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At least not for a few seconds. Soon enough, hunger overtook it as it tried to eat sim-Jake whole, and his other self responded by making strings of mana like the real Jake and wrapped up the cursed beast.

”Came to take a peek?” sim-Jake asked.

”I got curious,” Jake shrugged. ”Good progress?”

”Really good. Your timing is also great because I will need you for this next part. At least a good portion of it. No rush, but I think it would be a good idea to practice with me before C-grade for the potential title,” sim-Jake said.

”Title?” Jake asked.

”We got one for making a legendary skill in E-grade, right?”

”Yeah?” Jake asked but instantly got it. ”You really think you, we, can do that?”

”If my entire Legacy will be a skill, it better be the best fucking one we got,” sim-Jake grinned. ”Mythical is not easy to reach, but it should be possible… if not, then at least a damn good legendary skill. I have been considering it a lot and even tapped into some memories of your talks with the Malefic Viper. I think we can do it.”

It had not at all been a goal of Jake’s to make a mythical skill while in D-grade, but it should be possible… shouldn’t it? Making one in C-grade would be far harder, but maybe sim-Jake could do it before they evolved? Yeah, if there was one thing Jake never lacked, it was self-confidence, even if that self-confidence was about another version of himself. He believed he could do it.

As for why it was harder to get it in C-grade… well, that should become clear when he evolved. Rarities were not created equal, and each rarity was relative to a grade. This meant that upon evolution, every single skill would be reevaluated by the system. Reevaluated in this case just meaning that a bunch of his skills would probably see themselves downgraded. Not all skills would be downgraded, and some he was sure would keep their rarities, such as the Malefic Viper ones and stuff like Brew Potion, never downgraded.

This entire downgrade thing was more or less a requirement, as, well, it just got easier to make skills when you got stronger. Any S-grade could teleport around, and most could even do some fancy time magic, both of which were considered rather mundane skills for them but would be ancient or higher skills for D-grades. As for why this downgrade only happened in C-grade? Well, because F, E, and D-grade were all considered the lower grades, and the difference between them was not that massive in sheer power, only relative power.

Not that any of this mattered for now; what happened during the C-grade evolution was something for future Jake to think about.

This naturally also meant that the requirements of a skill to be a certain rarity grew. So if Jake could get the Vault skill upgrade in D-grade, it would be best.

”Do you need me right now?” Jake asked sim-Jake.

”Not right now, no. I still need to finish some minor aspects, but you can begin practicing a few things while you are here anyway. Things that will be required,” sim-Jake answered.

Jake nodded. He had a few hours at least before he would reach the airspace above Haven, so he had the time.

”What kind of thing do you need me to do?”

Sim-Jake grinned. ”Sharing control.”

Jake was about to protest as sim-Jake elaborated. ”Not to me, but to yourself… how can I say this… to your other self. Think about it, how do we, right now, exist as separate entities yet still share some memories, emotions, and whatnot? You are clearly the primary version, with me a secondary, and I am able to be the carrier of pretty much all Records related to Shadow Vault. What if we keep this separation but also entirely remove it through our merging?”

Sim-Jake sat down and continued.

”A skill’s rarity is all about power and complexity. Complexity in both the traditional sense and also when it comes to concepts. What is the most insane concept we have besides things related to our Bloodline? To me, it is my very existence. I exist as the Origin of an entire simulated universe, and the concepts to make me who I am today are something even a Primordial admits he cannot replicate or fully comprehend. So why not at least make some simplistic use of this?”

”Do you think that could actually stop our merging?” Jake asked with a frown.

”Well, fuck no, that would require us to make a Transcendent or something, and no fucking way that is happening. Nah, we will still merge, but the skill will still allow us to tap into the concepts if my plan works out. So, are you up for it?” sim-Jake asked.

Jake considered and smiled. ”This sounds insane enough to actually work. Clearly, something I would come up with.”

With that, Jake and Sim-Jake began their unorthodox practice as the hours quickly moved by, and soon enough, he found himself mentally poked by a cosmic worm.

