Zogarth
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Chapter 848 - Nevermore: Forsaken Dragonkin
🕑 Added 2024-02-12 11:32:49 +0000 UTCMaybe it was Jake’s fault for expecting too much, but he had very much assumed he would meet some kind of opposition during all his travels. He had set out to find people to decipher the runes, but on the way to the first one, he didn’t get intercepted by a single enemy. Were there times when something looking like an ambush was hidden in the most obvious flight path? Yes, but Jake had just easily avoided that or kept his stealth skill active to pass by unnoticed.
After his visit to the first rune-reading person, he was told that she alone couldn’t decipher everything, but she managed to make some progress before sending him off to the next person with her notes. At this second person’s place, a bit more deciphered, and at the third, a bit more than that.
Days turned to weeks, and soon Jake had spent over a month traveling between these rune decipherers. Each of them, for some fucking reason, liked to live in bum-fuck nowhere, meaning Jake had to travel a lot to get to them. With time, he did notice the search parties looking for him increasing, but with a mixture of Pulse of Perception, a legendary stealth skill, and probably also Shroud of the Primordial doing its stuff, Jake remained undisturbed for the most part.
It did annoy him that some of the rune deciphers were stereotypical shitty quest NPCs that would only help Jake if he helped them first by doing some dumb side job, but Jake didn’t really have a choice. In total, Jake spent nearly three months before he finally met the final rune decryptor. The old man looked at the notes done by the others who had looked at the horn, and after about an hour, he succeeded in solving the final rune.
Right as he did so, all the golden runes covering the horn gave off strong light as they warped and changed. Jake quickly reached out and took hold of the horn, and the moment he did, two things happened. The first was that he suddenly knew exactly where he could find the Forsaken Dragonkin… and that a giant beam of light shot into the sky as the full aura of an S-grade dragonkin blasted out.
Jake was pushed back slightly as he saw the old decipherer fall to the ground, knocked out by the blast. This wave of aura spread further than Jake could see, and with how big it was, they could likely feel it all the way to the frontline far up in space. Quickly running outside, Jake stared up as the sky rumbled, and he didn’t doubt for a second that many powerful beings were approaching. What’s more, he got a feeling things had suddenly turned for the worse elsewhere, too, confirmed as he got a notification.
Final Special Courier Job Updated: While carrying the Horn of the Forsaken Dragonkin, meet the Forsaken Dragonkin and convince him to join the war against the dragon tribe. While carrying the horn, you will be repeatedly pursued by allies of the dragon tribe, who are now aware of your location. The frontline is rapidly falling, and time is not on your side.
Yep… things were definitely a lot worse now than before, and Jake didn’t delay for a second as he headed straight to the teleporter in the city. He was lucky that the horn had only given off that one giant blast of aura and didn’t continue to give it off, but it had still pinged every single person on the planet to this location.
However, Jake soon met another problem… the second he activated the teleporter to a new city and went through to the other side, a whole new blast of aura shot out of the horn. Due to how many people were near the teleportation gate, Jake knocked out over ten thousand people with his first teleport alone.
Fucking hell, Jake cursed, but he didn’t stop as he teleported again three more times to get as close to his destination as possible. Tens of thousands, if not far more, were knocked out in Jake’s wake as he sent off a sequence of pings to whoever was pursuing him, informing them of what direction he was heading.
When Jake had finally done his final teleport, he stormed off immediately. His wings were naturally available once more after he used the escape skill before, and he quickly summoned them and used One Step for maximum speed. He quickly got a bit away from the city, found a quiet place, and went down to activate his stealth skill. With it active, Jake continued his journey as he used Pulse of Perception every thirty seconds or so for the first period of travel despite the headache it induced as he was feeling pretty damn paranoid.
And for good reason. Powerful beings were coming his way, no longer limited to just C-grades either. With the fall of the frontlines rapidly approaching, those on the planet who had been lying in wait were now moving far more openly. Through Pulse, he did spot some people also fighting against them, as the war had pretty much broken out everywhere, and shockwaves of energy from B-grades fighting could be felt in the distance.
Jake had to fly more carefully than ever as he slowly approached a mountain range in the middle of nowhere. There were no towns anywhere close to it, and he had to cross a desert-like plain just to reach it, with nothing living there. Even the mountains were entirely bare rock, with not a single plant growing anywhere.
