Zogarth
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Chapter 843 - Nevermore: Best Courier Ever
🕑 Added 2024-02-05 11:46:16 +0000 UTCJake, of course, knew about Shroud of the Primordial. He used it all the time during this Challenge Dungeon to block so people couldn’t tell when he was lying while manipulating it, so it didn’t block whatever truth-telling ability was being used when he told the truth. He didn’t know how to make Shroud display his lies as true answers, only to block it from giving any response at all… but he did have a feeling this was something he could learn to make the skill do at some future time. But considering it took him many decades to learn how to manipulate the responses from Identify, this definitely wasn’t the time or place to try and self-teach himself that ability.
However, one part of the Shroud he had borderline forgotten was its ability to block anyone’s ability to detect karma-related stuff. One had to remember that Shroud’s primary function was to hide Jake so people couldn’t find him unless he allowed them to. It was a counter to divination first and foremost, but in the process of blocking that, many other things were also included. Karma included.
In many ways, it had to be, considering karmic magic was a huge part of most forms of divination. Plus, if someone could track Jake’s karmic threads, they would be able to track him simply by following them. While the phrase “karmic thread” was very much used as an analogy, many karmic mages actually saw literal threads of karma using their skills. It was simply the conceptual understanding they reached, likely even because of this common phrase and the way others taught the concept of karma. That being the case, it would be pretty easy to just follow a thread from someone related to Jake straight back to him, so of course, Shroud had to block that. It had to tangle these threads into a web that no one could make any sense of, and the karmic threads never truly led back to Jake.
All of this is to say that while Jake did form karmic connections with everyone he encountered, to any karmic mage trying to analyze these threads, nothing made sense. As these threads were very much conceptual in nature, and the way most karmic mages – the Guild Founder included – saw them was only by looking for something particular.
As everyone had endless karmic threads leading out from them, karmic mages pretty much had to look for a specific thread or connection in mind. If they didn’t, they would just see every single karmic thread a person had. In Jake’s case, that would include every single person he had ever met or influenced, both directly or indirectly… in other words, billions of people at the very least. The Founder was an S-grade and could search Jake for karmic connections to the limited scope of the room they were in, which was why he was so confused when he didn’t see what he had expected. He had likely assumed seeing Jake have a powerful karmic connection with one of the factions while having an antagonistic one with others… not simply having his skill say Jake had no positive or negative karmic connection with any of them at all.
The only way for this to be the case was if Jake truly didn’t have any strong connection with any of them, either good or bad, period. Well, that, or if Jake, a mere C-grade, was capable of blocking the skill of the Founder, an S-grade, and one of the strongest people in the entire world. One of these was definitely more believable than the other, and the Founder looked at Jake with genuine astonishment.
“You… are truly telling the truth. No, even so, how is this possible? Some karmic connections should have been formed no matter what, yet I can’t find anything,” the man said with a deep frown as he considered matters further. “What exactly are you? How did you accomplish this?”
“Beats me, I don’t know anything about karma magic,” Jake shrugged truthfully. He only knew what little he had read here or there about karma, which was enough to make him decide that it definitely wasn’t a school of magic for him. “Have you considered that I was telling the truth regarding my actions? That I heavily considered the implications behind everything I did?”
The Founder was silent for a moment before nodding slowly. “Now that I think about it… it’s true that your deceit would have been discovered a long time ago by one of the many other karma mages working for these factions if you did try to trick them. Due to their incredible abilities in the areas of counterespionage and scouting, the Path has flourished in the last many millennia, and every faction has plenty of A-grades who would have been able to see straight through the actions of a C-grade Courier no matter how smart he tried to be…”
Jake kept silent, same as the Founder, while he considered these words, while internally, he had a minor panic attack. Fucking hell, I got lucky with Shroud, or things could have ended very badly…
While everything Jake had done seemed like it could work out on the surface, especially considering how dumb the natives of the Challenge Dungeon were, in reality, it should have never gone as far as it did. Under normal circumstances, Jake would probably have been discovered the very first time he became an infinite loop agent if not in the job right after.
