more times than not. So I’ll leave it lol But I’m very curious as to what that Jake made Eye of Oras has given to the Void god. He definitely was hoping for it happen that way and obviously still has more hopes for a particular future. It’s really weird to see Villy not know something. But I’m sure he’s knows more than he’s letting on even if it’s not a complete picture.

DirePants

Loving the Oras feeling like Abathur from SC2. Still salty about Viper not going on a rampage :(. We will see tomorrow I guess

CT

I wonder if Jake can infuse his origin juice into his own stats making them beyond the system.

kaimen jones

Oras be plotting

Burkes

Would you intercept me? I’d intercept me

Polaris

Oras just sitting there heavy breathing saying "Would you lick me... Yeah, I'd lick me"

Corvid

Pretty sure she has cooties

Corvid

Interesting idea. I dunno if it's directly what you're talking about, but it kinda functioned like that bit when he was actually in the shadow realm fighting the chimera thing. Guess because a fair amount of the records and concepts used to make it were based on simjake's understanding of shadowvault and stuff. But further down the line maybe he could manifest it for far longer, go the full simultaneous supposition route like that.

Corvid

Oras has quickly shot up in “Important Character” rankings

Kevin Watson

Or part of Jakes bloodline power to have super perception.

Joshua Little

Thanks for the chapter.

Joshua Little

Nahhh book 3 when he traveled between the order and home. This is the first time he actually stayed and interacted with the void god

Zack Dehart

Maybe oras got unlimited perception with that one eye. Or an ability like omnipotence beyond the system.

kaimen jones

why do you say a hive mind?

Powers

I have a question. Did Jake ever compare his Eternal Shadow to Schrödinger’s cat? If not could Jake add the “same” concepts to it, to maybe amplify the existing concepts. Maybe allowing to dodge even later or straight up tanking hits fully while in his ‘real’ body but not really. Edit: Also, sry if I stole someone’s idea or someone brought it up already. I try to read all the comments

HoresKnight

Book 7 chapter 19 is when we first met Oras if anyone else is curious

ThatGuy

And with just a small coda at the end… oras is working towards his own goals. Whether that is to the benefit of Jake or not we shall see! TFTC

Tom C

I am guessing a really good thing

Ty Cooper

Oh no! I have a bad feeling the results of that meal are going to be our cliffhanger.

Ty Cooper

After the disaster of the Wheel of Time show I am not sure my heart could take a hit like that to PH.

Ty Cooper

Now, should Jake let Artemis have a lick of his lollipop? Having perception as her main stat and all. Also for the immature jokes.

Michael Fannon

One eye 'returned' to what it was always meant to be, infinite to go! Goodluck jake! *cackles in madness*

Seen Death

bro needs to switch professions asappp

Hussein Zenki

Villy

Jesse Trudelle

Is villa stronger than Oras?

Jesse Trudelle

what studio do we want to make the PH movies. Disney, amazon, and Netflix are out, but I can't think of one I would trust

brjenness

I agree. Oras is the All-Knowing. Meaning he sees what is, was, or will ever be. He knows the level that Jake will reach and is building his alliance with Jake for what the future will bring. Jake might eventually become more powerful that Oras.

Lemonsqueezy

Oras knows all that was, is, or will be. Villas is different, he can never forget. Villas doesn't know everything, he just never forgets what he learned or experienced.

Lemonsqueezy

Giving Oras what is essentially a new form of eye has got to be why jake got so many levels and also why I imagine Oras decided this was a favor if it even brought his desired future closer. Tyftc

Ben Cox

“Wow, seen through by the all-seeing Void God.” Has got to be one of the funniest moments in all of the books XD

Adam McCarter

I think Oras's all seeing nature gives him a less than linear vision into relative timescales. So he sees the many values in another perception based being reaching pinnacle godhood being a good thing. Also JJ is as valuable to his path when infused into a treasure based on perception he created. This void god is out here granting gifts to someone in a way that will only benefit him. Void God 911 just power with JJ. Yes we will replace the one you lost. No we don't mind that you have suped up a portion of our perception records by focusing their records back to their ancient origins. Please call us again as this has been most profitable.

Kenneth Welever

I thought at first the Vision of Oras beads were sealed eyes but that doesn’t make much sense..I think Oras can read Jakes bloodline, or at least understands his ability to see anything that’s around him. Maybe the records planted won’t come into play till evolution or a later skill upgrade.

