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Chapter 1024 - Jake Thayne vs Ell'Hakan (1)
🕑 Added 2024-11-20 12:02:17 +0000 UTCA barrage of explosions filled the core chamber as Ell’Hakan dodged or blocked every attack Jake made, but he wasn’t able to find an opening to counterattack either. At least, Jake assumed he couldn’t, but it turned out he was somewhat distracted by something else in the room.
The Planetary Pylon was obviously an object of interest to Ell’Hakan, more specifically, the arcane-tinged black snakes that had wrapped themselves around it. This resulted in the first attack Ell’Hakan launched not being aimed at Jake but the core instead as the nahoom was probing what would happen.
A blast of deep yellow flames erupted from his trident and enveloped the large Planetary Pylon, doing absolutely nothing as a thin, nearly invisible barrier appeared around the entire Pylon, blocking any and all attacks.
All it took was this one attack for Ell’Hakan to conclude he wouldn’t be able to do anything to the Pylon as he instead fully focused on Jake. It was evident whatever was going on with the Planetary Pylon still bothered him a lot, but he just as evidently realized that now wasn’t the time to try and figure it out and that, more likely than not, whatever was happening would end with Jake’s death.
During his brief probing of it, he’d smartly also tried to use the Pylon as cover during his attack but hadn’t been prepared as two arrows curved around the large Pylon, one from each side.
He blocked one of them but failed to fully avoid the second as a small cut was made on his shoulder. Usually, such a wound was nothing, but against Jake, the Chosen of the Malefic Viper, it dealt far more damage than it normally would, courtesy of Jake’s homecooked Heartrot Poison.
Ell’Hakan didn’t seem bothered by the attack, though, as he instantly went on the offensive. Flying over the core, he beelined for Jake, making the hunter jump to the side, having decided to use the vast open space within the core room as the initial site of this battle. He knew Ell’Hakan relied on celestial concepts and was very skilled in using the sun affinity, so hopefully, fighting underground would weaken him a little.
While dodging, Jake loosed an arrow that split into dozens before exploding, but Ell’Hakan stabbed forward with his trident, unleashing an explosion of burning light that canceled out Jake’s attack as he continued his chase.
He’s fast. Faster than expected... but not too fast.
Right as Ell’Hakan reached Jake, the hunter stepped down and teleported away, spinning around in mid-air to release three arrows in quick succession that Ell’Hakan quickly blocked, or at least he tried to, as one of them once more left a cut.
Ell’Hakan again seemed unbothered as he attacked but focused a bit more on defense this time around while also switching to using ranged attacks of his own. Beams of burning sunlight shot toward Jake at incredible speeds – unsurprisingly, considering it was effectively a form of light magic – seeking to scorch him.
While the sunlight wasn’t too damaging, its speed made it a dangerous attack nonetheless, and truthfully, Jake wouldn’t have been able to dodge them without his danger sense that pretty much gave him precognition when it came to avoiding taking damage.
A barrage of burning balls of fire was also summoned from all around Ell’Hakan as the former Chosen showed that he was as much a mage as a melee fighter. He was essentially a spellspear, except he used a trident instead, but honestly, same shit, more stabby bits, and spelltrident just sounded dumb.
These balls chased after Jake with far lower speed than the sunlight, but were highly controlled and aimed to surround or cut him off as Ell’Hakan tried to not allow Jake to create too much distance between the two of them.
Even so, Jake was fine with the status quo of this early stage, where they were both feeling out the other. He continued dodging, avoiding damage wherever possible while taking the occasional minor sunlight beam or remnants of explosions, but never without getting a good trade in return.
As the seconds turned to minutes, Jake began to notice something, though... that perhaps he wasn’t the only one okay with how things were currently going. His first clue was something he honestly hadn’t considered, but now that he actively felt for it, he detected the change.
Seeing as they were deep beneath the ground, the surroundings were already pretty hot in the first place. However, this heat came primarily from the magma and whatnot in the walls surrounding them, not anything Ell’Hakan had done. Now, that was changing. While the temperature had only increased a little, the biggest change was the nature of the surrounding mana. It had begun to take on the mana signature of Ell’Hakan, as he was effectively claiming their surroundings as his own domain.
This empowered all his magic while reducing the cost of using it significantly, and as time passed, Jake began to really feel it. Before the environmental heat was just there, not really bothering him, but soon enough, it began to actively attack him as his body began heating up.
Jake responded by summoning his Scales of the Malefic Viper, effectively nullifying the environmental damage as he dove through an explosion Ell’Hakan tried to block him off with, also using said explosion as cover to shoot a tricky arrow that the nahoom once more failed to dodge as he took another minor wound.
Seeing as Ell’Hakan was working so hard to make the environment hostile toward Jake, he decided to respond in kind. Wings sprung from his back, and instantly, he set ablaze the blood within as dark green mist began seeping out of them and into the core chamber.
With every wingbeat, the poison mist spread, and while the heat was intense, it wasn’t able to destroy the mist properly. In fact, all burning it would do was help spread it faster unless the temperature reached a level far beyond where it currently was.
Ell’Hakan, being forced to deal with the poison mist, responded by creating what looked like a faint barrier to cover his body that seemed to cancel out whatever poison mist got too near. Based on how he still tried to stay clear of the mist, this did seem to still consume energy on his end, unlike Jake, who could resist the environmental heat with his Scales’ passive effect so far.
