Chapter 711 - Nevermore: Cradle

Soulflames were something Jake had pushed to the back of his mind ever since he first learned about them. Primarily because in learning about them, he learned how screwed he was if Jake wanted a Soulflame that fit him, and since replacing one was incredibly difficult, he had just resigned himself to do without for the foreseeable future.

He was aware that having a Soulflame that fit you was strictly better than not having any. However, having a Soulflame not suited for your Path was worse than none at all. The issue with Jake was his arcane affinity. Soulflames were created from freak accidents where mana of a certain affinity gathered in an area and an elemental was about to be born, but for some reason, this process failed and mutated, resulting in a half-born elemental only retaining a bit of spirituality, effectively making a Soulflame a half-elemental, half-natural treasure.

This meant Jake’s only option if he wanted a Soulflame was to artificially create an environment for one to be born… or wait till he got strong enough to influence huge areas passively with his mere presence and Records, resulting in his arcane affinity appearing naturally throughout the multiverse, thus turning it into a true affinity. Even then, the circumstances in which Jake’s affinity would appear were probably few and far between, so Jake had just assumed he was fucked if he wanted to get lucky and just ever find a Soulflame.

So for Minaga to offer him a treasure related to Soulflames… Jake truly had no idea what to think as he read the description of the item.

[Cradle of Soul’s Kindling (Mythical)] – The Cradle in which a flame may be kindled as it awakens its own spirituality. Nascent Soulflames of hundreds of affinities burn within the internal space of the Cradle, experiencing a cycle of life and death as they struggle and absorb one another while growing in power. Waiting for one of them to ascend to the world outside. Only a single Soulflame can truly be born from the Cradle, the item getting destroyed upon extraction as all others become fuel for the chosen one. The Cradle can be infused with energies to sustain and influence the internal world. The internal world of the Cradle cannot be entered by any being with a Truesoul, and any Truesouls born within will immediately find themselves destroyed, their energies only nurturing the Cradle further.
Requirements: Soulbound.

“This is…” Jake muttered as he looked at the odd urn that he guessed was made out of some ceramic material, though it was far from fragile, as Jake doubted anyone present, including the peak C-grade Minaga, could even leave a mark on it. Minaga held it out as Jake tentatively accepted it, not exactly sure what he was dealing with even after reading the description. Not because he didn’t understand, but because it just felt too… good? Convenient? Jake wasn’t sure.

“I noticed you didn’t have a Soulflame, which is honestly pretty odd considering you are the C-grade Chosen of the Malefic Viper. At least, I thought so at first. The problem with people like you who are so heavily reliant on the one affinity that cannot be found in the wild is that no Soulflames can be found either. At least not before you get a lot stronger and create a special environment to nurture one… or cheat using an item like the Cradle,” Minaga explained in a judgemental tone, the explanation more for the other four than Jake himself.

“Will I be able to create a Soulflame related to my arcane affinity using this?” Jake questioned. “From what I was told, it usually takes a very long time for one to form…”

“Of course you can form one; that is why I gave it to you. Duh,” Minaga said, sounding almost offended. “After you bind the Cradle, just send in a lot of mana and keep feeding it once in a while to influence the environment within. You are ultimately still relying on pure chance that a Soulflame with your arcane affinity is born and then manages to rise toward the top, but the more time passes, the more attuned the Cradle should become to you. It isn’t a quick and easy guarantee, but it is borderline the best solution you will ever find for a C-grade, and that Cradle is worth more than you can imagine. Not gonna lie, the other stuff I gave out is good, but the Cradle is probably the most valuable if we go by pure resale value, as it is rather unique. Way more unique than the actual unique Soulcore I gave my fellow Unique Lifeform, though I did make up for that by actively empowering that core.”