Ithuriel

Plus, I think using a giant space worm that can carry a full army, has great armor, and is another chosen is just cool.

KenTX325

Holy levels batman! Im being selfish but im dreading the upcoming break, but we are about to get some serious tom foolery at the order. Let's see what that yip of yor gift does!

RnR_ RnR

Sounds like Jake will need a safer form of travel. I think using Sandy would be ideal. Hard to hijack transport through the void when traveling in “Sandy’s sand world” or subspace.

KenTX325

If he is the true seeker of knowledge, what better prize than Jake’s bloodline ability

Chris Connolly

So what if rather than a new or secret faction, this whole thing was orchestrated by Oras which is why he is being so easy going about everything. Oras has an unknown but clearly incredibly powerful control over everything in the void. How hard would it be for him to manipulate the reality to the extent of replicating gods in a somewhat simple way to impersonate ones that have traveled through the void in the past. Maybe the reason it was commented that the gods were using simple attacks is because that’s the limitation on his replication ability. Also would be why several gods were willing to experience true death, because they are essentially simulations

Chris Connolly

Whqt would an awakened all seeing eye see?... Orcas, if you are reading this. Just know Jake was never my favorite. You are. Jakes just... also cool if he fits in your plans...right?

Silver

I think he saw the possibility of the item he gave Jake becoming significant to him if given primal origin energy and that it would call to him. Well worth the price of a rescue to get something like that. So he gave another. Jake's got emergency oras search and rescue while in the void and the god is all there for it.

Kenneth Welever

Oras is one long sighted stealthy m-fer!!!! What the ambushers tried to take by force he got it donated in spades!!!! Boooom 💥💥💥

Xien

Thanks for the chapter, it was a good one, again 😅

Sarianne

That goddess who spoke to Jake was doing something to it

Paul B

I’m wondering if it also directly increased his/his equivalent of a perception stat or allowed this eye to gain a new way of perceiving things.

Little Silly

Wait when was there a hole blown in the side of the vessel?

patrick__starz

spoiler/bs alert. it ends with Jake feeding origin juice to a b grade oras who says, "faith, hope, sacrifice, victory possible." and Jake hugs him.

brjenness

This chap brings some weird things to the surface (1. ) Void energy + Primal Energy = …?… a cute void eye ? (2.) Those Sylphie has new brother? (3.) Oras….his angle is just so out in left field that it my require its on ark to unpack

Victor Desantiago

surely the Viper is considering the ramification of Jake using his JJ on the eye and he doesn't seem worried so maybe it's a good thing?

Ben Woodward

Crazy bro that’s cool tho

vio

A new Void lollipop. Yay! Thanks for the chapter

Sogala

Like the dungeon monitors being awed by Jake’s dedication, I am awed by Zogarth’s dedication and the work ethic he brought to his story. Many thanks Zogarth!

Zizawah

Nah I woundnt go that far but them being friends is a possibility

Phil Ritter

first direct convo between Artemis and villy without her being freaked out. one step closer to the two of them sharing beers making fun of jake.

brjenness

Never trust lollipops from strangers

TouchingPriests

cult of oras...archer/alchemists traveling the void looking for eyeballs to lick

brjenness

DirePants

I could believe Oras endangering Jake so that he could get Jake to empower the eye, but the whole element of using a mixture of dead and living gods for an ambush just seems so contrary to what we know of him.

Sachieiel

Is Oras actually the first sage?

James B Barrett

Well, we don't know. There are hints here and there, but what they add up to is anyone's guess at the moment. The notable things are: sphere of perception, danger sense + instincts, harbinger powers, powerful presence + presence immunity, ability to refuse being inferior/controlled, arcane affinity, the temporary super-instinct + control over concepts shown during Valdemar fight, and being unknown to the first sage

Sachieiel

Yes.

Drew

Damn that last part wasn’t slightly ominous at all

Demonshadow639

Thinking about it for a bit does the eye being part of oras mean that Jake is basically siphoning stats from the god itself? The amount a C-Grade needs would be insignificant to someone like Oras but the concept behind it is kind of unsettling. Or the second option. Oras is so perceptive that licking the Void just leads to a perception increase which would be hilarious

Phil Ritter

TYFTC <3

echo.mov

Is it to far fetched to believe First Sage knew Jake would exist and one of the ways he is helping is through Oras

Silver Dawn

This has been a great transition Zogarth. Seriously it blows my mind how often you are able to blow my mind even this far into the story. You mentioned taking some time off this month, please man take care of yourself. We all appreciate what you’re doing and how hard you are working. You’re still human and need some time to not have to worry about work. Thanks for the chapter.

