Miranda’s mind was a bit jumbled from the powerful aura, and it took her a moment to formulate a response. This resulted in her not being the first one to answer.

”I sincerely apologize for disturbing your area,” Mahowny said as he bowed. His party members followed suit, their nervousness palpable. Sweat was pouring down their brows as they also realized that the monster that had appeared was more than any of them could handle.

It had to be mid-tier C-grade… which meant it was above level 250. The group from the United Cities Alliance could probably handle a weak C-grade using their hounds, but the snake was an entirely different issue. It was leagues above anything they could even touch.

”We are only here for this woman and will leave once done,” Mahowny further said. “And we are more than willing to compensate you for allowing us this.”

The snake did not even turn to him but kept staring at Miranda. Miranda felt the pressure and finally came up with an answer. ”Miranda Wells… I work for the Malefic’s Chosen.”

As if a switch had been flipped, the humanoid snake’s eyes opened wide. ”Really? Is he here?”

”No, sadly not,” Miranda said, the pressure on her instantly alleviated.

”Oh…” the snake deflated.

Miranda saw the Mahowny and the others had turned white as sheets, now matching the complexion of the snake girl. They looked like they were about to plan their escape already, having realized they were in a very perilous situation.

”I was being chased here by enemies of the Chosen,” Miranda quickly pounced on the opportunity to remove the elites from the United Cities Alliance. ”They aim to kill me and hurt the Chosen through that.”

This got a response out of the snake as she turned her head to the party of five.

Mahowny instantly raised his hands in defense. ”This is all a misunderstanding, I-”

He didn’t get further. Miranda wasn’t sure what happened, but one moment he was talking, and the next, there was no head on his shoulders. The movement had been too fast for her to see. It wasn’t even certain if it was teleportation or just incredibly fast movement.

”Did you know that humans have these unwanted movements in their aura when they lie? I learned that from the ones I acquired to perfect this human form,” the snake said in an insidious voice. It looked like she hadn’t even moved as she now stood there with a severed head, parts of the spine hanging out.

Her rhetorical question did not have a chance to be answered as movements came from below. The aura of the Alabaster Snake had completely masked them as three C-grade snakes shot up from the water, and within less than five seconds, the hounds and human party were all dead.

Miranda could only stand there and stare as it happened. She had hoped for assistance, but the response had been prompt and unexpectedly harsh. There was no questioning or doubt in the snake; she had simply acted and wiped them out unceremoniously.

She saw that Hank looked incredibly worried, and Neil’s party still had defensive positions. It was a sloppy one, as they all knew that if any of the snakes that had just appeared chose to attack, none of them would survive.

Are these the “friends” Jake talked about? Miranda asked herself, already knowing the answer. He had mentioned it so casually like it was no big deal… but the snake in front of them was far more powerful than anything she could have imagined.

The three C-grade snakes that had appeared were all far larger than the small and delicate-looking Alabaster Snake, but they all showed respect to her and bowed before ducking their heads underwater once more, dragging the corpses along with them.

“Humans are really questionable,” the snake said with scorn before looking at Miranda. “Ah, but not you. Just the normal humans, if you know what I mean. Anyway! You said you are here because of the Forefather’s Chosen? Why are you here if he is not?”

Miranda was not sure what to answer but quickly read the mood and emotional state of the powerful C-grade. “There is a conflict going on right now, and the Chosen is preoccupied with handling other matters, including an enemy Chosen that serves a god who is antagonistic towards your Forefather. Due to this, the city I managed for him could no longer properly protect itself, and he asked us to go here.”

The snake listened attentively before tilting her head. “But why here?”

Smiling, Miranda was happy the C-grade asked. “Because he trusts that you can keep us safe while he is gone.”

The snake reacted a bit more strongly than Miranda had expected. With starry eyes, the snake clenched her fists and put on a massive smile that looked more than a little odd. “Re… really? He trusts me?”

“If not, he would not send us here,” Miranda promptly answered. “It is truly my pleasure to meet a confidant of the Chosen. As I said before, then my name is Miranda Wells. May I ask what your name is?”

