When fighting, Jake liked to be in control and dictate the momentum. He liked when he decided what would happen next, and the flow went as he predicted.

That night did not feel particularly in control, and if he was candid, he was totally fine with it.

Not that he didn’t also seize the momentum here and there as the battle continued, making it a big back and forth.

After their battle, Jake found himself lying on the bed as he relaxed, with Carmen leaning against the headboard next to him, still stark naked. He looked over and saw her relaxing. Her short blonde hair was a bit more unkempt than usual, and her defined muscles, especially on her stomach, were still visible even as she relaxed them. She noticed his gaze and didn’t bother to hide anything as she spoke.

”I guess I should make it clear this doesn’t mean we are getting married or anything,” Carmen said.

”And here I was just thinking about picking out a good ring and wondering if Sylphie should be a bridesmaid,” Jake joked back in return as he also sat up in the bed.

Okay, Jake had to admit, he could be a bit dense at times. He had not at all expected what happened to happen, but he wasn’t averse to it. He just went with the flow and would be a damn liar if he said he wasn’t a huge fan. If this was pre-system, he would definitely classify Carmen as someone way out of his league, especially factoring in the aesthetic improvements from evolutions.

”Don’t get me wrong, I do like you, but there is no way I am looking for any kind of relationship right now, okay? So let’s just keep it casual,” Carmen further clarified.

”I didn’t expect anything else,” Jake nodded. Life was too complicated for both of them, and they each had their own stuff to deal with to get into any kind of meaningful relationship. A relationship would mean either or both parties had to sacrifice something to make it work, and Carmen and Jake were too selfish to want that.

”That doesn’t mean this has to be a one-time thing,” Carmen said suggestively.

”Technically, it already isn’t,” Jake smirked in return.

Carmen threw him an even more suggestive look, but Jake sadly shook his head. “While I would love to, I have already had to make five excuses to Sylphie about why we were busy, and by now, she seems to think we are performing some grand ritual.”

“Too bad,” she shrugged as she jumped off the bed and had armor appear on her body. “What are your plans now? I will stay in Paradise a bit to sort things out. I still need to figure out what to do with my mother. Taking her back to a settlement belonging to Valhal would be best, but getting there isn’t that easy right now.”

“You could always wait for the teleportation gates to be fully established. I am not sure how long it will take, but it shouldn’t be that long with how fast the space mages are progressing,” Jake said. “It may also be possible for me to help by doing a bit of roundabout teleportation by first going to the Order and then back to Haven, but I’m not sure if I can even do that.”

“No need, I will figure this out myself, but thanks for the offer,” Carmen rejected as she went over and gave him a kiss, adding. “Still only friends.”

“With benefits,” Jake smiled as he promptly got a chop on top of his head.

He also decided to finally get up and was dressed in moments through the power of his spatial storage. As he took on his clothes, he also took out an item. It was a Key of the Exalted Prima.

[Key of the Exalted Prima (Unique)] – A key to the Seat of the Exalted Prima. Allows entry to the Seat of the Exalted Prima.

“Here, take this,” Jake said as he tossed Carmen the key.

She caught it and looked at the key with a frown. “Don’t you still need another fragment? The only reason I didn’t have a key is that I gave mine to Sven, so it really isn’t your problem.”

“I just gave you loot priority for the three Primas we killed,” Jake shrugged. He knew Carmen wasn’t a fan of charity. “And I plan on spending the rest of my time before the system event just exploring this continent. I am sure Renato has some good information on nearby spots with dangerous foes, which will likely include a Prima or two. Even if he doesn’t have a map, I still got Peter’s.”

“Sure you trust that guy? Didn’t he disappear after doing some shady shit?”

“Eh, trust or not doesn’t matter; the map is at least legit based on what I can see,” Jake said, shaking his head.

“You aren’t angry at him lying to our faces this whole time?” Carmen asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Thinking about it, did he actually lie? We never asked, did we? Sure, one could argue he lied by omission but by that logic, we also lied to him about the nature of why we were going to Paradise. As far as I know, he didn’t do anything against either of us and will only cause trouble for Renato, which I quite frankly don’t give a damn about,” Jake explained his point of view.

Carmen thought for a while. “I guess you have a point, and it isn’t like Valhal or Haven is allied with that city alliance either.”

Jake nodded as he went over to the balcony. “Okay if I let Sylphie in now?”

“Go ahead,” she shrugged. The bedroom was still a bit of a mess after their nightly battle, but it didn’t matter much.

Jake opened the balcony door, and the moment he did, a green form flew in and quickly circled the room. She zoomed a dozen rounds before finally landing on a table, knocking over a bottle.

“Ree!” she shrieked.

“Yeah, we discussed the situation,” Jake nodded with a serious expression.

Sylphie looked at Carmen a bit suspiciously.

“Eh, yeah, we finished the discussion. Adults only you know?” Carmen played along.

