Zogarth
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Chapter 1166 - Level 320 Profession Skill Selection
🕑 Added 2025-06-25 11:26:45 +0000 UTCJake had seriously considered making this the first skill selection he’d purposefully delay for a relatively long time. Delaying a skill selection carried certain risks, but it could also allow one to benefit greatly if one really wanted to develop a particular kind of skill.
Ultimately, Jake had decided not to delay it for a few reasons. First of all, Jake didn’t have a specific skill he was looking to acquire from the selection. In fact, he nearly felt like he had too many alchemy skills already with all the projects he had going on.
Secondly, the only skills Jake had wanted to upgrade were the Malefic Viper Legacy skills, and all of those had now been done. Sure, Palate remained broken, but he could only hope that wouldn’t negatively impact the selection.
Finally, this was his last skill selection of C-grade and the final one for his profession in this grade. As with his class, the previous selection usually included a signature skill of some kind for that particular class or profession, which meant that even if Jake ended up being offered some nice skill he himself influenced to appear, chances were he would still select the final one on offer.
Granted, one did have to have performed well during the grade to get this final signature skill offered in the first place, but Jake wouldn’t say he’d done badly while in C-grade, so he believed he’d at least fulfilled the basic requirements.
Resting on the sofa back in his own little palace, Jake didn’t delay further as he pushed all other thoughts regarding Artemis, relationships, factions, and all that jazz all the way to the back of his mind and got the skill selection started.
Jake felt pleased when he saw the first skill offered was ancient rarity, though when he read what the skill's name was, he couldn’t help but chuckle.
[Arcane Alchemist’s Supreme Purification (Ancient)] – Through the boundless power of your arcane affinity, stabilize all that you desire and destroy the unwanted as you refuse for any alchemical ingredient to be less than perfect. Attempt to purify any alchemical ingredient, reducing it to its most basic state while ensuring its stability. Arcane purification can also help destroy unwanted properties from an ingredient, making it purer. Must have suitable ingredients. Purification does not require any additional tools or equipment, but the skill’s effect can be amplified with the use of certain catalysts. Adds a notable increase to the effectiveness and chance of success of attempted purifications based on Wisdom and Intelligence.
WARNING: This skill is unlocked by and will serve as an upgrade to your Alchemist’s Purification.
This was the third time Jake had been offered an upgrade to his Alchemist’s Purification skill, and the second in C-grade alone. At this point, it was admittedly a little silly that Jake still had an inferior rarity skill, but in his defense, he never needed it.
Even when he read the description of this vastly upgraded version, he still didn’t really feel like he needed it. Jake tended not to need to purify ingredients much in the first place due to only procuring high-quality products because he was a glorified trust-fund baby of a Primordial, but even in the rare cases he did need to clean up an ingredient, he had other means.
Truthfully, burning away the unwanted aspects of ingredients was easy enough, without a skill in the first place, especially with Sagacity supporting the entire process. Shit, one of the primary reasons many alchemists used the skill was to purify water for their alchemy, but Jake used his blood as a replacement for that in the majority of cases, and when he made potions and other things where he did need water… well, the inferior rarity skill could still purify water wonderfully.
Did he need to get it upgraded someday, or perhaps just merge it with one of his other alchemy skills?
Yes.
Was it going to be today through the selection of this skill?
Fuck no.
Would Jake more likely than not forget the skill even existed before he was done with the skill selection?
Most definitely.
Hence, he quickly moved on, only to see that with the second skill, he was already up to legendary rarity, which was definitely a good sign. As for the skill on offer, it was definitely a result of Jake’s recent diplomatic mission.
[Life Formation Theory of the Pantheon of Life (Legendary)] – What alchemist does not desire their own garden full of life? Now, you have the tools to create one that’ll earn you the envy of other alchemists. Allows the alchemist to create formations that foster a domain of life suitable for all living things to thrive within. Perhaps life can even appear naturally inside the domain. Relying on powerful concepts gleaned from the depths of the Pantheon of Life itself, you find yourself capable of creating domains containing an incredibly high conceptual level that will only increase as you grow more powerful and begin to understand more of what you’ve seen. These formations are primarily designed to be placed down, but can also be inscribed into items. The effectiveness of Life Formation Theory of the Pantheon of Life is determined by Vitality, Wisdom, and Willpower. Embrace the wonders of life and be an advocate for all living things.
Jake was genuinely surprised to see a skill like this offered for several reasons. The rarity was way higher than he would have expected, especially for a skill he couldn’t place at all how the hell he’d qualified for.
He barely knew anything about formation theory in the first place, and all he did know was related to ritual magic, and without getting into a whole rant about the differences and similarities of those two, Jake simply didn't like that he'd earned this one.
