The Primal Hunter

Jake had many questions and doubts as he stood before the vampire. First of all, why was the Patriarch of the Nalkar Family there, and not just some lower-level leader? Heck, why was there a leader to begin with? Even if Jake assumed the vampires just placed a lot of importance on history and lineage, this still seemed like overkill.

Based on the line of questioning, it was possible they suspected him of being more than he represented himself as. The poking into his views on the Viper’s return seemed very deliberate, as if they wanted him to reveal something, but even that made little sense. If Jake was the Chosen, would using lie-detection and trying to make him reveal his identity be a smart choice and not just one that would piss him off?

No matter the case, the Patriarch was willing to negotiate, and he did seem interested in the Alchemy Token.

“An old relic perhaps, but still one that would be honored,” Jake answered. “The Order of the Malefic Viper would undoubtedly adhere to its promise, making it more than just an interesting trinket.”

“While true, we do not need such a token to enter the Order anymore. It was of a time when we Nalkar were spread all over the multiverse, and to enter the Order was a sign of success. Now, all the Nalkar able to join are all members already, making the primary function of the token null,” Fairleigh said.

Jake couldn’t really argue with the fact that they could enter without the token, but he still knew the vampire wanted it. The current act of downplaying the value of the Alchemy Token was only proof to Jake that the Nalkar were interested. If they weren’t, why bother and not just buy it cheaply and be done with it, and if Jake refused, then just tell him to bugger off? At least, that is what Jake was banking on.

“In that case, perhaps it would be better to save it and find Nalkar unassociated with the Order,” Jake sighed as he faked disappointment.

Fairleigh looked at Jake and smiled. “Please, let us stay in the realm of honesty. While that was no outright lie, we are both aware of the value such an item holds to my family. Even if it is not purely based on the benefits it offers, but the sentimental value. In fact… come, let me show you something.”

Jake couldn’t even resist as he was forcefully teleported and appeared within a massive chamber of sorts. On a second look, it reminded him more of a museum, with glass containers and complicated magic arrays guarding many mundane items spread throughout.

“Remembering history has always been important to our kin. Perhaps we merely enjoy living in the glory of the past, or maybe it is a way to not repeat our mistakes. Either way, we preserve, and we collect. That token you hold may not be a treasure to most, but to us, it is invaluable,” Fairleigh explained.

Looking around, Jake saw a lot of rather, well, boring items. One area had a dining set sealed away, another section was filled with old paintings and pictures, and a third was bookshelves stacked upon bookshelves with old books in them.

“We have items from all eras, even some from before our fall. In fact, we value anything from before then, as it speaks of what once was, and the Records it contains matter. Perhaps not to you or anyone else not of our lineage, but to us, there is power in history,” he continued his explanation as he went over and pointed out what looked like a fountain pen.

“This pen was used by a scholar of the sixth Era to write letters back to his family. It managed to reach epic rarity back in the day but has returned to a mundane item after this long. Items such as that Alchemy Token have yet to return to mundanity but still contain such powerful Records, making it even more valuable.”

Jake nodded along as he couldn’t help but think about the ludicrous amount of resources expelled by that one chamber he was in. It was humongous, larger than any museum Jake had ever seen or heard of on Earth. At the same time, it was incredibly densely packed, with every single item sealed away with incredibly powerful and intricate formations. These formations were able to freeze time itself for the item and allow them not to turn to dust through the passage of time.

“Tell me, do you find our obsession with the past foolish?” the vampire finally asked him.

“No, not really,” Jake shrugged. He had never been the type himself to collect old antiques or care much for cultural inheritances, but he knew it was a perfectly normal hobby. “Even on my planet before the system arrived, we collected pieces of history, families had heirlooms they warded with their lives, and I know of at least one old man who picked up an old heirloom his clan possessed and turned it into a monstrous weapon.”

“But you seem to not personally share the sentiment?” Fairleigh asked once more.

“No,” Jake shook his head. “While I do understand placing sentimental value on objects, I rarely do it. Not that I entirely avoid it… I still have the first potions I ever crafted stowed away, and all the equipment I wear I earned myself one way or another. I do value these items more than they are necessarily worth and value some more than others, but that is due to the story of how I got them.”

The vampire nodded. “An understandable view for a hunter. Now tell me, what kind of compensation are you seeking in return for the token? It cannot merely be the extra alchemical ingredient associated with enrollment. If it was, you would have no need to come here.”

“I am in need of alchemical ingredients of higher value, most specifically ones of the hemotoxin nature,” Jake said. Vampires were damn good at hemotoxins. A massive surprise that vampires, wielding blood magic and using blood energy, were good at blood poisons.

“And?” Fairleigh asked.

