Chapter 831 - Nevermore: To Be A Package Delivery Worker
Added 2024-01-18 11:55:40 +0000 UTCDelivery jobs were definitely one of the most vital functions of modern society. Before the system, who could even live without getting stuff delivered to their house within a day of ordering it online? It was truly an impossibility, and the hard-working delivery workers were the ones who made that a reality.
Jake had spent a while in university working as a delivery driver to make some money and let’s just say he didn’t particularly enjoy the job. True, there was something zen and relaxing about having a route and a set number of packages every day to deliver, being entirely on his own throughout. At least it was zen until the quotas just got more and more unrealistic to the point it began to interfere with Jake’s studies, making him quit.
All of this is to say that Jake entered the Neverending Journey with a clear advantage over most other Nevermore Attendees as he had experience in the field. Surely, working as a package delivery driver for less than a year over a century ago would have led to translateable skills in a Challenge Dungeon within a World Wonder, right?
Jake’s thoughts on the description of the Challenge Dungeon were also pretty simple. The entire thing seemed straightforward from an initial assessment, but he got the feeling it wasn’t as so. Why did the Wyrmgod feel the need to warn so many times about people trying to take advantage of him? Especially the note about trusting no one set a kind of ominous tone of what was to come. One thing’s for sure: this wasn’t just going to be about going fast from A to B. Definitely still a part of it, but far from everything.
Still standing outside of the city, watching the crowd enter, he tried to get a better feeling for the people he would be dealing with. A few quick uses of Identify showed that the guards at the checkpoint were all around high to peak D-grade, with a single C-grade captain of sorts sitting inside of the guard building, reading something.
Seeing this, and considering he was meant to be a Courier, Jake didn’t sneak in but got in the queue to enter. He even went as far as to remove his mask, pull down his hood, and lowered his level to just over 200 using Shroud of the Primordial. At this early juncture, he saw no need to attract unnecessary attention.
After about ten minutes of queuing, it was Jake’s turn. He went up to the small booth with a bored-looking elven guard sitting on a stool within. ”Name, level, and occupation.”
”Jake, level 212, no formal work, but looking to become a Courier.”
The guard looked up and quickly gave Jake a scan. ”New around these parts? Where do you hail from?”
”Never been in this area before, no,” Jake answered, not answering the last part on purpose.
Noticing this, the guard narrowed his eyes. ”I asked you where you’re from?”
”Nowhere,” Jake answered kind of truthfully. ”I’m a hunter. I just went wherever I wanted and always traveled before this.”
”Hmph,” the man let out a sound as he shook his head. Using some device that looked a bit like a typewriter, he wrote a few things before printing out a small credit card-looking thing and handing it to Jake.
”Here, hold onto that. It’s an identification card. If you are looking for Courier Jobs, check out the local Guild Hall,” he said after handing the card over. ”Oh yeah, and don’t cause any trouble.”
”Thank you. I’ll be on my best behavior,” Jake smiled and nodded as he headed into the city. Checking out the small card on the way, he quickly read what was on it. It was as basic as could be; just saying he was an early-tier level 212 C-grade, had set occupation as blank, and name as Jake. Besides that, there was a small magical seal down in the corner, probably functioning the same as a pre-system chip or watermark.
He had arrived during the day, and the city was positively buzzing. The streets were filled, and Jake guessed this place alone housed a few hundred thousand. Race-wise, he saw a lot of humans, but there were also plenty of other enlightened races. He even saw his fair share of beasts both in and out of humanoid form. Among them, the highest leveled one he saw was level 234, so still a bit low, but a good start considering he was currently in the easiest part of the Challenge Dungeon.
Walking down the well-paved streets with actual streetlights lining it, Jake didn’t at all feel like he was in a dungeon. The people there also weren’t merely window-dressing but acted entirely normal, so that was a good thing.
With his Pulse, he quickly managed to locate the Guild that the guard had mentioned. It was a massive building toward the center of the city, about six stories tall. It was also filled with people, with dozens exiting and entering every minute – some from the doors and some flying off the roof.
On that note, this city had sky-lanes. Marked areas in the air for people to fly, much akin to usual roads, just in the third dimension. It wasn’t something Jake hadn’t seen before, but in this city, it seemed especially well-managed, with colored beams of light directing people.
