Jake looked behind him at the now blue and oxygen-breathing Zac. “Are you okay? What's with the blue?”
“It's nothing,just a side effect from my mother's side, don't worry about it. Actually, forget I mentioned th—”
Just as Zac was talking, her two guards ran towards her with an abundance of excitement in their eyes.
“Congratulations, Princess. May we ask who the catalyst is?” Zac's eyes shifted to Jake only for a second, but it was long enough for her two eagle-eyed guards to pick up on, and they both spun and bowed to Jake, only for Zac to pull them into a side room.
“He doesn't know, and I don't intend on telling him. So keep it quiet.”
“But, Princess.”
“No buts about it, I should be saying congratulations to you both. It seems these humans are more compatible with our species than we thought.”
“What, really? Will they be okay? We don't have the facilities out here, do we?”
“It is too early to tell, but things are looking good so far. But I can't take you with me, so I will have to send you both back home.”
“Please don't, Princess. I don't want the matriarch to get involved with this. You know what she's like; she'll take them from us for study.”
“Okay, you can stay, but you must tell Jo about it. These humans can be a little strange when it comes to their children.”
“But he is just the donor.”
“Like I said, humans can be strange. Just see what he wants to do. If he goes the way we do, then good, but if he doesn't, don't hurt him. Let him have his family, and you two will need to take the oath just like what the king did for my mum.”
“Yes, but your mum is different. She's a Neptunian star wrangler, an elite. Jo is just a grunt in these human spaces.”
“You two really need to put that type of thinking aside. Maybe go talk with James; he is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to his men. Just don't try to get information about the catalyst.”
“But, Princess, isn't it fair for us to at least investigate our ne—”
“No, that's the last time I want to hear you mention it. No one here is aware of what this means, and that's the way it is going to stay. Plus, the man has a wife and no interest in me at all.”
“Princess, you can't just give up. If he can change you into a Neptunian star wrangler, he is going to be hunted down and used as a political bargaining chip by your cousins, even more so after what happened six months ago. It would be better if he leaves that wife of his.”
“I have said it before; drop this now.”
Jake was waiting outside of the room with really thin walls when he asked Jayne something he had been meaning to ask. “How come it still feels as if we are cultivating?”
“As long as I stay in this position, our connection will grow, making our next time easier. It will feel a bit strange, but it will only last an hour; then, by what the book says, our connection will fade. We won't get any energy from this.”
“That's fine with me, but did you have to wrap around that part?”
“Well, the book says the man must be inside for this to work, so I'm more surprised it even works at all.”
Jake’s mind just went from being a little uncomfortable to absolutely horrified at what Jayne would have tried next.
“Wait, isn't that step one of the latter ones? Yeah, I'm pretty sure that was the second last step. Are you by chance just taking advantage of your husband?”
“No, never,” she said while her body squeezed tightly around Jake's body. Jake shivered as he held himself back from acting on his natural impulses.
Moments later, Zac and her two guards exited the room, not even noticing the state Jake was in. They just began walking down to the conference room, not looking back or even talking. As Jake entered, Emma instantly asked where Jayne was and if she was alright. Jake simply said she was in her snake form, not wanting to elaborate on what she was currently doing.
“Are we all ready to go?” Jake asked while pulling out his transportation token and teleporting everyone before they could interject. Arriving just outside the old cottage moments later, Jake took everyone in the room. This included the ragged man slumped in a seat and Zac's two guards. Jake walked over to the two guards and said in a soft voice, “Remember, they're your children, so you make the decisions here, but if you're up to it, give the man a chance; you never know, he might just surprise you both.”
Jake then asked Jayne if there was anything that could help get Jo's mojo back. Seconds later, a small alchemy pill fell into his hand. “Give him that and tell him to take it only if he has no choice. It should get him up and going, at least for a few days; then his weakness will return, and no, he can't take any more than one. Also, tell him not to do anything strenuous, or he will die.”
“Alright, everyone, get to work. Find out what is happening here and if you can find me a man named Harry. Jo, you stay here.” Jake then looked over at the two guards and back at Jo. “This is a very dangerous pill. It will get you up and active for a few days, but it has some side effects. Firstly, the way you are feeling now will come back, and secondly, if you do anything strenuous after taking it, you will die.”
“Then why are you giving it to me?”
Jake looked back at the two guards before saying to Jo, “I have a feeling you need your wits about you sooner or later. Why don't you stay here and relax for a bit? The cottage is fully stocked, and there are plenty of reading materials inside.”
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“Thank you, sir.”
Jake left Jo and asked Zac to follow him over to the orbital elevator. To Zac's surprise, his two guards didn't follow; instead, they moved towards the small cottage, seeming to have made a decision.
“What did you say to them? I tried to get them to just talk to him but failed, and you got them to actually do it in a minute.”
“It was actually very simple. First of all, don't try to dictate what they should do; give them options. Second, put some curiosity in their minds.”
“Do you mean by when you were talking to Jo, you kept looking back at us?”
“Yes, now they're wondering what I said and if I had told him.”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing, I gave him a pill to keep him alert for a few days; that's all.”
“That's, that's stupid.”