Still, the change in the environment made Ell’Hakan ramp up his liberal use of fire magic as he began wielding his trident more like a staff than a true melee weapon. He wrapped deep yellow and red flames around it as he shot out torrents of flames toward Jake, and with every swipe, he sent out an inferno that burned away nearly everything in its path, with even Jake’s arrows being thrown off course when hit.
With Ell’Hakan ramping up, so did Jake as he began to use more skills to not fall behind. Things were heating up both figuratively and literally as both went more on the offensive than before while focusing less on defense, yet both didn’t take that much damage even as the attacks started landing.
Despite the intensity of the battle, it had barely gotten started. So far, neither of them had even touched using a boosting skill, nor had they pulled out any of their stronger skills... Jake wasn’t even sure if Ell’Hakan was using any skills with half of the magic he threw out.
He did appreciate the battle being solely ranged right now, though. With Eternal Hunger transformed into an arrow, he didn’t have a second proper melee weapon available but would have to rely on the Void Katar. Sure, he did have a backup in case of emergencies, but if it could be avoided, he would like to postpone the melee fighting for later.
Using his Eternal Hunger arrow within the current space also wasn’t exactly feasible, as he had no confidence in actually hitting it as things were. The mere fact that Ell’Hakan could afford to hold back as much as Jake was proof that between the two of them, there wasn’t that big of a gap if any at all.
To be clear, Jake did currently have an advantage in this purely ranged battle, as his stable arrows occasionally found their mark, leaving wounds on Ell’Hakan’s body. Meanwhile, he took far less damage himself. The one place he was losing was in territory control as the environment was becoming more and more encumbering for Jake.
He also began to notice something else very annoying.
The Planetary Pylon... it’s still able to help him.
Despite the Divine Bargain being in process, the Pylon still worked. In retrospect, that shouldn’t be surprising as the planet needed the Pylon to regulate itself and function properly, and until the Divine Bargain concluded, Jake wouldn’t be the owner of the Pylon... so until then, it still belonged to Ell’Hakan.
At the very least it didn’t look like he had any skills to directly make use of it, telling Jake Ell’Hakan didn’t have a profession directly related to being a World Leader. This did come as a genuine surprise, as Jake had expected him to. In fact, it was one of the reasons why he had been so sure that Ell’Hakan would come running if he went after the Pylon. He expected him to be like Miranda, where he would get hurt if anyone else messed with it too much, but it appeared that Jake was wrong. Ell’Hakan was more like Jake himself and was just the owner of the Pylon, though definitely a lot more involved as a World Leader than Jake.
Still, the Pylon could passively benefit him, and it helped him claim the territory surrounding itself while also giving the other passive buffs Pylons tended to give. This made Jake reach a conclusion pretty quickly.
Will need to move the battle elsewhere before we both get serious.
Continuing to fight somewhere Ell’Hakan got extra resource regeneration and help would just be stupid on Jake’s part. Also, while it was true the core chamber was large, it was still small compared to the open planet above, meaning Jake’s movements were relatively limited. So far, it hadn’t been that big of a problem, but things were soon about to change.
Ell’Hakan seemingly decided that this ranged battle was no longer in his interest, and after Jake had just loosed another arrow, the nahoom didn’t respond as usual but instead leaned forward before exploding into motion.
Jake quickly prepared himself, but he wasn’t totally ready as his eyes opened wide. He failed to step down in time as Ell’Hakan transformed into a beam of burning light that practically teleported to appear right in front of him, ready to attack.
Twisting his body, Jake bent backward and to the side as he avoided the swing of the trident, waves of burning sunfire still washing over his body despite him not being hit directly. Ell’Hakan attacked again, using the butt of the trident to stop Jake from using One Step while using his other hand to land a palm on Jake’s chest, sending him flying back in a bright explosion of sunlight.
Due to Scales and Jake purposefully launching himself back right before getting struck, the blow hadn’t done much besides confirming the status quo was rapidly changing to no longer be in Jake’s favor. This was further cemented when Ell’Hakan didn’t give Jake even a moment’s break before charging again, aiming to impale Jake to the ground with his trident before Jake could even stabilize fully.
The environment helps his movement speed? Jake questioned as he welcomed Ell’Hakan’s attack. He quickly dismissed his bow and pulled out his Void Katar while keeping the other hand empty.
Meeting the trident, Jake dodged to the side using his wings as he tried to land a stab with his katar. His blow expectedly missed, Ell’Hakan countering with a vertical attack just as Jake expected. He was ready, as before it could get proper swinging speed, Jake lunged forward with his empty hand and grasped the handle while trying to stab Ell’Hakan again while his weapon was temporarily disabled. Sure, his hand felt like it was wrapped around a red-hot iron pipe, but if it allowed him to-
Ell’hakan didn’t hesitate for a moment as he simply let go of the trident and used one hand to deflect Jake’s katar by punching his wrist from below while using the other to land a blow to his side. Jake was taken off-guard, his danger sense warning him only after he’d made Ell’Hakan adapt, at which point it was too late.