“Yep,” Jake reiterated. “Carmen will stay here for a while to handle the rest of her matters while the two of us can head out for a bit of hunting. We will meet up at the system event anyway, so-“

“Ree, ree, ree?” Sylphie asked.

“I guess?” Jake said, a bit surprised as he turned to Carmen. “Can Sylphie stay here with you until you got everything handled?”

“Why?” Carmen asked, confused.

“Well, according to her, she found some sky-anomaly around twenty kilometers in the sky hidden above the other clouds, and she wants to eat it,” Jake shrugged.

“Eat it?” Carmen asked, confused.

“Yep. Sylphie’s words, not mine. Well, her insinuation, not mine.”

“What is this anomaly?” Carmen asked, a bit curious.

Jake turned to Sylphie, who made a few more screeching noises.

“A very windy one,” Jake explained very accurately.

Carmen seemed to understand she would not get a proper answer, and Jake had also given up. From the sounds of it, it was perhaps some kind of natural formation or jet stream or something. Sylphie seemed to want it, so the rest didn’t really matter as he trusted her instincts for what she could and couldn’t absorb.

Anyway, it seemed like Jake would have to head out alone. Sylphie and Carmen both had their own Prima keys, and Jake only needed one more fragment to form his own. He had over two weeks to get that done and also get some great hunting in.

Before he left, he went by Renato and talked to the man to clear some things up. First of all, he washed his and Carmen’s hands of Peter by making it clear they didn’t know the guy, and he even managed to come out looking like the good guy by “warning” Renato about Peter once Jake claimed he couldn’t find him.

The visit also gave him some good information about the surrounding area. Renato had mapped out some areas where his elite was hunting and – more importantly – areas his elite avoided as it was too dangerous for them to hunt in. Jake also learned that the man didn’t even have a single fragment himself and was fully aware he would not get a key. He was running a full-on turtle strategy which meant hunting wasn’t something the man was skilled in.

With everything in Paradise done and dusted, Jake headed out for a danger zone about a day’s travel away. For Renato’s men. Jake could probably get there within a few hours.

Once he was outside, it finally came. Something he had waited for since last night. A presence descended as Jake heard the voice.

“I am so proud of my Chosen,” Villy’s voice echoed in his mind. “To lay with a Runemaiden from Valhal? Truly my man. Tell me, who’s next now that you have finally abandoned your days of celibacy? You know it is entirely possible to-”

Jake tried to ignore the god as he ran but finally felt compelled to answer after Villy began talking about setting up blind dates with other influential women from other factions.

“You are way more invested in this than I thought you would be,” Jake mumbled.

“Oh, I am not; I just like to make fun of you. Good for you to finally get some tail, even if your partner in question didn’t have a tail,” the god kept joking. “Ah, but just to make sure, you didn’t, you know, went for making more mini-Jakes?”

“No, and if you keep asking, I will from here on out live a life as a eunuch,” Jake said. Okay, he wouldn’t. That was too big of a sacrifice to make, even to spite Villy.

“That would include you cutting it off, you know? But okay, okay, I’ll leave you be. Just one piece of advice, don’t get too attached to anyone, alright? You are both only D-grade, and if I am being frank, then chances are not a single person you have met from your own universe will live as long as you. The amount of talents who have fallen due to sentimental reasons isn’t few and being able to live with seeing everyone around you wither and die is a requirement if you want to go all the way,” the Viper explained in a serious tone.

“I know,” Jake just answered, the god bringing down the mood. “But that sounds like something I will consider when it becomes relevant, not now.”

“Just remember to prepare yourself mentally,” Villy reiterated.

Jake nodded as he kept running. Not wanting to end the conversation on such a somber note, he smirked and took a jab of his own: “I am impressed you actually stopped being a peeping tom.”

“Alright, I am many things, but a voyeur is not one of them, especially not when it is my mate. That would just be weird, man. Well, unless I am part of the deed, in which case, seeing things is unavoidable, you know? It is a possibility, depending on how free-spirited and open-minded you are,” Villy answered in jest. At least Jake hoped it was in jest.

The two of them chatted a bit more about random, somewhat unrelated things before Villy had to get back to “work,” as he called it. It appeared that Jake having a nightly escapade made Villy decide that now was a good time to have a status meeting with the three Witches of the Verdant Lagoon – for entirely unrelated reasons, Jake was sure.

Checking out his map, Jake went towards the closest danger zone worth looking into. He also pulled out a fragment to scan for any Primas. He had spent the last while with others, and honestly, Jake was a bit glad Sylphie had found something that made her stick around Paradise, allowing Jake to go off solo.

With only a couple of weeks till the system event, Jake smiled as he looked forward to some solo hunting and hopefully some more class levels under his belt. He had noticed the lack of experience gained when with others and was relatively sure by now that he got a lot less experience when fighting with others than by himself. Even less than the usual penalty of shared experience and the battles being made easier as a result of partying.