Jake took out his second item as he revealed his necklace by un-fusing it from his body and holding it up. “I need this improved. I know the Nalkar Family have long been part of the Order, so I assume I am correct when I believe you can do this?”

[Prodigious Alchemist’s Necklace of Holding (Epic)] - An amulet awarded to a prodigious young alchemist upon completion of a trial. An ornate creation of high craftsmanship made of metal attuned to the space-affinity, holding a spacegem in place. Allows the user to store items in a small pocket dimension found within the gem. Due to the nature of the gemstone used, living, non-sentient entities can be stored without harmful side-effects in temporal suspension. Enchantments: Alchemist’s Spatial Storage. +25 Wisdom. Requirements: Soulbound

It was Jake’s first piece of epic equipment and probably still one of his best items to date. By sheer usefulness and convenience, it was at the top as nothing beat spatial storages. However, Jake was also acutely aware that the item had fallen off big time. The stats it gave were great when Jake was level 26, but now? Now they were irrelevant.

He could probably have gotten a better spatial storage, probably even one with the same Alchemist’s Spatial Storage enchantment. Maybe not as good, but at least close. It had to be noted that each person could only hold one spatial storage item under normal circumstances, so Jake couldn’t have swapped for another without choosing to “unbind” his Prodigious Alchemist’s Necklace of Holding. Now, even if it was Soulbound, this wouldn’t destroy the item but just make it completely inert. Of course, it would still be Soulbound, as one cannot get rid of that connection without breaking the item altogether.

So yeah, maybe him holding onto it was for purely sentimental reasons. Jake had to admit he had briefly considered if upgrading the item was even worth it, but…

“How exquisite,” Fairleigh said as he looked at the necklace. “Truly ancient craftsmanship, incredible attention to detail, and that stone used… I am amazed someone would choose to give that to someone of such a low grade.”

Even if the vampire could not see the description, he was still an ancient vampire in S-grade. He looks at it a bit more before nodding. “Finding a suitable crafter should be possible; we have some very talented jewelers among our ranks. Do note that unlocking the full potential of the gem will not be possible with your current strength and the necklace being Soulbound.”

Jake nodded. “Just seeing it improved is all I hope for. Also, just to check, I want to make sure there are no risks of breaking it if I choose to improve it?”

Fairleigh smiled as he chuckled. “If I can find a D or C-grade capable of breaking that item, we would have our new Patriarch or Matriarch in the making. You seem to not fully comprehend. That item was made by someone far above C-grade and was then directly modified by the system to be in its current form, sealing away the Records and power within. An incredibly rare thing that is not worth doing. These items can also only be obtained from system events. Well, in your case, I assume it was a Tutorial Challenge Dungeon?”

Jake nodded once more. “Yeah, I was lucky to find one associated with alchemy and got this at the end.”

“Just alchemy?” the vampire asked inquisitively.

“More or less,” Jake said, shutting down the topic.

Fairleigh smiled again as he took out a token. A moment later, he dispelled it again. “The young lad who brought you here has been tasked with fetching a suitable jeweler I have in mind. Now tell me, you went to a realm known as Yalsten? I must confess it is not a name I am familiar with, but we had many such worlds back then, and if it was hidden as you claim, it was customary to keep it secret to limit leaks. Did you happen to obtain any valuables from there besides this token? One’s related to our race?”

That is when Jake remembered. During all of his fights with the Counts of Blood, Jake entered their chambers. All of them had been preserved and filled to the brim with valuable-looking and expensive objects. Furniture, paintings, candle holders, chandeliers, pretty much all of the fancy stuff the Yalsten vampires loved. For some reason, Jake had decided to just gather all of the fanciness because why the hell not? He needed furniture for back home, and it looked good. Now, that seemingly random choice appeared to have been an unexpectedly wise one.

Jake waved his hand as a dining table appeared in front of him together with eight chairs to go with it.

Fairleigh looked at it as his eyes opened wide. “This… did you obtain this in Yalsten too?”

“Yeah,” Jake answered. “It was in a chamber of sorts that looked to have been preserved.”

“This dining set dates back dozens of Eras… as old as the token?”

“It is at least from before the eighth Era,” Jake said. Based on the Monarch of Blood, the Viper had not gone into isolation yet when Yalsten fell, and Jake knew Villy had done that during the seventh Era. So, naturally, this item had to stem from before then.

“Truly?” Fairleigh asked. “I will have to have a chronomancer confirm the exact age, but we would be more than willing to buy this set if you are correct. We would naturally pay handsomely.”

“I got more,” Jake said, not wanting to miss the opportunity.

“Oh?” Fairleigh exclaimed, letting a bit of excitement leak out. “Can you show me?”

Jake looked a bit around and noticed how most of the floor space was already filled.