Jake quickly also let go of the trident, which turned into flames after falling a few meters and countered Ell’Hakan’s blows. The nahoom dodged his blow, Jake responding in kind as both unleashed several dozen attacks within a few seconds, none of them landing on either party as all were either deflected or dodged. Jake ended up breaking this brief stalemate by making a minor mistake, resulting in him getting kicked in the leg, thrown off-balance, and elbowed in the stomach to send him stumbling back, genuinely in disbelief as he stared up at Ell’Hakan who stood there in mid-air with a solid stance.
Taking a moment, Jake just adapted a stance of his own. The words of the Sword Saint suddenly echoed in his head... that he shouldn’t underestimate Ell’Hakan when it came to martial combat. But, even so, based on the brief display of hand-to-hand just shown, Jake estimated Ell’Hakan to be around the same skill-level as Carmen.
“You’re surprised,” Ell’Hakan said, obviously reading Jake’s emotions. “Why? Did you think I didn’t know how to fight?”
“I will admit, you don’t strike me as the type who likes to get his hands dirty,” Jake answered truthfully, seeing no reason not to.
Ell’Hakan just smiled at Jake’s truthful response. “It is kind of funny, isn’t it... what you know of me is what the public sees. What I’m most known for in the wider multiverse. However, if I went by that logic to judge you, Jake Thayne, you would be a supremely talented alchemist capable of influencing Primeval Origins, who also just happens to like wielding a bow as a hobby.”
“Are you trying to say you’re not someone who uses his Bloodline to manipulate people to get your way, fucking up the minds of others for your own benefit?” Jake shot back.
“No, no, I definitely do those things,” Ell’Hakan chuckled, shaking his head. “But that’s not all there is to me nor the sole thing that defines me. Not everyone or everything can be manipulated. Also, believe it or not, there was a time before I could fully control my Bloodline to manipulate others. I had to survive somehow... and fighting seemed like the best way to do just that.”
“Touching. Do you have a sad backstory you want to share?” Jake asked in a mocking tone.
“Sad... perhaps, perhaps not. I guess it’s a matter of perspective if my past was sad or not,” Ell*Hakan said, taking Jake’s words far more seriously than he had to. “I believe lingering on such emotions isn’t healthy, though. Our pasts are merely there to build experience for the present and knowledge to make better choices in the future. If the past becomes a burden, those emotions are to be severed and forgotten.”
Jake had another snide remark ready but bit his tongue as he instead also became serious. He also felt like Ell’Hakan was speaking as much as Jake was himself. “Well, let’s hope this becomes a good memory then. For me, that is.”
Ell’Hakan just smiled and shook his head. “Just know that it cannot erase your feelings of regret from your past choices, nor the hurt from your memories.”
“No... but it will make me feel a whole lot better,” Jake shot back as he prepared himself to attack again, remembering an unpleasant memory of the past.
Having noticed this, the nahoom looked perplexed.
“I do still find it hard to believe... does the main source of your anger really stem from that human monument builder? Chris, was it?” Ell’Hakan asked. “Did I misinterpret your relationship with him? From what I knew, he was just a nobody and insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but if he was more than that to you, I-“
Ell’Hakan didn’t get further as Jake appeared right in front of him a second later, arcane energy burning through his veins from activating his boosting skill... because those had been fighting words.
Comments
Trumangolorian
He really doesn't understand people does he.
dash w
Thanks for the chapter
Joshua Little
Thanks for the chapter.
Pickled Rick
He is still a ways away from having the 5 charges he needs but I do hope Jake's time with the Sage is quite long. Using 5 charges for a small vision no matter how impactful would be a letdown
Kt-x
Thanks for the chapter
Richard Loveless
I bet Jake kills him, then the ritual finishes and Villy gets the whole planet, including the body of EH, and sells it to the holy Church.
Steven Tuttle
there is a short story about kindroth on here
Jacob Feliciano
If cheeto is being serious here about Chris instead of trying to get a rise with his bloodline this means he's never truly known manly friendship. We don't even need to know each other names or see one another for years to love them. It's just a dude thing
Admorias
I think the universe opens up and Villy ends up showing up
Vega
I get that the Jake vs Ell’Hakan fight seems like a microcosm of the Viper vs Yip fight, but it isn’t. The gap between Jake and EH isn’t as large as the Viper and Yip, and it’s easy to forget that. I think even Jake forgot that, in a way. Chosens’ powers aren’t proportionate to the gods that chose them.
Matthew Lemon
Im waiting to see the THUMP! ... THUMP! ... THUMP! . Then cheetos a goner at that point. Will it happen? probably not. but a man can hope!
Vega
Replying Ty Cooper, it’ll be interesting to understand how he got this way though. The way he interacted with Jacob after the Usurper ritual makes me think he was trying to connect with him in a way, especially since he does seem to see Jacob as a trustworthy guy overall. The cards are just stacked against him making connections and not feeling so paranoid that he’d feel like he’d have to continue manipulating people because 1. The god who chose him lost, 2. Yip didn’t have a whole Order EH could find allies from, 3. His Bloodline naturally makes him paranoid and doubt people. Can you imagine knowing people’s emotions all the time? Even trustworthy people tell white lies. And he detects emotions, so he won’t even know the specifics of it or if it’s a big or a small lie, he will just know their emotions don’t fit what they’re saying, 4. His Bloodline is powerful and known, so he wouldn’t know who actually likes him or who is just trying to connect with him for his Bloodline for their faction, 5. No one wants to even go near him for fear of him manipulating their emotions, whether he actually does it or not, 6. He clearly ended up getting into the habit of using his Bloodline (initially for survival, as he hinted in this chapter) pre-System and he clearly isn’t afraid of using it for small things post-System either, so their fears are pretty valid I’m definitely not blaming him for number 6 though. Jake uses his Bloodline for minor things all the time too. It’s just that Jake’s Bloodline freaks people out way less. I just think that he’s stuck in a place where even if he wants to stop manipulating people with his Bloodline, he can’t. And maybe he’s always been stuck there.
