Chapter 1404 - Q&A

Jake liked getting titles. Probably not a very controversial statement; in fact, he’d dare venture that most shared that sentiment. Titles that gave stats were even better. Granted, +500 to all stats and a 5% increase to his highest stat wasn’t amazing, and of all the titles he had that gave stats – all the unique ones that had some difficulty to obtain, anyway, not counting stuff like Dungeoneer or Forerunner – this was probably the worst one.

500 to all stats sounded great, and it was definitely still impactful, but as a B-grade, it really wasn’t a lot. Even before all percentage amplifiers, Jake had close to 250,000 total stats, so adding 4500 wasn’t going to be massively impactful, but it was effectively around 2% extra stats. A bonus that would only become less and less with every level in B-grade, but still, Jake wasn’t going to complain.

Especially not when one also factored in that this title could be upgraded. Upgradeable titles were super rare, as they usually weren’t, while it wasn’t odd for titles to have several tiers depending on the event; one would just get one of them at the conclusion of said event. Instead, maybe due to the sheer length of this one, it gave a title fairly early on.

Other aspects that could probably also be upgraded were the two, maybe three, other things the title also did. He wasn’t sure if the increased connection to the Seat of the Exalted Prima and the World of the Exalted Prima should be considered the same, as the Seat was more or less just the place required to enter the simulation, with nothing particularly interesting about the space station right now. Of course, that could change, but for now, having an increased connection to the place didn’t strike him as impactful.

Wait... unless it makes it easier to come and go there, Jake suddenly had a realization. Leaving the Seat of the Exalted Prima would mean you couldn’t return for an entire year under current rules, but what if this title changed that? Would it make it easier to get there in some other way? Lots of questions, very few answers.

Jake also had no idea what it meant to have an increased connection to the World of the Exalted Prima either. He already felt very connected to the simulated world, and he was unable to tell he was even in a simulation unless he specifically reminded himself. Okay, sure, there were those odd lines when he used Boundless Sight, but those felt more like a disconnect with the simulated world than a closer connection. Unless Jake had misunderstood something, that is.

Perhaps this effect was just a reference to what Jake considered the biggest bonus of the title. Outside the extra Perception, of course.

While Jake had gotten a few levels within the simulation, he would have gotten way more had it been outside. The fight in the antechamber alone would have definitely netted him at least three levels based on the tier of opponents he’d fought, even if they hadn’t been that much higher level than himself.

That’s why an increase in experience gain within the World of the Exalted Prima had to be massive, right? Especially when bigger battles between massive Territories started. There would be a lot of fighting there, and getting more experience throughout those wars would lead to way more growth.

Jake did question some things, though. He was fairly sure that one big reason one had less experience was the lack of danger inside the World of the Exalted Prima. Death wasn’t a thing, at least not the permanent kind, meaning one could take far bigger risks and fight even stronger opponents.

He knew this had to affect Records, which was yet another reason Jake wasn’t sure how long he wanted to stay in this simulated world. Jake’s Path was inherently around hunting down dangerous prey, and in a world where one couldn’t die, was any prey truly dangerous? He feared that staying too long in this kind of place could jeopardize his Path and mess something up, so if this title could help him leave the simulation without being punished too much, that would be great.

Actually getting worthwhile experience while in the world, given he would definitely still spend quite a lot of time in it, naturally wasn’t something he would ever complain about either.

“Excuse me, Your Majesty,” the Sword Saint spoke up, pulling Jake out of his own internal world as he looked over. “Regarding the advantages given to Territories through these rewards, how does it work if multiple Administrators are from the same Territory?”

That... was actually a very good question that Jake hadn’t even considered, even if he probably should have. He and William were both from his Territory, and maybe it was because Jake was still shocked how the hell William had made it there, but he hadn’t even thought to ask what the implications of two Administrators from the same Territory getting these rewards would be.

“Allow me to answer,” the Majordomo said with a bow. “In the scenario where two or more are from the same Territory, be it through having joined using the same Seat of the Exalted Prima or through joining another after your own Territory Beacon is destroyed, the bonuses will stack multiplicatively. I am aware some may believe that to be unfair, as it diminishes the level of reward for each subsequent member from the same Territory, but alas, some semblance of balance is required, and have no doubt that you will come to realize that even if the bonus is multiplicative, the value shall add up over time. This rule is also in place, in part, to avoid a scenario of total systemic breakdown. Say the bonus was a 10% discount; if it was additive, what would happen if ten of you chose to unite and joined the same Territory? Wouldn’t that result in everything covered by the discount being free? We cannot have that.”