Shroud was the only reason Jake was still alive and could continue as he did. It wasn’t just a matter of Shroud of the Primordial being a skill capable of hiding karma, either. Jake was sure many other factions also had abilities to hide karma-related stuff, especially those like the Court of Shadows… but their skills wouldn’t work for shit in this Challenge Dungeon. The skills could hide karma, yes, but if the one searching for it was an A-grade? Even if they walked around with mythic-rarity karma-hiding skills, it would be seen through simply due to the sheer difference in power.
The only reason Jake was fine was due to how Shroud worked. When someone tried to pierce Shroud, they didn’t merely try to pierce the hiding abilities of a C-grade. They competed directly with the Records and power of the Malefic Viper. That was why it could hide him even from any but the most powerful of gods in the multiverse and why a bunch of A- and even S-grades didn’t stand the shadow of a chance. Even if the Founder had been a Godking, he would have been unable to see anything.
Of course, this wasn’t anything the Founder would ever reasonably conclude. So he went with the most reasonable conclusion he could… that Jake had somehow managed to avoid any kind of strong karmic connection with any faction, meaning he hadn’t chosen to side with anyone but had managed to remain one-hundred percent neutral, even to the concept of karma.
A few seconds passed with the Founder just standing there before he finally smiled, lowered his head a bit, and nodded to himself. “I see… I see…”
He then looked up at Jake, a bright smile on his lips, with the entire mood changed as he even went as far as to bow slightly. “I apologize for my offensive statements, and I hope you can forgive me. For me, as the Founder of the Guild, to offend one who truly walks the purest of Paths as a Courier… it’s truly shameful.”
Jake just stared at the man for a second before he mentally shrugged. Yeah, sure, I can roll with this.
“I simply did what had to be done and acted as I saw fit of a Courier,” Jake responded, trying to sound as genuine as he possibly could.
“And you have exceeded all expectations anyone could ever have of you,” the Founder said, looking a mix between relieved and happy. “However, things are still not as they should be. Do you know why I came here today?”
“How could I possibly read the thoughts of the Founder?” Jake responded. “But if I had to guess, it has something to do with me and the way the Guild has been used and abused by many of the factions present.”
“Your guess is correct for the most part,” the Founder nodded. “I originally wanted to expose them, using you as the showcase of what they had done wrong, and set an example of what happens to Couriers who willingly assist factions, along with punishing the factions who used you… but I now realize my wrongs. You truly never had any interest in politics but merely carried out the Courier Jobs that the Guild gave you. How can I possibly blame you for that?”
Jake felt a bit of cold sweat on his back as he couldn’t help but ask: “Say… when you say you would have punished the Courier who did what you thought they did, what do you mean by that?”
“I planned on stripping you of your title as a Courier, taking your Courier Medallion, and dependent on your actions, and if you refused to truly repent and see your wrongs, ended your life right then and there. With repentance, perhaps you would have even been allowed to become a Courier once more, but you would have naturally started from the beginning,” the Founder explained. It was definitely a potential scenario that Jake very much didn’t like the sound of.
One had to remember that the objective of this Challenge Dungeon was to complete Courier Jobs, so if Jake was stripped of his rank, he would no longer be able to progress. Starting from the beginning would also suck major ass, as based on what Jake guessed and what would just be logical, the higher-ranked Courier Jobs would give more Nevermore Points for a better final score and Grand Achievement.
“Heh,” Jake slightly laughed as he scratched the back of his head. “I guess it’s good I am not the kind of person who would get involved politically with different factions, and definitely not the type to have my own plots and plans.”
Yep, Jake would never do any of that. How could he? He was the best and most genuine Courier ever!
“It is indeed fortunate,” the Founder nodded. “And perhaps this outcome is even better. I was the one who made the Guild invite you today for my original plan to ensure you would go. However, with what I know now, I am even happier you are here. So, let me ask you, Courier… would you be willing to assist me in exposing this corruption and punish those who abused the Courier system and Guild?”
“Before I answer, could you elaborate a bit more on what exactly these factions did wrong in your mind?” Jake questioned as one thing had been bothering him a bit. “Every Special Courier Job I was given by them went through the Guild. Isn’t the Guild also to blame for all this happening? The Guild accepted all these jobs and gave them to me, making everything appear official. If what the factions did was truly against the rules, wouldn’t the Guild have rejected the jobs?”