When racking his brain a bit, Jake could only guess this one wasn’t offered due to anything specific, but was more of an amalgamation of everything. Records for the skill came when his visits to Yggdrasil’s Divine Realm and what he’d seen there, his interactions with Nature’s Attendant, and the bow creation, as well as all the time he’d spent around Artemis.
However, more than this being a representation of what he’d learned or accomplished while at the Pantheon of Life, it seemed more to reflect the people and their intent. While the skill talked about making a garden, this was essentially a skill to create sanctuaries for living things and to help them prosper and thrive.
One interesting thing it did talk about was how he could inscribe the formations into items, which made Jake consider if he could use the skill to create a personal pocket garden of some kind, but alas, such speculation was kind of useless considering there was no way in hell he was going to select the skill.
In the end, Jake’s only real takeaway from getting this offered was that he’d underestimated the Records gained from chilling around gods on a consistent basis and that he should really ask for some books on stuff like this to bring back for Rick the gardener troll. That guy would definitely love a skill like this.
Moving on, the next skill offered… wasn’t a skill offering at all.
[Palate of the Malefic Viper (Legendary)] – The Malefic Viper has honed its venom by devouring myriad toxins and treasures found throughout the multiverse. In the same vein, the Alchemist of the Malefic Viper can consume toxins to learn their effects and properties. Further evolved, you can now also learn the properties of herbs while at the same time enjoying a greater benefit from all potions consumed. Natural treasures can be swallowed and refined at an accelerated pace using your current level of Touch of the Malefic Viper (Legendary). If the item is not a toxin, the item will still be refined but at a slower pace. Allows you to learn the properties of any treasure in your stomach as you slowly refine it. Allows the Alchemist to fully consume a swallowed item, destroying it in the process, if possible. If the item cannot be destroyed or the result of its destruction is too violent, the Alchemist will suffer a backlash, and the internal space will be damaged. Grants immunity or resistance to most poisons. Passively provides 9 Endurance per level in Heretic-Chosen Alchemist of the Malefic Viper (C-grade variant). Through endless consumption, may your power grow; through gluttony, may your Records expand as you devour the world.
NOTICE: Selecting this skill will fully restore the Palate of the Malefic Viper skill to its uncorrupted state.
This was the consequence of Jake having the skill selection now before fixing Palate, but in his defense, he didn’t even know this was a possibility. He’d at least never seen or heard about it before, and he was shocked enough to reach out to Villy despite them having just stopped talking a bit ago.
”Hey, Villy, I know we just hung up, but I’m going through my skill selection right now, and I’m currently looking at something very interesting on offer,” Jake said.
”Oh, hey there, long time no see!” the Viper said jokingly. ”Yeah, I’m not surprised if the final signature skill of your profession is something else, especially not after that Divine Bargain one, so-”
”I haven’t even gotten to that one yet,” Jake interrupted the snake god. ”I’m talking about another one, which isn’t even a real skill offering. One of the five in the selection is Palate of the Malefic Viper with a notice message from the system saying selecting it will fully restore Palate of the Malefic Viper to its uncorrupted state.”
”That’s… interesting,” the Viper said, sounding genuinely surprised. ”Then again, so is the way you broke the skill and the way I fixed it. I must say, if this had been before your meeting with Master, I would have suggested for you to take it even if it meant giving up on another potentially awesome skill, no matter how much that would suck. It’s definitely a great opportunity, and even now, dependent on your confidence on fixing Palate yourself and the other skills on offer, you could seriously consider it… because in the event of you failing to fix Palate, you’ll fuck yourself over way more than missing one skill selection. So, picking it would definitely be the safest option.”
”Yeah, it’s definitely the safe option,” Jake agreed wholeheartedly.
”Which means you’re definitely not taking it?” Villy said.
”Of course not,” Jake chuckled.
”I would’ve been disappointed if you did. Hope one of the other four is a good one!”
”Thanks,” Jake smiled as the connection was cut off once more.
So, yeah, Jake quickly moved on, and the only thing he got out of getting the skill offered was to see the description once more, as he currently couldn’t summon it merely by focusing on Palate because of its broken nature.
When Jake looked at the next skill on offer, he was instantly hyped when he saw the rarity – mythical – but had mixed feelings upon reading the name.
