Jake narrated his brief trip to the Seat of the Exalted Prima and talked about the event. Villy asked several questions along the way, even some technical ones, about how the simtion worked and what Jake had learned while experiencing it. He was especially interested when Jake got to the conversation he had with the system together with sim-Jake. Of course, what he was most interested in was sim-Jake himself.


    ”So, it appears you entered what we call a Parallel World Simtion rather than a Dreamscape Simtion. The difference between these is that one is ”real” while the other one is ”fake,” if that makes sense. Parallel worlds are pretty damn rare but do offer more opportunities and are actually urate, while a dreamscape is nothing more than a fantasy constructed primarily with pieces from your own mind and inurate details, all based on the Records of the one who experiences the simtion,” Villy exined. ”This also does mean the simcrum you have eaten is truly his own person and even had his own Truesoul while in his own universe.”


    ”I have figured out thatst part,” Jake nodded. ”But, do you have any experience with what happened? What it may mean in the future, any risks, and what I might gain out of it? Also, can you interact with the simcrum?”


    ”Yes, maybe, some, depends, and no. You really need to get better at asking singr questions. I have had experience with other simcrums from Parallel World Simtions crossing over. Not myself, but people I have known in the past. What you will gain out of it and any risks is ultimately dependent on the simcrum in question, but from the looks of it, there won’t be any issues there. The worst thing I have seen happen is that someone gained a split personality and suffered extreme delusions and even parallel senses. That eventually led to him going utterly insane and destroying a few dozen sr systems, believing that nothing was real and that he was stuck inside an illusion before finally getting put out of his misery. And one of the reasons why no one could ever help him was because no, I cannot interact with your simcrum. He does not exist in our world, only within your Truesoul. He is still anchored to the simtion as without the simtion, he would not exist, and without him existing, neither would the simtion. They are conceptually entangled in every possible sense,” Villy answered, giving Jake quite a bit more insight into sim-Jake and echoing much of what the system had said.


    ”Are there risks of me also fucking myself up?” Jake asked as he had bit onto the part about someone going insane.


    ”Probably not. May this simcrum slightly affect you? Sure, but not to an extreme level. The primary difference was that in the example, both believed themselves to be the real person and the other the simcrum. Whenever one was in charge, the other one believed they were possessed and would fight for control resulting in a fucked up Soulspace. In your case, you are in agreement on who is real and who is a simcrum and that one day you will rejoin,” Villy answered.


    Jake nodded along before asking further: ”Are there ways to make my other self persist?”


    ”Before I answer that, I want to hear why you even consider that something that should be done?”


    ”Just to, you know, allow him to be him,” Jake shrugged.


    ”Look at it like this. Right now, he is effectively a clone you separated from yourself at a certain point in life. While bringing a simcrum to the real world is not normal, reuniting with clones is. Some even purposefully create a clone to send them into areas cut off from the outside to allow them to develop by themselves for a while. Then,ter on, the real version and clone reunite and merge, gaining from what each has done in the meanwhile. Granted, this method is risky and leaves you weakened while your clone exists, but it is moremon than you would think. In these cases, both are fully aware of who is real and who is the clone from the get-go, and remerging is a given. They both want to remerge. No matter what, this simcrum will not die as long as you live, for he will be you in both body and mind, and he too will want to merge. Your souls want to be one. To gain all you can for now and benefit for both your sakes,” Villy said, giving good insight as always, adding in the end.


    ”Just do know there is an innate power imbnce, and it isn’t that you will gain all his memories or Records. So training with him is best. Out of everyone, no one understands you better than yourself, so take advantage while itsts. Also, I gotta add, having yourself as your teacher is the epitome of ”fuck it, I’ll do it myself,” and I apud it.”This is property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ”Alright,” Jake nodded and smiled a bit at thest joke. Believing they had enough simtion talk, he moved on. ”So, the Seat of the Exalted.”


    ”Definitely one of the Great Wonders of the ny-third universe. Well, not this Seat itself, but what links it all together. The true headquarters of this massive undertaking. Perhaps this Exalted Prima is even a Bound God,” Villy answered rather confidently.