Yet the horn responded as he got closer and closer to his destination. When Jake entered the mountain range, yet another blast of aura was released, making Jake grit his teeth as he knew everyone was coming his way now. Things were really out of hand, and before anyone had a chance to catch up, Jake reached a small cave at the foot of one of the mountains.
Entering, Jake walked through it for a while until he reached its end. There, he found a heavily enchanted stone gate with a slot in it that looked very similar to the horn he had been carrying around all this time. Briefly inspecting the cave walls and the gate, Jake quickly recognized everything here had been fortified to a level where he doubted even the Founder could break through with force. Taking out the horn, Jake slotted it in as all the runes activated. Jake felt like he was on some treasure-hunting expedition as the golden runes spread to the rest of the door before it began to slowly sink into the ground, allowing him passage.
Walking through the open gate, Jake entered a long, bricked hallway as torches lit on both sides. He had already scouted ahead and knew he was in the right place and that there were no traps, so after walking calmly for a few minutes, he reached a large chamber unimpeded.
There, right in the middle of the large chamber, was a single figure. The floor was covered in a large magic circle that seemed to be feeding this person power, and he didn’t even react when Jake made his entrance. Yet Jake felt the attention of this being upon him… and he knew it was the strongest creature he had met in this Challenge Dungeon so far, and not by a little. He didn’t even dare use Identify as he was pretty damn confident the being would be aware if he tried to.
Probably at the level of Viridia… and I heard she is close to the peak of S-grade…
“Greetings,” Jake said with a polite bow as he stopped a good distance away, not entering the range of the magic circle.
The dragonkin slowly opened his eyes as two red irises looked Jake up and down. “That horn… I had nearly forgotten I even gave it out. Tell me, what is a mere C-grade doing here, interrupting me? It wouldn’t have anything to do with the little scuffle outside, now would it?”
“You are correct,” Jake nodded, seeing no need to hide anything. “The planet is facing a crisis, and I was tasked by the Guild Founder – the man whom you gave the horn - to seek you out and request your assistance.”
Right as Jake said this, a notification appeared in front of him as the Final Special Courier Job had changed once more.
Final Special Courier Job Updated: Successfully convince the Lost Dragonkin to assist you.
As Jake read the objective, he cursed internally. He had a bad feeling about this one.
“You are asking me to help the man who killed my father? What’s more, what he wants my help with is to kill my half-brother and other family members?” the Forsaken Dragonkin asked as he tilted his head and flashed a toothy grin. “Now, why would I ever want to do that?”
Alright, it was clear the dragonkin already had full knowledge of what was going on, which did make his opening line kind of weird. However, it meant that simply explaining the situation in detail wouldn’t get him on Jake’s side, so he had to actually do some convincing. The problem with that was Jake had no idea what to say. Doing all he could to not show his uncertainty, Jake simply nodded as he kept up his professional demeanor.
“Yes, that is exactly what I and the Founder are asking of you,” Jake answered. He had to gamble on the Forsaken Dragonkin, having a somewhat positive view of the Founder. If not, why had he left him alive back then and even given him a horn to find him with? It wouldn’t make any sense if he actually gave a shit about his “family,” so Jake would gamble on the Forsaken Dragonkin not liking them, considering them forsaking him and all. “As for why… I would ask why not. You are clearly no ally of the dragon tribe nor your so-called family.”
The Forsaken Dragonkin looked at Jake with some amusement as he chuckled. “You’re not wrong, but why would that make me want to help you? The dragon tribe doesn’t matter to me much anymore. If I wish to see them wiped out, I may as well do so after they have exhausted some of their strength in this war. Wouldn’t that be more efficient and just make more sense?”
As the dragonkin talked, Jake got more and more confused. Why are we even having this conversation?
It sounded like the dragonkin wanted Jake to convince him or something. Like he needed convincing. As an S-grade, why else would he bother talking to some random C-grade? If he had already made up his mind to not help, he could just be doing this for his own amusement, but Jake really hoped a high-tier S-grade wasn’t that bored. Plus, the Courier Job had to mean convincing him was possible somehow.
“If that is what you want, then surely no one could stop you,” Jake answered. “But I would still try and do my utmost to convince you to assist us, so please, is there anything I can do to sway your mind? I am most certain the Guild Founder and all those who oppose the dragon tribe would be more than willing to compensate you in any way they can if you save them.”
Hey, if Jake had no idea how to convince the guy, why not ask him how to? Who knows, maybe it could even work.
The Forsaken Dragonkin smiled as he tilted his head before standing up. “Now that you mention it, there may just be one thing you could do to convince me.”