[Chosen Alchemist’s Prayer of the Malefic Viper (Mythical)] – Pray, and he shall answer. Allows the Chosen of the Malefic Viper to offer a prayer to his Patron while performing any alchemical task to summon aspects of the Malefic Viper down upon themselves. Embrace your Patron and have his intent and boundless knowledge subtly guide your actions, resulting in a far greater success rate while crafting, and especially when trying to create something new. As the aspect of the Malefic Viper fills your body, you will remain in full control but be in a constant state of receiving instinctual knowledge provided to you by your Patron. While in this state, the chance of Malefic Viper’s Poison activating is enormously increased. This skill only works as long as the Malefic Viper answers your prayer, and due to sharing the achievement of success with your Patron, any successful crafts incur an experience point penalty. Embodying the aspect of the Malefic Viper rapidly drains all resources, and because of the toll it has on your soul, it must be used sparingly. Instinctual knowledge provided is limited by the knowledge of the Malefic Viper. This skill cannot be used in combat. Through prayer, may your wildest imagination become reality.
Yep, no doubt about it, this skill was extremely overpowered. Jake read through everything carefully, and while it was true that the skill seemed to contain a lot of checks and balances, one couldn’t get around the fact that this skill quite literally allowed Jake to tap directly into the Malefic Viper’s near-omniscient fount of knowledge and allow them to inspire and guide him directly.
Sure, it was limited to only being an aspect of the Malefic Viper, and using it had a bunch of penalties and limitations associated with it, but Jake still saw so many use-cases, especially when working on something new.
While it was true that Jake would suffer an experience point loss if he crafted something new while using the skill, it really wasn’t that big of a loss. Jake guessed he would still get a lot of experience proportional to the effort he’d put into the crafting and research process, but what was more important was what came after he’d used the skill.
As Jake read it, this would effectively function as a mini-version of Path of the Heretic-Chosen. Jake could use the skill, craft something with the guiding hand of the Malefic Viper, and then deactivate the skill and use what he’d just experienced as inspiration when on his own.
Also, while the skill did require Villy to always ”answer his prayer,” Jake didn’t even see this part as relevant, considering the fact that he had the Primordial watching a constant livestream of his life with a dedicated avatar.
Admittedly, Jake did get the feeling this was a skill he would have to use sparingly and only when really stuck, and ”praying” to Villy definitely felt weird, but this wasn’t a good reason to write off the skill.
Needless to say, out of all the ones offered so far, this was the best, and Jake wouldn’t have been disappointed if he ended up with this one. Just reading the description, his head was already full of ideas.
Alas, he had one final skill remaining… one that proved to be slightly familiar yet also different from the one he’d just mentally gone over.
[Heretic-Chosen’s Invocation of the Malefic Viper (Mythical)] – What’s his is yours, and yours, his. At least that’s how you see things. Allows the Heretic-Chosen to invoke an aspect of the Malefic Viper to temporarily inhabit your body and soul and empower any Malefic Viper Legacy skill of your choosing. If crafting while under the effect of the Malefic Viper’s aspect, the chance of activating Malefic Viper’s Poison is enormously increased. Any skill empowered will become temporarily unavailable and only retain a weakened version of its passive effects after use. Upon embodying the aspect of the Malefic Viper, the empowered Legacy skill will grow increasingly unstable, dependent on exertion. The longer a skill is empowered, the longer it shall become unavailable afterwards. While using this skill, you gradually absorb Records from the Malefic Viper, but in return, you also echo back far more Records than usual to your Patron, equalizing the exchange. When invoking an aspect of the Malefic Viper, the Primordial will know, even if he cannot stop it. Due to the strain this skill puts on your soul and body, it cannot be used in concert with any boosting skills. Through invocation of the Malefic Viper, allow power surpassing your wildest imagination to enter your grasp.
As mentioned, many parts of this skill were similar to the one before, seeing as both dealt with infusing himself with an ”aspect of the Malefic Viper” as the system called it. Jake assumed this was some sort of Record Fragment or Record funnel, but either way, both would allow him to absorb Records and use them, albeit in two very different ways.
Invocation allowed Jake to empower a Legacy skill, which made the skill full of potential and with immense future possibilities as Jake received more skill upgrades to his Legacy skills. Not to say Prayer didn’t also have insane potential.
This skill also didn’t have any restriction of not being able to use it in combat, though it did say he couldn’t use it together with a boosting skill, which definitely made it far less effective when fighting. Like Prayer, Jake was fairly confident that Invocation was primarily intended to empower his crafting for a limited period, effectively allowing Jake to overcome barriers when he got stuck.
Double-checking the Invocation description, he also saw that this one didn’t include any experience penalties, though it did say that Jake would send back more Records to Villy while the skill was active. Sure, he would absorb some, too, but he had no idea if those two canceled each other out or who would benefit. Perhaps they both would.