Miranda had to admit that a cold shiver ran down her spine as she asked the question. If Jake had met this snake, there was a chance he had also given her a name, and no matter how dumb it was, she didn’t doubt the female snake with her personality would be all giddy and proud of it. She swore that if he had named the snake Snakie or Scaley or anything like that, she would be unable to hold her poker face and would smack him over the head the moment they met again, Chosen or not.

“A name?” the snake asked, still all happy about what Miranda had said. “I sadly do not have one of those. Most simply call me by my race as I am the only one in these parts. You can refer to me as it too if you so desire.”

It was almost funny to see how the female snake now tried to act all professional and like she was welcoming guests into her humble abode. Which was exactly what she did in her mind, Miranda reckoned.

“Please follow me back to the center of the mangrove. Ah, we even have a few humans there and lodging for your kind,” the Alabaster Snake said.

“Really?” Miranda asked with genuine surprise. Humans living in a C-grade infested danger zone? She had a hard time seeing that.

“Yep, you will see when we get there,” the snake girl smiled. She looked towards the water for a moment before the three large snakes emerged again. Alongside them, a wooden barge had also appeared, seemingly out of nothing. “Get on for a quicker trip. Ah, did you know the Chosen rode it too? We helped him the last time he was here, and he was so nice.”

“I can imagine,” Miranda said, having to fake her smile a little. How in the hell did Jake end up making friends with nearly every monster he didn’t just kill? Heck, even the ones he killed, he somehow ended up making friends with posthumously in the case of the Fallen King.

She and the others got on the barge and got through the Grand Mangrove River far faster than expected. The snake girl ended up joining them on the barge and was incredibly talkative once she learned everyone there had met Jake before. Neil was the first to truly reciprocate and asked curiously about the area and the odd spatial fluctuations he felt.

It turned out that the mangrove truly was a mysterious place. The water was far, far deeper than it should have any right to be. It was likely spatially expanded somehow, and so were some areas of the Grand Mangrove River in general. Small clearings from a distance could turn into large open areas once one entered them and vice-versa.

The place they were being taken was one such clearing. It was close to the center of the Grand Mangrove River and the lair of the Alabaster Crimsoneye Snake. Miranda also learned along the way that the snakes had pretty much fully taken over the entire Grand Mangrove River and had hunted down all powerful C-grades that could prove threats. The rest they had left alive, effectively to fatten them up for future slaughter.

It didn’t take them long before they reached their destination, and Miranda was astonished when she saw it. After entering a clearing, the area opened up and revealed what looked like a massive clear lake with sunlight coming down from above. Floating barges and platforms with buildings filled the clearing, making it look like a small city had been constructed.

Miranda saw well over a hundred people walking on the barges, and there was clearly too much space for the number of people. She also noticed something else… the moment they appeared, all the humans rushed out of their homes and sat down on their knees at the edge of the barges, many of them shivering.

“How come these people are here?” Miranda couldn’t help but ask.

“Oh, I had them brought here. It is humans who tried to pass the river but were captured. After the Chosen was here, I realized that I didn’t truly understand the world or the humans, so I decided to get some. While humans are dumb, they can also know a lot. Oh, I even got this form after studying humans a whole bunch!” the snake shared with a big smile.

“So they are staying here against their wills?” Hank asked curtly. Miranda threw him a glance to shut up, but the snake had already heard him.

“Well, I brought them here against their wills, but I guess they can try and leave? Not that I see them make it out without getting eaten or recaptured,” the Alabaster Snake laughed, clearly finding it funny.

“I see,” Miranda said before anyone else could speak. “Could you please bring us to a place where we can relax? We have been on the move for a long time.”

“Of course!” the snake girl said enthusiastically. “I prepared a special place in case the Chosen returned! Humans are really good at making things, I will admit that.”

Miranda nodded along, glad to have everyone else stashed away. She had a feeling that the snake girl wasn’t going to leave them alone, though, so she would bite the bullet and handle the C-grade. She feared what any of the others could say, and if the snake got mad for just a single second, it could tear any of them apart.

“If you are interested in learning more about the Chosen, I am more than willing to share. In fact, I will have to contact him soon using one of my skills, and you are more than free to come along. I can even relay a message,” Miranda offered.

“Really?” the snake asked with glee. “I would love to!”