Matthew Lemon
I'm hoping Jake finishes the fight by saying "YOU HAVE FAILED THIS.. MULTIVERSE!" and then places an arrow into Ell Cheetos chest/head.
Ty Cooper
Just like the termite queen with Jake busting out of a lava rock shell to finish kicking his butt.
Ty Cooper
Jacob does not believe EH'S bloodline is a good thing and him spreading it through the church would be a loss and him dying would be the church loosing out on a deal they made
Ty Cooper
The hunter will not let his pray get away and EH knows that
Ty Cooper
Kindroth is our next problem to deal with and the lost child
William WIlson
Johnny you say it in your question. They aren't equal stats wise. Yes Jake has a slight edge in titles but Ell’Hakan is probably higher in level, which doesn't really matter but probably gives Ell’Hakan a slight edge.
William WIlson
More likely to be pride that would have that function nova
William WIlson
We are damn close to the first Sage stuff, plus we got villys gift for Jake. The entire fall out of the heretic stuff from last week. Plus the entire Palate stuff.
Ender419
I hope El Stupid gets his face smashed in by Jake due to throwing out those fight words but I hope Jake controls his emotions enough to not let El Shitface get into his mind.
Hayden Leech
Really long fight? Twinhead ogre. But that might have just felt so long because we were so deep in the nevermore slog at that point.
Corvid
I dunno, I think it was sincere. From his perspective why would Jake, someone whose only real peer is currently fighting him, remotely care about a low level grunt. EH has the multiverse mentality and sees his subordinates as disposable and interchangeable, I can buy him failing to grasp why Jake would care so much about a nobody.
Doug
Jake has had his bow for a long time, since D grade. He got it upgraded to c grade before nevermore
Hotep Saxis
The Prima fight with Earth’s elite
Kevin Watson
what was Jake’s most recent serious LONG fight? it was in nevermore right? i’m excited to see a drawn out fight from the hunter where he has to use every single thing he can, and i wonder how the outcome of this fight will effect the plot, what happens after this? a war against The Holy Church? a training and alchemy arc? and when was the last time Jake got a new bow?
Deborah martins
29th
William WIlson
Book 11 come out on the 27th on kindle
Ryan
I can't wait for Cheeto to get smashed into the ground. I can't for the Artemis storyline to get picked up again
Johnny
I mean any explanation is fine, just something to mentally resolve the issue. That said, still seems a reach. Carmen and Ell’Hakan don’t have actual spidey sense and yeah Sim Jake isn’t perfect but you don’t think he would’ve gotten nearly there after FIFTY years? I get what yall are saying, not trying to contradict (too much) just explaining my pov
Gwiddion
I hope we get a cliff else EH didnt really hold up as expected honestly. In my opinion it wouldnt feel as epic if we get this conclusion in 3 chapters
Gwiddion
Dont think so imo that story would play out way better with him keeping the political game going and going with jacob. Now that we saw him realise how much jake wants to off him. He knows he has to finish this conflict. And we hopefully get a epic finale and new enemies on the horizon. EH somehow escaping would suck and then it would really feel like a foreever villain that just keeps hanging around but never truly fighting to the death.
Lonnie
Oof Jake is falling into his opponents pacing.. that's not good
Gwiddion
I doubt jake will move the arena. the only way he can leave the core would be to use the vessel to run away or dive back to the crust of the planet. Also i like the aspect of a timer on the entire fight.
Gwiddion
would def make this fight way better as unless he massively powers up in melee he will get stomped. As jake said he was at carmens level. There has to be another aspect to his skills
Mateo Lopez
There is something that came to mind and it may lend credence to the fight ahead. El’Cheeto is supposedly the Celestial Child of the Sun and Twin moons. So far he has shone he uses fire. Which is quite obvious the Sun aspect of his “legend”. What about the twin moons? Where is that aspect in his path? Is El’ Cheeto going pull out a whole other element or two?
Jordan Rogers
I just went on discord and seen the announcements on the recent chapter posts, I had just done a relisten to the whole series and was working on reading through the backlog of chapters, how long until the release date?
Jordan Rogers
It’s gone to the early 800’s now
Michael Ferguson
I don't know, it makes sense Jake would be difficult to get info on. But Umbra spotted him quick. And Jake didn't actually try to get fully prepared. He likes challenging himself.
Jordan Rogers
Did we just lose access to book 11? I was reading chapter 771 and it. Disappeared until the 780’s
Lillie30
2^10 reached, 1024, only 1024 more chapters until we reach 2^11!
Tammy Walizer
I think it's just the utter senselessness of Chris' death that pisses Jake off. Plus he really hates how they play games, he just wants a straight fight. He's said as much more than once.