“Huh,” Jake nodded as he inspected the Cradle. He knew that getting a Soulflame couldn’t be that easy, and it seemed he was right, as even the Cradle had a strong element of luck if he wanted to create an arcane Soulflame. However, it would undoubtedly save him a shitload of time. As Minaga mentioned, then he would have had to set up a special environment to nurture one, which Jake did plan on doing at some point, but this Cradle made that unnecessary.

“Ah, also to add, since you can only ever extract one Soulflame from the Cradle, only go for one with good quality, alright? It would be a damn waste if you decided to take out an elementary or even a low-tier Soulflame,” Minaga said in an almost scolding tone.

Jake nodded along to the words. “Yeah, definitely not gonna accept anything below a pinnacle-tier Soulflame.”

Soulflames had the qualities of elementary, low-tier, mid-tier, high-tier, pinnacle-tier, and Supreme Soulflames. Elementary were ones that barely passed as Soulflames but actually did have the good thing about them that they were prime for growth, while Supreme Soulflames was the best that one could get bar-none. The reason why Jake wanted at least a pinnacle-tier one was due to the relative ease of raising a pinnacle Soulflame to a Supreme Soulflame. Relative doing a lot of heavy lifting in this case, as it was still bloody hard while raising a Soulflame of an even lower tier would be borderline impossible and more akin to gambling than anything else.

Getting a good Soulflame right off the bat was incredibly important due to their semi-permanent status. A Soulflame Jake got in C-grade would stick with him for the rest of his life and grow with him forever, so if he got a bad one, he would have to either accept mediocrity or spend way more resources than anyone would find reasonable to upgrade the one he had. In either case, Jake sure as hell wasn’t ever going to fuse with a low-level Soulflame. He was way too much of a spoiled Chosen for that.

Naturally, Soulflames were still more complicated than simply being split into these qualities, but it was a good estimate. The way one decided what quality a Soulflame had was also relatively simple as it was just a question of Records, and Jake knew that one could easily distinguish good and bad Soulflames just using Identity. At least you could become able to. Jake didn’t know if he currently could, but maybe with Sagacity…

“Hey… is he totally spacing out right now, or is it just me?” Jake vaguely heard Minaga whisper to the Sword Saint as he threw glances at Jake.

“He is simply stunned by your generosity,” the old man smiled.

Minaga nodded. “That makes total sense. I am stunningly generous.”

“Sorry for actually thinking about my reward so in-depth,” Jake said, faking offense.

“Oh, sorry, just not used to seeing you think, I guess,” Minaga shrugged. “Glad to see you unlocked that ability.”

“I do wonder about something,” Jake began as he did that thinking thing again while completely changing the topic. “Why did you have a cooldown period after each of your combination spell casts? Is it some kind of special application of magic to make it stronger, or do you overload your body or something? I found it odd, especially considering it was the same amount of time every time. Well, there is also one more option why the cooldown was there, but…”

“Last one is correct,” Minaga grinned.

“Seriously?” Jake sighed. “Well, fuck me.”

“You would have been utterly fucked indeed,” Minaga said cheerily. “And it was honestly kind of hard to get that five-second timing down every time!”

That’s right… that entire cooldown period was entirely self-imposed.

Jake could already imagine it. A Minaga repeatedly using combination magic spells without any pause in between, potentially even using more than one at once, would be completely impossible for their party – if not any party. Considering he had a self-imposed cooldown, it was entirely feasible he also slowed down the casting speed, and Minaga likely completely avoided his most potent spells altogether.

It only made sense, considering he was a god. If Minaga was not doing free-casting but had used actual skills, Jake guessed many, if not all, of the combination spells would have been at least ancient or legendary rarity, with the strongest ones approaching mythical. That he would also have actual mythical skill-level magic and even beyond was only to be expected.

“Ultimately, one of the reasons the system doesn’t allow anyone to die on this floor is because of the inherent unfairness of the challenge and not just the expected difficulty. If I decided that I didn’t like someone and went all-out to kill them, or I was bribed by some faction to kill other young talents, then things could get bad real fast. The system put in a preemptive measure to avoid that ever happening,” Minaga explained.