The Founder sighed loudly at Jake’s question as he looked down. “They should have if everything was working as it is supposed to. It is normal to vet every job, but that simply hasn’t been done in any of these cases. The nobles used the Guild as an arm of their own factions and threatened the employees into accepting any job they wished to assign them. To make matters even worse, I even have records of them manipulating the documentation behind the jobs and falsifying reports regarding completed jobs. Let me just confirm… have you had promises made to you that they would “ensure” you wouldn’t suffer reputational damages even if you failed a job, as long as your failure benefitted them?”
Jake recalled quite a few instances as he nodded. “More than once.”
“As I expected,” the Founder nodded. “Perhaps it is all my fault. I have been hands-off for too long, and their respect for the Guild and what we stand for has deteriorated with the generations that have passed. Few remember who I am, and even the executives of the Guild have fallen into corruption. I plan on doing a heavy clean-up, but to start properly, we need to remind everyone what the Guild truly stands for and why we used to be so respected.”
“Alright, I’m in,” Jake agreed. He wasn’t sure if this was the best quest path, but it seemed like a good idea to ally with one of only a few S-grades Jake had ever heard of in this world. Plus, the guy didn’t seem all that horrible compared to the others he had met. His biggest crime Jake knew of so far was inaction and laziness in regard to addressing the problems the Guild faced, and who was Jake to blame someone for not watching their own faction properly? He sure as hell was guilty of the same crime.
While it wasn’t necessarily a flaw, the Founder was also a bit of a softie, considering how he said he wouldn’t even have killed Jake if he had been a willing pawn of one of the factions and willingly repented.
“Thank you,” the Founder said with a pleased nod.
“So, what’s the plan?” Jake questioned.
“I believe there have been enough plans and plots already. Rather than continue down this track, we shall be direct and forthcoming with our objective,” the Founder said as he and Jake remained looking down on the mass of people in the hall, mulling about.
Despite them standing on the balcony and talking for so long, no one had approached them. Everyone just kept socializing below, almost as if they were waiting for Jake and the Founder to be done with their conversation before doing anything. Jake saw all of the big players already there, and he counted more than fifty total A-grades present in the room. It was an overwhelming force, and Jake doubted many regular C-grades could ever feel comfortable in a situation like this, but he felt pretty calm.
The strongest person present was the peak A-grade Lord Protector. At least, that is what people believed. The old man was swarmed with nobles, nearly as many as the king and queen, who had taken seats on two slightly elevated chairs that looked a bit like thrones.
Jake looked over and saw the Duke of Flames stand confidently off to the side, chatting with some lesser nobles. He saw the Duke’s daughter talking with others, including the A-grade who led PETE. The two other Dukes were naturally also there, along with nobles from a bunch of other countries there as diplomats. Based on what Jake had heard, this was the biggest political conference in decades, so it was definitely a good spot to reveal nefarious actions taken by others to a significant and influential audience.
Of course, that is exactly what several factions in the room wanted to do… none of them knew they were the ones having their actions revealed that day.
“Come… it’s time,” the Founder said as he stood up straight, Jake doing the same. “Let us remind them what the Guild is and what it stands for.”
As he said this, Jake had a system window appear in front of him.
All Special Courier Side Jobs Failed.
Special Courier Job 10 Updated.
Special Courier Job 10: Attend the Royal Conference in the Capital of the Human Kingdom. While there, assist the Guild Founder in revealing the corruption of the noble factions and their abuse of the Guild and the Courier System.
He had failed all the quests to assist the factions and was left with only one objective remaining… and he couldn’t wait to see the chaos that was about to unfold.
Comments
Olof Karlsson
Thanks for the chapter!
Hunter Thornton
It is time for the age of chaos to reign
Alessan
It took until the final event after nearly a year for the gods to notice that his karma was being blocked? As they said, he should have never gotten this far otherwise.
TwistedVanity
Well that was an excellently executed chapter. I am ever more impressed by Zogarths writing and story telling skills. Skill. Story telling [mythical]
Bobby B
Good point. Even after this challenge dungeon Jake and his party have floors to still grind. I’m glad Jake is trying for most points.
