Chapter 342
Jacob looks at the wall behind which rests the Mana node. Its surface gleams in the suffused light of the room.
Kamenev smiles encouragingly at him, saying, “Karma has chosen this for you. Master Rafnov was the greatest in dealing with Karma’s quirks. And he left this as a great gift to whoever would be able to complete his Dungeon. It is such an incredible honor for you to reach this room. The Mana node that you will find — at Imperium Rank — will be the purest, the strongest. I know that some think that all Mana nodes of the same Rank are equal, but they are not born equal. This one has reached a degree of purity that you will never meet again. And so, Jacob Cloud, you have the chance to mint the perfect Skill for you. It will be a heroic Skill, spoken about in legends for years to come. And once you pass this, you will be allowed to touch and read the Book of Blade.”
“I mean, are you sure I’m actually worthy of this?” Jacob says cheekily. “I think that, you know what, we should leave this to someone else. I’m not a royal. I’m just like a mine rat. You know that people used to call me that? Rat. Bastard. I think that it would be a great idea if we could just, I don’t know, let’s give this to the princess or to Count Myshkin, or you could even take this for yourself.”
But the executioner, Kamenev, is not amused by Jacob’s reply.
“You would hand out a gift from Master Rafnov himself such as this one, Jacob Cloud?”
“You know what they say, like, if you’re too selfish, you’re gonna choke the next time you eat alone. So let somebody else eat. I’m good. I think that this is such an honor that it should never, ever, ever, ever be assigned to an outsider like me. I’m a foreigner. And that’s not good. I’m not a citizen. I haven’t earned my citizenship. So really, like, why are we even having this discussion?”
- - -
Count Myshkin is not able to keep looking at the projection of the Dungeon of the Worthy.
“What is he doing?” Princess Yekaterina asks. “Why is he so agitated? He can just approach the Mana node and—”
“You’ve seen him pulverize a Mana node, right?” Count Myshkin asks the princess.
“Yes. But I thought it was because maybe he had too much power or—”
Count Myshkin shakes his head.
“It’s not because of that.”
The tall count drags himself to a comfortable armchair and, elbows on his legs, places his face in his hands.
“Jacob has not managed to reap one Mana node so far. Not even one. He apparently can visualize all the flaws — and only the flaws — of a Mana node while approaching it. So he just destroys every single Mana node he comes in contact with. He’s tried actually really hard not to look at the flaws. He has given his best once he peeled away the Mana Crystal Stone around the Mana node. But it seems like whatever he does, all the Mana nodes he touches turn to dust.”
And so the realization slowly hits Princess Yekaterina.
“Are you saying that if Jacob excavates that Mana node, he is one hundred percent going to destroy it — and at that point, Kamenev will execute him?”
She looks horrified. How could such an opportunity for Jacob Cloud — something that anyone else would have craved, salivating — turn into a deadly trap?
“You don’t seem that worried, though,” Princess Yekaterina tells Count Myshkin.
“I’ve learned that Jacob Cloud has a way to sidestep problems. The fact that he just entered the Dungeon of the Worthy and passed all the trials without blinking an eye means that he is way more special than I had given him credit for. And so, let’s just watch.”
“Myshkin, have you lost your mind? If he has not managed to harvest one single Mana node so far, what makes you think that he will be able to do so right now?”
“Nothing,” the man replies. “But I have been surprised by Jacob enough times to know that we shouldn’t give him up for dead yet. Maybe he has a plan. Let’s see what else he has to say.”
On the projection, Jacob, in front of Kamenev’s immovable stance, says, “You know, I kind of have a stomachache right now. Do you think we could maybe delay this to another moment? The Mana node is not going anywhere, right? It’s been here for who knows how long. Maybe it would be better, like, if I could take a little peek at the Book of Blade. That would definitely, definitely help. You know, I don’t want to desecrate Rafnov’s inheritance and such a wonderful gift. I would like to get to it fully prepared. And my stomach — oh my God, my stomach is really killing me right now. I don’t think I should try this now. I don’t want to ruin it, you know?”
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Both Count Myshkin and Princess Yekaterina are completely stunned by Jacob’s shameless attitude.
“Is he really saying that he has a terrible stomachache to get out of this?” she says.
“Eh, I mean, it is a decent excuse. A bad state can influence the kind of Skill you’re going to generate. But yeah, Kamenev is never going to fall for it.”
Through the projection, they see Kamenev suddenly take something out of his Interspatial Ring.
“Oh my goodness. Sir Jacob, are you feeling well? If you have a stomachache, worry not. I have an ancient potion from Master Rafnov’s recipe book that will make you whole in a second. It has some violent side effects, but don’t mind the blood. It’s going to be completely fine.”
