Zogarth
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Chapter 840 - Nevermore: Infinite Loop Agent
🕑 Added 2024-01-31 11:47:58 +0000 UTCMission: Mysterious Organization Double-Agent Infiltration went much more smoothly than Jake had expected. After he left the Baron’s place, Jake went and just relaxed in the city for a day as he sat down and did a bit more crafting. After this day, he left the city again, still disguised as a scalekin.
Once a good distance away, and when he was sure no one was watching, he changed himself back to looking like – and Identifying as – a human before flying back toward the city with his stealth skill active while also wearing his usual getup. Once he got close to the mid-sized city again, Jake dispelled his stealth skill while still flying up in the air, instantly feeling many gazes on him.
This time, he showed no subtlety but just flew into the city. During the conversation with the mysterious hooded figure, the person had told him to go to the Guild and say that he had lost the package during transportation, and while Jake wasn’t a fan of doing that, the Baron and Duke assured him they would still report the job as completed successfully to not impact Jake’s reputation negatively.
However, as it turned out, this wasn’t even necessary…
Shortly after Jake entered the Guild, and before he even had a chance to approach one of the employees, a regular-looking guy sitting off to the side of the room sent him a telepathic message.
”Excuse me, you’re a Courier, right? Might you be coming out of Hillspring City? I have an aunt living there, and I heard some bad news…”the person said. Disregarding how weird it was to send a telepathic message to say something like that, Jake knew this was just a probing question.
”I am indeed. The trip was long, but when you have an important delivery to an even more important client, you cannot slack off too much,” Jake replied. ”One in high places, both figuratively and literally.”
”You have arrived earlier than I expected,” the person said when he affirmed Jake was the one. ”I am here representing a mutual friend. Please play along.”
Due to the speed of telepathy, Jake had barely entered the Guild as the man sitting close to the door stood up and opened his arms wide. ”Bloody hell, you’re finally here! Lizzy has been on my ass since she heard you were coming. Good to see you, buddy.”
The man went over and dragged Jake into a hug, Jake naturally playing along. ”You know how it is with work and everything. Can’t always know my schedule ahead of time, but hey, I’m here, aren’t I?”
”That you are! Now, let’s get going before she rips both of us a new one!”
Jake did as asked and nodded as the two walked out together while making idle chatter. No one seemed to care about the reunion of two old friends, and Jake and the other guy quickly got away from the Guild as they headed toward a large mansion close to the outer walls, no one following them.
The man Jake had met was barely C-grade, and someone Jake later came to learn was pretty much just a middleman who worked for a wealthy lady – Lizzy - in the mansion. However, in order to appear less suspicious, the two of them acted as if they were in a relationship. These were the first two people Jake met, who he confirmed were part of this organization, even if they were auxiliary members who pretty much carried out direct orders without questions while knowing pretty much nothing about the organization that employed them.
Once in the mansion, Lizzy and the man introduced themselves and, after some probing questions, fully confirmed Jake was who he said he was. Jake was subsequently led into a cellar beneath the mansion, where he was left alone with a token and surrounded by quite a powerful barrier. One definitely not made by the two C-grades living there.
Down in the cellar, Jake activated the small token the pretend-couple had given him, and soon after, a familiar hodded figure appeared.
”I am glad to see you are reasonable, not only in your decision to take us up on the offer but by not delaying your arrival needlessly,”the figure said right away, not even saying hello or anything.
Jake had already taken out a chair before he used the token and was currently sitting in a relaxed pose. Very purposefully, mind you. He had been fronting himself as a powerful individual with this organization before, and he was going to keep doing so.
”Eh, I thought I might as well get things done quicker this way,” Jake shrugged.
”Nevertheless. It was a wise choice, and I hope you continue to make wise choices,” the figure answered. ”Now, could you confirm the nature of the item the Infernal Baron wanted you to deliver? Show it to me?”
”Patience, patience. Before all that, let me just explain things a bit from my viewpoint,” Jake said as he leaned forward and looked directly into where he suspected the eyes of the hooded figure would be. ”I am right now stuck between two factions. Some nobleman Baron, and a shadowy organization that has been semi-threatening me from the get-go. I am entirely neutral toward this Baron as I, quite frankly, don’t know shit about him. Meanwhile, you have made less than a stellar first impression, which I would heavily advise you to address. Especially as I also get a strong impression you want more than just to buy a delivery from me. So, how about we start with some honesty before we proceed? Who exactly are you?”