Entering the guild building, Jake quickly took in the atmosphere. It reminded him a bit of an old bar mixed with a bank, if that made sense. It didn’t quite give off the Adventure Guild vibe, but it seemed a lot more professionally organized. You even had to take a number while waiting your turn to talk to the employees.
Something Jake promptly did as he found an empty seat to wait. As he was sitting there, he began to scan the room more, including the people in it. There were very few present not in C-grade, with most organized into parties of sizes ranging between three and ten. What did genuinely surprise him was to see what made up these teams.
It was a mix of all races, even more extreme than on the streets. These parties included beasts and other kinds of monsters, many of which weren’t even in humanoid form, and no one batted an eye. Jake wasn’t really the one to talk, considering he was often seen with Sylphie, but he still thought it was weird to see a large wolf sitting at a table, eating from a plate with excellent table manners.
After waiting for a good ten minutes, Jake was called to one of the tills where a dwarf with a massive beard sat. ”So, how can I help you today? Oh, and can I have your identification card, please.”
”Looking for work,” Jake said as he also handed the dwarf the card.
The dwarf quickly took the card and scanned it under the desk before handing it back. After seeing the result, it was Jake’s turn to get a scan, and he felt the use of Identify on him as the dwarf nodded. ”You’re new around here, aren’t you? No affiliations? You give off that kind of vibe.”
”Right,” Jake confirmed, pretty damn sure this was scripted by the Wyrmgod. ”Heard you may be looking for a Courier?”
Jake hadn’t actually heard that; he just felt like this was how the conversation was going to go. This entire scenario reminded him a bit of that damn Test of Character at the moment as Jake had to play a role… but at least he could make that role entirely his own.
”Couldn’t be more right,” the dwarf gave him a big smile. ”Got a few jobs available. Check them out.”
Just like that, three floating system messages appeared between Jake and the dwarf.
Courier Job 1 (Easy): Deliver a letter to the Merchant’s Union within the city.
Courier Job 1 (Medium): Transport a small shipment of ores to the Firesteel Blacksmith within the city.
Courier Job 1 (Hard): Deliver a Darkeye Diamond to Polsted in Polsted’s Jewelry Shop within the city.
Quickly skimming the three options, they all just seemed too damn easy. What’s more, they were all within the city. If he had to guess, this was just some kind of tutorial job.
”Can I accept all of them at once?” Jake tried to ask.
”Hah, only one at a time; it isn’t sure the client wants to keep waiting forever for you to finish other deliveries before getting to theirs,” the dwarf waved him off.
”I’ll take the job to deliver the Darkeye Diamond, then,” Jake said, naturally choosing the ”hard” option.
”Good, had trouble finding anyone to deliver that for the entire day,” the dwarf said with a smile as he quickly reached below the desk and took out a token before handing it to Jake. ”As you said you were looking for work, I assume you don’t have a Courier Medallion yet?”
”And you would be right,” Jake nodded.
”Take this, then,” the dwarf said as he handed a small metal token that looked like a big coin to Jake. ”Infuse some energy into it and bind it to you.”
Jake looked at the Courier Medallion for a bit as he used Identify, seeing its properties.
[Courier Medallion (Inferior)] – the lowest rarity of Courier Medallion for a novice in the field. This Medallion will hold information related to jobs and can give general directions to your destination if those are provided (may not be entirely reliable). Will automatically upgrade as Courier Jobs are completed and your reputation grows.
Requirements: Soulbound
Seeing no reason not to do as asked – and feeling pretty sure getting this Medallion was mandatory anyway - Jake infused some energy into the item, making it his own. As he did, the dwarf took out a piece of paper that turned into energy and flew into the token.
Courier Job accepted.
”Right, everything should be in the Medallion now,” the dwarf said with a courteous smile. ”Just two seconds while I go grab the diamond.”
Jake nodded as the dwarf left to a back room where he unlocked what looked like a magical safe. He did some magic stuff as a small jewelry box appeared in his hand, wrapped in some kind of cloth with runes on it. Likely a protective measure.
Returning to Jake, he carried the box carefully with both hands but stopped right before he put it down on the table.
”Just to make sure, you do have a spatial storage item yourself, right? Or will you need to borrow one?” the dwarf asked.
”I got my own,” Jake confirmed.
”Excellent!” the dwarf said as he put down the box. Jake instantly put it in his necklace, keeping it away from prying eyes.