Takoda Heitz

Man Sage what you do

ItWasIDIO!!

That was pretty funny and unexpected.

ABTelford

He would have just gotten Arnold to ask nicely and Jake would have done it.

Devillelouch

oras knows the integration of the 94th universe will unleash a hive mind on the multiverse and Jake is essential to defeating them.

brjenness

See I think Oros being the ringleader is a red herring, I do believe he saw it coming tho

GuyManGuy

Arnold could have just asked for Jake Juice. It would have been a much simpler way to get the exact same result. This way would just make Gods suspicious of Oras.

Devillelouch

This was a fantastic chapter! Great dialogue, great info, great new mystery with Oras! I hope we get a good deal more info on what this Origin energy did to/for Oras…I thought for a second he had a kid now, but probably not from the description…hm…every other guess is me pulling BS from thin air. Hm…So fun!!! 😀

ABTelford

Quote from last chapter- Rigoria is out “Sylphie mentioned that the Holy Church and Rigoria are being real meanies. Do you think one of those two suddenly lost their minds?” Stormild asked, not sounding like she actually thought any of them were involved. “Heh, no way. I’m not saying they aren’t capable of having nurtured and hidden gods away from the rest of the multiverse, but that neither of them is dumb enough to try something like this,” Villy shook his head. “Which kind of gets to the crux of the issue… I don’t know to whom any of this could be worth it. Unless they know something I don’t, there’s no reason to take such a massive risk just to kidnap Jake.”

Devillelouch

They why did the First Sage in the Path vision know so little? Wouldnt the boots connect to Oras than? Why make Arnold the blessed instead of Jake?

Devillelouch

Not sure it'd really be worth it. The time for palate to actually get anything worthwhile about items is based on the complexity. For the C grade version of palate it'd probably take centuries to get anything worthwhile out of the Vision, and he wouldn't be able to analyze anything else in the meantime

Dominic Loporto

So Oraa has his future sight always on or in order words he sees in the fourth dimension. Therefore, he treats Jake as a god he will be for most of his life, not the c grade he is now.

Sean McClain

Oooh! Oh my god! Mid week secret drop! Haha 😁 thanks for the chapter!

Kt-x

The Primordial Church Theory - NOBODY EXPECTS THE PRIMORDIAL INQUISITION The primordial church are hiding behind devotion to steal corpses. The primordial church is just a bunch of parasites who have taken over powerful corpses using the ideas gained from the primordials transcendences/defining features. Reasons: 1- The Eternal Servant is one of the earliest named Gods, appearing in the augur of hope list with Atlas and Autemius. He has high mentions and a side story, so for a throw away or joke character that seems unlikely. 2- Is from the first Universe and ascended in the second era. Those characters are ALL monsters except the ES. Also how is just devotion a path to godhood? This faction has become historians on the primordials so they should be able to dodge their detection. 3- How did the PC not die when every Primordial finds them annoying? All of them have faction wiped for lesser offenses. So PC are clearly strong. 4- The power set borrows from each primordials key feature or transcendence, with only the daofather being the exception. Villy- Record Transmuting, BF- Race Creation, Eversmile- Karma Erasure, Stormild- Destruction(Corpse Cleaning), HM- Corpse Land, AC- No Corpse Decay, Wyrmgod- Corpse Land is a Dungeon(or its space), Valdemar- Passive and Persistent, Ygg- Infusing life into dead, Rigoria- Replication, ST- Coin to hold oblivion, Daofather- No idea. 5- Their blessed are hilariously weak and their gods appear no where, not even Nevermore(the domain of a primordial they worship which should be a high honor) or the Vipers Ceremony. They would also know all of the enemies and weaknesses of the primordials to create an army that would rival them. 6- Felix is weak which doesn't matter as he would become a parasite. They only care about the corpses level. Why his path aligns; A sculptor is studying the target to depict them in the sculptor. A parasite similarly studies and then tries to depict the host to fool allies of the host. Haven where Felix is also just happens to have had a myconid. 7- The anti-parasite rules. They would be kill on sight even as Gods because the violate the bloodline accords among other multiverse rules. 8- They are suicidal which allows them to clean the bodies. It is a great cover and gives them the resource they need. Also they are the one faction who would collect the dead as objects of worship. 9- Why now? Viper is back and/or Jakes Heretic path/ HoPO causes their hiding method to fail. The two main gods only sent avatars, so Jake didnt see them as the parasites or funguses they are. Also they may have a first sage connection, with it most likely being antagonistic. 10- Why would they be good antagonists? General disregard for life and morals so even Jakes parents are in danger. Historians so we will get deep lore from learning about the PC during the war. It would explain why the universe stagnated. The PC are killing and taking over powerful corpses. Finally you would have the 93rd era be flooded with the strongest corpses for the parasites to use to kill Jake. Had two 3 hour conversations on this so each topic can be expanded. But this is my Primordial Church theory. Think Darth Jar Jar or The Usual Suspects. Challenges: First Sage Connection unknown? Point 9 needs story confirmation. Why would Oras not reveal the truth?