King Nereus
It is still super early, it seems like this won’t conclude until Friday or Monday, if it’s anything like the YoY battle. Enjoy it while it lasts! I expect this chapter was foreshadowing that Jake will be t@king things outside where he can maintain some distance, but it will inevitable devolve to melee again before the end right? Jake has the ring to send him home, EH’s ring will just send him into the ship on his home world, so not much of an escape there. He would have to use the teleport network and presumably that takes some time to fire up and zap you away.
King Nereus
I would just add that Sim Jake was way better than Jake, but Sim Jake could only be as good as his opponents or sparring partners could push him. That time spent, they did push each other and Jake learned how to anticipate Sim Jake’s moves but every opponent is different, that only helps so much.
King Nereus
Right EH can’t understand but he’s also not stupid and has done his homework. Whether his ignorance and what seemed like an attempted apology was genuine or not the emotional response presents an opportunity he will no doubt dig his bloodline into and take full advantage of.
King Nereus
Right the way EH operates, he’s looking for emotions to strengthen or weaken. The more emotional Jake gets, the less he will think / strategize about the fight which is only good for EH.
KenTX325
Both are holding back on using skills. Jake is keeping his hunger arrow hidden, just activated boosting skills, hasn’t used gaze, and EH just started with the mind games. EHs pylon control and environment manipulation are the biggest threat so far. Jake needs to get a good skill from this fight. EHs best weapon would be to make Jake feel disparate or tell a BS story that messes with his head.
Fleetpanda
Idk. Realistically once the church has him they won’t let him go till they have bloodline babies. And at that point it’ll be next to impossible for Jake to wipe the bloodline out. This is the only time he’ll get to end it for sure
BumAssBumAss
It's not that he is daft, it's that from a multiverse standpoint/morals, the lost of one weak mortal is insignificant. The multiverse isn't exactly an all lives matter kind of environment.
Fleetpanda
Everyone is saying El is an idiot for saying that, but who’s to say he isn’t just trying to get a rise out of Jake. If El can get him to blow his lid and use resources here where he’s at a disadvantage, then El made a good move. He’s probably even pumping up Jake’s rage
King Nereus
EH can’t understand because he doesn’t have any specific people he cares about. He cares about the numbers of followers and the overall base of power he has amassed, but no individuals.
Doug
Hey, don’t go comparing that fuck face to the world wonder that is Flaming Hot Cheetos. It’s not fair to Flaming Hot Cheetos to be pulled down to that level
KenTX325
Or this is EH starting his emotional manipulation.
KenTX325
Big time agree. I’m not sure why Jake doesn’t use his aura in combat. Especially against groups. The Viper and Valdemar do it.
AfroMocha
Me too he's been having to easy a time of it lately lol
Dao of Fried Foods
You can only be so good at hand to hand. Perfection comes down to a matter of milliseconds or percentages of percentages. And both bloodlines offer advantages to fighting. El hakken knows the instant jake decides to take a blow to land a devistating counterstrike, for example. He can tell if you're feinting. He can read how comfortable you are fighting and modulate the tempo to of battle to put you off balance. He can push/nudge you into being more aggressive or defensive or whatever. Enough to add microseconds of hesitation into a fight occuring at supersonic speeds. Carmen (and valdemar( or someone else from that arc) has also chastised him for always going for the throat, so to speak. He's too hyper-focused on strikes that A) don't matter as much post system and B) his bloodline is basically screaming in his ear. Sim jake was an assassin who was good at killing mortals. He was not a great sage of the multiverse. Plus Jake's repitiore of hand to hand stuff basically boils down to scales and one step. Maybe gaze.
Ty Cooper
Lol both? I can only imagine what a care package from Arnold would contain. He is such a great character.
CamChains
tftc
RobbieDonei
It will be one of those void crystal things, to stop El Hakken from running away
Ty Cooper
Lol which he will even if he has to stab it in his forehead he will use that arrow.
Ty Cooper
I think it that he doesn't want extra attachments. He doesn't like losing including people And Chris had become an attachment.
Benjamin Mages
Because it was a huge pain in the ass to make, he cannot remake it on the fly. It's a trump card if he gets a good shot, which he might.
Endern
He already has a domain skill that he never uses: Pride of the Malefic Viper. Would like to see it having some use in this fight.
Dao of Fried Foods
Pretty hard for 'the order' to drum up a dossier on anyone in the 93rd universe while the universe is locked down. Option 1) ask jake, the highest level, most prolific, mobile, stealth based and politically connected member of the order in the 93rd universe. Did I mention his perception stat? Dude can hear a pin drop from inside an airplane at 30,000 feet. Option 2 ask the snake god who, again, can't really follow around/spy on another god's chosen just to spy ... Option 3 contact eversmile or another god specialized in information gathering. Option 4, contact jake's brother/ court of shadows and hire them for a job. See 1, for issues with this, however...
Alejandro Piña
Chris was a person he cared about, it didn’t matter the amount of care, he was in his circle friends and that’s enough.
Ben
I don’t get keeping eternal hunger in arrow form. He built it in case he got a single good shot, he didn’t.