”Also… before you go, just a bit of a warning,” the dwarf suddenly turned serious after Jake took the item. ”This diamond is quite valuable, and I heard there might be others out to get it themselves. So be careful, alright? Only give it to old Polsted personally. When the job is done, we will know, but still come back here if you need more work after.”
”I’ll be careful and definitely come back later,” Jake said, matching the same solemn energy of the dwarf.
”You know, I am getting a good feeling about you. With some good jobs under your belt, your Courier Medallion should upgrade quickly, and I can see you becoming a real known name in the game,” he said encouragingly.
”I bet you say that to every new Courier,” Jake said with a wink as he turned to leave. He wasn’t joking either; he was pretty sure the dwarf did indeed say that to everyone who entered this Challenge Dungeon. At least everyone who didn’t somehow fuck up this early introductory part.
The dwarf just shook his head behind Jake as he walked out of the Guild. He still had the Courier Medallion in his hand and quickly infused some energy according to the faint instinctive knowledge he got when first binding it. As he did, what looked like a compass appeared on its face, pointing toward what he assumed was his destination.
With a direction set, Jake made his way over there. The city was pretty big, yes, but it wasn’t that big, and with a brisk pace and maybe a few One Steps thrown in there, Jake reached the street where the jeweler was placed within minutes. Using the Medallion, he quickly confirmed which shop was this Polsted’s… not that the massive sign above the entrance didn’t also help.
Going toward the store, Jake saw that it looked closed. However, there was someone standing behind a desk inside, so Jake decided to knock on the door. The man behind the desk was a young-looking guy, and when he saw Jake knock, he quickly ran over and opened the door ajar.
”Yes, how can I help you?” he asked carefully. On his way over to the door, Jake noticed quite a few curious gazes from behind, primarily from two beastfolk across the street.
”Courier here. I am meant to deliver a package to Polsted,” Jake said, ignoring the onlookers.
”Ah, the diamond arrived!” the man said happily as he opened the door fully. ”Please come in right away.”
Jake entered the jewelry shop after the young man as they walked toward the large display case. It was filled with expensive-looking jewelry, most of it enchanted but with what Jake would consider pretty low quality enchantments. It was also all made for D-grades, with the properties all being shit. It was probably to not incentivise those doing the Challenge Dungeon to try and rob the store or something.
”Now, can I confirm the goods? I assume you have it with you,” the young man said as he stood behind the counter with a big smile on his lips.
Giving him a look, Jake raised an eyebrow. ”Supposed to deliver it to the owner of this shop, a guy called Polsted.”
”It’s fine. Polsted isn’t in today; that’s why we’re closed,” the young man smoothly explained.
”Oh, how come?” Jake asked. It wasn’t like sick days were a thing after the system arrived.
”He is working hard on a project at home, and I’m honestly not sure when he will be back,” the young man sighed.
”Guess I’ll have to stop by his place and deliver it then,” Jake shrugged.
”Polsted’s gonna be pissed if you disturb him,” the young man said with a slight hint of panic but quickly gathered himself. ”Please, man, don’t make this hard for me. The boss is gonna be up my ass if I let you go interrupt him, and even more pissed if he comes back and the Darkeye Diamond still isn’t here.”
”Sorry, got my orders,” Jake said. ”Now, where does Polsted live?”
The young man seemed to realize Jake wasn’t going to give up the goods and threw a look over Jake’s shoulder to someone outside. He clearly tried to do it subtly, but with Jake’s Perception, how could he possibly hide anything?
”Look, how about I send someone to try and get him?” the young man asked.
Jake didn’t answer right away as he sighed internally. Behind him, the two beastfolk he had seen looking curiously at him earlier entered the store, clearly both trying to be stealthy, considering the fact they both had stealth skills active.
”I think we both know that isn’t going to happen,” Jake sighed.
The young man’s animated smile faded as he sneered. Right as he did so, one of the beastfolk appeared right behind Jake and raised a spear before holding it to Jake’s throat.
”How about you’re just a good little Courier and leave the damn diamond here and fuck off?” the young man said in a pretty threatening tone.
Jake identified the beastfolk with the spear holding the spear, and, honestly, the level impressed him a bit. Level 243 was pretty high compared to most others around, that was for sure.
”Well, isn’t this fun,” Jake commentated out loud, ignoring the spear. ”How about doing this instead: you tell me where to find Polsted, and I don’t kill your two friends here? Alternatively, you can tell me after I kill them.”