Without any warning, the dragonkin appeared beside Jake as he spoke. “You know, I’ve been watching the happenings of this world for a while. Ever since my dear brother contacted me a few centuries ago and informed me of his return while asking for my help, I kept an eye on things. Considered if this world even stood a chance and if either side would rule, who I would be able to tolerate the most. I do not care about ruling anything… I am merely pursuing whatever lies beyond my current level of power. What comes after S-grade: the mythical realm of godhood.”
“Understandable,” Jake answered as the dragonkin stood beside him with an amused look.
“That is to say, I need whatever side wins to stay out of my way when I want them gone and support me when I want anything,” the dragonkin continued.
“As aforementioned, I am sure that can be arranged and that the Guild Founder and all other factions would be more willing to do whatever they can for the one who saved them. Even if that includes doing your every bidding until the day you ascend,” Jake said. Hey, no one said he couldn’t make unrealistic promises as long as they beat the dragon tribe, right?
“Ah, but wouldn’t the dragon tribe do the same? In fact, that is exactly what they offered already when I spoke to my dear brother. The thing is, my impression of them isn’t the best, so if both sides are equally subservient, I see no reason not to side with this Guild Founder of yours and choose the side you represent.”
Wait, things are actually going kind of well? Jake asked himself as he smiled and nodded.
“While I am unable to make any definitive promises on account of everyone, I can swear I will do my utmost to convince them to assist you in attempting to reach godhood, and with the authority and trust given to me by the Guild Founder, I am highly confident in my success,” Jake said as he felt like a deal was pretty much struck.
“Oh, I believe you,” the Forsaken Dragonkin said as he stood right in front of Jake. “You have made quite the impact ever since you appeared out of nowhere in this world. You weeded out corruption, became chummy with the most powerful people, and rose to a position second only to the Guild Founder within his little Guild as far as I can tell… impressive for a C-grade. Almost too impressive.”
“I am merely doing my best as a Courier and carrying out all jobs given as perfectly as I possibly can,” Jake answered, hoping that being professional would be enough. Still, his bad gut feeling only kept getting worse.
“Now, that… that is where I begin to question things,” the dragonkin smiled. “Why? Why are you carrying out these jobs as best as you can? Why are you seemingly so loyal to the Guild? Why do you risk your own life carrying out their bidding? To this point, I have yet to figure out what you get out of it. You are clearly competent, yet if I go purely by your actions, you seem like nothing but a thoughtless slave doing as his master wants.”
Jake narrowed his eyes as he looked directly at the S-grade. “I have my own reasons for doing what I’m doing.”
“I think this is the first time you’ve been wholly honest with me,” the dragonkin said. “You just keep making me more and more curious. You stand before me now, yet I sense no fear. No reverence. Nothing. Are you truly only a C-grade?”
“Does it matter?” Jake questioned. “What would anything regarding me as a person matter when it comes to your choice of who to support?”
“Oh, it matters a lot. You have influence. Your voice matters, and as I said, I can’t quite figure you out,” the Forsaken Dragonkin continued. “There are few things I actively dislike, but at the top of that list is doubt… uncertainty. Elements I cannot with confidence control. You are an uncertainty, and I am not sure if I can control you… so I have an offer. A task you can do for me, and if you accomplish it, I will help the Guild Founder and his allies wipe out the dragon tribe for good.”
Jake really didn’t like where this was going. “What do you want?”
“It’s simple… prove to me your professionalism and dedication to your job as a Courier. Prove to me you will truly do everything in your power to carry out your duties.”
The Forsaken Dragonkin looked entirely serious as his smile faded, and he pulled out a dagger, pointing the handle toward Jake.
“Kill yourself.”
Comments
kapat
sss-class suicide primal hunter
Kconraw
Thx for the chapter
Santeri Kasper
I have felt the exact opposite. Really like the ridiculous subplot and Jake breaking the challenge dungeon
Chris Vogt
As much as I'm loving this series, reading this arc has been difficult. Whenever your protagonist is bored, your audience will mirror that boredom. Skipping through those scenarios as quickly as possible where you can would make for a smoother read. I have been skim reading for the last dozen chapters and the only emotion they evoked was frustration when the kingdom finale ended up as a big prick tease. That being said, I want to reiterate how much I've enjoyed the series, and look forward to reading more.
sknasen
LTG As a scalie
Olof Karlsson
Thanks for the chapter!
kiwi
LTG moment
Hunter Thornton
Jake my boy it’s time to start dropping names and getting clout. Also tell em you’ll sick Vlady on em
Ricky
This courier story feels like a long filler arc in naruto.