    For some context. While in the Order, Jake had bumped into the mention of Great Wonders quite a few times and had wondered – pun intended – what they were all about. It turns out that with the birth of each universe came ces created not just for the native universe but the multiverse as a whole. Chances are the Seat or wherever the Seat led to was one such ce.


    Jake knew of a few other famous Great Wonders. The most famous one was Nevermore, where the Primordial known as the Wyrmgod had ended up effectively taking it over and ruling the dungeon, but others included the White Sun, a massive star and one of thergest celestial bodies in the multiverse, or the Mothership of Null, a giant spaceship of sorts where no magic could exist. There were many others, but some disappeared with time, some only appeared at set times before fading away for a period again, and most importantly, most were not aimed at anyone on Jake’s level but those who had reached far higher. A ce like the White Sun would instantly kill even weak gods just by them getting near.


    The second thing was Bound Gods. Bound Gods were not living beings with Truesouls but gods born out of objects or ces. They would be real in every way but be limited severely and most often served a function of sorts rather than possessing truly free will. Many believed these Bound Gods were merely apparitions of the system like the Guide, but others believed they were creatures born by the system to run certain ces or even as protectors of some zones.


    Another reason for a Bound God to exist was also simple enough – deterrence. Most Great Wonders in the multiverse were imed and controlled by factions, but those with Bound Gods were often different. A Bound God would often have total control over what they inhabited, so even if they were weaker than a god, they still had the ultimate defense of merely making the Great Wonder useless by stopping its functions. Destroying a Bound God was also impossible unless one destroyed the Great Wonder, and destroying one tended to be a good way to make a lot of enemies. Some had been destroyed throughout history, but it was incredibly rare as with every time one was lost, it was lost forever and considered a major setback for the multiverse.


    Of course, this assumed anyone was strong enough to destroy a Bound God. Some Bound Gods in the multiverse were more powerful than even Primordials.


    ”I do find it probable it is a Bound God of some sort and that it is a Great Wonder,” Jake answered. ”Having been there, it was clear that it wasn’t just made for this one event; it even existed in the universe itself and not some hidden dimension. Moreover, with itspetitive element, I believe the n is for someone to gain at least some partial control of these Seats, and with that in mind, there would have to be some protections in ce, or this whole Administrator Candidate business would be useless.”


    ”I second that. It is a massive opportunity to get system-sanctioned partial control of any Great Wonder if it truly is one,” Villy agreed.


    ”So… this is one of the reasons why so many gods want to get involved in new universes, right?” Jake asked, understanding a bit more.


    ”Right on. This event is only open to you natives, and you have a first-mover advantage. Having just some influence will allow one a better position to negotiate and form alliances or even sell off eventual rights,” Villy said.


    ”So, you want me to try and im this Seat of the Exalted in the Milky Way?” Jake asked.


    ”I would rmend for you to at least try, not for the Order but for yourself. You said you got a title just for doing this event; imagine what you would get for taking control of something even factions like the Holy Church want? Of course, this doesn’t mean you have to actually want the Great Wonder. You can always just use it as a bargaining chip. Also, for full disclosure, I would one-hundred percent benefit from you doing well as you are my Chosen, so definitely a good idea,” the Viper said a bit shamelessly.


    ”Aight… finally, do you think the Chosen of Yip of Yore is a legitimate threat right now? Like, can hee to Earth?” Jake decided to ask. He genuinely didn’t know. Considering how much they struggled with making a teleportationwork on Earth, it seemed unlikely, but one could never know.<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    ”Why would the answer to that question matter?”


    Jake frowned. ”To know if I need to get as many levels under my belt fast in case ites to a fight.”


    ”That is up to you. My only advice is that you are truly in no rush for anything. What is the worst that can happen? Either you win, or you should be strong enough to just not engage no matter what you do. Worst case, just leave the and go somewhere no one knows who you are. With Shroud of the Primordial, no one would find you,” Villy answered. ”All of this assuming he can go to Earth in the first ce and can actually fight you.”


    Jake considered the Viper’s words for a bit. He was currently level 169 in both his ss and profession, meaning he could focus on either. Focusing on his profession was slower for sure, while he could get quite a few quick ss levels if he went hunting for a couple of weeks.


