The Primal Hunter

Chapter 1389 - Antechamber

System events came in many forms, but nearly all of them tended to include combat of some kind, often in forced scenarios where peace was no longer an option. While the system allowed myriad Paths to exist in the multiverse, might ultimately made right, and true power was often the final arbiter in any conflict or scenario.

So far, the system event within the World of the Exalted Prima had indeed been very combat-focused and even forced to some extent, seeing as ninety percent of Territories had to be eliminated in the very first stage. In retrospect, this was very extreme, as it effectively killed off nine out of ten participants.

Following that, there were several quite cruel traps, overpowered NPCs, and all in all, this entire system event had been very “unfair” thus far. If it were any normal kind of event, it would honestly be so extreme that the top factions would likely even reconsider if participation was worth it, as the chances were that an entire generation of geniuses would die.

However, this wasn’t any normal kind of system event, because unlike a regular event, the consequences in this one weren’t permanent. Death was not a factor, which was likely also why the system could do as it did.

Jake also believed it was why the current scenario was even allowed.

After touching the gate that he’d hoped would lead him to the throne room, he’d instead found himself in a small room. No, an absolutely tiny room, going by the standards of this place, where everything else was massive.

The entire space was only a few dozen meters on all sides, with a ceiling Jake could have jumped and touched even before the system arrived. It felt almost claustrophobic, making Jake want to move on quickly.

In the room, the only thing present was a small altar with the projection of a cyclops, somewhat resembling the Magi, floating above it. The cyclops had its eye closed, and even when Jake walked closer, there was no response.

Looking at the altar, the system didn’t say anything either, but it wasn’t too difficult to guess what he had to do. Jake fished out a single coin from his inventory: the so-called Heirloom of the Abundant Emperor: and placed it on the altar.

The second he did, the projected cyclops opened its one eye and regarded Jake before looking down at the coin.

“Your offering to the Abundant Emperor has been accepted. Entrance to the antechamber granted, please wait inside for further instructions,” the projection said, surprising Jake quite a bit, as he was pretty sure this was the first time in this entire event he’d seen any NPC talk.

He didn’t have much time to process this new occurrence as a portal appeared right behind the altar, inviting Jake to enter. It appeared he hadn’t quite made it to the throne room yet, but the antechamber had to be just one step before getting there, right? It was kind of in the name antechamber.

Seeing no need to hesitate, Jake walked through the portal and found himself stepping into another rather surprising space. First things first, everything was back to being absolutely massive as Jake stepped into another giant chamber filled with furniture and the same overall gaudy design as everywhere else in the palace.

Secondly, Jake didn’t find himself alone in this space. His sphere quickly confirmed there were already nine other people present in the room, including one of the elementals he’d helped pass the puzzle stage. He recognized some of the others from that same puzzle room, but none of them were individuals who had particularly caught his eye.

Jake was a little surprised to see so many people here already, especially individuals whom he didn’t consider at the peak. He had “wasted” a bit of time on his skill upgrade, sure, but it hadn’t been that long. Plus, if these nine people, whom he didn’t know, were here, it had to mean that there were several other antechambers, as there was no fucking way that Sandy, the King, Sword Saint, Caleb, Sylphie, or Wintermaul hadn’t also passed the prior stage. Unless they also decided to take a brief intermission for a skill upgrade, but he doubted they had.

After appearing, Jake naturally felt several gazes upon him, with quite a few giving off concern. For good reason, too. He didn’t doubt that he was the strongest in the room now, and while the others weren’t weak and definitely had differences between them, to Jake, it didn’t really matter.

Not that he thought of fighting them. He’d been told by the projected NPC to wait for further instructions, and if he wanted to enter the throne room, making a mess of the antechamber probably wouldn’t go over well.

Thus, Jake chose to find a nice little secluded corner for himself where he would have a great outlook over the entire antechamber while also staying away from everyone else. He didn’t see the need to enter stealth either, as he took a seat on a decorative lamp hanging from the ceiling.

Nobody dared approach him as Jake sat down and scouted the room a little more. Pulse had already confirmed this room was also entirely sealed off, and sure, while there were four doors in the room, they were all merely decorative, with nothing but an infinite void behind them.

After getting seated, about three minutes passed before another person appeared. It was a True Dragon, appearing in their full dragon form, which honestly didn’t take up that much space, given the enormous size of the antechamber. The entire room had to be over forty kilometers wide, making it big even by cyclops standards.

The dragon looked around, noticed Jake, and went to sit somewhere else, still staying in dragon form.