Jake slowly nodded. He – and likely most of the others – had already guessed this was the reason for the special rule of no deaths.

“Ah, but I did actually kind of screw up once during the fight,” Minaga said, scratching the back of his head. “That last death explosion was a bit over the top and not really a part of the script… I just thought you also cheated, using that weird poison thing on me. That was totally cheating, by the way.”

“Wow,” Jake said. “I am shaken. Shaken, I tell you! How dare you accuse me of cheating when I am the beacon of honesty and fairness in all of my endeavors!”

“I felt the presence of the Malefic Viper from your damn mouth!” Minaga shot back.

“Done through entirely legitimate and normal means!”

“Based on your track record, cheating is normal to you,” Minaga refused to back down.

“Oh, wow, great argument.”

“Nothing about me cheating by using my Transcendence?” the Sword Saint raised a hand as he cut in.

“No, that one is okay and not cheating. Maybe if you had fully used it, I would have maybe called you a cheater, but as things are, only this guy with his stupid Bloodline is the cheater,” the Unique Lifeform said resolutely.

“You know,” Jake said. “I never thought you would be a sore loser.”

“We literally just discussed how I, the great Minaga, held myself back to not accidentally squash you into paste, with the system even recognizing I am too awesome to be allowed to kill you,” MInaga said with a deadpan face.

“Excuses, excuses,” Jake waved him off.

Minaga glared at Jake but didn’t say anything more as the Dryad in the room also spoke.

“Excuse me… but did you retrieve this reward yourself, or was it generated by the system?” Dina asked as she looked down at her box with the Branch from this Emerald Forest.

“Great question,” Minaga perked up again. “I got everything myself. Well, one of me did. For Nevermore, the system only helps that much as it is ultimately a created and not a natural dungeon, so…”

Casual conversation continued as Minaga stayed and chatted with them for a while, sharing tales of how he had obtained many rewards that he had either already given out or was still saving.

However, in the end, the Unique Lifeform couldn’t stay forever. They had completed Minaga’s Labyrinth, after all, and he was just there to give out loot. All good things had to come to an end, and Minaga appeared kind of sad as he looked at them with melancholy.

“Anyway… ladies and gentlemen, I want you to know that despite our differences when it comes to the definition of cheating, it has been a pleasure having you experience my labyrinth. You are all pretty damn good seeds and have bright futures ahead of you, no matter how infuriating you may be. Either way, I hope you all have a wonderful descent going forward. Who knows, we might even meet again. If not in Nevermore, then the vast world beyond,” Minaga smiled as he stood up and bowed as he threw them all a final snicker. “There are quite a few of me out there, after all.”

With those words, Minaga disappeared in a final flash of light, forever the showman.

---

Casper hid away and prepared as the two pinnacle beings fought each other, the ground below them utterly torn up from their constant exchange of attacks. Azal, the Ghost King, fought the third-phase Minaga in a nearly equal duel, though he was slowly losing out. Luckily, Maltrax, the beastkin Risen, was also there to provide support by occasionally striking from odd angles and making sure Minaga could not launch any major attacks.

Azal was truly a monster, moving with incredible speed as his large ghostly blade cut through the darkness of space in an eerie pattern as he clashed with Minaga. The blight energy burned on his body, making him look like an avatar of the Blightfather himself, allowing him to even push back Minaga and land blows. He had needed to consume many spirits to reach that state, but it was worth it as long as they won.

The lank abomination and the banshee woman had both been thrown out due to taking lethal damage, leaving only three people left to fight in the final phase. The banshee during the phase where they split up, and the abomination during this third phase to one of Minaga’s major spells after the rest of them had been thrown into mini-labyrinth cubes. Seeing as the banshee had functioned partly as their healer, it wasn’t overly surprising she had been unable to hold on, but the abomination had been a surprise as he had effectively been their tank.