The young man looked at Jake as if he was an idiot, and, fair enough, he did look like a level 212 human who had just threatened two people over level 240. So, to make his threat look less dumb, he unleashed some of his aura from his true level.
He did so with the intent to intimidate, but it got an instant reaction from the beastskin threatening him. The spear instantly went for Jake’s throat, making him react as a small layer of scales appeared and blocked the tip of the spear, the weapon utterly failing to penetrate.
”Bad move,” Jake said as he turned his head and looked at the spear wielder, his eyes glowing for a second as Primal Gaze activated. The man collapsed without a sound as Jake turned back to the young man behind the counter, trying to rob him. At least he tried to as the other beastfolk tried to attack Jake full of bloodlust, also earning him a quick look with Gaze as he also fell down like a marionette with its strings cut.
”Now, where were we? Oh yeah, where’s Polsted at?” Jake asked with a smile.
”You… they’re dead… how…”
”Chop chop,” Jake hurried him along. ”Polsted. Location. Now.”
”Al… alright, just please don’t…” the young man stuttered before quickly gathering himself and giving Jake some actual directions.
”See, that wasn’t so hard? Now clean up this place so poor old Polsted doesn’t get into work with two corpses in his store. Can’t be good for business, now can it?” Jake said in a casual tone as he turned and left the store.
As he left the store and headed toward Polsted’s place, Jake couldn’t help but think how this whole Courier thing was indeed incredibly similar to the job he had in university. Except this time around, he had a way better way to handle scammers.
Comments
I'm hoping there's a moment he gets hit on and he lucks up and says "Sorry I got a lady waiting on me to hurry up." Or something like that lol
Kurt Dimm
2024-02-15 22:54:56 +0000 UTCmaybe could've just been four dungeons.
boopsie malone
2024-01-25 12:39:34 +0000 UTCFair, that's why in my op, I said so far. It's eye opening to see people rush to defense, when all I said was im not enthused so far. But i also don't want to spend time reading about images that are deleted and have no direct relation to the existing multiverse. Just reiterating that sentiment.
Micah Molina
2024-01-22 05:15:23 +0000 UTCIt wouldn’t surprise me if El haken wins. It sets up the Yip of yore narrative better
DasGoat622
2024-01-21 17:39:53 +0000 UTCAlso I don’t think Arnold will care about the nuances of the level, he will definitely be top tier in delivery but I don’t think he will care about any of the subtext of the level. I’d say 10% for Arnold. If the level is just about delivery then yes but I think it’s only a small part of the level
DasGoat622
2024-01-21 16:56:47 +0000 UTCTyfc! One small edit suggestion: "..., but he got the feeling it wasn’t as so...." i think everyone understands what you meant but the last part would flow better imo if it said "wasnt as such" or "wasnt so"
Seen Death
2024-01-21 16:46:45 +0000 UTCThere is changes based on jakes actions though, people are comparing this to new vegas quests, and there are also factions in this world. I am positive this challenge dungeon is not nearly as straightfoward as you think it is. First quest was essentially a totorial
Seen Death
2024-01-21 16:44:32 +0000 UTCFortunately for balance reasons, the maximum bonus u can get is 25%, and that is by essentially completing something effectively impossible
Seen Death
2024-01-21 16:40:36 +0000 UTCWhile jake is good at tactical retreats, the difference in grades is massive, the stat differences being major. Similar to that C grade bee that was focused on speed on earth, jake barely made it out alive while being d grade. I would assume the difference between jake mid c grade and a b grade is just a bit too much right now. In minagas laberinth he fought a "decently strong" b grade and couldnt really land good shots and died quite quickly lol
Seen Death
2024-01-21 16:35:35 +0000 UTCI think you are discounting the intuition part of Jake’s bloodline. One of the strongest parts of his bloodline is his “gut feelings”. I think it’s less about social awareness and more about getting the package to the right person. Which Jake should have no problem with intuiting who that is. I also suspect that at some point he will have to decide if the person who he is delivering too is “worthy” of the delivery. Maybe he will have to delivery supplies to some rebel elements or so bad groups. They mentioned factions in the description so I would guess at some point a crime element will come into play.