Johnny
Can someone explain this? I get that hand to hand is Carmen’s thing, but Jake spent like 50 years fighting sim Jake (an actual assassin) and training up his spider sense to not get hit and counter blows. How could ANYONE beat him if stats were equal? His bloodline makes him MF’n Neo
Ty Cooper
I think the biggest weakness of cheeto is just that he has manipulated everyone around him for so long that there is no one he can trust and make worthwhile friendships. How he envies Jake for all the strong people that can not only keep up with him but that are true companions. I hate Cheeto probably more than I have ever hated a character in any story, but that being said. He has the most miserable existence of true loneliness and mistrust. Which Jake will help him out with by ending him.
Ty Cooper
Do you think what Arnold sent Jake was a backup void katar so he can keep Eternal Hunger as an arrow for EH's demise?
Tommy
His bloodline has always affected everyone so he, I would guess, doesn’t actually know how to have a real genuine relationship. Like a celebrity kid or a young prince Only ever surrounded by sycophants etc Maybe?
Lizy Flore
It’s not that he’s daft. I think he just doesn’t care anymore. He has spent his whole life seeing and knowing every emotions every person feels at all time. Not only that, but he’s spent that time manipulating those emotions too. One may think that it got him closer to understand all lifeforms’s emotional mechanisms, but instead, it has seriously wrapped his understanding of others. At some point, being exposed to all those emotions and being able to directly influence them must seriously mess someone. Him ceasing to care about those emotions must be a coping mechanism, even though an unconscious one. Overtime, I think he just ceased to see emotions as what they are and merely as tools to achieve his goals. That’s what makes him such a despicable antagonist. He’s totally disconnected from reality, same as his ex-patron who was so engrossed in the legend he was building he didn’t even bother to check the hard, actual facts. In the end, those two really found each other well. Both egoistical bastards who wouldn’t think a second about betraying or committing the worse to save their asses/reach their goals. Not only that, they think of their transcendence/bloodline so mighty that they simply stopped to consider any other solutions. Especially in the case of EH, because bloodlines are not some special abilities, bloodlines are the core of a person. The bloodline shape you, it becomes you. You don’t shape it or control it. IT is you. (As explained by Villy at the beginning of the serie or in the short story abt bloodline). Jake is the only exception we’ve seen so far. I think that difference between the two of them will prove critical to this fight.
Razeel Nightfall
Depending on how long Z drags out this fight, it might be worse the Netflix's buffering of MT v JP.
Cnewton84
Man that would be awesome. I feel like a lot of his major upgrades come in these “life or death” fights and I’m excited to see what he does. Maybe eternal shadow will jump above mythical 😂
Rahsheem Reid
Yeah not knowing social norms of other cultures is about to get you a good ol beat down. You don’t mention someone you killed. Someone you didn’t know anything about. Someone who lived in a very close proximity to Jake. I’m starting to think El is way more daft than I ever imagined.
NovaZero
Or, he forcibly evolves something like his Moment skill to have another function like claiming the domain around him
michael
If anything a big part of the reason Jake avoids leadership is the high standards he set for leaders.
Silent Otter
I think people look at Chris dying to logically. Sure, he wasn't that close to Jake, and his death was relatively inconsequential. However, as we have seen before, motivates and the reason behind actions seems to have more impact on how Jake perceives situations. Additionally, Jake's anger issues usually revolve around him being mad at himself, more than others. With that in mind, Ell'Haktwat attacks Jake unprovoked. He kills Chris with the express intent of making Jake mad. Then displays the callousness of throwing Chris' head to Jake when they first meet. Additionally, every time Chris is brought up, EH not only shows no remorse for his death, but also displays the incapacity to view Chris as a person, but only a weak tool that Jake shouldn't care about. Slavery, or viewing those weaker than you not as people but objects, is a HUGE no-no with Jake. Just take the first interaction with Meira and the killing intent Jake displayed back then for example. So I think the level of anger stems less from the fact that Chris was killed, but more due to how he died and how EH views his death. If that all makes sense...
lamp
Thanks for the chapter! Minor typo “Ell*Hakan said” should be apostrophe instead of asterisk.
Michael Ferguson
I wonder if the order has an information wing, for spying. I would have liked Jake to get a background check on EH, and a personality assessment, and a combat report. It would have made me more comfortable with Jake's preparation for the fight. Instead Jake decides to stay in range and Cheeto moves in to melee. Jake discovers fighting this close to the core is going to be harder and Cheeto provokes him into using limit brake. This is still anybody's game, and Jake is only slightly ahead in points. Good thing this is a death match. I don't think I could handle a split decision bout.
KingGoomba
Jake is someone who fully commits, nothing is done half ass. He chose Chris, He wasn't his closest ally but he committed to someone and he failed them.
JJB4345_80_815
Yes, thank you for the chappy Zogarth!
Frost1005
Tftc
Matt
Hey, just wanted to say thank you for this series! I love its humor, your writing style, and all the characters! Thank you for continuing it!
Landon Tucker
Ell’Hawktuah doesn’t get it because he’s never had a person in his life serve any purpose but to fellate his own ego and path. Meanwhile Jake just had a friend (or at least a well liked employee) killed only for the sake of pissing him off. The nahoom’s death should be slow as he comes to understand the errors of his path.
Cnewton84
Jake is going to need to move the “arena” to a new location soon, the environment is already messing with him and EH hasn’t even used his boosting skill. Void sphere introduced next chap before round 3? Hes going to need to use eternal hunger to win this fight. Wonder when he will use his special arrow and if it will hit.