When it came to obvious downsides, there was the part about the empowered Legacy skill becoming unavailable for an unknown period after use, though it appeared they would retain some of their passive effects. This seemed to be the only backlash he could suffer from the skill. Alright, there was also the part about the Legacy skill becoming unstable if empowered for too long, but Jake didn’t really view that as a downside, just what’s to be expected.
Needless to say, Jake only saw the two mythical skills as valid options for this selection, with both having obvious upsides and downsides while also remaining very familiar. He had many ideas for how both could potentially be exploited or cleverly used, simply from reading them. When it came to helping him become better at crafting, Prayer seemed the best option, as it provided him with instinctual knowledge; however, he disliked the fact that the skill was called Prayer. With Invocation, it seemed a lot more unrestricted and full of possibilities, but he would have to find these possibilities himself.
Both were extremely good, and he wanted them; however, he could only pick one. So, the question was… which one?
Comments
Parker Bond
Records for the skill came when* his visits to Yggdrasil’s Divine... *When should be From
Parker Bond
Jake didn't FEEL like he'd earned
Dave
Tftc
Tony Belfer
Thank you for the chapter
Chloe
Tyftc
Troy Telford
Unlike most skill selection cults this one was actually kinda fun.
Rachel Clements
TYFTC!
Kamu Refrain
Can i find a test hearing of the voiced book somewhere ?
Oblivion
I think he decides to fix his skill and gets another skill option instead of the system assist fix. Also Prayer is 100% bait for so many Chosen imo. I’m sure something of that vein is offered to most Chosen but getting fewer Records will just stunt growth and tier trap them unless you exclusively use it for something you cannot achieve on your own and need it faster than you could advance your skills to the point you could create it. A non top tier genius (and even most top tier geniuses that aren’t Jake et al.) will at some point hit a Record wall that prevents them from advancing and every scrap of records could make the difference.
Alejandro Piña
Definitely the Invocation
brjenness
that's what I'm thinking he will do
Avery Howell
So, if Jake delays his choice and fixes palette, will he get a replacement option or just four choices?
Quinn
Just got the 12th audio book 1. Love rereading “listening” pickup on so much world building that stays solid and stable. 2. Zogarth keep up the good shit brother. 3. Travis does an amazing job bringing life and soul into each characters voice you guys make a great pair!
William Rossi
Also.. following the logic of Artemis moving with Jake to the order… Since she has approved of Irin. And whenever Irin spends Time with Jake, he’s at the order. Will that mean that Artemis joins them? I don’t think that Jake will follow through in this open relationship thing, that is however another discussion. But the story at this point he can do what he wants with Irin. And it would be super weird if Artemis is there and Jake goes and has fun with Irin so the only logical conclusion would be that they all three spends time with eachother
William Rossi
I don’t know if this has been discussed before, but now since Jake and Artemis are a couple, they will move in together right? Like Artemis will at least send an avatar with Jake and having that avatar chill at his place at the order when it’s time to return there right? It feels like it’s obvious at least to me. And if thats is the case, what will the dynamic with Meira be? Artemis doesn’t know about her, or at least not that she has a thing for Jake. And Meira lives there alone with Jake, she’s the chosen of Duskleaf, a high elf too. I don’t know the elf-standard but high seems superior to wooden ones. She’s super resistant to auras because of being so close to Jake so Artemis won’t have the divine upper hand. I’m just rambling now, but this will for sure be super interesting and Zog has a lot of possibilities in the approach here. Artemis may be jealous or maybe she will take the role of a bigger sister and become a role model for her. Or they will friends.. endless opportunities What do you think guys?
Marc Jay Arr Cotamora
Invocation obviously.
Little Silly
Reread the chapter, both mythical options mentioned improving its chance of taking effect.
Mr.Spooks
I mean the main difference here is this a system skill facilitating the use, when Jake broke his skill he used Jake juice in a new way on something he really shouldn’t have and now knows better
Joshua Little
Thanks for the chapter.
Little Silly
…invocation feels like system assistance replacing Jake Juice to do what Jake did to Palate temporarily…
Thenais
1- take [Life Formation Theory of the Pantheon of Life (Legendary)] 2- attune it to arcane 3- craddle the most overpowered alchimist flame possible
Nathan Holliday
I’m only one that thinks either of these are a horrible idea? Jake is going to be reckless again with this skill and break another Melefic Viper skill. He should take the one that fixes his other mess up not a skill that will allow him to mess himself up even more.
SinCinnamon
How much do you bet he fuses Fangs of Viper and Fangs of Man in S-Grade? Fangs of the Primal Hunter or Poisoned Fangs of Man?