A few minutes later, someone who was clearly from the Holy Church appeared. Since there was already another member of the church present, the two quickly found each other and teamed up.

It took a whole ten minutes after that for the next person, who was finally someone Jake recognized. It was his dear little brother, and seeing him, Jake couldn’t help but smile and send over a telepathic message before the Judge could even notice his big brother was in the room.

“Fancy seeing you here at such a fine establishment,” Jake said jokingly, a bit miffed that Caleb didn’t even seem surprised as he looked up towards Jake. He just smiled and quickly flew up and landed on the same chandelier.

“Hey, I was also invited after offering a fine heirloom,” the assassin said. “Though it was an odd item. A handkerchief that looked like it had been made by someone very new to crafting such things.”

“Huh, I offered a coin,” Jake shrugged. “Did you have any issues handling those ghosts seemingly possessing everything?”

“I ignored them for the most part,” Caleb said, shaking his head. “Fortunately, there were many others around to take attention away from me, including the Forest King and Aishalstromoz who were tearing everything apart.”

“So you didn’t even fight anything?” Jake asked in a disappointed voice.

“Just the Bronze Knight of Abundance that was summoned when I took my heirloom,” Caleb answered honestly. “Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t try to avoid fighting that much, but things were highly chaotic with those damn Specters of Abundance everywhere with a True Dragon and Unique Lifeform running wild, seemingly having a dick-measuring contest to see who could kill the most floor tiles turned into monsters.”

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“In their defense, they both do have golden magic,” Jake pointed out. “Did the two fight?”

“Not directly, no. People seem to have avoided fighting one another with all the specters around,” Caleb shook his head. “Not to say people didn’t fight, I just didn’t stumble upon anyone fighting other Administrators, but seeing as I don’t have omnidirectional sight capable of scanning a small country, who knows?”

“Small continent, I’d argue,” Jake smiled, assuming they were going by pre-system standards.

The two of them continued to discuss how they thought this entire Palace of Abundance worked thus far, and one thing they agreed on instantly was that several identical versions of the palace existed. Based on Caleb’s description, the hallways and rooms were the exact same as what Jake had gone through to get to this stage, and seeing as they hadn’t run into each other or had seen any of the same people, there had to be separate versions.

Caleb also said that both the King and Aisha had entered the gate leading to the antechamber before him, and given that they weren’t currently in the room, there were also separate versions of those. These antechamber versions also appeared to have nothing to do with the stage before, as, again, neither of them recognized a single person in the room as having been in the small hallway stage with them.

As they were discussing, more people joined them, including some notable figures. Caleb pointed out a paladin from the Holy Church that had apparently been top 50 on the Nevermore Leaderboards, and a second True Dragon also appeared, one that felt significantly stronger than the first. There were also several powerful monsters, and overall, the strength of those who made it to this stage wasn’t too shabby.

Something that became even clearer as two additional familiar faces appeared within a short time span. Well, Jake only recognized one of them, but Caleb frowned and looked a little concerned when he saw one of them.

“Damn,” Caleb muttered as a human woman appeared. Jake’s eyes were instantly drawn to her scabbard, giving away that she was a swordfighter. She also definitely came from the Dao Sect based on her clothes, something Caleb immediately confirmed. “That’s Xiurong, the daughter of the Swordsoul Daolord.”

“The one mentioned by the Sword Saint?” Jake asked with increased interest. The old man had shared details of his duel with the woman, and since the Sword Saint recognized her as powerful, Jake immediately became interested.

“That’s her,” Caleb nodded. “She’s strong, and we didn’t get to see her full power back then.”

As Jake looked at her, she turned and noticed him, having definitely detected his presence. For a moment, their eyes met before the woman nodded in respect, Jake returning the gesture before she looked away and moved to the side.

“She does give me the vibes of someone powerful,” Jake smiled, hoping that he would get an opportunity to fight her. Okay, sure, he could just pull out his bow now and shoot an arrow, but as a wise professor once said, there’s a time and place for everything, but not now.

People continued arriving, with a few more notable figures here and there, but the woman from the Sword Palace remained the strongest so far. At least she did until the forty-fifth arrival.

“The Dao Sect is really showing up for this antechamber,” Jake commented as a young girl appeared down on ground level, her aura immediately making it clear she was not a figure to be taken lightly.

“First that sword fanatic and now the Chosen of the Heartsoul Daolord,” Caleb muttered, shaking his head. “Could this get any worse?”

Turns out... it could. Not even a minute later, while people were still reacting to the Chosen of a Daolord, a deathly aura appeared in the room, as a familiar Risen had also been brought there. He wielded a sword with an off-putting vibe, and the miasma lingering all over his body made his power evident.