Jacob looks at the vial of green liquid — which, as soon as it is uncorked, releases the image of a skull — and points at Kamenev.
“Are you trying to kill me, perhaps? What the hell is that?”
“No, this is just a cure. There is some death magic infused in it, but worry not. Really, it’s not that big of a deal. Come here. I’ll give it to you.”
“No!” Jacob shouts, jumping back. “Have you lost your mind? That looks like poison.”
“Yes,” Kamenev says, raising a finger while shaking the vial a little, “but it is going to cure your stomachache in the blink of an eye. Trust me. I’ve taken this several times.”
Jacob looks up and down at the executioner.
“You’ve drunk poison for a stomachache.”
“Well, it was a bad stomachache, just like yours. And I was in the mines, and I couldn’t afford to have my judgment clouded in any possible way. You will vomit some blood, and some will come out of your ears, nose, mouth, and eyes, and possibly a few other orifices. But afterwards, trust me, you’ll feel the best you’ve ever felt in your entire life. It’s just a way for the body to expel toxins.”
“I’m not going to expel toxins from my—” Jacob stops himself and growls. “It’s fine. I don’t need it.”
“No, no, no.” Kamenev shakes his finger. “You’re right. We cannot risk you not being in full health for when you will mine the node. Because if you weren’t, you would indeed be wasting the gift.”
Princess Yekaterina turns toward Count Myshkin.
“Was he always this shameless? Kamenev is going to make him drink it.”
And just as Princess Yekaterina says that, the executioner catches Jacob and pours the potion down his throat, saying, “Don’t make me waste it. I don’t like wasting it.”
Reluctantly, Jacob is forced to down the potion. Then Princess Yekaterina sees that Jacob has several outbursts of aura, with his Mana being manipulated in many interesting ways.
“What is he doing?”
“So, how does it feel? And don’t worry too much if you can’t circulate Mana that well while the potion takes effect.”
But Jacob has closed his eyes and is fully focused.
- - -
By using the Grimoire, Jacob is capable of filtering the most poisonous effects of the potion, which he spits out as a glob of black tar on the ground. The rest of the effects go through his flesh and veins and make him actually feel better than he was feeling before.
He pants and looks at Kamenev, who has crossed his arms and is waiting for him to puke blood.
“So, where’s the blood?”
“I— I was blessed. No blood,” Jacob says, turning his back to the man and walking toward the wall before he can be force-fed more weird potions and actually die from one of them.
He looks at the wall and says to himself, “All right. Flaws. Flaws, flaws, flaws. There are flaws everywhere. Who cares?”
“What are you saying?” Kamenev frowns.
“Doesn’t matter.”
Then Jacob covers only the blade of the pickaxe with the Wrath of Blade, using the same flawed version that Princess Yekaterina had shown him. And because of that, he has to hack like a madman, taking an eternity to get to the Mana node.
It takes so long that Kamenev is perplexed, thinking to himself, Why is he taking so long? If he was with Count Myshkin’s team, he must be a proficient miner. Why is his control over Wrath of Blade so poor? And why is he striking like that? Why isn’t he more delicate?
- - -
Princess Yekaterina looks at a stunned Myshkin.
“Was he doing this well with you?”
“No.”
They hear Jacob chanting rhythmically, almost hypnotically. “Come on. There are flaws, flaws, flaws, flaws.”
He’s repeating the word “flaws” on a loop, and goes on like this for almost an hour before reaching the Mana node. When he does, Myshkin finally realizes.
“Oh, he is doing this in the most flawed way possible to influence the Mana node. This could actually work, and he might even get a good Skill — like, an actually good Skill. This is Rafnov’s gift we’re talking about. The Karma in here is probably otherworldly. Jacob is probably going to get a legendary Skill indeed, despite his low proficiency with the flawed version of the Wrath of Blade compared to what he was using before.”
They both get closer to the projection, and they see that even Kamenev has stepped forward as Jacob slowly, ever so slowly, pulls out the Mana node, which sheds several layers and turns into a Skill Crystal of Imperium Rank.
This is going to be a legendary Skill, a Skill for the ages.
Kamenev looks over Jacob’s shoulder and reads.
“What? A Lullaby Skill? What the hell is that?”
Jacob turns with a frown, but then it morphs into a big smile.
“Well, I’ve passed the test, right? It’s a Lullaby, like the Bronze Rank Skill, but Imperium Rank, I guess. So I’ve passed the test, riiight?” He stretches the last word.
Kamenev is looking stunned at Jacob and the shitty Skill in his hand. He raises his sword, not sure whether he should still execute the young man for desecrating Rafnov’s inheritance like this.