She was almost swaying as she sat there happy, and it bought Miranda enough time to get the others off the barge and into a mansion-like building that did not look like it should be able to float. Once they were all gone, Miranda and the Alabaster Snake headed towards another large unoccupied building for Miranda to finally get back to Jake.

And probably have an incredibly long conversation with an overly enthusiastic, highly erratic, and incredibly dangerous C-grade snake.

While waiting for Miranda to get back to him and hopefully having reached the mangrove safely and met up with the albino snake, Jake decided to have some fun.

One of the things Jake liked the most about new skills was the honeymoon period. He remembered when he had just gotten One Step Mile or when he had gotten Arrow of the Ambitious Hunter, and the fun time he had experimenting and using the skills for the first time, truly pushing them to their limits.

Relentless Hunt, as Jake had chosen to shorten yet another overly long skill name to, was a skill he naturally also looked forward to having fun with. There was much to figure out, and Jake went in with glee as he stood before a large bear. A large bear breathing fire. Oh, and there was lava coming out of its mouth at all times, and even some running down its hide.

Finally, it was about the size of a warehouse.

[Emberdust Magmabear – lvl ???]

Jake estimated it to be around level 210 and was probably the strongest C-grade he would face so far in pure power – though he had a feeling he was facing a good matchup. Observing it from afar, he saw it bathe in a volcano and then soak in the sunlight for a few minutes before eating some metal out of a mountain. Not a single creature dared get near. Sandy had told him that something good was hidden within the lava of the volcano, and the worm acted all coy like it was doing him a favor, while Jake knew Sandy just wanted whatever was in that damn lava.

Now, while this was undoubtedly a fight, it was also a journey of exploration. A chance for Jake to see what he was truly capable of. An opportunity to fully explore his new skill and learn its limitations and when it was best used.

The massive beast looked like it could give him just that opportunity.

Jake engaged it from afar with a fully charged Arcane Powershot, blasting a hole in its body right off the bat. The blood that came out was thick and burned like lava, but the hemotoxin Jake had poisoned the arrow with infected it nevertheless. His Sense of the Malefic Viper also made him aware the poison worked as intended, proving it was truly a being of flesh and blood despite its appearance.

As his strike hit and the bear roared, Jake also felt it right away. Odd energy welled up inside of him, and it even seemed to now exist in the atmospheric mana - always being there, he was just unable to see it before. He knew right away it was this Hunting Momentum.

He did not hesitate to pour just a little bit of it into his second attack. The bear tanked the hit just like the first, and Jake did notice the effect. The Hunting Momentum was not a concept or an idea like Stealth Attack or even the Mark of the Avaricious Hunter that just added extra damage. It made all aspects of the attack stronger. The arrow flew faster, it penetrated deeper, dealt more damage, and even the poison on it appeared to have a slightly heightened potency. The momentum’s effect on the poison was slight, and Jake noticed it was also brief.

Several more attacks were released as the bear charged, leaving a path of lava behind it. The ground itself erupted as the lava shot up towards Jake and forced him to retreat. The bear was incredibly durable, and even as he inflicted injury after injury, it was still barely affected. It also quickly became clear Jake was not the only one “building momentum,” so to say.

The bear was heating up. Its very skin began to glow red as its lava-like blood boiled, and it soon began to give off an orange mist that burned the very air. This mist spread quickly and was carried by the wind. The bear roared as the mist was sent out like a shockwave, combusting any time it encountered a physical object, setting that unlucky object on fire.

Jake retreated further and further as he kept attacking from range. His arrows flew through the mist, and he did notice to his annoyance that it burned off the poison, but the arrows themselves – the stable versions at least – managed to survive.

His opponent was far larger than him but also far slower. As long as Jake kept his distance and bombarded it with ranged destruction, his Hunting Momentum would build, his Arcane Charge from the Mark would build, and the poison he did manage to land would accumulate. He had a feeling this kind of beast was one that excelled in battles of attrition by simply outlasting and slowly burning down its foe. Too bad that it had met Jake.

No, too bad Sandy had decided the worm really wanted to eat its treasure.

Looks like we are in for a long one, Jake thought as he smirked to himself. He was definitely not complaining.