”Hello there, we have reached the destination,” Sandy said, making Jake wake up.

”Thanks, Sandy; what would I do without you,” Jake thanked the large worm.

”Probably have been really slow,” Sandy teased him. ”By the way, will you stay gone longer this time around? I kinda want to know how far I can move away to find stuff to ste- borrow on unlimited time.”

Jake shook his head. ”It will be a while, yes. Lots of stuff to deal with. By the way, I will also likely make a way to leave this universe in not that long of a time… would you want to come along? Back to the Order where your Patron is.”

”Nah,” Sandy answered. ”I still got plenty of stuff to eat here first. Maybe later. Though I will probably go by myself or through the egg you car… I mean, will figure it out somehow!”

”Your call,” Jake said, not paying the egg business too much mind.

Jake turned and looked at the King. ”You ready to head down?”

”Let us,” the Unique Lifeform simply answered. He still looked as weak as before, with the masks still cracked all over. He hoped it wouldn’t take too long to heal, but he knew it probably would. The King was not overly liberal when it came to sharing exactly how long it would take, but as far as Jake could tell, it didn’t actually impact Jake in any way.

Sandy spat them both out as Jake waved off the massive worm who wriggled in goodbye.

”A truly peculiar creature you have helped create,” the King said when Sandy was gone.

”Eh, it sounds weird when you put it like that. Sandy has been Sandy even since before the evolution; the only thing that changed is what the worm eats and where they can go,” Jake shrugged.

”Your inability to recognize your impact on what is around you astonishes me once again,” the King jabbed at him. ”And I have no interest in wasting time on trying to fix that. Your city should be directly below us? In that case, we should stop delaying.”

Jake agreed – with the last part at least – as they both began flying down. He was pretty much back in top form after the rest inside Sandy, even if he did feel a bit mentally drained from the practice during meditation.

The two of them did not encounter anything of note as they exited the last layer of clouds and appeared above the vast forest Haven was placed in the outskirts of. Jake looked towards the depths of said forest and how far it stretched. From up in the air, he had already observed and noticed how the forest extended all the way to the ocean in the far distance.

Will have to properly explore that place at some time, Jake noted to himself as he and the King flew down and entered the forest just above where Haven was. The King mentioned a forcefield of sorts in the surroundings, but he got through it without any issues, something he accredited to being close to Jake. Having some kind of defensive barrier that at least made Miranda aware of everything within was not really a surprise to either of them, but seeing that it was active was evidence to Jake that Miranda was in the city.

Jake quickly located Miranda back in her old office with a brief search using his tracking skill as it was truly intended to be used. He and the King got quite the attention as they landed in the middle of the street in front of the office and entered. None of the peacekeepers got in their way, but Jake got quite a few respectful nods while they just stared at the King who was floating just above the ground like the showoff he was.

In his sphere, he saw that Miranda had also noticed him and gotten up from her desk. Jake decided to wait for her to come, and soon enough, she came down the stairs from her office on the upper floor and greeted him and the King.

”Jake, Fallen King, you made it back faster than expected,” she smiled, but her smile soon turned to a frown. ”What is wrong with the mask? Did something happen?”

”A temporary issue that time shall alleviate,” the King answered, refusing to elaborate further.

”What he said. Nothing to worry about long-term,” Jake said. ”So, where are we headed?”

Miranda coming down was a clear indication she planned for them to leave the office building.

”Towards your house. The Sword Saint should already be waiting there for us,” Miranda answered.

Jake nodded, and without further ado, they all headed out and back to his old home. He would be lying if he said he hadn’t missed the place. It had been many months since he had been back, and the old lodge had quite the memories attached to it. Hearing Miranda mention it also let him know that it was still standing, which was a big relief. He could totally see Ell’Hakan or the United Cities Alliance choosing to destroy it just to be dicks. In fact, he had almost expected them to at least wreck his laboratory, but from what Miranda said, that had not happened either, partly because they hadn’t known much about it, and if they did know, why would they have bothered?