SinCinnamon
Diplomatic Boss! Something something Spokeperson of the Malefic Viper
SinCinnamon
I love your take! I want to put Umbra as the birth family though. Seems like it would have been more likely for Jake to end up with her. The bracers/his dark affinity made him predisposed to be her next Chosen.
Neneera
Maybe Chosen Alchemist’s Prayer of the Malefic Viper to fuse to Path of the Heretic-Chosen after it has run out of uses.
Alex
I mean he’s obviously going to go for the last one; I’m not even sure why he’s bothering to consider number 4 because his Bloodline makes him constitutionally incapable of venerating another being in a way that’s consistent with prayer.
That one, right there.
Jake being Villy’s trust fund baby made me laugh, an then think that the whole Valhal wanting to take Jake was a custody battle between his birth family (humans of Valhal) and his cool family that adopted him.
Sarianne
So happy it isn't friday yet 😅 this would have been a horrible cliff to hang on for the weekend, now it's luckily just the 1 day ☺️ thanks for the chapter and looking forward to tomorrow. Those are some interesting choices.
Ron C
Does anyone remember if Jake still has the random upgrade passive for alchemy creations? If yes could the system combine prayer and that skill to make a heretical upgrade due to path and bloodline?
Jan Fúr
There is one other lost opportunity. I can see as the System pushes Jake to lean more to harbinger side by offering him skills which would be hard to refuse. Like opportunity to help Viper's family, or advancing of race of his family, extending their lifespan etc. It would be nice subplot.
Devillelouch
I would say Invocation(what he will pick) is non-combat. It looks like a crafting boosting skill. 100% boost of Sagacity, Sense, Blood, Palate, or Pride have interesting applications. Pride and Touch both have equal combat and profession applications. Even the combat focused scales, fang, and wings have to have a profession application, so that will be a fun discovery. The big question is how big the boost will be.
kingofshibainu
Invocation seems like the obvious choice, which almost makes me think he'll go with prayer.
Devillelouch
My bet is end of the week cliffhanger or bow. We should get Artemis meeting with Minaga, Yggm and NA next chapter.
Devillelouch
It does bring up a good point of will Artemis put a clone near the Viper or vice-versa so Jake has a 24/7 Artemis hotline.
Lemonsqueezy
I think the last one is more fitting. Jake treats Villy as an equal not as a superior. He doesn't like praying or asking. He is more inclined to take what he needs/wants.
Ron C
Not a huge fan of the last 2 choices listed due to it feeling like they are hugely reliant on Villy. Of the two it seems like the jake choice would be prayer knowing he can take advantage of Villy's insane alchemy knowledge to guarantee crafting while also creating a potential shortcut to craft it going forward even at a lower level due to system fuckery. The whole sharing of records from the last skill just seems not a jake thing to do. His personality at this point has always been getting way more out of any transaction. Personally would like him to take one of the earlier options like he has done earlier in the series shoring up his skills or adding new records for future growth. Plus potential ranger skills could be added from life records from other primordial gods. More primordial records!!
Devillelouch
It also wouldnt count as the viper helping so the creation is 1-2 tiers higher and the extra records just bounce back to the viper. Upgraded Palate, Blood, Sagacity, Pride, and Sense all have the potential to be cheat tier.
SinCinnamon
That’s not even a cliff. It’s Invocation all the way. Invoked Sagacity is the same but better than praying for crafting. No way Jake chooses prayer. I’ll bet my fanfiction (kidding, I’ll never stop writing it!).
Thenais
Both are crap
Kaladin
Surprised nothing was related to his recent activities. Slayer of queens, godqueen escort, or some sort of chosen-heretic skill to friend Gods...
Spencer Miller
Choosing the prayer, which is a pure Chosen (not Heretical) skill, seems like a potential dilution of the Path of the Heretic Chosen, so I am pretty sure he'll go with the Invocation. I am *very* curious about the impact Jake records will have on Villy, though. Plus, using it on *any* legacy skill? Blood? Overpowered. Poison? Overpowered. Wings? Overpowered. Fangs might be the most interesting, given how it would certainly interact strangely with Jake's particular upgrade path.
Moon Shadow
if he uses it on sagacity while fixing his palete he could use the malefic vipers understanding to help rebuild the skill
Gareth Morgan
Disappointed at the lack of boyfriend skills for Jake. Should have had "Arcane Back Massage of the Primal Hunter (Mythical)" or something
Kota
Where the heck do you get that from? Invocation in particular sounds incredibly powerful (if a bit risky, but when has that ever deterred Jake).