JJB4345_80_815
Yes, thank you for the chappy, Zogarth!
Biggy smalls
I’m with you. The Nevermore ark has been fun but it feels like it’s run its course. Plus, the survival element to the story is null and void given that nobody can really die here. I’m also worried we won’t see Jake become a God given how many chapters it’s taken to get to mid C tier. I’m worried Zog will burn himself out before we get there. I hope I’m wrong. I love this story.
Justin
Seconding Kylar. It's also why I'm hoping we find out that El'H got bitch slapped by the Founder and sent back to square one.
Justin
It's not necessarily that they aren't allowed to be a double agent. It's that you aren't supposed to be able to be a triple+ agent for as LONG as Jake was. Literally to the conclusion in his case. The Wyrmgod and Nevermore hung the whole thing in the CD on every faction having at least A grade Karmic mages. There's no "intended" path. It's just that eventually they were supposed to be forced to ally with a single faction, and be ostracized from all others. In which case the Founder wouldn't show up saying WTF did you guys do to my guild to warp it so damn much, I'm going to obliterate this courier. The founder was, in my assumption, there as a last ditch catch-all for the C-Grade mildly blessed Karmic mages that will inevitably try the dungeon. They would have a leg up at first, but would get caught at the endgame or sooner. They didn't plan for Shroud. Hence the Wyrmgod being dismayed, and Villy laughing his ass off. So Jake got to do not only more courier quests, but significantly more Special ones. Which is what will break the dungeon. It also may mean that El'H gets his ass reset most of the way through this dungeon.
Kylar
It’s not impossible. It’s the loophole. He was able to do that because of shroud of the primordial essentially making him appear as though he has no karma with the opposing factions which is what they were scanning him for. If it was for Shroud, he would’ve been caught basically immediately.
Simons Edgar
But I don't understand, if it is impossible for Jake to be triple agent because of Karma, did every faction collectively decide to send him out as a disposable asset? Did no one wonder how the C-grade had managed to befuddle the opposing faction's A-grades and was still alive? This scenario doesn't make much sense to me.
Benjamin Mages
I'm not sure what the "intended" route is. I'm guessing that the moment you choose a special Courier job you're not necessarily destined to get screwed by the founder later on? Because that would be a horrible trap option. Also all of this "oh you're not supposed to be a double agent" is pretty weird considering that literally the second request each faction gives is for you to be a double agent. Are you just not supposed to take it this far, like, you would have had to pick a side and stick with it long ago? Couldn't you just do that by staying a double agent? Is the problem not being a double agent, but that he's an infinite loop agent with no true loyalty?
Bobby B
PLEEEASE! Can we get thru with Nevermore. I am SOOOO ready to get back to the multiverse and all that comes with it. Just for reference… Primal Hunter 8 has 78 chapters. Nevermore, so far, has 190 chapters.
SwiftDarkPhoenix
So if anyone's wondering he has 25 from minaga fight 5 from witch 5 from something else in time skip 25 from arena 10 from test 25 from minaga again 20 from architect and probably 25 from this so 140% for final nevermore point bonus and he will probably have 1500000 or more to multiply on floor 75 so 3.5 million to 4 million which honestly should get him the top spot there's no way he doesn't get number 1
joel southard
Nice thank you for the chapter
Rezkin
Yeah, and that's the best part!
Michael Fannon
When Jake says it's about to get chaotic, you know things are about to get really, really hilarious.
James Faulkner
Tftc!
Justin van mele
Jack's definitely getting that 25% and a total of 105% from all dungeons.
Justin
Arnold got 20% in Labyrinth. It explicitly states his achievement at the beginning of 802. You guys have got to stop making shit up. Arnold can't achieve 100%.
Jaklelope
Tyftc
Aaron Baker
He got more than 200 floors in minaga's labyrinth when others got 20% for doing half that and only got 25%. I don't think 30% is possible
Charles Torry
Nice I forgot he did poorly in the coliseum, maybe Jake takes the lead in %
DasGoat622
He got 25% in every other CD except coliseum. Which I don’t even think he got a grand achievement at all. He’s at 75% with a max potential of 100%. This last CD could go either way I could see him getting a high score for something like completing all the normal missions and skipping the special jobs. But I could also see him doing poorly because they only allow one job at a time and maybe he can’t use his machines to complete jobs 25% in Minaga’s Labyrinth because he solve all the clues well past floor 100 25% in boring one for making completely logical decision for every scenario 25% in Architects House for making the infinite machine.