“I see,” the Sword Saint nodded, having gotten some good information for everyone present with his question. “Thank you for the insight and thank you for these kind rewards.”

The Majordomo nodded, for some reason seeming a lot more polite towards the Sword Saint than he had Jake.

“If I may also ask,” the Demon Prince spoke up next with a polite bow. “When shall the conversion of treasures into Prima Credits take place?”

“Upon everyone leaving this throne room, which will also trigger the countdown for the World of the Exalted Prima entering its next stage,” the Majordomo said. “You will get the credits no matter the method used to leave. Don’t worry, all the treasures you currently carry are already registered, and all associated credits will be given to you.”

Now that sounded pretty damn ominous. What did he mean by “no matter the method used to leave?”

So far, there had been no indication that this throne room posed any danger, yet that warning made it seem as if the only way out was to die. It was also interesting that the next stage of the event would begin not that long after all eleven of them had left the throne room. It was easily forgotten, given how long ago the system message was, but ending this stage would lead to a lot of eliminations across the World of the Exalted Prima. As per the message back then:

“The third phase will persist for a total of ten (10) years, or until the Palace of Abundance within the Central Domain has been fully cleared of valuable rewards. Any Territory that fails to at least gather 1,000,000 Prima Credits worth of resources from within the Central Domain during this phase will automatically find itself eliminated.”

A million Credits was a lot of Credits. Jake did note that it said one had to gather at least that many resources, without mentioning anything about actually cashing them in. Chances were, even those who’d failed to realize their assets after drying in the antechambers would still be fine simply due to how many treasures they’d gathered. Even then, this would definitely eliminate the majority of Territories.

As with every prior stage of this event, they had definitely cleared it way faster than expected. They were nowhere near the ten-year limit, and even if the countdown that would start after leaving the throne room was decently long, it definitely wouldn’t end up being several years long. Looking at the message when the phase began, Jake did wonder about the countdown, which made him speak up.

“Excuse me,” he said, instantly getting an angry glare from the Majordomo for some reason. “I recall the initial announcement of this stage mentioned that it would end once all valuable rewards were fully cleared from the Palace of Abundance. There was no mention of any countdowns.”

“It’s true, the event will end the second all the valuable rewards are obtained from within my palace,” the Abundant Emperor nodded. “And most of them have been. In fact, only two rewards or treasures remain to be given out. One that will be rewarded to you, but as for the other, I think I’ll keep it a little longer.”

The cyclops jokingly pointed to his own head, where a crown rested, also reminding Jake that Jasper had tried to steal said crown, definitely making it a treasure.

“This crown would have been given originally, but since this stage moved far beyond expectations, I will shamelessly prolong it a little by holding onto the crown, hence the countdown. My father has given me the privilege of acting independently, and in this matter, I believe ending the phase today would result in too many Territories being eliminated. All I’m doing is starting a countdown after you all leave, during which the remaining Territories who have yet to reach the threshold can at least attempt to obtain treasures in the Central Domain. Should they fail even after being given a chance... such would be their fate.”

“Such overwhelming kindness!” the Majordomo said, a single tear actually rolling from his eye despite being a goddamn projection.

The Abundant Emperor ignored his subordinate as he continued looking at Jake. “I hope that answers your question?”

“It does,” Jake nodded, trying to be polite. It was interesting how the Abundant Emperor effectively exploited the rules of the event to artificially extend it. He hadn’t heard about system-bound entities in system events doing that before, and based on the reactions of the other natives of the multiverse who probably knew far more about this kind of thing, it appeared quite shocking.

“How long will this countdown be?” the Sword Saint followed up.

“You’ll find out when it’s announced,” the Abundant Emperor said in a casual tone as he looked them over. “Now, any more questions?”

“Who killed Miss Sylphie!?” Wintermaul halfway yelled, definitely not being polite and making the Majordomo gasp. Jake was gobsmacked and saw no world where the system-entity would actually answer something like-

“He did,” the Abundant Emperor answered in his same casual tone while pointing to the Eastbound Monk.

Wintermaul slowly turned his head towards the monk, who responded by bowing to him. “I apologize, but will not make any excuses for my actions. Even so, please do not continue the cycle of violence more than has been forced upon us.”

