Jack was able to convince Riniox to delay the king of Vitlavin until the afternoon of the next day. The demon delivered the news that they would be preparing an appropriate stage for him. The king raged at the further delays but waited until the appointed time. Any further efforts to make small delays were met with complete rejection. The king and his troops simply marched into the valley.

Jack was on the impromptu stage, ready to meet the man he had heard so much about. King Drent of Vitlavin was a short and pudgy man. He had wispy hair that was greying. His clothes were expensive-looking but seemed tacky. He was carried in on a palanquin and he sat on a gilded chair that looked extremely expensive. The overall impression he gave was that of a selfish and lazy man. His servants carried the palanquin up to the platform, the king looking around with a bored expression.

That expression fell away as he beheld Jack. His eyebrows shot up in surprise, and he leaned forward with interest. Without speaking, he waved a hand behind him frantically. An attendant came forward, removing their cloak. It was a bore-bot, and Jack assumed that it was a dual-type internal. Its body was made of copper and bronze-looking metals, vents for steam poked out of its lower body but its upper body had exposed gears. It gave off a stern expression, and was more slender than most bore-bots Jack had seen.

The king spoke to the bowing attendant. "Vrim, look at this."

The bore-bot lifted its head. Its face was calm and neutral... right up until it looked at Jack. The bore-bot's face twisted into shock and disgust. "Dear God of gods! It's disgusting!" The bore-bot spoke in a nasally voice, though Jack didn't know how that worked considering bore-bots didn't have noses.

The king nodded. "Indeed. You there, abomination." He gestured in Jack's direction.

Jack pointed at himself questioningly, shocked at the sudden insult. Only Deis had been so mean so quickly. "Are...you speaking to me, your majesty?"

"Who else would I be speaking to!" the king snapped at him. "You're coming with me. I'm placing you in captivity until further notice." He waved some guards forward.

The mercenaries reacted instantly, forming up around Jack defensively. Jack himself stepped back, ducking behind a shield.

The king stood up, fury on his face. "What are you doing? That thing," he spat the word, "is a crime. I will deliver it to the high council of Dreegen."

Riniox stepped forward boldly, ignoring the drawn swords of the soldiers. "That man, "She emphasized the gender, pointing to Jack. "is Jack, servant of the High Deity."

Everyone in the king's entourage froze. The king appeared stunned, disbelief clear on his face. "Wha- But he- That's-" He spluttered.

Vrim the attendant stepped forward, having recovered faster than their king. "Do you have any proof of this? I find it hard to believe the High Deity would allow this...mistake to occur."

Jeler growled softly next to Jack, his hands gripping his knives tighter. Jack put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, we always knew someone might have a problem with this." Jack tried to reassure his friend, but the truth was that he was also rankled. This blatant mistrust and mistreatment made Jack think of hardcore racists back on Earth.

Jack moved forward through the guards, many of them nodding at him or whispering encouragement. He came forward to stand with Riniox, maybe ten or so feet from the king of Vitlavin. "I am Jack, servant of the High Deity, administrator of the system."

The king seemed to flinch away slightly as Jack spoke. Almost as if Jack was repulsive to him. Vrim spoke in his place. "We are asking you to verify that claim. Demonstrate your ability to us."

"Status." Jack's status screen appeared before him. The king flinched back, clearly surprised by the screen, but the advisor seemed to be expecting it. "With your permission, I can bestow a status screen such as this to a person of your choosing. Will that be proof enough?"

The king waved Vrim over, muttering to the attendant. Jack managed to overhear the words exchanged though.

"What is that?" The king mumbled.

"A status screen, your majesty. I have confirmed that this is the gift given by the High Deity."

"Truly?" he looked skeptical. "Send someone to test it." Jack couldn't believe his ears. Did this king truly not know what the system was? He had been waiting for at least a week, he must have heard of or seen it in use. But his conversation with the advisor seemed to indicate otherwise. Had he just...sat around doing nothing the whole time?

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The bore-bot nodded at the king, then called up a soldier. It turned, addressing Jack. "Give this soldier a status."

Jack obliged, activating his [Status Granting] skill. It had been a bit since he last used it, but the skill flowed easily from him. Like riding a bike, there was a moment of connection, and his body responded to the skill.

The king's eyes glazed over in boredom when the spell took more than ten seconds. The advisor waited patiently for Jack to finish, not showing any special interest in the casting. The soldier who was being given a status stood at attention, simply following orders.