The figure was silent for a few moments, Jake getting the feeling the person was consulting with someone. After a few seconds, they spoke again. ”Very well… how much do you know of the Infernal Baron and the family he belongs to?”
”Fuck all,” Jake shrugged.
”Then allow me to enlighten you...”
Jake got his second lore dump of the last two days as the figure explained most of the same things the Duke of Flames had. It mentioned how it was a big family, how their patriarch was a duke and near the peak of A-grade, and how their Path included consuming – thus killing – elementals as part of their Path. Of course, the tone of the explanation was a lot different than the Duke’s.
While the Duke of Flames had presented everything with a sense of pride and matter-of-fact, this figure had a lot more emotion. It was clear they didn’t like the family at all. Fact-wise, things were pretty much the same, though, and Jake got the impression neither party was lying about anything. They just had their own spin on things.
”As for our organization… we oppose the Duke of Flames and the actions of his vile spawn. They are a scourge upon this world, and cleansing it of their presence would be a blessing,” the figure finished. ”As for details… I will need to see if you truly have the delivery in question before saying more.”
By now, Jake thought he had done enough to not appear like a pushover. He hadn’t been entirely subservient, which was exactly how he wanted things to be. Same as with the Duke of Flames. Jake was a contractor, not an employee, so the person who hired him wasn’t allowed to say jack-shit about how Jake did things, and he wanted to make it very clear he always had the option of giving them the middle finger and quitting, if just out of pure spite if they tried to fuck him over.
”Alright, fine,” Jake said as he dug into a pocket in his cloak and took out the Sealed Elemental, which he had re-cast a stable arcane barrier on. Quickly erasing the barrier, the shadowy figure used Identify on the item, confirming its authenticity but making no moves for Jake to hand it over.
”The genuine delivery indeed,” the figure said with a nod. ”Thank you for trusting us with this… but before we continue, may I ask you. If you were to choose between supporting the dukedom that I told you about or an organization you knew borderline nothing of but who opposed this dukedom, who would you support?”
The question sounded genuine, but Jake didn’t really appreciate the fact that the barrier he was standing within apparently also had the ability to discern lies. At least the figure tried to find out if Jake was lying using it, naturally failing upon encountering Shroud. It would under usual circumstances, that is, but this time around, Jake let it go through as his honest answer was one he was fine with the organization knowing.
”I would support whoever offers me the most. I became a Courier to challenge myself and to gain as much recognition as possible as I grow my reputation and rank. Who I work for doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things as long as I benefit,” Jake answered genuinely. Of course, he didn’t include the part where he only did all this to get a lot of Nevermore Points and a great Grand Achievement, but hey, they didn’t ask.
”A purely selfish approach where pragmatism takes precedence, I see… but let me ask. What do you think of elementals? How do you see them?”
”With my eyes?” Jake said with a smirk. ”But in all seriousness, I can’t tell you how I feel about an elemental before meeting them, now can I? People are different, and I am sure some of them are assholes.”
Once more, Jake allowed the lie-detector skill to fully work. Based on all the context clues, Jake was pretty damn sure this organization was very pro-elemental and cared a lot about them, so making himself appear sympathetic toward them would prove beneficial. Also, it was pretty easy to say he didn’t have anything against elementals, considering he didn’t.
”You referred to elementals as people… I hope you realize how rare that is,” the figure said.
Shrugging, Jake kept up his casual demeanor. ”I mean, considering I have a niece of sorts who is an elemental, it would be very weird for me not to consider them people.”
Alright, technically, Sylphie wasn’t just an elemental but a weird mix between beast and elemental, but that did make her at least partly elemental, which made Jake’s statement not a lie.
”I see… I believe I can explain a bit more about who we are and what we stand for, and with this explanation, you will understand who you should truly support…”
Once again, it was lore dump time. As expected, the group that hated the Duke of Flames could be summed up as a hardcore elemental rights organization. Not the peaceful protest kind either, but the type to actively try and kill every single member of the dukedom in what they felt was a justified position. The figure even explained how killing anyone who helped the dukedom in any way was the right thing to do. Even if that help only came in the form of being a poor E-grade farmer.
That is when Jake learned that the ”inconsequential challenges” the Duke of Flames talked about them doing for nearly a century were things like this elemental rights organization slaughtering thousands of E and even some D-grades in the Duke’s territory in what were effectively terrorist attacks.