DasGoat622
2024-01-21 14:41:55 +0000 UTCYes, but the narrative of the previous dungeons had aspects that transferred over to the real world. The Coliseum's final images shared their experience with their true selfs. The second dungeon had the god gathering happening in more detail adding a lot of supplement excitement. The labyrinth had banter with Minaga,a real character, making it one of the best reads amongst the Challenge dungeons, imo. It started to get rough, spending so much time with Temlat. It's just hard to invest with two degrees of separation. Jake even admitted he wasn't sure he would of let Temlat rampage as much of it had actually been a real world. It's just a giant what-if scenario. Hopefully their is more than just Jake playing a simulation game. If it's another image world, hopefully there's more than just playing Paper Boy.
Micah Molina
2024-01-20 05:22:03 +0000 UTCThe first half of the Colisiem of Mortals was rough. While their were highlights, it didn't pick up until the final 6 fights. The Test of Character dungeon, was running simultaneously taking place along side the gathering of Gods, which made that dungeon much easier to read and added a lot of hype. Minagas dungeon, was full of banter between two real characters and updates from others. House of the Architect, started on a high point of introducing Nevermore. Some of the projects were interesting but, imo, spent way too much time on Temlat, that character arc could of easily been a bit more summarized. Now we're back to a dungeon that's essentially has no repercussions, save the final score. The people in the dungeon are just scripted images. Their are no consequences, it's literally like reading about a character in a story that's just playing a video game like BG3 or Mass Effect. I'd rather their be consequences, or at least actual pvp, like the Treasure Hunt or multi-player so we can have actual REAL character discussion and banter. The Colisiem not only ended on probably one of the most epic moments in Nevermore but the images shared their experience with their real counterparts. Making that dungeon probably have the most impact on the story even if the first half started to drag a bit.
Micah Molina
2024-01-20 05:06:36 +0000 UTCThanks for the chapter!
Olof Karlsson
2024-01-19 16:46:16 +0000 UTCHe lowered it to "just over 200."
Chailles
2024-01-19 16:07:24 +0000 UTCLoved the chapter. Did notice when Jake enters the city he sets his lvl to 200 but then declares as a lvl 212
Darral Cate
2024-01-19 14:39:38 +0000 UTCAny idea which book this is up to?
Nick Nicholson
2024-01-19 02:19:33 +0000 UTCAlmost didn’t read this chapter as I was figuring I would save it until the whole challenge dungeon is completed, but ended up really enjoying it. It was just nicely paced.
kry
2024-01-19 01:28:23 +0000 UTCI like delivery man Jake. It seems like this is gonna b a fun little adventure. Especially when he meets all the just recently widowed women who come to pick up their “package”. Wink wink
Hunter Thornton
2024-01-18 23:03:49 +0000 UTCI really hope Jake beats ell’haken.
Emily Goodson
2024-01-18 22:35:31 +0000 UTCJust realized, Arnold is going to clear 80% in the challenge dungeons, and that is only because he didn't score anything in the coliseum.
Michael Fannon
2024-01-18 20:15:44 +0000 UTCArnold will likely get to at least 20%, by realizing the dream of a drone delivery system.
Luke Scheffe
2024-01-18 20:10:28 +0000 UTCI actually don't think so, because you can only take 1 job at a time. If you could take multiple, Arnold would clean up.
Arkenian
2024-01-18 19:56:19 +0000 UTC@starwolf I have specifically resisted learning to speed read for this reason.
SqrlyGrly
2024-01-18 19:40:31 +0000 UTCArnold is definitely a shoe-in.
Patrick Laplante
2024-01-18 19:23:03 +0000 UTCI could absolutely see that.
Hodge Wasson
2024-01-18 19:19:12 +0000 UTCI can see Jake being told to deliver a slave and say f**k it and free the slave.
Ty Cooper
2024-01-18 18:22:05 +0000 UTCLol what is this free time you speak of?
Ty Cooper
2024-01-18 18:19:44 +0000 UTCArnold's Drone Delivery Service. ADDS. Putting people doing easy deliveries out of business.
WannaBeATree
2024-01-18 18:18:29 +0000 UTCChallenge dungeon downside. Jake doesn't like it either and complains about it. That is why the last life was the good one in the coliseum.