TwistedVanity
EDIT. When referring to the Pantheon of Life formation skill. You go on about how the hell did he get this offer and he couldn't think why he'd be offered it but end the initial chapter with "Jake felt that he’d earned this one." Which is the OPPOSITE of what you had been saying ... surely he flet he HADN'T earned this one
Lemonsqueezy
TYFC. As much as I would like the Palate skill to be fixed, I think Jake choosing this path wouldn't be inline with his personality. Seems like an easy way out. Fixing it on his own would probably enable him to change or upgrade Palate. More shenanigans to surprise Villy when he does something unprecedented and ends up becoming even more powerful than expected. I do think he should get to fixing it though. B-Grade is quickly approaching, but if we go by the story so far, he will forget about it and it will be the last thing he does before reaching B-grade. We also need to think about what his is going to do with that bomb that is ticking in palate, and what kind of shenanigans absorbing it is going to do. It has been sitting in there for a while now being absorbed, he just cannot access it. I expect a wave of information and power-up to be infused into him. Then right after he gets the gift from Villy from Yip of Yore. A one-two punch giving him a significant power-up making him jump to a whole new power-up. Just in time for the next arc of the story. As for the skill selection. We know Jake prefers to take what he wants/needs over asking for it. He also dislikes the aspect of praying to Villy, who he considers a friend and an equal. Rather than someone he should bend the knee to. Asking is safer, but when has Jake ever taken the safer option? Villy sure wouldn't mind the second option as it would flood him with a significant wave of Jake's very vast records. Maybe even another level up, which is incredibly rare for gods and especially Primordials to receive.
Tom
I think it’ll just let him get more records for it, I’d guess he would use it when eats the bit of yip Villy has saved
Tom
I don’t think Jake has a problem echoing back records, it’s my understanding that that is how blessings work
InfernoDroid
I'm going to guess Jake pick invocation however even he uses it, even he's supposed to give his records to Villy, his bloodline is going to kick in and say hell no, then force an evolution on the skill making it actually good
InfernoDroid
They call him cliff hanger
Devillelouch
Tyftc
Pekka Kohonen
It would almost be disrespecting the Former Master of his Patron to fix the Palate with system trickery. I think it has been said that it is very likely that Jake can actually upgrade his Palate skill while fixing it, so that is definitely the better option. Even his Patron seems to think that. The meditation skill, when finally upgraded, is just going to be that powerful. And was probably provided just for this occasion.
J W
What if he takes invocation and uses it when trying to upgrade skills? Upgrades sagacity while using invocation and ends up with a god level version kind of thing.
J W
No it will become part of his path. He will lose the of the malefic viper tag and it will be replaced with of the primal hunter or of primal origins or something similar
Cees Tollenaar
Or option C: Wait a bit after fixing Palette. It would replace the current option of "fixing it"
Dan
I think Invocation will be the most useful overall, plus it seems a little more versatile. And it gives Villy bonus records on top of the unreal harbinger records he already feeds to Villy, so it's a nice investment as a thank you for all the badass skills he's gotten from his legacy
Bloodshadow
Please fix palate then come back the wait will suck but none of those sound remotely good imo
Fyrtue
Jake has, to my knowledge, prayed a total of 2 times. Based on how they went, I don't think the Chosen Alchemist's Prayer option is realistic. “I fucking swear, you stupid snake, if I end up dying from drinking mushroom-juice, I am going to return from the dead and hunt you down.” ”Oh mighty Villy, big-boss snake, I have inquiries for thee. What’s up with the D-grade evolution, and will I be fucked if I don’t get the Perfect Evolution title? Also, how would I even level my race? Hope you are doing well. Love, best-buddy Jake.”
Thomas Laptain
I feel like upgrading it to epic could actually hamper things. Currently the skill is basically irrelevant to him, iirc he mentioned he basically only uses it to purify water. It seems that it's basically a magical version of a kettle for him in a way, and so basically just a tool. In the same way that I doubt the sort of cutlery or mug he may use affects records, I'm not convinced this does. On the other hand though, if he put in the effort to upgrade it to epic, I do wonder if it might, as in that case it's more like a fancy bit of cutlery or trophy, and so having it at a relatively low tier compared to himself could be damaging.
Posiden 300
Invocation seems more Jake.
NilZx
Why pretend that Jake is gonna consider Prayer over Invocation? In a vacuum sure he’d take Prayer and exploit it for his benefit, but not when something like Invocation shows up with less restrictions and downsides he doesn’t really care about
Brody Stafford
That sounds more like a profession than a skill. Maybe Jake will be offered it when he evolves to B-grade lol
MarineDebris
He really should pick the Palate fix. These two mythical skills will both be pointless when he reaches godhood, so what then? I'm still kinda in the dark about his entire profession Path, and what will happen to it when he reaches godhood. Will it evolve into a strict alchemist profession since he won't be a Chosen anymore?