During the phase where they had been split up, it had been pretty difficult for him, too, forcing Casper to use his Blightform and spend the entire time trying not to die. He went through all of his pre-prepared traps to slow down the Minaga clone long enough for Azal to arrive, and together they quickly finished off the clone, as Casper’s traps did manage to do some damage. Azal had wanted to help the banshee first but was too late. Maltrax handled her phase herself, making it clear she was the second strongest.

Fighting continued between Azal and Minaga as Casper did all he could to not allow the Minaga to catch him out, as he knew he was the weakest, and Casper did have to admit that the beams from the stars above were quite hard to dodge. It was only due to his link with Lyra he even stood a chance, as he was effectively two beings in one.

One had to remember that Lyra was not a normal Blightwraith but one created personally by the Blightfather himself. She was linked to Casper in a bond that made her something akin to a Guardian, yet her own being. Casper had no idea how it all worked… and frankly, he didn’t care.

“Are you ready?” Casper asked Lyra as Minaga unleashed a major spell, making the stars above shimmer as light descended upon Azal, forcing him to pull out a massive shield resembling a skull.

“Let’s show him!” Lyra’s cheerful voice echoed in his mind.

Casper smiled as his weapon was ready, and Lyra had completed her own preparations. Lifting the large wooden stake that resembled a spear, Casper prepared to throw it as his Blightform began to fade. The ghostly flames that embraced his body moved from him onto the wooden stake as Lyra embedded parts of herself into the weapon, amplifying it further.

Without hesitation, Casper threw. Dark runes of pure curse energy pulsed across the stake as it flew through the air, the greenish blight energy invading it mid-flight, making the cursed runes all glow in an eerie light.

“Heh, you really think I didn’t know you were charging up a big one!?” Minaga yelled as he turned, ready to block the stake.

Right as he did, Maltrax let out a ghastly howl as a massive projection appeared above her, depicting a white and black wolf howling towards the sky. For a brief moment, a rotting moon appeared, and the entire world seemed to be still. Minaga couldn’t move for that brief moment as the wooden stake flew straight by his staves and pierced into his chest just as he could move again.

Before he could do anything more, Azal’s sword slammed into the stake embedding it further as the blight energy and curse energy burst forth, igniting the Unique Lifeform’s entire being. Cursed runes spread all over his form as Azal took advantage of the curse’s restraining effect. Maltrax also soon joined in on the assault, and not long after, Casper saw Minaga stumble back as all magic on him faded, and his aura of life disappeared.

Casper stopped pushing the power of the curse from his hidden position as he sighed, utterly spent, and Lyra not responding as she had passed out from overexertion. Yet he felt like there could have been more to the fight…

“We missed some secret final hidden phase, didn’t we?” Casper questioned as he saw the boss fading away.

“You did,” Minaga’s fading form said. “Wait, now it isn’t a secret hidden phase any mo-“

He disappeared midway through the words as Casper and the others got the kill notification. A moment later, they were teleported to the in-between room, where they reunited with the two party members who had taken lethal blows.

Not long after, they got their notifications from completing the fight, and even if Casper knew it was damn good, he saw Azal look slightly disappointed.

Fortieth floor completed. 400 Nevermore Points earned.

Grand Achievement earned: Complete the True Ending event by defeating a fully empowered Minaga. 7500 Nevermore Points earned. Due to completing a Grand Achievement, you will receive a 15% multiplier of all Nevermore Points at the final calculation.

His disappointment was helped by Minaga appearing and handing out loot soon after, with Azal getting a mythical rarity natural treasure, while the rest of them got extremely high-quality legendary rewards.

As Casper was admiring his own loot – and mentally getting over the grand revelation that Minaga was actually a god - he couldn’t help but wonder why he had never heard of Minaga before… if he was a god, it just felt weird his name wasn’t more well-known.

Or… well, Casper could see him being a bit “much,” so… maybe people just didn’t like to talk about him?