    However… the more he thought about it, the less wise it seemed to focus on his ss levels at the current time. Recent happenings made Jake reconsider many things, and he knew he would need a lot of livebat to properly learn to fight in melee, which would include a lot of hunting. However, before that, he would need sim-Jake to be ready to teach him and for Jake to probably practice with his simcrum for quite a while.


    It has also been a while since he had been back at the Order and done some alchemy. He had many shelved projects like the Bee Queen ritual he needed to get going, and he could always use more time doing alchemy. If the orange asshole dide to Earth, it wasn’t like the was defenseless either. Shit, who was he even to think he was the protector of their world? There were many C-grades stronger than him, and even the King had him beat. The Sword Saint also felt more powerful than ever when they met in the Seat of the Exalted Prima.


    To summarize… Jake would just focus on himself and what he needed to do. He wanted power, and he was ying the long game to get it. He would need to get his profession leveled up anyway, so why not now? He could then save his ss for when he and sim-Jake began their melee training session.


    ”I am nning on heading to the Order again then,” Jake said. ”Let’s hope some good lessons areing up.”


    ”I will have beer ready,” Villy just said as the connection faded.


    Jake shook his head and began retreating a bit from the jungle. He was lucky to find a hill with a cave in it and promptly headed inside, where he got to work. He pulled out a small pamphlet given by Villy on how to set up the teleportation formation.


    Reading it carefully, Jake quickly got the gist of it and began working. With the ancient skill Soul Ritualism of the Heretic-Chosen Alchemist, Jake figured things out far faster than expected as it filled in the gaps where needed, and in less than an hour, the formation wasplete. He was surprised when it was done as it seemed to be one with the environment, and he could barely feel it was even there.


    After a bit of testing, he stepped into the middle of it. ”Oh well, here goes. Let’s hope no Void Dwellers decide to poke me along the way,” Jake said a bit jokingly.


    As he activated the formation, he felt Villy assist with energy. Before long, he was teleported away, his final thought before disappearing being about a certain elf he hadn’t seen in a while.


    I wonder how Meira is doing and if she is keeping up with her lessons.


    --


    Meira studied the tome carefully to make sure she understood everything properly before she had to go take care of the garden. The book was about the energy cirction systems and physiology of different creatures in the multiverse. It wasplicated, but her teacher had emphasized that she memorize as many diagrams as she could before the next lesson.


    It was a bit harder than usual as she had to copy down some parts. Ne and Utmal had asked for her to do it for them, and Meira had naturally agreed as they were friends. She had discovered that the books in her Master’s library were a notch above what others had publicly avable, and many of the tomes were considered of the highest tier. Naturally, she couldn’t take out any books of real value but only the mostmon ones, so she had to copy down anything important to show the others. Ne and especially Utmal had pressured her a bit to just bring the books, but Meira was hesitant as she didn’t have permission.


    Contrary to what many would perhaps expect, Meira didn’t question her Master’s absence in the slightest. It was natural that his residence within the Order was but one of many, and she was sure he had plenty of servants and ves elsewhere. Anything else would just be weird for someone as esteemed as the Chosen of a Primordial. She knew he wanted to keep his identity a secret in the Order, which was why he only had a single ve, but he no-doubt had more on his home.


    She still, of course, hoped he was doing well and that he would return someday. Until then, Meira would just keep up with her studies, and hopefully… maybe… her Master would even be a bit proud of how well she had done and even that she had made some friends.


    Meira smiled a bit at the thought as she finished copying down the final diagram and got up to head towards the garden. On the way, she checked the mansion was in good condition as usual and didn’t think much as she opened the door to the living room.


    The moment she did, she froze on the spot as her eyes opened wide.


    ”I am just saying Jake should have stayed longer the first time around, and he needs a good talking to about staying firm and the true importance of alchemy! He didn’t even get to study any proper ritualism or formation magic. Just look at how slow he is setting down that magic circle!” the Grand Elder and leader of the entire Academy, Duskleaf, said disapprovingly.


    ”And I am arguing that going back finally got himid, which is invaluable for his personal development,” the Malefic Viper, the almighty Primordial and leader of the Order, argued.


    Meira didn’t even have time to properly register what they were talking about before she passed out from the sheer presence of the two gods.