Devillelouch

So I’m fully behind the idea that it’s down to Rigoria and her pantheon, especially when I consider what Villy asked Artemis about the spacecraft they were using. Automaton origin, right?”

Rewdan

Curious to know what being the Primal Hunter even means. Obviously this is ignoring the obvious facts that jakes a hunter and has his juice. Like how do they play into each other? I may be forgetting something 😂

LemonPerson

Okay now I don’t trust Oras! I have enough trust issues as it is and you had to go turning him into a primeval Eldridge abomination which is just great!

Nathan Holliday

I love that Jake has a (relatively) high chance to randomly getting XP whenever he interacts with a bunch of gods. Either he acts like Billy's chosen to reap those sweet levels or he doesn't act like a chosen and he can still get rewarded. It's so neat ^^

Schneeente

Tftc

Beemoss

Thanks for the chapter!

Arieh Sochaczevski

It had to be oras behind it all. Fighting just to buy time instead of killing Artemis. They knew were they would be in the void. Gods disappeareing in unknown spaces. Well the void is everywhere and he is the all seeing. It was all just to give Jake time to think of and execute that plan.

zozzy the beast

I’m really curious how this story will end, cause I hope we get a lot of adventures with Jake in god hood,but I wonder how long it will take, we will probably need a lot of time skips. I want to see him explore world wonders with villy as “equals” and hunt a bunch of other gods and stuff with . I will say it’s also interesting that this kidnapping group is really the first potential long term “enemy” we have at the moment, I hope they play a big part in events going further

Violet

well that is one hell of a way to end chapter 1200. That is another 100 chapters down, just another few thousand until Jake is B-Grade.

A. B. Edwards

The idea of them being adversarial was already planted for us readers back when the first sage showed Jake his fight with one. If Jake continues following in the bootsteps of the first sage, it may lead him to a similar battle

alaric

Nope, the Juice has to be given willingly by Jake

Cees Tollenaar

Reminds me of the blind chick from Elden Ring eating “grapes”

Chegs

Nice! He rewarded Jake for the act of summoning him for help, basically. Didn’t think of that! Which of course makes me wonder if Oras was the ringleader

Jason

Either a completely new arc in the future or Or as is involved with this kidnapping plot. Very interesting. After 10+ books it is usually hard for a writer to come up with new twists that are original. Kudos. TFTC

Jul Silver

Oras owes Jake big time

Rewdan

Ha I knew it Oras got some of that Jake juice. Making it completely worth it to rescue Jake as he owed him for it. But that makes me wonder if Jake is subconsciously inserting Jake juice just by having the orb with him?

Orod

pretty sure oras is getting visions of past and future.

Thenais

Is anyone else wondering if Zog is a swinger?

Kelvin Garcia

Nice!! TFTC

Dave

My guess is Oras plans on consuming the void or some other bs and primeval energy is how he’s gonna do it

Borbino the great

Oras came out tops in that one.

Rewdan

Jake's been sucking a void eyeball since entering C grade. That's both hilarious for when he finds out and icky cuz again he's been sucking off a void god for decades

David Hall

Oras what have you done?