Who knows… if the hunt was good, maybe he could even find a “weak” C-grade worth killing.

It was shortly after the Second World Congress.

Casper checked the Magiscript one final time. A vast tapestry of runes and symbols revolved all around him as he scanned it for any flaws or missing parts. He had already messed it up a few dozen times by now and had to debug what was effectively ultra-complex computer code. His many years working before the system in research and development with software came in very handy as he was more or less just coding in a magical language infinitely more complex than any computer code humans could ever invent. Something only made possible by his now superhuman abilities.

Taking a deep breath, he activated the testing core and ran the simulation. It started up as expected, and soon enough, the entire structure stabilized. The energy flow was up to the hoped standards, with the density even surpassing what he had calculated prior by about half a percent. Casper grinned as time passed, and half an hour later, a perfect equilibrium had been reached.

Having confirmed the result, he took out the real thing. The unique item hummed with power as Casper knew he was in possession of something even peak-level factions would go far to acquire. A real dungeon core.

[Intermediate Dungeon Core (Unique)] – A Dungeon Core offered directly by the system due to Earth’s performance during the Treasure Hunt event. This Dungeon Core is of the intermediate level and can support monster spawning up to low-tier C-grade. Must have a suitable environment to activate and spawn the dungeon. Requirements: Soulbound

After looking at it for a while longer, he went to the prepared cavern. Several guards were in place, and when they saw him, they knew. Priscilla was notified and sent a communication to Casper asking if he was ready. He confirmed as he entered the cavern and made everyone else leave the area.

He would need silence and focus to implement the core and create a true Dungeon. Casper sat in the middle of the cavern and took out the core, and the moment he got the go-ahead to initiate, he began infusing his Magiscript. The entire cavern responded as the process started. Beneath him, another ritual was also going on as hundreds of D-grades fed a ritual that supported him and the cavern with energy, all led by Priscilla herself.

Casper had begun preparing this cavern the very day the city was founded. He had worked on the scripts, directed thousands of workers to assist him, and out of everyone in the city, if not the world, he had been the one to use the most resources on such a singular goal. Casper had even been trained by an S-grade Archlich specializing in Magiscript and dungeon-making. Heck… he even had pointers and was blessed by a Primordial to do this job.

There was no room for failure.

Days passed as Casper was in a constant state of focus. The walls were slowly filled with scripts as the cavern expanded. Space was distorted, and a week in, only Casper and the area a few meters around him remained stable. On the outside, the cavern was about two hundred meters in diameter, but in there, it had expanded to tens of times that. Anyone trying to go inside would also swiftly find themselves rebuffed as a barrier had been made by the dungeon core itself.

Casper had lost count of the number of potions he had consumed and even time itself. Lyra’s encouraging words helped keep him awake and keep track of everything as she fed him energy through their connection. His body had difficulty enduring the process, but Lyra began defending him and healing his wounds.

Two weeks passed. Three weeks. A month.

Casper was haggard, but he knew he was nearly done. The script was perfect. He had only found a few minor flaws to perfect. He had worked with this kind of thing before… he was a damn talented computer scientist before the system, and now he did not doubt he was a damn proficient user of Magiscript.

Day thirty-three, it happened. The core was fully stabilized, and suddenly Casper’s vision shifted as he felt himself overseeing an entire space. He felt like he was a god in control of his own world but quickly pulled himself back to reality to not lose himself as he disconnected from the core.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself with his legs crossed in front of the entrance to the cavern, a white mist-like barrier blocking the way inside. He broke out in smiles as Priscilla arrived behind him.

“Did you…?”

Casper just grinned. “Damn straight, I did.”

He went to stand up but found himself stumbling. His mind was still in a daze as he focused on all the notifications he had gotten, them being the last thing he saw before he passed out from pure exhaustion.

*’DING!’ Profession: [Blight-Touched Dungeon Architect] has reached level 172 - Stat points allocated, +8 Free Points*

*’DING!’ Profession: [Blight-Touched Dungeon Architect] has reached level 173 - Stat points allocated, +8 Free Points*

…

*’DING!’ Profession: [Blight-Touched Dungeon Architect] has reached level 189 - Stat points allocated, +8 Free Points*

*’DING!’ Race: [Risen Human (D)] has reached level 154 - Stat points allocated, +21 Free Points*

…

*’DING!’ Race: [Risen Human (D)] has reached level 162 - Stat points allocated, +21 Free Points*

Title acquired: [Progenitor Dungeon Master]

Title earned: [Progenitor Dungeon Master] – A master of reality itself, you have created your own little world. For doing so while still in D-grade and within three years of the integration of your universe, you have shown yourself to be a true Progenitor Dungeon Master. Increases your ability to create dungeons and manipulate self-created world spaces. +25 all stats, +10% all stats.