When Jack completed the skill, a status screen appeared in front of the soldier. The blue floating rectangle hung in the air, and the soldier reached out to touch it with interest. The advisor came close and examined the screen, attempting to touch it as well and failing to do so.

Jack coughed politely, drawing attention back to himself. "Is this enough evidence of my identity?"

The advisor turned back to the king, an unhappy look on their face. The king hesitated, looking unsure for a moment before sighing. "Very well, we won't arrest you."

The bore-bot advisor looked very displeased with this news but didn't say anything out loud. Instead, they asked a question. "Are you the only one who can bestow statuses in this manner?"

It was a tricky question. Admitting that he could give other people that power might weaken his claim that he was Jack. But lying might invite some kind of retaliation if the truth slipped out. Jack decided to reveal the truth. "Originally I was. The High Deity granted me a way to give other people the [Status Granting] skill."

The advisor seemed to be aware of skills and status screens, and they nodded at this. "And will you be giving us this skill?" The question was very direct, and the advisor spoke with an intensity that was thinly veiled behind decorum.

"I have been ordered by the High Deity to only grant the skill to members of his clergy. I cannot give it to others freely." Jack used his special move, 'Sorry, it's company policy'. By playing the Deis card, it forbid any disagreement. Clearly this advisor wanted the power to grant statuses, but Jack didn't like the bore-bot at all.

The advisor seemed oddly neutral at this admission, not nearly as upset as Jack might have expected. They turned, gesturing for some cloaked figures to come up to the stage. A group of people dressed in priestly robes walked up onto the platform. Vrim turned to Jack, "So you could grant these people the skill?" There was some clear 'checkmate' energy emanating from the bore-bot, this whole song and dance seemed to be going according to the advisor's plan.

Jack looked at the assembled group carefully. It was impossible to tell if they were actually priests or not by sight alone. "Are you all members of the cloth? Servants and clerics of the God of gods?"

The group nodded in unison, and the head priest spoke. "I swear before the High Deity, we are all members of his church."

Jack didn't feel good about this, but he had backed himself into a bit of a corner. He silently felt a bit of respect for Vrim, they appeared to be very capable despite their king. The blatant racism was a negative point in Jack's book, but he wanted to be sure to pay attention to this dangerous bore-bot. "If you use this skill against the wishes of the High Deity, you will be punished. Do you understand?"

The group nodded their affirmation. Jack didn't have a multi-target version of the [Chosen of the Status] skill, and to be honest, he wouldn't use it even if he could. Every cast would add to the amount of time that he delayed this group. Jack was a little surprised that the king hadn't demanded to be granted a status first. But when he turned to look at the man, he saw the king snacking on some grapes someone had brought him, completely uninterested in the proceedings.

Jack was less familiar with the [Chosen of the Status] skill, only having the chance to cast it a handful of times. It was similar in nature to his other skill but had enough changes to the structure that it still felt unfamiliar to cast. He performed the skill on one of them at a time, but they all waited patiently until he had used the skill on all of them. It took a long time, and Jack felt bad for making all these troops and mercenaries stand there and wait. It wasn't very entertaining to watch, and it was a hot day. Oddly the king seemed to be the most impatient, asking for food or a massage from an attendant every few minutes.

When Jack was finally done, the priests left the stage. Jack expected to begin granting a status to the king, but Vrim spoke again. "That will be all. We will take our leave now."

Jack was shocked. The king...didn't want a status from him? He glanced in the king's direction and was even more shocked to see surprise on the king's face. The man began to bluster slightly, but Vrim held up a hand in gentle rebuke. Jack instantly reordered the power balance between these two in his mind. Vrim, or more likely all the kings advisors, were in charge. The king seemed disconnected from the events around him, he was likely a figurehead. It was a telling moment, the king sitting back and holding his tongue.

Riniox looked at Vrim. "Are you certain? We can provide you with food this evening. Possibly grant some more statuses?"

But Vrim shook their head. "That won't be necessary. His majesty would rather not engage in...certain company." The comment wasn't directed at Jack this time, but Riniox. It showed just what the royal advisor thought of mercenaries.

Jack bristled slightly, surprised at how defensive he felt about these people, but Riniox put a hand on his shoulder to calm him. "Of course," Riniox said flatly. "We wish you safe travels."

The servants came up on stage to cart the palanquin away, but before the Vitlavins could leave, a young man came running up to the stage, out of breath. "Your majesty. I have urgent news."

The king looked like urgent news was a cockroach he had found in his soup. His look of disgust was clear, but he waved the boy forward.

The boy pulled out a scroll, reading aloud. "The kingdom of Cheria has declared war on us!"