Rewdan

So good but damn did i want to get the item description of the primal energy version of visions of Oras. I have a feeling he gave Oras a part of himself that is physical and not part of the void. Possibly giving oras a chance to interact with physical reality.

Ty Cooper

They didn't telport out, the two that were avatars had them destroyed and the others died so there'd be nothing to track

Aceln

Curious to know what the end means

LemonPerson

Yeah Jake is definitely going to fight Void gods at some point in the distant future. There is no way Oras new eyes doesn't send echoes through the endless void of something new appearing. All types of nasties will come calling

Sprightly Ebbie

Wild thought, almost definitely not true....but! What if, Oras is the First Sage? Shave off all the Records tying him/it to the Viper and Humanity. While also losing some of his memories and identity. Leaving just The records that made him terrifyingly powerful.

Devin Williams

I don't know why, but I was expecting that eye mentioned at the end to be the First Sage's

John Burton

Im not sure if that ending was ominous or not lol.

Posiden 300

First Sage?

Jennifer Leigh

Besides all the things that happened I had this weird thought how it might be if Jake asked Villy for a piggyback ride back to the Order😂

NoctisMi

I don't think so. We know that most pinnacle beings are inherently selfish. Nothing is done solely out of the goodness of ones heart in this multiverse. Oras knows that sticking close to Jake is a pathway to greater power. Just like Villy and everybody else who's spent time around Jake. Jake's also getting great stuff in return, like not dying and having half the people he loves murdered in front of him. Then likely getting killed shortly after once the bad guys realize he can't remove his chosen Blessing from Villy.

Biggy smalls

OK, that ending wasn't ominous in any way.

Jonathan

The plot continues to thicken. Wonder what this means for Oras? He now has a Jake Juiced up eye. Zog you really are layering this cake with all this. So many things we don’t know going into this next Arc. Please tell us some interesting things will be revealed in B-grade Jake’s adventures.

Cory S.

Holy shit you’re definitely onto something with this one

James

I can't believe it took me this long to think of it but why didn't Jake mark the god? Or why can't Jake mark gods?

Paul B

Cause he's a thirsty void god.... he can....ahem...SEE.... the value

Shadowessence

I just want Jake to chuck vision of oras in his palate once fixed. Actually understand that item.

Georgia Guy-Williams

I wonder if Oras' promise has anything to do with the First Sage. I can't stand the thought of Oras scheming over Jake even though he's an unfeeling Void God so I hope there's an innocent explanation

Adam Taylor

I mean considering that it’s likely hard for Oras to observe a newly initiated universe with all the system restrictions and Jake is at the epicentre of much of the action there it only makes sense to place a eye with him to keep up to date. Not that i believe he did it maliciously

Phil Ritter

I may be on to something. In other words, I'm ABout to throw out a theory that will annoy some people. The big baddies are.,,.a cult that seeks to abolish all memory of knight rider and airwolf and this whole situation is just a case of mistaken identity,,,he who hunts,,,jason,,.

brjenness

Chances are high he is the one with the most perception among all the gods we know of so who knows how his Vision developed and what he can see. We already know what sick stuff the dragonfly true royal could pull of with her perception build so it’s not really that unexpected

Phil Ritter

Umm it sounds like the Void lollipop is one of Oras' eyes

khielira

That's what I think. I think he saw this ambush from the beginning and set things in motion to get the thing he needed.

Dave Powell

Emotional roller coaster... redacted... what r u up to zog... oh OK. Comments would have been fun if he had thrown out redacted and never explained,

brjenness

Really clever way to skip a lot of dead time writing an alchemy grind. Great chapter

Grant

Remember when perception was explained by artemis, how it can help the person perceive stuff differently from everyone else, how it works like a sixth sense and improves one's instincts? What if oras has a level of comprehension where he foresaw something that breaks the natural order (the system) and jake is the final piece in the puzzle to help him out

Mohammed Sheekh

Tftc

Matthias

Ten levels, very nice. Easy to see how Jake grinds the rest of his profession levels before B grade with the upcoming bane potion work and fixing & upgrading Palete. It's nice to see Artemis becoming a bit more comfortable around Villy.

djthomp

I doubt Oras caused all this for some of Jake’s juice. Jake would likely given him some if he asked nicely and proposed a ritual. I think Oras is just happy at how this worked out

Phil Ritter

Called it ! For the oras eye thing ! TYFTC

Laurent Jerry

"Promise fulfilled"... so many questions

Nick

If I remember correctly, Villy had to help out through their link for Jake to accomplish the feat. Since the link was shrouded, it was’nt an option:))

NiceTryMate

I suppose it is possible that the ambush was planned by Oras in order to get his hand on the primeval origin energy. Which would likely make him a bad guy. But also it could be equally likely that he had either knowledge of future or had been contacted by the Sage in the past, who had maybe been contacted by Jake in the future who relayed this information and made some kind of a deal with the Oras of the past… anyway TFTC!