It was Ghost King Azal, another top 10 from the Nevermore Leaderboards, meaning that by now, three of the top ten were in the room together. Azal first noticed the Chosen from the Dao Sect who was not too far away before also turning his head to recognize Jake’s presence.

The antechamber was absolutely packed at that point, and many were starting to look nervous. Thus far, they’d just been forced to wait around with no further explanation, and given that, all they could assume was that whatever came next was likely something all the people present would have to deal with together.

Jake was already starting to feel a little excited as small factions formed all around the antechamber. The True Dragons, despite the Dragonflights not always getting along, had teamed up with a few monsters, nearly a dozen weaker individuals had banded together, people from the Holy Church naturally formed a group, and Azal also had two other Risen he’d moved over to.

Surprisingly, the two individuals from the Dao Sect didn’t move together but kept a good distance between them. Caleb noticed Jake’s look and gave an explanation.

“The Dao Sect may be one faction, but they are extremely competitive internally. Probably because they are so isolated, the only real sense of competition to drive progress comes from the other Palaces, so it’s incredibly normal to see members from the Dao Sect not work together. It’s only when facing external threats towards the Dao Sect as a whole that they truly move together,” the Judge explained.

“If it’s common knowledge, one would think I’d have come across that little fact,” Jake wondered out loud.

“Well, usually, if one does try to attack a member of the Dao Sect, all other palaces would come to assist, even if they don’t particularly get along. However, likely because this is a simulated world, attacking their individual members isn’t seen as an actual attack on the Dao Sect. My guess is that they view every fight to the death more like a friendly spar than actual life and death combat,” Caleb said with a light smile. “Quite different from many other factions who view ‘winning’ this event as more important than the lives of their members. I’m not even sure the Dao Sect cares about the World Wonder.”

“Potentially not,” Jake muttered, knowing that his understanding of the Dao Sect remained limited.

“Or, alternatively, they’re confident that they have a solid shot at victory not through working together, but through the individual power of certain members,” Caleb continued.

“Eastbound Monk,” Jake guessed.

“Would be my foremost guess, but I wouldn’t underestimate that girl down there either,” Caleb said, subtly throwing the Chosen of the Heartsoul Daolord a look. “Or that sword-crazy woman either.”

“They’re strong for sure,” Jake nodded, still vividly remembering the Chosen of the Heartsoul Daolord when they faced the Virtual Mind Devourer. She had a type of power Jake didn’t fully comprehend, which honestly just made him more curious.

For a little while longer, people kept appearing. Jake counted fifty-three in the room, total, including himself, when something finally happened. One of the doors started to shine a golden color, catching everyone’s attention in an instant.

Jake was ready for it to open, but instead, a familiar projection appeared. It was the same one that had been above the altar before entering this room, though this projection seemed far more animated. While the altar one had been a mere recording, this one seemed live.

The projection fully manifested, and once all attention was on it, the cyclops spoke.

“I see. There are quite a few of you, aren’t there?” the projected cyclops said while looking around the room. “While I would like to congratulate you all for making it this far, the situation is a little... unfortunate. Say, would I be able to convince some of you to willingly take your leave now and return to the first room of the palace? I must warn you that not all can go on.”

With those words, a system message popped up in front of them all.

You have been given the choice to leave the Palace of Abundance. Accepting will return you to the Altar of Abundance, after which your only choice will be to exit through the Gate of Abundance and out of the palace.

Accept?

Y/N

Time remaining to choose: 30 seconds

Jake rejected it after barely scanning it, not even needing one of those thirty seconds. It appeared a lot of people did the same, though some accepted the offer. Around fifteen people disappeared, and as the timer reached zero, there were still roughly forty people left in the room.

Sure, the projection had warned them that not everyone could continue, but no set number had been provided either. Many certainly hoped that the majority present could continue, while those at the top needed only a few spots to ensure they would proceed to the throne room.

However, none of them could have predicted what happened next.

The projected cyclops looked at them all with annoyance, his polite demeanor gone, as if their reluctance to leave had slighted him.

“So greedy for a mere audience. Alas. The Abundant Emperor is extremely busy and has limited time to meet with guests, especially those like you. Thus, we cannot be too much of a bother. Luckily for you, you’ve been given an opportunity to meet the lord of the palace. Well, one of you will get this opportunity,” the projection said in an annoyed tone while waving his hand. “So please sort it out amongst yourselves who that will be. I’ll return to fetch the sole survivor. Ta ta!”

With those words, the projection disappeared, and the room fell silent as the tension felt almost palpable.