Vega
I empathise with Jake, Chris was a pretty great guy. Prefacing his question about Chris by calling him an insignificant nobody wasn’t very smart, for someone so adept at reading people and knowing what to say. Ell’Hakan might be getting a little too dependent on his Bloodline to get his way. Once he starts the emotion manipulation, that would be brutal for Jake to deal with while fighting, especially with that uncontrollable anger his Bloodline sometimes causes him to have (although that arises when he perceives betrayal, so I wonder if EH will be able to incite that). This is going to be a tough fight for Jake, I’m loving this! Also loving the little bits of EH lore! Also damn. Carmen beats Jake at hand-to-hand when stats are equal, so I don’t think Jake should underestimate him if Ell’Hakan’s unarmed combat skill is that high. It’ll come down to stats if it’s hand-to-hand, Usurper vs Jake’s multipliers then. This fight will be brutal.
Arieh Sochaczevski
Thanks for the chapter!
Lucy
Wow, so hyped for the next chapters. This fight is definitely gonna be legendary. As for Chris (Rip my guy) I think Jake is so upset about him because of EH’s needless decisions and invading, as well as him feeling responsible. Jake met Chris right after the Tutorial ended, rescued him from Donald and Abby, and also gave him a blessing and helped him move on and shit, and because Jake decided to give him the blessing that he was killed because of, he is gonna be mad abt that. He may be an absent leader but that doesn’t make him a bad one. TYFTC Zog as usual! Excuse my grammar I have shitty school internet :/
TKOva
Chris isn't Miranda or one of his close family. But Chris was one of the few people he could talk to and was a legit follower of him through and through. He also was one of the few humans he could stand talking to for longer than a minute. And he enjoyed just hanging with him. That shit is like when William convinced Casper to commit suicide or w/e. Anyone Jake considered a friend or one of HIS people and someone he liked. Jake gonna fucking help you. Or get revenge on the Cheeto that fucked with you.
Phasmatic7
Thankies
Kai Strohmeier
I should shouldn't I? But i hope for it Time and time again😂😂
Alexander C Hyde
“Sad... perhaps, perhaps not. I guess it’s a matter of perspective if my past was sad or not,” Ell*Hakan said, taking Jake’s words far more seriously than he had to. Why the asterisk?
Exaiter
Eloquent as fuck bro. Fuck that orange cunt up!
Andromeda Adams
Tyftc. Come on Jake stay calm! Destroy EH!
DarkKingLycaon
That's if he doesn't use super jake mode That's what i'm calling it Jake juice super jake mode
Trevor Mergen
Thanks!
Jordan Rogers
Chris is such a trigger,not just cause he was an innocent bystander and Jake’s guy. El hack, only killed him to piss of Jake, and said it was pointless to kill him in front of Jake.(don’t remember the wording).
joel southard
Nice thank you for the chapter
Max
Jacob saw only loses for the holy church, He never Said only one of thr both will survive. The Loss for the holy church could be that both start an Long Time war If they cant Finish each other Off, while the HC gets nothinggg.
SmokeJam
Well yeah, but if EH escapes, his Pylon and planet will be snake food. So slightly higher cost than "just dip". And it was literally in the last chapter, EH knows that Jake will keep hunting him for how long it may take. He might have a change of heart during the battle, but he was resolved with confronting Jake to secure his own future.
Jj Bb
Has EH's use of his Bloodline warped his understanding of other mortals' interpersonal relationships?
JB
If I remember correctly, didn't Jake get him a blessing? Also Jake was just fond of hi . Doesn't have to be more.
Lynderyn
Based on what OF told Jacob, the possible outcomes he sees for this fight is one of them being killed by the other. No retreating or surrendering from either side.
Davey876
I'm not confident Jake wins this unless they both decide it's being finished here and now. If either wants to escape they wil.
Hotep Saxis
Me too, but it seems unlikely. Starting to think Jake might have bit off more than he can chew here. EH is no chump and this is the worst possible place in the multiverse to fight the guy. Jake does best in open spaces where he can fly around and one-step all over the place.
Davey876
Definitely
Frédéric Cantin
Tyftc
Beemoss
Tftc
Daniel Hamilton
Really hoping this is were we’ll see him get pushed to his limit and get a evolution to his bloodline
Daniel Hamilton
Not necessarily, but he took him under his wing and was the first person he blessed other then the white snake if I remember right.
Chase Burton
Tftc!
Sailesh Kumar Kumar
Fuck his orange ass
Steven Tuttle
I think that jake wont get the killing blow and we will see cheeto with the church planining his revenge on jake i just feel like he escapes
Steven Tuttle
lmfao you know its a cliff hanger every week
Thaynian
Man fuck that Flaming Hot Cheeto! Erode him
Tevin Pruitt
Jake was responsible for Chris. He was his guy. That's why Jake was mad about Cheeto killing him.
MarineDebris
You know better than that!
Bastian
I think its more because EH fucked with Jake's emotions during the first meeting. Chris death is just another thing on top
Hotep Saxis
Cheeto switching to melee as soon as Jake starts thinking he’d like to keep it ranged is pretty scary.
James Faulkner
Tftc!