Sure, Hank and the builders knew, but clearly, it had never been a priority to investigate it, and if they expected Jake to die or at least to leave Earth, why destroy his stuff and not make use of it? Every faction had alchemists, after all.

Walking into the old valley was very nostalgic, but he did see one issue.

”Someone stole all my bananas,” Jake commented, annoyed as he saw the time banana-tree-that-was-not-a-tree still there. All the bananas were gone, even if the magic circle left by Mystie was still intact. As for the time musa itself, it had grown a bit since last time, having settled well in the valley.

It did remind Jake of one thing. One worrying thing.

”How about Rick down in the cave?” Jake asked Miranda.

He really hoped no one had made trouble for the troll and the two child trolls while he was gone.

”They are all fine. Ell’Hakan and his ilk clearly had no interest in making trouble for some garden troll, and the United City Alliance quite frankly wouldn’t be able to… Rick is close to C-grade by now and swings a mean club. Plus, it would be a PR nightmare as the troll is quite popular with all those who do the dungeon, as he always hands those who enter some small gift. Not to mention the small adorable trolls… killing them would have led to an uproar,” Miranda explained with a smile.

Jake nodded with relief. Relief for a moment until he saw something horrific. Within his cabin, a single figure was already waiting while committing a grave sin.

The Sword Saint chilled at a table as a stack of bananas was in front of him with several peels in a bowl beside him. The sense of betrayal Jake felt at that moment was incredible… and he immediately went to confront the old man. Jake surprised the others with a One Step as he reached the steps of the lodge and promptly barged in.

”Lord Thayne, it has-”

”Banana thief,” Jake interrupted and pointed as he saw the old man had already eaten four of them.

The old man looked confused for a moment before smiling. ”I apologize, but I believed it only proper to help myself. You are the one who told me to be more selfish, were you not? Ah, but I can share if you want.”

”Well, no, I want Perception-enhancing things. This is just the principle of the entire thing,” Jake argued.

”A shame; they are very tasty,” the old man smiled. ”And rather suitable for me. Very peculiar fruits indeed.”

That is when Jake noticed a faint shimmer around the pile of bananas, and he also remembered that they tended to go bad extremely fast after being taken away from the not-a-tree. It appeared like he had made a small barrier of time magic or something to stabilize it.

”I see you have picked up on some time magic?” Jake asked.

”A few bits and pieces here and there, but I do not focus on it. What time magic I do care about, I keep internal, not external. But as you surely know, it is hard to not pick up on some things passively,” the old man explained with a shrug.

Their conversation did not go further as two more figures entered the cabin. The King had to lower himself a bit to get through the door, while Miranda, of course, easily entered.

”Good to see no one messed with the place,” Miranda noted, Jake also noticing that it indeed looked to have been left alone.

”It did look like someone searched the place, but I reckon you have nothing of value stored in the cabin?” the Sword Saint asked.

Jake was about to answer no, but then remembered there kinda was something. You know, just the minor little thing called a Pylon of Civilization hidden in a pillar down in the basement. Not like that was something he wanted to share.

”Not anything worth finding for them, at least,” Jake just shrugged.

The old man nodded as he turned and looked at the King. The two stared at each other for a few moments, likely having a telepathic conversation of their own, exchanging greetings. That, and a bit more as the King spoke out loud.

”A challenge shall be set forth once I am fully restored,” the King spoke out loud.

”It would be my pleasure to learn from you,” the Sword Saint bowed in response.

Jake just shook his head. God damn battle maniacs. Who wants to duel someone the first time they meet? I would never do that!

Miranda also shook her head, clearly outraged by their behavior. ”Alright, boys, be nice now and stop fighting so we can begin.”

The two of them listened as the King waved his hand and warped the flooring of the cabin to make a chair for himself. Jake hoped he would put it back in place again once they were done but chose to not comment on it.

”So, are you still planning on moving forward with the current plan at the next World Congress?” Miranda asked Jake.

Jake nodded seriously.

”Yeah, I still plan on becoming World Leader.”