Something the Duke evidently didn’t give a shit about. He only started to care when the organization began to mess with his ability to collect rare elemental variants. Oh, by the way, rare variants tended to also be the sapient sort and not the regular mindless elementals, so… yeah.
After listening and assuming everything he had learned about this scenario was true, Jake reached a conclusion:
They both fucking sucked.
Alas, Jake was not in the Challenge Dungeon to pass judgment, and he was in no position to. At least not yet…
Luckily, the shadowy figure was finally finishing the lengthy explanation of the organization’s goals, and just in time before Jake decided the Grand Achievement wasn’t worth listening to the extremist speech.
”… and once the elemental race can once more roam freely, fearless of the monstrous Duke and his spawn, only then will our quest be complete. Only when the Path is driven to utter ruin and every single person of that horrible Lineage dead is it time to celebrate. When their legacy is nothing but a bad memory! So let me ask you, Courier… are you willing to be on the side of justice?”
”If justice is the one who offers the best terms, then yes,” Jake said, not buying into the extremism. ”But hey, if it’s also fighting the good fight, that’s just a nice bonus.”
”I understand you do not share our conviction, but not to worry, that is no requirement. As a Courier, let your actions speak. So let me request of you your first mission. We need information on the Duke of Flames from an insider, and we believe that you could become that insider. Be our agent at his side who will assist us. Of course, to do that, sacrifices must be made, and while it is a shame that a young Soothfire Elemental will meet its end in such a horrific way, the Sealed Elemental must be delivered in order to not raise suspicion. So, are you willing to assist us?”
As the person said this, not one but two notifications popped up. One saying he had completed a side job, and one giving him another.
Special Courier Side Job Completed.
Special Courier Side Job: Deliver the Sealed Elemental to the Infernal Baron.
Objective: Package delivered (0/1)
Accept Side Job?
So… yeah, Jake had to head back to the Infernal Baron again to deliver the Sealed Elemental for the second time to the same person. It was a bit silly, but Jake was pretty sure he had just gone from being a potential double agent to now potentially being a triple agent.
Also, Jake learned that somehow, the organization knew the name of the elemental within the Sealed Elemental item… which made him suspect they maybe somehow knew all along? In either case, shit was getting complicated, and Jake hoped he would be able to keep up with all the nonsense going on.
After Jake left the mansion, he headed straight for the Infernal Baron’s place again. He still went through the trouble of disguising himself and whatnot, pretty much just putting on a show as he felt people keep an eye on him – showing the organization still wasn’t super trusting quite yet – as he made his way to the Baron.
Of course, the Baron also knew that Jake could be under surveillance, so everyone acted as if it was Jake’s first time going. Once he was finally in front of the Baron and re-delivered the Sealed Elemental, the questioning began.
Jake only gave half-truths as he explained his meeting, ending with the organization potentially wanting Jake to join. He purposefully didn’t mention anything about them wanting Jake to infiltrate the Duke’s faction but did throw in that he believed that was something they could want down the line.
So, to summarize, Jake was now working with the dukedom to infiltrate the elemental rights organization that wanted Jake to work with the dukedom, who wanted Jake to infiltrate the organization, who wanted Jake with the dukedom… both sides believing they were the smart cookies who had thought up this wonderful plan, not knowing the other party had the exact same idea.
Where did this leave Jake? Well, from an outside perspective, he could now openly associate with the dukedom faction. He also didn’t need to be careful if he ever met with the organization, as that was what the Duke expected Jake to do. Yep, things were definitely a mess, and Jake was looking forward to what kind of high-octane mission he would receive as what he would describe as an infinite loop agent.
”The first step has been taken, but we still need to work through the Guild, seeing as you are a Courier. We will need some time to organize things, and we will contact you soon. However, to ensure that you qualify for the next task, it would be pertinent to work on improving your reputation as a Courier and upgrade your Medallion,” the Duke of Flames said as their meeting finished, pouring water all over Jake’s hopes and dreams.
That’s right… it was back to grinding regular old Courier Jobs, showing that even when one moved up in the world to become an infinite loop agent, one still couldn’t quit the grind.