Allan
No, I completely understand Jake hating Cheeto more because of Chris. But I don’t think that that action alone was bad enough to be the primary reason for Jake to want to kill Cheeto. The invasion seems like something Jake should be more mad about compared to something like Chris dying. It’s not like Jake hating Ell’Hakan because Chris was killed isn’t normal. Just that the emotions here seems strong. Way to strong and abnormal for someone like Jake who normally doesn’t get that mad about strangers dying. So I’m thinking that this was another thing done by Cheeto that just stuck around instead of going away.
Robert Phipps Jr (Perren d'Wolff)
They weren't that close true, but they also were no strangers. Additionally Jake feels responsible for Chris as he is the reason Chris was Blessed.
Paulo Furlaneto
Tftc
IFL
Nah it's just killing Chris was such a senseless act to goad Jake. Even if they weren't close, he was low leveled, essentially just kid (I don't think an age was mentioned but I got that impression of a late teen), Jake had rescued him from Abby, got him blessed by Villy and so it quite understandable pussed him off.
Jayce Sul
I hope jake does a villy and abso-fucking-lutely annihilates El-sucky. Like fucking slaps the shit outta him.
Austin Barton
You came to my home killed my people and then you look at me and are confused why I hate you. EH is a bitch.
Allan
Did Cheeto multiplying Jake’s connection with Chris backfire or something? Cause it seems kind of weird for Jake to be this mad over Chris dying alone. Especially considering how they were never really close to begin with.
Esch
If Cheeto didn't have killed Chris Jake would have forgotten about him (Chris) by now. What Jake and most importantly his Bloodline (Jake's Bloodline always had this Bestial aspect to it.) can't forget (or forgive) is that Cheeto killed one of his own. Remember that Jake was the one who indirectly gave Chris his blessing, in a way Chris was one of his Pack.
Dave
TTFC
NoctisMi
Well, may be a bit excessive but Chris was just damn nice guy who wanted to be helpful after Jake revenge his sister by killing that debauchery fucker in book 3. So I can see Jake being mad especially when that guy got killed only for wearing a blessing, Jake made villy give him. Maybe a bit too much but seeing that Chris is one of the few guys Jake cared enough about to remember his name and being one of the first citizens
Sam
Is Jake allowing Cheeto to manipulate his emotions again?
Noah Mclelland
Also tftc
Darshar Griffonmane
Jake denies villain use of backstory to create sympathy! The crowd roars in approval! Jake is just pissed I think still at how senseless and pointless them killing Chris was. And Jake does indeed hold onto his grudges (as mushrooms can attest to...the very few survivors). Fight is looking good! tyftc
Samuel Nelson
"Get his name out of your mouth!"
Noah Mclelland
"speaking as much as Jake as himself." Should be "as much to Jake as himself." Also just before that it had Ell*hakken, instead of Ell'hakken.
Michael Ferguson
Was it, how dare you imply I cared about a weakling, or how dare you imply that I don't care about weaklings? I think this is more like, you shed innocent blood in my territory. Also it could be how dare you call me gay. Or it could be, I'm mad so don't provoke me.
Valhazstromoz
THEMS FIGHTIN WORDS BITCH!! "punches face"
JayseKnyte
Jake is the type of person that once a considers someone a friend, even if not a good friend, if something happens to them he sees it as a personal affront. What EH did to Chris an then his home..... yeah, there would have been no safe place for him. An encounter was inevitable and has been delayed because he's been a hunter about it and waiting for the time to strike. Zogarth has done good with Jake.
Kai Strohmeier
Tftc, but please do not let it end with a massive cliffhanger on Friday 🙏🙏🙏😂
Rewdan
Thanks Zogarth
Mrburns93
He felt responsible for chris in a small way because he gave the blessing that put him on his path but more importantly he had respect for Chris because Chris was the first to call out Abby and her shitstain of a father.
Mitchell Calhoun
E can’t understand his perspective since he treats his followers like shit. Jake doesn’t just think of them as pieces on a board.
Cory Sauls
LLLLEEETTTT’S GET READY TO RUMMMMBBBBLLLLEEEEE!!!! TFTC!
Andy Swearingen
I was kinda hoping he would run but killing Cheeto boy would put a nice "bow" on this saga and let us move on. Kinda hoping to see Jake go on a multiverse tour next. I'd really like to see the Altmar empire and beast tribes area in particular.
Hayden Leech
Was that Chris guy important to Jake? I kinda thought Jake had the same non relationship he has with…. Let’s say the guy who built his cottage in haven.
Matthias
Tftc
Sean Casey
Tyftc, I have to say, I love this novel. 99% of the novels out there that have someone from our world get a system and start fighting monsters spend the entire story talking like they are from ancient times, and completely forget where they come from. I love that Jake doesn't do that, "those were fighting words" was absolute gold.
AfroMocha
Ooooh next chapter Jake will be on the losing end again I think but we will see some.cool shit
Sir2319
YES, THANK YOU
Arrogant Savant
Jake cared about Chris in the sense that he wanted to guide him to a happier life. Then again Jake has cared more about people than you'd expect for someone with his bloodline.
C0bra$
Thank u for the story
Michael Ferguson
Thanks for the chapter.
BumAssBumAss
Thanks for the chapter
Azazel
Finally! IT BEGINS! 😁
Connor
Thanks for the chapter
Constantin
First, before reading