James Lucas
Hey Cliff. How's it hanging today?
Daniel
I would pick palate, both the mythical options seem stupid as he already has the viper on speed dial and mythical sagacity. Clearing the evolution check would avoid the weird interactions about records sharing (loan & giving back or penalty) , which I dislike both anyways as in both cases he doesn’t receive the full records of what he achieves. TBH, I am surprised his bloodline isn’t going haywire, saying no to both options. This seems worse than the church stealing Ell’Hakan’s soul, because it directly impacts the amount of records he receives, or he receives a penalty after receiving a large sum of records. The no skill aspect of it as well seems to be a huge downside. The benefit may be great, but I feel like Jake is the type of character that likes to take all the credit for his achievements for himself.
Reginald Hardrick
...so will we go the whole week without seeing Jasper?
Kristoffer
And that could confuse the system even more, despite being a chosen he only prays to another deity.
Jan Fúr
Thanks for the chapter. But I feel that this selection had lot of unused potential. Firstly. Cliffhanger is unnecessary as it will be strange and inconsistent with Jake's previous statements if he chooses prayer. Secondly, this would be great place to insert skill like: Heretic chosen Honey trap of Malefic Viper.
Boomer
Either he picks invocation and uses it to empower pallet while he's fixing it because that sounds insane or fixs pallet then rechecks and finds a better mythical+ rarity skill in its place
Kristoffer
Telling their parents: 90% Telling Carmen: 50/50 (he for sure will if he gets the chance, but she might not be on earth. Telling Irin: 10%? I mean he could only do that if he was at the order and I didn't he would have a reason for that... Other than pranking his brother and that wouldn't be enough for the trip.
Shaibene
I think Jakes going to hold off on skill selection.
Timothy Spradlin
Thanks for the chapter: I think I am in the minority (or only) here, but I didn't really like any of them. Shouldn't at some point he will have to pick a skill that can not be used for combat? I know his profession is known for how it can be used for combat, but... I really don't know how to word this but it feels off somewhere.
Pekka Kohonen
Villy would like get some very interesting records if Jake is using his "primordial energy" or whatever "Jake juice" is called these days at the same time as he is invoking his Patron directly to empower a skill.
Pekka Kohonen
Soul or skill damage should be much less of a problem with the upgraded meditation skill (and whatever comes after). So Jake should definitely take the last one. Go for the maximal output, always.
Rimantas Podlinevas
Heretic chosen is the choice for suuuure
Xarow
Pick the last one! Maybe chat to Villy though first as it is only polite!
David Hall
Is it me or are these chapters getting shorter? Letting us see the options but not the decision is EVIL though said options are pretty baller imo
Strato Junon
Wonder if his bloodline will object to taking an aspect of the viper in to himself like this.
Karim Saadi
It's not. He's obviously gonna pick the invocation not the prayer.
dash w
Thanks for the chappy
Orod
Damn they all seem like great skills to me. The last 2 were just tailored to Jake's path. Honestly though I was expecting a joke skill about how he was able to please a Goddess with some good stats to make it seem viable lol
Georgia Guy-Williams
I kinda want Jake to take the prayer just to prove all of us wrong.... But we all know that's unlikely.... Just like I see the pantheon of like skill as interesting as it would enable him to grow in ways that aren't linked to villy
Seamus Harley
It's hardly surprising, in this series and others similar ones, the MC starts with simple skills and by later stages of power each skill gets far longer descriptions
Jordan Rogers
So what are the chances Caleb tells his parents about Jake’s girlfriend and his two approved mistresses before Jake can…?😂
Gage Gros
He did pray once. In the challenge dungeon right before he drank the poison he made with vitality mushrooms
Leviathan
Invocation fits Jake's path of high risk high reward far better. Plus, it'll be funny to here the banter between villy and Jake if he picks it, since I'm certain it would strengthen their bond more, but not to the level his B-grade heretic chosen profession would
Shadowessence
Nah im betting, he is gonna wait, upgrade/fix pallet then check and find a new skill where pallet was and it's gonna be amazing
Jordan Rogers
Yggdrasil will probably same something like hey helping resurrect your friend and this bow really don’t equate to the gift you brought especially since we will gain so much records for both things, is there something else we can do, Jake will be like na not really I don’t need anything but I’ve got this friend Rick who’d be a great disciple he’s a great gardener
Rewdan
So we’re now back to cliffhangers every day 😵💫. Thanks Zogarth
JJB4345_80_815
Yes, thank you for the chappy Zogarth!
The Tallest Tree
Invocation. It ain't even a choice. The only prayers Jake will send are to Artemis and only as foreplay with him as her supplicant and she as his elf goddess... it's just good civilization.