Zogarth
Fix
But why?? This is getting so good!!
Cam
Interesting! Whelp, we’ll see what happens next in just a few hours, thank you!
Kanyau
Sorry buddy, got to put in a request at the guild first.
Michael Meyer
this is a little. bit off topic, but can we have a side story sometime soon. maybe a nevermore (not really)
BubblyGhost
Even if he did theres the issue that he'd just go back in time? Or the mission would fail technically?
BubblyGhost
Hahahahaha
Jonathan
the golden rules spread runes, unless he was planning on treating the door the way he wanted to be treated. I used to play WoW, and every time I read the title of this chapter, I keep thinking, "Wait, he's undead?" for a second.
FriedBrice
Three and he has lost none
Daniel
Dang I almost banked the entire challenge dungeon in one go... Should've waited one more week. As a whole I found the entire challenge dungeon arc well-paced, relaxing, fun, and even had an oh crud Jake almost died due to being a quadruple agent. I found the amount of lore or the glossing over of it really appropriate and told in a great Jake-like style. It's been a great arc.
Cam
How many lives does he have?
sata
There's definitely other solutions put in there. Jake sided with the guild in a way very, very few people would, causing the dragon to question him as he did. If Jake was less confusing the dragon would be much easier I think.
Arkenian
I just don't see it. Even setting aside his bloodline's influence, I think Jake would sooner fail the quest than even pretend to kill himself.
Kaibutsu
"kys" fr? Lmao xD
Daniel is ŁØNE
All I need is to see Jake release the full might of his aura because of how incredibly stupid this ending is. Unless you have a method to cheat death while still having it count as a kill there is no feasible way to make it past this point. What exactly was the wyrm-god thinking?
john henderson
My take, if Jake is willing to kill himself, that means he is truly an uncertainty and dragon bro wants him dead. If Jake does the logical thing and says no, then the dragon bro knows Jake values his life over all, and that is something dragon bro can control. It’s essentially King Solomon and the baby.
john henderson
Because if anyone reneges on the agreement, the forsaken dragon bro will just eat them. He doesn’t need assurances from the normies. He just wants to see that Jake indeed values his own life. That will let him exert control over Jake, the uncertainty, because if Jake values his life he won’t throw it away screwing over the dragon bro.
Rezkin
Lol, I already know the mc's response one clear succinct noise No, simple his bloodline would never allow it.
Acaeluse
Dudes bout to get slapped with the full weight of Jakes aura that can contend with a primordial.
Scout Mills
It’s not bowing that’s the problem for him it’s submission.
Areshan
Nah, It's Wyrmy being a turd, need an extra life to win the dungeon. Now whether Jakes bloodline let's him do so is the real question
joel southard
Nice thank you for the chapter
Forrest Williamson
So basically it sounds like the Forsaken Dragonkin is a big fan of the internet..
James Faulkner
Ah yes, the Amazon new employee verification process
Jonathan Hovey
Naw. He will give the dagger back, use the skill and have the dragonkin choose which to kill
Jason Hardman
Questionable logic, how can Jake ensure the agreements made are passed on if he's dead? Somehow leaving a message behind doesn't seem sufficient.
Blank
Jake is likely to use eternal shadow to fake his own death.even duskleaf a god couldnt tell who was the one real right away
Silver
Guess my question is does the solution like in killing himself or not?
Numbzy
If you want a job done properly, you have to do it yourself!
frankie doerr
I think he has usually it’s when he likes/respects someone or when he’s about to fight or when he’s playing around I think he’s bowed to villy the sword saint and the Viking dude and I think he bows to be polite when someone bows to him first because didn’t he bow to Sandy’s dad and scarlett
Benjamin Mages
As has been established, blessings don't exist in this challenge dungeon. Also as far as this challenge dungeon is concerned, gods don't exist... yet.
Luboš Hemala
Jake's intuition to the rescue.
John Balman
Huh
thendavesaid
If he were doing it for himself, he wouldn't, but but he's doing it for the job. Might as well ask, "Since when did Jake start delivering packages for people?" Well, since he took up the courier job. Not to say every customer deserves a bow, but he's in a sales role now, trying to sell the Founder's alliance. That bow won't cost him anything.
mitchell kaiser
Hmmmm wonder how he is going to wriggle out of this one.