Daniel Hamilton
Maybe he’ll get a title as An agent of chaos haha
Christian Sullivan
So normally, if you take the safe route you'd get the support of the founder but miss out on all Special Courier missions. But if you did them, you would be stripped of everything and have to start over/die. Jake really is a fucking cheat :)
John Balman
At least it's Monday and not Friday......
CosmicInsomniac
Jake: Hey Arnold, what was your Endless Journey Title called? Arnold:Loops within Loops, a 15% boost for carefully managing my karma by way of cost-benefit analysis over the course of 2 decades to remain completely neutral. Jake: *excited* Get fucked Arnold, my Infinite Loop Agent is simply built differently and has a better multiplier!
TBONEMAN
Well he is definitely getting at least 25%. Maybe 30% if it is possible.
Cody C
God i feel like the skill explanations that half these chapters start with are just padding for cliffs.. it’s so skippable it’s insane
Kael
Arnold did terrible in coliseum and will not do well in this dungeon
Decibel790
Thanks for the chapter! Can't wait to watch the political bonfire begin.
Yaldabaoth
LeesssssGooooo!
Ace Olson
Clif
Darthnarciss
Arnold cant get 125%, he didn't get the 25% bonus for the combat arena, and I don't remember if it ever stated his score in the Labyrinth
Mathias
How on earth would arnold get 125% total when we already know he did badly in the colloseum
Charles Torry
Assuming Jake gets 25% for this, what does that give him? 105%? Probably not the top dungeon % reward since we know Arnold is going to get 125% but total nevermore points Jake will probably get to the top since outside of these challenge dungeons Jake earns the most points.
Sam Rosenberg
Nice chapter!
Isley
good chappie
Drew
Edits/Suggestions: to try and self-teach himself that ability. -> to try and learn that ability. things were also included. Karma included. -> things were also blocked, karma included. In many ways, it had to be, considering karmic magic was a huge part of most forms of divination. -> Since most forms of divination used a bit of karmic magic, blocking it was really a requirement. didn’t stand the shadow of a chance -> didn't stand a shadow of a chance
Charles Torry
I can see this being a 25% victory. I love when Jake uses his exploits.
Abdulaziz ALRumaih
Not to be too crude but it’s like edging
Ty Cooper
Think this special courier job 10 was pre-made or something the wyrmgod threw together real fast for the dungeon? If not I can see Jake only getting 5% extra like with the witch. I am hoping he gets something crazier considering it is the last challenge dungeon. Like 5% extra for each faction or something like that.
Tommy
Love it. Great chapter, thank you :)
Tommy
This is only a day cliff, not a weekend cliff. Manageable if I just go to sleep now and wake up in 23 hours!
Thenais
Nice
Naotsugu97
Cheers!
Tftc! Looking forward to the big finale!
Valhazstromoz
Jake's so full of shit..................................villy must be so proud 🥲
Tyler S.
And another rehash of what jake knows shroud does
Cameron Yourell
Thank you for the chapter, I'm glad that the challenge dungeon was versatile enough that it had an 'option 10 without the need for a next era patch. I would guess that it was designed to classify someone on one of the original nine due to karma shenanigans.
Abdulaziz ALRumaih
Ah fuck Two cliffs in a row that’s just mean
Mantiqore
I feel like Jakes and Villys excitement for what is about to come is about equal
Loading Error
Awww snap!
StarWolf
I sure hope this specific trial dungeon arc is almost over and we can get the team back together… it’s dragging especially when the chapters are on the shorter side.
forgetfulposum
"Jake slightly laughed as she scratched the back of his head." Should be "he"
Burkes
Bit of an info dump on karma but overall great chappy
Themo Grulld
Nice timing.I like the twists.thx for the chappy
Joe Foreman
Let the chaos begin
Nate Oppy
Woooooooooo
MahoganyWood
Tftc
Tftc!
BlackRazaras
Thanks for the chapter!