Ty Cooper
2024-01-18 18:12:40 +0000 UTCHe’ll just get people to deliver things for him or something
Blake Noyes
2024-01-18 17:45:01 +0000 UTCNoice
Scout Mills
2024-01-18 17:21:43 +0000 UTCEdit suggestion: "The man collapsed without a sound as Jake turned back to the young man behind the counter, trying to rob him." The phrasing and punctuation here suggests Jake is trying to rob the young man behind the counter. "The man collapsed without a sound as Jake turned back to the young man behind the counter that was trying to rob him." Might be better
Ian Allen
2024-01-18 17:12:22 +0000 UTCThe guild IS amazon. Arnold is going to do terrible here. Even Nevermore predicted as much.
Anthony
2024-01-18 17:08:01 +0000 UTCSure if it was one on one. I think you're underestimating the power of absolute persuasion here though. Sure, no B grades to recruit, but thousands of mid C grades? Perhaps bending the entirety of the couriers guild itself to his whim? He can probably use his skill to get all the contracts at once and then delegate to brain washed teams. Organizational power at a macro level can deliver more packages than one OP MC can.
Hodge Wasson
2024-01-18 16:58:59 +0000 UTCYou can't get 30% because beating Valimar wasn't enough for that, and it's quite possible that no mid-level C-grade in the history of Nevermore did as well on the Endless Labyrinth as Jake did, and that was also 25%. And it seems like you can only accept one request at a time. This might change in the future as the person is deemed more reliable, but is unlikely to ever have full Amazon potential.
Benjamin Mages
2024-01-18 16:46:29 +0000 UTCI think they both have it equally easy here. Maybe Ell'Haken can do better than Jake but only if there are actually people above mid B grade. I don't think that Jake will make the mistake of giving the delivery to the wrong person no matter what is said, and Ell'Haken can't do better than Jake if he can't "recruit subordinates" among people stronger than mid b grade. Jake is just too fast, too stealthy, and too perceptive
austin kutz
2024-01-18 16:45:09 +0000 UTCI mean that's been the case with every challenge dungeon. Death doesn't matter. It's odd you're specifying this dungeon when it's no different than the previous four in that regard. Now if this is a complaint about challenge dungeons in general than sure.
Benjamin Mages
2024-01-18 16:44:24 +0000 UTCNice
joel southard
2024-01-18 16:17:52 +0000 UTC4/10 opinion
2024-01-18 16:00:53 +0000 UTCThe truth is, the game was rigged from the start.
Jake Reisenauer
2024-01-18 15:55:07 +0000 UTCOh God does it make me evil that wish I could handle scammers that way????
John Balman
2024-01-18 15:50:28 +0000 UTCNot to enthused about this dungeon so far. What happens if the courier dies, real death? No just a reset. The lack of consequences, makes it feel no more than a written test. In normal dungeons, it's still generally life and or death. Plus, they get xp. This, It's like I'm reading about a character play in a VR game. Edit: Maybe they'll be some images of living people like the Collesim?
Micah Molina
2024-01-18 15:41:06 +0000 UTCConsidering The courier token isn't 100% reliable, I don't think evil Cheeto will be able to entirely cheese his way out of this one. Between gut feelings and karmic shenanigans gut feelings are probs more useful here.
Kanyau
2024-01-18 15:37:11 +0000 UTCCan Jake have an overwhelming hatred of porch pirates for this part. I am talking something like his hatred for mushrooms, the why is simple, they took the packages he delivered and he got in trouble for not delivering them when he did deliver.
Jordan
2024-01-18 15:13:39 +0000 UTCMan I guess he and the cheeto will do amazing in this one. That said Arnold is going to get the first ever 30% or 0% I think, because he's going to make his own fully automated amazon to put the couriers out of business.
Aerlevsedi
2024-01-18 15:10:01 +0000 UTCOh yeah, I can tell this is going to be a fun dungeon. Looking forward to more!
CaptainFlowers
2024-01-18 14:32:49 +0000 UTCYeah, if it were just power, I'd give the edge to Jake here; however, it was heavily implied that the subterfuge and social dynamics play a HEAVY role here. Unfortunately, I think this will be the challenge dungeon that we see Ell'Haken's cheat like bloodline trump Jake's cheat like bloodline. Jake will still do good, but this shit is to Ell'Haken as Minaga's Labyrinth was to Jake.
Hodge Wasson
2024-01-18 14:31:19 +0000 UTCWait are you saying amazon doesn't allow you to stab porch pirates?!?