Aldrin
But I cannot recall a single time he has ever bowed to anyone. The Viper took advantage of this in the past when he got information of the Oath of Union ritual from Stormild. Jake, never bowed to the Primordials or even felt the need to, So he sure as hell shouldn't even put up the pretext of doing so for some random S- Grade clown.
Thenais
I would drop the shroud and ask him if he wants to get spanked once he reach godhood by his patreon.
Daniel Hamilton
Talk about a cliffhanger, just wow. Excited for what tomorrow brings and what you have in store. Never saw that coming.
Michael Fannon
Jake has been polite and respectful to plenty of people. Usually beings insanely more powerfully that are also not complete dicks.
Devin
Dun dun dun!!!
Thenais
Killing himself at the delivery job by professionalism … amazon’s employee of the month ! Fitting end for such dungeon.
Sam Rosenberg
Nice chapter. What will Jake do?
Christian Sullivan
I think it is a test to see if Jake is the mindless follower the s grade thinks he is.
Inv7ctus
TBH I've really liked this dungeon. Some interesting plot elements and skipping right through the minutia. Some action, some politics, some cool scenes. All we're missing is numbers going up. People will shut up about a lot if the numbers go up. Honestly this is what the coliseum should've been. That was great as a standalone arc. But knowing what came next, it was a bit long.
Isley
good chappie
Aldrin
“Greetings,” Jake said with a polite bow... Since when does Jake bow? To anyone? Might want to change that up a bit.
Julian
Why maintain rage when you can enter mountain range?
Pablo Barbatto
My biggest worry is that once he uses his lives he reverts back in time to a couple of minute before he kills himself creating a loop of not killing himself
Mats
I think that he has to die all 3 time's, and he shod tell the dragonkin beforehand, that he has 3 lives. (Is the story based/inspired on the Wyrmgods life in late S-grade?)
Tyler S.
How has noone thought that if Jake did attempt to kill himself that the dragon would save him or stop him at the last moment. I see Jake following through after some more questions
Tommy
Thanks for the chapter. Man this challenge dungeon needs a lot of work. Peak S-grade questioning the challenger as to why he is overcoming the challenges?!
Joao Vitor Franca
now THAT’S a cliffhanger
Michael Fannon
So Jake can't kill himself because of his bloodline right? Or he can because he still has 3 lives in the challenge dungeon? And if he does kill himself, does that count as a win because he convinced the dragon or a loss because he died and had to respawn? Did the dungeon develop a game breaking glitch in an open beta!? Better be a separate massive reward for reporting a bug to the Wyrmgod.
Glen Johnson
Though Pulse, he did spot some people also fighting against them Through pulse?
Zogarth
Fix
Glen Johnson
Jake continued his journey as he Pulse of Perception every thirty seconds should be as he used Pulse?
Cayla
Even with significantly less focus on the wider world going on. I have to say I sincerely enjoy the characters of the dungeon and how people react to Jake in the dungeon chapters.
GraveLurker
Or eternal shadow will stab him, and then they swap
DBOMB YO
Well damn! “Kill yourself” straight to the hard tasks lol
Burkes
Hmmmmm is this an ending? Will he get something like an epilogue of how his actions affected the world after this legendary courier appeared from nowhere, and made the ultimate sacrifice to bring an end to the war. Something like that lol. RPG Video game logic dictates that a protagonist must come from nothing, with no established connections to anyone or anything. It also dictates that once a protagonists great quest is done, they fade into memory with nary a whisper.
JJB4345_80_815
Yes, thank you for the chappy, Zogarth!
Alex R
Jake is going to stab Eternal Shadow.
Valhazstromoz
Jake's bloodline will awaken in outrage and the dragonkin will sense it this changing his mind calling it
Justin Buro
The only person who truly could kill Jake comes to do so... Jake himself
Phallusar
Forsaken Dragonkin preparing to ascend to the lowest rungs of a Low Tier God:
Strato Junon
Oh boy. That took a turn
solomon pagan
That goes against everything jake is there is no way he'll kill himself
bauspar
Twist to a twist to a twist.
Julian
How convenient that Jake has three lives to use for this challenged dungeon.
Bent Sommer
". When Jake entered the maintain range, ..." --> mountain range
Arrogant Savant
Uh oh
TwistedVanity
Thanks for the chapter
Jonah Frazier
Does this dragonkin have a fade? Lol
Nate Oppy
Wooooooooo!
BlackRazaras
Thanks for the chapter