Pekka Kohonen

i think Oras is simply happy that he got the orb with the harbinger origins, so he sees that as a good enough reward for helping them.

Rui

Thank you for the chapter can’t wait to see how this arc goes

James

Heh, and Jake said that he owed Oras. I bet Oras strongly disagrees

Rick Delallata

I’ve been looking forward to chapter 1234 ever since we hit the 1000 mark

Jordan Rogers

Tftc

Meir Banon

Holy crap, I love Oras! @Zogarth, you have a way to make characters really strong, really cool, useful for the story, but not so much that it makes the story boring. Just makes it better!

Daniel Brian

Oras probably got a shit ton of records from absorbing the void ball thing. Since his whole deal is observing and likely data collection, having a part of him infused with Jake juice definitely gave him a lot of insight, likely having a better understanding than Jake on it.

Assault1217

Ooooh, was the ambush a setup by Oras to push Jake into using the Eye to call him for help, knowing that the Origin-infused Eye would then be super special for Oras to keep. I hope he's doing it for good reasons though & doesn't turn out to be a super meanie...

Morgan LF

That was my thinking

Jordan Rogers

TFTC :) Suggested edits: "was interesting *the* Oras kept" should be "that" "perhaps awakening would be more *right*?" should be "correct" "item *appeared* just above Jake and floated down to *appear* in front of him." repetitive. Its already appeared so doesnt make sense to appear again. should use "hover" instead.

Xander

Only time will reveal if Jake has set in motion an event that screws over many with that Origin eye

lockx

Wait was Ora’s behind the whole thing.

Matthew

So it was Oras all along?

Reyhulko

Damn, didn't think that Oras would be edit giga. That's dope. Favorite void God

Exaiter

Banger of a chappy Zog

ByLordMatsLuck

Is Oras trying to become a real boy?

Canis

That ending though?!?!?!?! Fun little foreshadowing. Really want to read about what Oras wants that Jake juice for!!!!!!!

Cyranosaurus

Well shit guess i should refresh first before i post the exact same idea

frankie doerr

Tftc!

Jared Bell

Hey Zogarth couldn't Jake use his new invocation and pride together again to pose as villy. Even Artemis fell for it?

GeneralBlack

And so ends the story of our beloved space pineapple

Fdrugc

How much do you want to bet the first sage had alittle talk with oras in the first era

frankie doerr

What if Oras knows the First Sage? And, in turn, maybe Jake's connection to Oras goes way deeper than he realizes, and Oras was also expecting Jake long before the 93rd universe was integrated.

Dan

Tftc

Fdrugc

Tftc

NicN

Jake always gets great gains from his god level shenanigans. With that boost, he is running out of time to procrastinate fixing Palate.

Unwillingmainer

Wait a fucking minute. Did Oras do all this to get some of Jake’s primeval origin energy?

Kittenz 2020

Oras has some of the jake juice and got some bonus from it? energy from a bloodline the gives crazy amounts of perception. just a guess but maybe that was a big big deal for Oras?

Curtis Cairns

Thank you for the chapter

joel southard

Damn Oras just leveled up in life good for him

frankie doerr

Jake Juice for Void Lollipops, sounds like a great deal for everybody involved

wyattmon

Yeah I'm first

Surge sir

Tyfc

Robin

Congrats on 1200 chapters

Polaris

Man those last couple of lines gave me chills.

mitchell kaiser

Thanks for the chapter

BlackRazaras

Thanks for the chapter and hope everyone has a pleasant Wednesday

Loststar7

Ree!

Sylphie

💪

Damian Marzycki

Tyftc!!

Talmadge Hires

Tftc

WhiteLincoln

Tftc

Shadowind

Thanks for the chapter

Connor

TYFTC!

Jessy D


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