PatienceHoney
2024-01-18 14:19:38 +0000 UTCProbably will have to deliver subpoenas to crime bosses and the like though. Jake is going to have such a fun time here.
Michael Fannon
2024-01-18 14:17:41 +0000 UTCI think it's closer to the first dungeon but instead of beating Valdemar its never failing a package delivery and staying near the hardest ones
Cordell Patrick
2024-01-18 14:14:41 +0000 UTCI'm pretty sure that in an open field situation, Jake can escape from B grades consistently with his one step thousand miles, his wings of the malefic viper, and his stealth skill. I'll be kinda sad if he doesn't keep working on the stealth skill now that he has it upgrading the way he wants it to
austin kutz
2024-01-18 14:13:42 +0000 UTCAt least Jake doesn't have to also collect payments
Ral
2024-01-18 14:12:21 +0000 UTCYeah the back was close enough his bubble would have saw into it that's why he asked where he was
Cordell Patrick
2024-01-18 14:11:04 +0000 UTCHah, nice change of pace. "Jake identified the beastfolk with the spear holding the spear," Noticed a redundancy here. The only other thing I saw, someone else beat me to commenting. Thanks for the chapter!
Decibel790
2024-01-18 14:09:51 +0000 UTCWe are the divine commenter.
Ral
2024-01-18 14:07:14 +0000 UTCYeah. I have the same problem with a lot of webnovels. So I put them down for a few months and then come back to binge read them when I have extra free time.
Clint
2024-01-18 14:06:40 +0000 UTCPerception is the best stat, so Jake knew that Polsted wasn’t tied up in the back room. Er, right?
Jeff McCulley
2024-01-18 14:04:35 +0000 UTCTftc
Archmage37
2024-01-18 14:04:04 +0000 UTCThis dungeon seems more of an assessment of either how good you are at maneuvering social situations as in elhakan or how good your intuition is nd how strong you are. So both Jake as most likely the single strongest participant with by far the best intuition and elhakan with his broken bloodline will definitely have the biggest advantage in this dungeon. I wouldnt be surprised if elhakan got 25% aswell. Mainly through smarts while Jake just bruteforces through it while avoiding or straightup searching for anything challenging.
Chrisbirdie
2024-01-18 13:58:01 +0000 UTCDoesn’t help I read over 1k words per minute. It’s like “you can only have 5 potato chips today”.
StarWolf
2024-01-18 13:54:03 +0000 UTCEdit suggestion: ”Hah, only one at a time; it isn’t sure the client wants to keep waiting forever for you to finish other deliveries before getting to theirs" -> ”Hah, only one at a time; I'm sure the client doesn't want to keep waiting forever for you to finish other deliveries before getting to theirs"
Drew
2024-01-18 13:47:24 +0000 UTCLove it. Great change of pace from the other Challenge Dungeons. Jake should dominate the early parts of this to a ridiculous degree. Can't wait to see what kind of political nonsense comes up and how Jake manages without Miranda to clean up after him. I wonder if Jake's Chosen status will have political implications in-Dungeon or whether it's a "the Malefic what now?" kind of thing, which would be a fairer test.
Clint
2024-01-18 13:40:02 +0000 UTCIt's over 3k words. Action chapters just read faster than more introspective or expository ones.
Clint
2024-01-18 13:34:04 +0000 UTCNa I think that would be a bit over the top I think it would be 25% if it was B Grades I mean in a fight against gods jake would probably be riped apart just by the energy fluctuations from the opening moves Edit: what I could see Happening is jake delivering something to an S grade breaking through to godhood and having to aproche him while his aura is on blast do to the breakthrough
Frederik
2024-01-18 13:32:02 +0000 UTCServing a subpoena to a Primordial.
Michael Telford
2024-01-18 13:03:34 +0000 UTCSeems like he will have plenty of chances
Ty Cooper
2024-01-18 12:58:53 +0000 UTCMy guess is this is going to be a WHOOOOLE lot of catharsis for those who've had to do package delivery. Stabbin porch pirates FTW!!!
jord
2024-01-18 12:44:39 +0000 UTCTftc!
brennon Petersen
2024-01-18 12:42:03 +0000 UTCThis should be fun. Just thought the chapter was short?
StarWolf
2024-01-18 12:34:59 +0000 UTCHe spent lot of time in the time chamber upgrading the Shroud of the Primordial.