“We’re gonna need a bigger room.”

Vilastromoz was busy as always, multitasking doing all sorts of important things. Having your mind split and being in many places at once was helpful, but he nearly always kept one part of himself reserved on observation duty, also known as Jake-watching.

However, today he wasn’t alone. And no, it was not Duskleaf visiting either.

“Katherine, I do wonder why you don’t simply choose to reveal your presence to your kin,” the Viper said to the woman sitting with him, sipping on a wine glass filled with a red liquid a bit too red to be wine.

“I will in due time, but not now. I am more intrigued by your choice of Chosen. I have been observing, but so far, I truly cannot see why you have picked him. His Bloodline does seem peculiar and powerful, but even if it was utterly monstrous, I see little reason to bless a lowly F-grade as you did and not wait for him to at least reach B or A-grade. The chance of him dying without giving a return on investment would be far lower if that was the case,” the vampire goddess said.

“Are you questioning my decision-making skills?” Vilastromoz turned and asked her with a raised eyebrow.

“No, of course not; I am merely perplexed and unable to comprehend the reasoning behind the choice,” she quickly backtracked. Failing to realize the reaction she just had was a big part of the reason why Vilastromoz liked Jake. He would have remarked that the Viper did have a shitty track record and probably even included a self-deprecating joke about how the Viper had fucked up by blessing him.

“Keep trying to comprehend. I personally fail to comprehend your sense of secrecy, but then again, I guess you would prefer not to get tracked,” the Viper shrugged.

Katherine, also known as the True Ancestor of the Nalkar lineage, was the most powerful vampire of the Nalkar-line. Sanguine had experimented much to make different kinds of vampires, and Katherine was the first vampire of the Nalkar line that ascended to godhood, giving her the title of True Ancestor. She wasn’t actually the first Nalkar vampire, but many believed she was - it was that kind of rumor that appeared and that no one bothered to correct.

She had left during the seventh Era to protect her kin elsewhere as those that remained in the Order were safe due to the presence of Snappy. Back then, they had not been official parts of the Order but were more like the local branches of Dragonflights. Closely tied to the Order, but not members. Something that, in retrospect, probably turned out to be a mistake. Once Sanguine fell, the vampires were unassociated with any factions and couldn’t decide on joining one but tried to stay independent. By the time they realized they had needed to be part of something bigger, Vilastromoz had already entered isolation.

Today, Katherine and many other vampires, including the closest thing the vampires had to a pantheon, now resided in a hidden realm that not even Vilastromoz knew the location of.

The Holy Church and Risen didn’t know either, as if they did, the Viper reckoned they would have already attacked. These vampires had nothing to do with the Order and were not at all under its protection.

This leads to the question of why Katherine had visited and the old snake god had his suspicions. A suspicion that would prove correct as the vampire spoke.

“What are the future plans of the Malefic One? I am aware that the True Ancestor of the Balnar lineage has already made contact, but so far, he is tight-lipped. We are aware of the movements that have recently been happening, and the council has had discussions but has yet to-”

“Ask the real question,” Vilastromoz interrupted as he looked at her sharply.

“Is the stance of the Malefic One the same as it was back then?” she asked.

“Have I ever said otherwise? When did my word stop mattering?”

He smiled as Katherine finally asked. “Will the Malefic One allow the six clans to fully join the Order of the Malefic Viper?”

“Five clans,” Vilastromoz corrected. “The Balnar have already sworn fealty.”

Katherine looked surprised before she stood up and bowed. “Then may the Nalkar be the second clan to do so. I shall return to the council and relay the information.”

“Just a second,” Vilastromoz said as he raised a hand. “How many of you are there now?”

“A hundred and eleven, including us six True Ancestors,” she answered.

“Not bad, more than one an Era,” Vilastromoz nodded. “Bring them all before me, and we can continue this conversation.”

“As you command,” Katherine nodded enthusiastically.

Vilastromoz watched as she disappeared and smiled a bit to himself. Yet another batch of gods was ready to join him. He knew the vampires had struggled for many Eras and had latched onto him as a lifeline. In fact, he felt like the entire multiverse was much more consolidated into enormous factions than back in the day. So, perhaps it wasn’t too stupid for the Order to also become more than it had always been. To truly expand it and make it into a multiversal force to be reckoned with. A faction that controlled territory and dominated more than just a few small pieces of land spread throughout the multiverse for their small branches.

Adding nearly every vampire left in the universe to his faction would be a good start. Of course, the Holy Church, Risen, and probably a few dozen if not hundreds of factions wouldn’t approve. This was why no faction had ever allowed them to join them despite their relative strength.

Sadly for them, Vilastromoz didn’t really give a shit.