The Primal Hunter Volume 4

Party Prepping 2

Meira had summoned the items out of her spatial necklace, as, of course, Jake had gotten her one of those. Seeing her try and stuff items into a damn oversized satchel just got silly. She had protested a bit, to begin with, but Jake had insisted. Besides, he had found out he was loaded.

You see, not all Credits were created equal. Or, well, all Credits were… aside from the Credits of the 93rd Universe. Jake could not have Credits transferred to him, but he could spend them. At the same time, the Credits from his universe apparently were incredibly valuable for those walking a merchant path due to opportunities given by the integration. Especially merchant gods. This meant that the Order offered the transfer of Credits to contribution points of AC at a way higher rate for those of the 93rd Universe.

Jake’s Credits had roughly a one-to-one hundred exchange rate compared with other types of Credits. Jake had found the rate a bit weird in that it was so straightforward, but Villy had told him the exchange rate was set by what was essentially a council of merchant gods or something to make sure competition didn’t go crazy. Yep, it appeared the entire multiversal financial industry was effectively run by an oligopoly of powerful gods.

The ingredients he had asked Meira to help him procure were for a very specific kind of poison that one just had to bring when invited to a social function within the Order. Anything besides bringing a good bottle of tasty poison would just be straight-up rude.

Jake went into his laboratory after swiftly changing out of his new clothes and back into his usual getup, then did some alchemy for the next one and a half hours. He had been mentally planning this poison since the moment he got the invitation, and he was already looking forward to the effects it would have. Of course, he didn’t try to make it lethal, but it surely wouldn’t be a good time if their Palate was lacking.

Once he was done, he quickly got on his dapper outfit and prepared himself to go. He went to the living room, where Meira was already waiting, and flopped down on a couch. Jake sighed a bit as he looked up at the floor.

"Is anything the matter, Sir?" Meira asked.

"You know… I was the type to never want to go to the bar after a house party ended, but instead just head home and chill… and as I sit here, I remember why," Jake said.

Meira went over and sat across from him, waiting for him to continue talking.

"I don’t like it. I don’t like these damn social events that you can’t avoid getting into. I always feel out of place, like my presence is somehow contrary to what the event is all about. There are so many norms, spoken and unspoken, making it feel like an arena with poorly defined playing rules.”

Meira just sat there, listening patiently.

"Only after the system arrived did I begin to understand why I always felt so out of place… Well, one of the reasons anyway. You see, my Bloodline is quite peculiar… I am quite peculiar. I don’t tend to deal well with rules in general, and reflecting back on everything before the system arrived, I understand that it wasn’t just dealing with rules, but dealing with rules set by those I considered my lessers. Subconsciously, at least, I viewed them as such. Like I was surrounded by weaklings who told me how to behave. Of course, it wasn’t like that, but that is another part of me. I tend to boil things down till they become simple to the point of oversimplification, even in too-complex situations."

"Sir, if I may?" Meira finally said.

"Yeah?" Jake asked, feeling a bit embarrassed at his ramblings.

"Norms and rules only apply to those they are applicable to," Meira said encouragingly. “I do not know how the world worked before, but at least everywhere I have been, the norms and rules are decided by those with the power to do so. If you are strong enough, no one complains. So Sir shouldn’t worry, but just act like himself, and if any such norms are broken by doing so… well, then, Sir can just change the norm.”

Jake listened to her words and smiled a bit. "You do make it sound simple. While I am sure people like the Viper can do that, I am not quite there yet unless I want to reveal my identity. I have no interest in leveraging that unless I have to."

"Sir is plenty strong on his own," Meira said assuredly.

He knew she didn’t truly know how strong he was. She probably didn’t even know his level, yet she seemed so convinced in her belief. It was a bit flattering, and Jake had to be honest—it did help cheer him up a little bit.

"Well, complaining won’t change the fact that I am going." Jake ultimately just sighed. This was just like every time he’d had to go to a gathering before the system, where he always considered just canceling last minute. Usually, he at least had Miranda to lean on and shield him, but here he would go alone. Reika was the only one he truly knew there, and he knew she had enough to deal with herself.

Meira shifted in her seat, clearly still feeling his discomfort. "Sir, is there anything I can do to assist?"

That part of her had never changed. In fact, it had gotten worse. In any situation where any issue existed, Meira always felt like she had to be the one to fix it. If she could or not didn’t matter, as she would at least ask if there was anything she could do.

Taking Meira along to the party was obviously not an option. She was not from the 93rd Universe, and he was sure she would be even more out of place than himself. Jake wasn’t a saint, but he sure wouldn’t put her through that.

"Just your encouragement is good enough." Jake smiled at her as he got up. He stretched his back as he finally stopped delaying more than necessary and headed for the hall with the gateway circle on it.

Meira followed him, trying to be encouraging. When he looked at her, he honestly found his own social discomfort silly. She’d had to deal with being thrown into an entirely different world where she suddenly served the Chosen of the Malefic Viper, with the god himself sometimes coming by. She’d had to deal with knowing Jake was both a heretic and a Chosen while also just learning how to deal with Jake as a person.

Jake could deal with a damn Academy party if she could do that.

Let’s go, Jake thought as he activated the gateway. With a final "good luck!" from Meira, Jake went through.

He appeared in a massive hall already filled with people, and as Jake looked about, something quickly became clear: This wasn’t just a party for the new members of the 93rd Universe, but something far more, as he felt over a hundred C-grade auras scattered throughout the utterly humongous hall.

As he stood there, someone approached him, and Jake turned to see Irin. She wore a low-cut red dress that actually managed to cover more than her usual outfit, if barely.

"I am glad you could make it, and may I say, you are looking even better than usual," she said flirtatiously.

Jake regarded Irin and smiled beneath his mask. "Thanks, you look great too. Now, this is quite a gathering, but can I ask you just one thing?"

He knew exactly what he needed.

"Where is the alcohol?"