Martin Hájek
2024-01-18 12:34:20 +0000 UTCOmg, the first paragraph made me lol! TFTC
Naotsugu97
2024-01-18 12:27:33 +0000 UTCMy guess is that Jake is going to cruise through this looking to lock up a 25%, but then kill someone he shouldn't have and end up with the 20% instead. Should be a fun challenge dungeon and I don't see it dragging as long as some of the others. Probably a bit longer than Minaga's labyrinth would be my guess.
Hodge Wasson
2024-01-18 12:22:27 +0000 UTCWooohoooooo!!!???
Yaldabaoth
2024-01-18 12:21:57 +0000 UTCThanks for the chapter
BlackRazaras
2024-01-18 12:21:28 +0000 UTC100 for Jake. Lots of time dilation. I think around 6 ot 7 years since the integration in real time.
Michael Fannon
2024-01-18 12:19:16 +0000 UTCThis chapter made me think that it wouldn't be so bad to work delivery job again with conditions like that xD
Kaibutsu
2024-01-18 12:18:24 +0000 UTCWell he spent a lot of time in nethermore, I think around 80 years?
Leonard
2024-01-18 12:17:21 +0000 UTCSo, now that we have an idea of what the qualifications are for getting a 20 to 25% bonus, any guesses what would constitute that in this dungeon? I mean, what would be the delivery equivalent of beating Valdemar, submitting 10 truly unique and amazing creations, or going into the B-rank levels of Minaga's dungeon? I'm thinking doing at least a hundred jobs, including a few that involve gods. Maybe deliver to a god through a battlefield between the automates and the endless empire.
Michael Fannon
2024-01-18 12:17:00 +0000 UTCI can already tell this dungeon will be a great payoff for all the progress Jake made in the House of the Architect!
Adam Owada
2024-01-18 12:16:31 +0000 UTCI think he is going to eak out a 25 just so he does get over 100
Joshua Morris
2024-01-18 12:16:17 +0000 UTCYes, thank you for the chappy, Zogarth!
JJB4345_80_815
2024-01-18 12:15:45 +0000 UTC20 near the start, 40 from when Villy gave him the drop and when he saw his arcane affinity, and easily 40 so far in nevermore, so yeah the math checks out
Justin Buro
2024-01-18 12:15:19 +0000 UTCNearly 40 years in Nevermore, I think 40 years in time dilation perfecting Shroud of the Malefic Viper, about 14 years fighting sim-Jake in time dilation. Jake's done a lot of time dilation stuff.
JJB4345_80_815
2024-01-18 12:14:30 +0000 UTCTFTC!
BerciTheBeast
2024-01-18 12:14:28 +0000 UTCZog probably worked a delivery job himself XD
Arrogant Savant
2024-01-18 12:14:06 +0000 UTCThe dream of all people working in the field of consumer goods, the opportunity to straight up murder the people in your way. Be the bane of all Karens
Fervent Fiend
2024-01-18 12:13:15 +0000 UTCAh, a new vegas level. Love it. And now with the gods watching again, we can get divine commentary too.
Michael Fannon
2024-01-18 12:12:22 +0000 UTCThis is going to be fun
1FantasyFanatic
2024-01-18 12:11:58 +0000 UTCJake needs to kill more scammers
Joe Foreman
2024-01-18 12:11:05 +0000 UTCOh yeah
Dave
2024-01-18 12:10:14 +0000 UTCWait, has it been 100 years already?
Jonah Frazier
2024-01-18 12:08:57 +0000 UTCIt's ominous not omnious. Hilarious chapter though.
Gavin
2024-01-18 12:08:41 +0000 UTCYou mean the bonus to the Nevermore score, don't you?
Asas
2024-01-18 12:07:33 +0000 UTCStomping fools and delivering packages. 20% completion he we come.
Dave
2024-01-18 12:06:06 +0000 UTCScammer get scammed lmao
Jared Prater
2024-01-18 12:05:49 +0000 UTCYah I feel like I’m going to enjoy this challenge dungeon
Abdulaziz ALRumaih
2024-01-18 12:03:06 +0000 UTCI'm loving it
Strato Junon
2024-01-18 12:02:11 +0000 UTCTruly the neverending journey is a strand type universe
Allen Polak
2024-01-18 11:57:13 +0000 UTCTyftc
Roast
2024-01-18 11:56:20 +0000 UTC