Comments
Juozapas
I really like this dungeon stuff, but understand how some can be annoyed by slow progress
Hunter Thornton
The primal spymaster
TwistedVanity
Hmmm. You are an awesome writer. But this seems like a very complicated scenario. I shall be interested to see how this slots in with the challenge dungeon dynamics. I'd also like too see how a few other characters fail miserably with this one. Such as sylphie. I like how the challenge dungeons are doing different things inside the main dungeon. And am loving Minga Another request I'd like to see yip of yores chosen fall flat on his face in some dungeons. He may be an elite but he is an elite of stories. Even if he changes the outcome with his powers to then win. He makes people believe lies, then that belief makes thoses lies true. He is s schemer, a con artist a liar, a trickster. His vile cunning alone should make him contender. Show him cheating, but don't make him awesome please. To be fair he shouldn't be able to cheat Nethermore so maybe show his patreon cheating on his behalf to change loses to wins? Just a hopeful suggestion.
Rezkin
Lol, this will be hilarious!
Olof Karlsson
Thanks for the chapter!
Jared
Tell us what you really think jeez
austin kutz
Pretty sure he isn't actually getting paid for this though
Chaotic Chaos
Good chapter
Aegir
The crafting dungeon was worse, at least this is mildly entertaining even it is completely low effort garbage filler.
Thenais
currently playing elminage original. “You merely adopted the grind, I was born in it, molded by it,”
ABTelford
I too am hoping for some actual plot development. I can’t wait for Nevermore to end too. Some chapters have been fun but 80% has been…very skip able.
Chris
Yup
Chris
March…man hope not. Hope it’s done tomorrow.
Naotsugu97
Oh please oh please oh please!
Mohammed Sheekh
exactly, nevermore is just another tournament of power in dragon ball super :/
Bryandbc01
I assume by March at the maximum we will be done with this challenge dungeon, and probably be finished with nevermore.
Seen Death
I wish i could skip comments as proficiently as you skip chapters
Cody C
God this is like book 3 of just nevermore with almost no substance or plot. Kinda wild im just kinda skipping around to arcs that seem interesting
hachetnif
I went back and read some of the past chapters and it was good But I still feel that there's a lot of stuff in nevermore that will not matter but I stop thinking it of primal Hunter and just decided that I will not look ahead and think about the future of Jake and what will happen at the end arc when he beats that good for nothing other chosen and it will start off the grand chosen wars
MilkTheShark
"but no not worry, that is no requirement" -> but do not worry, that is no requirement
Abhishek
I need to see the results of nevvermore quick!! Also want to get back to the main arc lol
Will Murry
Ok maybe I didn't call it
Ral
Tftc
kiwi
this was funny
Luke Scheffe
Love nevermore, looking forwards to seeing more of it.
Hodge Wasson
In book format it would necessitate heavy editing just due to the nature of consumption. I think one book with more in-between the challenge dungeons would be better for book format. More needs to be retread in episodic publication, so it would probably read more smoothly as a novel.
Yaldabaoth
Lessss Gooooooo!? These are amazing breaks between studying and papers!! Ty ty ty! 😊
Ben Heystek
Honestly the story is great and I love all of this backstory and the factions jake is dealing with now. To read how jake reacts to these people is amusing and interesting as the story unfolds tftc and keep up the great work
Yaldabaoth
🎼🎵Infinite agent Jaaake!🎵🎼 🤣🤘🤘 LeessssssGoooooooo!?!?
Yaldabaoth
I was thinking the same shit! Lmao! 🤣🤣🤣🤣 This is fecking great!? 😭🤣🤣
Ben Heystek
Honestly I'm loving the story seeing how Jake being jake in this situation and all the challenge dungeons. You are doing amazing work keep it up. Looking forward to the next chapter to see how the story unfolds and who maybe the shadowy figure of this organization
JJB4345_80_815
I think that there's several issues coming into play combining together leading to the dissatisfaction. One, if Jake dies here things get reset - no big deal and therefore no lack of danger and also the perception of no real growth associated with that lack of danger. Another is that there's been a bunch of questions that have gone unanswered and the long slog through chapters where it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel somewhat. We've all been waiting to know how Jake is doing compared to Ell'hakan and if Jake's going to do unprecedented things in Nevermore but have had to wait for months and over a year for some of these questions to be answered. I get it, it's hard and not fun. And maybe the most crucial issue is the lack of side character development. That's extremely hard to do when Jake is solo dungeoning for this long. People are begging for Jake to be back and interacting with the other characters because anyone that he gets close to in these challenge dungeons just gets erased/reused for the next challenger. I didn't get why some people were so crazy over Temlat and wanted him to continue past the House of the Architect but now I kinda get how these challenge dungeons are really just interaction desserts (edit: deserts - sandy places not sweet treats) and the thirst for genuine connection is real. My favorite challenge dungeon was Minaga's Labyrinth BECAUSE of the banter between characters that are going to last post Nevermore. While I understand and even partially agree that these are all issues with the current storyline (& hope that they aren't recurring issues henceforth), it's still Zogarth's story and we are all just here for the ride. It's his genius that shapes the story and he has a proven track record of delivering the goods. I really want those questions answered but I trust Zogarth's process in telling his story.