Under usual circumstances, if Jake heard someone respond like that, he would assume they were being ironic or insincere; however, the monk genuinely looked like he was begging Wintermaul not to act against him. Wintermaul looked like he wanted to pounce but held himself back, definitely due to the presence of the Abundant Emperor and Majordomo. Impressive for an elemental to have that much emotional regulation, considering their rather whimsical nature.

“Who here obtained the most valuable treasures? Going by their combined value in Prima Credits,” the Davion from Valhal suddenly also asked a bit jokingly after the Abundant Emperor had answered a question no one had expected a response to.

“That would be my my little friend here,” the emperor answered while motioning toward Jasper. “And by quite a margin, I might add. Granted, that is in large part due to him acquiring every other item of value within my personal chambers besides the crown.”

“Why are you so casually answering such questions?” the Forest King asked, sounding perplexed.

“Because I can,” the Abundant Emperor answered with a smile, looking towards the ceiling of the throne room. “I’m not answering like that to be dismissive either. You truly cannot understand the gravity behind that statement. The ability to do things in accordance with your own will is something you all take for granted. I don’t.”

He looked down with a heavy gaze, regarding them all again. “Now, any more questions? As you can see, I’m quite open to answering. When I want to, that is.”

“How long will the full event last?” Jake took a shot, trying to get an answer to one of the biggest mysteries.

“And I just decided that each person will only get one question,” the Abundant Emperor said with a shrug.

“How long last?” Jasper instantly piped up, repeating Jake’s question.

The Abundant Emperor chuckled and shook his head. “Not answering that one, not even to you. I will allow you to ask something else, though.”

Jasper looked a little sad as he suddenly got another great idea of what to ask instead. “Have crown?”

“If you can have my crown?” the emperor said before letting out a loud laugh. After calming down, he looked at Jasper with a big smile. “You know what? Sure, I originally planned on making it inert so it no longer qualified as a treasure once my countdown expired, but you can have it instead when the time comes.”

Jasper looked very happy as he clapped his small paws, the other ten Administrators staring at him, likely questioning why they hadn’t asked something like that instead.

“If we all have one question, allow me to ask: will there come a time when we will be able to more freely leave the World of the Exalted Prima and return again with fewer limitations? Including leaving the Seat of the Exalted Prima itself,” Aisha, the golden dragon, stepped forward to ask a question Jake definitely also wanted the answer to.

“Yes,” the Abundant Emperor answered concisely.

“When?” Aisha asked almost instinctively, making the emperor raise a hand.

“One question per person,” the cyclops said teasingly, shifting his gaze towards William, the Eastbound Monk, and the white stag, who were the only ones that had yet to ask a question.

The white stag did something else that surprised Jake as he summoned a bit of energy, making everyone else tense up for a second before quickly calming down when they felt it wasn’t enough to threaten anyone.

With this energy, a stupidly complex magic circle formed in front of the stag, and a second later, another dozen appeared around it before intersecting with the first. They seemed to merge for a moment before suddenly the entire circle shattered and fell like white dust.

Before this dust could even touch the ground, the stag asked his question.

“What factors should I look to improve if I wish to successfully combine those magic circles?” the Disciple of Lucenti asked.

“Clever one,” the Abundant Emperor chuckled and shook his head. “Unfortunately, I’m not allowed to answer that, and even if I could, wouldn’t it be more valuable for you to find the solution yourself? Besides, you didn’t actually want me to answer; you just wanted to confirm whether I could help with matters like that. I hope this answers your question.”

The stag nodded, as only William and the monk remained with a question available to him, with a few of the others looking a bit miffed they’d lost their opportunity to ask something potentially important.

“Do gods have the ability to observe or be aware of anything that happens within the World of the Exalted Prima?” William asked, Jake initially finding the question stupid, until he realized that who was he to question what fucked up ways Eversmile could have to observe people?

“At this current time, no,” the Abundant Emperor shook his head. “The only way is to be informed by those who’ve been here and left for the multiverse.”

Again, another loaded answer that implied things could change in the future.

Finally, with everyone else having gotten a question, only the Eastbound Monk remained, and everyone turned to the monk who stood there silently for a few seconds before sighing.

“Only one among us shall leave this room alive, correct?”

The question surprised Jake a little as the Abundant Emperor grinned. “That depends on whether you want a little bonus or not.”