“Yes, it is.” Jake pointed back at the cottage. “But it worked, didn't it, my little Neptunian star wrangler?” Zac went pale.
“You know.”
“Not really, but next time you want to have a private conversation, try to pick a room with thicker walls. Let's just leave it for now; you can tell me about it some other time maybe,” Jake said just as he got to the doors of the orbital elevator.
“Sir, it's been too long. Would you like me to recall Erica? She's currently working up there,” Alric pointed to the sky.
“Yeah, can you also set up a room for a meeting? I want you all to go over everything that's happened before giving me your plans. Also, this here is Zac, the princess of Venus, and she needs to negotiate with you all about an alliance or something. To be honest, I have actually forgotten what they even wanted.” Alric just shook his head, then asked if Zac would like to come with him to meet the other ministers. Jake, then doing everything he came here for, didn't know what to do with himself when a little chuckle came out from under his clothing.
“Oh, you just wait; you're going to get it for what you did back there,” Jake said, only for Jayne to jump out of his clothing and change into her humanoid form. “Too bad I've got a lot of work to do. I'll see you later,” she said as she disappeared into the distance.
Nineteen hours had passed; a day later, Jake's mind still couldn't calm. He had a stack of blueprints in front of him, but every one of them had glaring errors, some that even a child could see. The whole time Jayne was gone, he felt a sense of loneliness—an emptiness that, before he practised dual cultivation, would comfort him now gave him anxiety as it kept hitting his body. It only stopped when the twenty-first hour rolled around. Jake opened his stats to see if any of the many blueprints he did had given him a level.
Name: Jake Everval
Race: Demon of the Past. Unique
Core: Haven Braker, First Grade, restricted fully unlocked at D grade
Grade: F
Information on F grade:
Upgrades: 600 above previous. Anyone below this grade in the open universe will not survive unless protected by life-sustaining means such as planetary shields and the like. No F graders have ever entered space and survived for more than two years without adequate protection. Note: levels are gained through cultivation; levels must be solidified by practical use.
Solidified Level: 78. Levels required until next grade evaluation: 1000 total
Cultivation Level: 1
Life: 0%
Void: 100%
Mana: 0%
Arcane: 0%
Class trooper shadow mage (common) 2000 levels required till next major threshold
Solidified Class level 1099
Cultivated Level 15 of 10%
Profession Arcane Smith (common) 2000 levels required till next major threshold
Solidified Profession level 538
Cultivated Level 0 of 0.1%
Information at common rarity: your profession will have less impact on the environment around you.
Stats points available: 109,459
Conversion multiplier: ×10
Mana: 1,000.000
Arcane: 1,000.000
Stamina: 2,000.010
Health: 1,526.500
Base multiplier: ×10
Strength: 100,101
Agility: 100,000
Intelligence: 100,000
Wisdom: 100.000
Perception: 100.000
Integrity: 152.650
Complete dungeons to advance multipliers beyond the starting ×10 multiplier.
A basic collection method has been granted to you by the heavens.
How is that possible? My void energy is full again.
Jake instantly started to cultivate, cutting off his mind from what was going on around him and entering a deep state of meditation. Only stopping when he felt the void energy in his body disappear.
Solidified Level 78. Levels required till next grade evaluation: 1000 total
Cultivation Level: 2
Life: 0%
Void: 0%
Mana: 0%
Arcane: 0%
“So it looks like with every session I do with Jayne, I get the chance of gaining two levels; I wonder if it's the same for her?”
“What's the same?” Jayne asked, snapping Jake out of his ravelry.
“Is everything working out fine?”
“Not really; I only got one level. I was hoping I could continue gathering Genesis energy after the time we spent together, but it seems I was jumping too far ahead. I think next time I won't do that.”
“I don't know about that; it was quite nice having you so close to me. Plus, I got one more level out of it.”
“That's not fair! I do the work, and you get the reward. Fine, if it makes you stronger, I won't be opposed to doing it again.”
The two talked for an hour, but just as they decided to find a nice private place, Zac found them.
“Lady Everval, I have been told you are the one I need to speak with if we are going to finalise the agreement.”
“Fine, what's the details of the agreement, and what am I needed to offer in return?”
“We are offering ships, weapons, and personnel for your army over time. In return, there will be two concessions. The first is the training of a select group of my people in the manufacturing and use of faster-than-light travel.”
“And the second?”
“Jake will need to return with me and stay on my home world alone for his safety.” Zac said.
“Fuck off, bitch! You think you can take what's mine away without a fight?”
“That's enough, you two. First of all, I will not be going with you, and secondly, don't ever try that again, or I will quite willingly go to war with your entire race. If your people come for me or any of my people, they will become the enemy of the Heart Haven Empire,” Jake said. “Now, if you would like to get back to the negotiations, what do you mean by 'personal over time'?”
“Well, that all depends on the new children made from my people and yours. I'm home will not be able to support them, so we're giving them to your empire.”
“So you're basically telling us to take care of your children and trying to sell it as a positive for us, then you demand compensation. I will take your unwanted children, but you'll need to either stay and look after them or send people to do it on your behalf, as we don't know the first thing about your species. As for the spread of technology, you can take that up with the lady you just pissed off,” Jake said.