Namorat
Please continue writing the story you want to share with the world.
Valhazstromoz
Villy's watching in the background with a tear in his eye as he watches lil jakey play these fools for ssssssssssuckerssss lmfaoooo
Kael
Great reference 😂
Tyler S.
He will back just far enough away with his loot to watch the dumpster firetrucks to crash and burn
Tyler S.
Minor typo in.. "I understand you no not share our conviction, but no not worry, that is no requirement."... (No not worry -> do not) Thanks for a fun chapter and reminding us that its sometimes the small jobs in-between that bring in the bling.
Jeff McCulley
Also: “way was the right to do.” …the right thing to do.
Govir Drauka
Oh shit, it’s PETE! (People for the Ethical Treatment of Elementals).
Zogarth
fix
Zogarth
fix
Tyler S.
Would you perfer this arc softly broken between books and challenges or a long book to just get through it all? I have felt that Zogs books are fairly short for his story arc breaks, and would much love a long 120+ chaptered books for all of Nevermore/challenge dungeons
Joshua Tamayo
Infinite loop agent made me smile
JJB4345_80_815
Happy for the chappy, Zogarth!
Sam Rosenberg
Really great chapter. I am enjoying this
Jeff McCulley
“…the Baron and Duke ensured him…” Assured
BlackRazaras
Thanks for the chapter
Jonathan
”I do indeed. I am indeed and a shadowy organization that have been semi-threatening me has been Mentioned how it was a big family, It mentioned
boopsie malone
Agreed, I inhaled the entire series in a couple of weeks! I started to worry midway through the labyrinth, though. And then there was another labyrinth. And now Jake's a postman in pretend world. Hopefully Zog wraps Nevermore up soon and Jake can get back to arcs that matter.
donvitogonzalle
Yep this challenge Dungeon is even more boring than the house of architect. I cannot get invested in the story because I already know that whatever happens has 0 relevance for the plot
Den
For a fistful of Nevermore Points
Decibel790
Pfffffft; poor Jake, always gotta keep up the hustle. Tftc!
Ty Cooper
I feel Nevermore as a whole will be so much better in Audible.
Ty Cooper
Lol he let's the lie detector go through just so he can tell them he doesn't care.
Joanna Newhard
"I am a Courier in order to be challenged and to gain as much recognition as possible as I grow my reputation and rank as a Courier." This sentence reads as if something is missing. Consider rephrasing it and maybe adding a comma too.
Kaibutsu
Keep grinding! I find it funny how easy it is to judge someone else. Because tbh what's the difference between consuming sentient elemental and just killing them or other sentient creature for experience? The method is different sure but the outcome the same - they stop existing.
Tucker Glick
And this is where Jake runs off with rewards from both factions
Gavin
This was really funny 😂
Rolf
Thank you for the chapter! A word missing in "in any way was the right to do" -> "in any way was the right thing to do"?
Wolven
It’s been almost 200 chapters of nevermore, I don’t think the sentiment will change in book form.
Colonel Doloryas
Love the story, but please make nevermore end, it's lasted far too long.
Hodge Wasson
This marks 101 chapters of challenge dungeon plot. Interested to see where this specific one goes, but faaar more interested in seeing the final combined rewards and the crew joined up again to progress further through Nevermore.
Matthias
Tftc
Sammot
You should remember that this is going to be in book form, where people will binge read it all while we are reading it chapter by chapter. If you could binge this all at once it would probably feel way better paced.
joel southard
Nice thank you for the chapter
Frederik
"not knowing the other party had the exact some idea." I think it would be same and not some tftc
bauspar
Second. Its just Nevermore in general tbh.
Pip Mitchell
Tftc! Minor amend, pre-elemental = pro-elemental
Mr. Truthly
Infiite loop agent achievement.
Goncalo Silva Santos
Zogarth, I love you and I love primal hunter, but this arc is getting quite boring at this point. I find myself skipping the entire chapter. We know there will be no substantial story progression until we get close to the dungeon ending, this just feels like filler. Just my 2 cents
Farmingaround
Tftc!
Detrox
Nice!
Steven Myer
First!