Baseplate36
Invocation all the way. Purify is rejected based on him not using the inferior rarity at all and therefore if he wants to upgrade that skill he should do it manually, garden is rejected because he's a hunter not a gardener/city builder, and if he wants the benefits he should employ someone else to do it. Palette is rejected because he can do better than fix the skill on his own. Prayer is rejected on general principal of it requiring prayer, and if he ever genuinely needed its benefits he could just call up villy for the info anyway. Invocation is amazing as it not only does what prayer does without the need for prayer, it also works on every legacy skill and in combat, it would help give him insights into how those skills want to be developed and as such inform him on how he might want to do so
Jordan Rogers
Jake should ask Yggdrasil or natures attendant to give a blessing to Rick, then he will probably have the benefit of that legendary life skill anyways, plus Rick is a good friend who’s been there since early on
Samuel Nelson
To be fair, he has prayed to Villy before. Right before he drank that Vital potion in the challenge dungeon.
Staudi
Tyftc zog !
John Burton
Tyftc Edit: He barely knew anything about formation theory in the first place, and all he did know was related to ritual magic, and without getting into a whole rant about the differences and similarities of those two, Jake felt that he’d earned this one. This last sentence doesn't make sense. I think it is meant to say: "Jake didn't feel like he earned this one" but I'm not sure
Bruno Alencar
I don't want to be that guy... but I find myself forced to be the unpleasant guy today... a whole chapter for him to not even choose the skill at the end? How sad... it seems that the times at the beginning of the story when Jake chose the new skill and tested it in the same chapter are gone, now Zogarth is a fan of convoluted Slice of Life stories 😭. But anyway, thanks for the chapter 🤙
wyattmon
I didn't realize that, very fun detail indeed!
William
I personally think it's rather obvious. Which one Jake's never prayed to the Viper doubt he ever will And besides, the second one seems to have more utility I'm imagining a case where he needs to withstand an energy or a hazardous environment and empower scales or shit, even if he needs to fly fast, empower wings better poison empower fangs
Xander
TFTC :) Suggested edits: "usually included a signature ** of some kind " missing word "skill" "an ingredient, making it *purer.* " firstly it should be "more pure", secondly wouldnt "more focused" or similar be a better fit here? youre not removing impurities, youre removing unwanted records and focusing the item on the attributes you want.
Alex R
Its not really a cliffhanger, the likelihood of him taking the Prayer one is functionally 0.
Phoenixdrop
Okay I feel like just because it’s actually a heretic-chosen skill he should go for the second one but he should probably also grab prayer or a similar skill if he ever doesn’t have the best skill choices in B-grade and probably combine it with invocation in order to make a skill good for both his crafting with the instinctual knowledge and combat by boosting his legacy skills
Kt-x
Thanks for the chapter
BumAssBumAss
The obvious choice is invocation here. The prayer skill goes against his path as a Heretic Chosen.
Arieh Sochaczevski
Thanks for the chapter! How is that a question? Of the two, no way he goes with prayer! It would unbalance his Heretic-Chosen path.
Wimsey's daughter
Won't the records of having an inferior rarity skill negatively effect his evolutions? Sure, probably not by much but if I was Jake, I'd use a couple of days to at least get it to epic rarity, just to be sure. After all, I doubt it'd be much of a problem for him to recreate some arcane purification.
Mick Gormley
Invocation sounds like a boosting skill that’s specialized for crafting
IntenseSushi
Tftc, invocation sounds sick
Signspace
Fun that the apex skill of his class is a more (but not entirely) stable version of exactly what Jake tried to do when upgrading Palate. It is undoubtedly the most Heretic Chosen thing he has done, so it fits.
Igneas
That last one is way more Jake's style so imma guess thats the pick
joel southard
Thank you for the chapter
Kevin Watson
while both are good skills in my head i can only see Jake taking the invocation, Prayer seems to be something Jake doesn’t like the idea of and it sounds like it would heavily influence his path as his capstone skill, and it lacks any Heretic mentions. tftc
wyattmon
Cliffhanging the actual selection of a skill during a skill selection smh my head Zogarth this is a new low
Apollo Greed
Definitely the second. Jake ain’t the praying type
Dow Adkins III
Thank you
Tilen Praprotnik
Thanks for the chapter
C0bra$
Thank u for the story
tj
Tftc
SCHWING PAPI
SelecSCHWING
Sylphie
REE!!!
Thenais
Thx for the chappy !
Beemoss
Tftc
Josh Hackney
First?
Robert Gallup
Tftc
Connor
Thanks for the chapter
