Chapter 712 - Nevermore: A Viper's Assessment

“Were you nervous?” the dragon god in humanoid form asked as he looked at the black-scaled god sitting across from him. “Your Chosen did look to be in trouble quite a few times there. He was lucky his teammates were able to assure their victory.”

Vilastromoz looked at the Wyrmgod, who clearly enjoyed watching the recording. Yes, recording. A live feed was all well and good, but Jake knew when they were watching using that. With a recording, he would only know one person was looking while remaining unaware of all those who saw the recorded footage. It was a great workaround the Viper had noticed and begun taking advantage of a long time ago.

“If he hadn’t won, I would have been disappointed, though I do question if perhaps the difficulty has spiked more than in previous years,” Vilas wondered.

“Hey, I was being totally fair and equal!” the third person chimed in, sounding incredibly offended at the notion that he had upped the difficulty.

It was naturally Minaga, the creator of the floors. Though this version of him was of the divine variety.

“I never said you weren’t fair, just that the difficulty has grown,” the Viper shook his head.

“Maybe a bit,” Minaga admitted. “And, alright, you do have a point that not all challenges are equal, but I have to hold myself back too much that total equality is impossible, and slight variations can happen, you know? Or are you telling me to never have fun and do stuff like my little duel with the swordsman?”

The Viper looked at the Wyrmgod. “Have I complained about anything? Have I proposed any changes?”

“No,” his fellow Primordial shook his head. “You just made an observation.”

Minaga looked a bit between them. “Damn, you old guys teaming up against the poor unpaid dungeon engineer.”

“Do you wish to be employed?” the Wyrmgod asked with a raised eyebrow. “That could be arranged, with a proper contract in pla-“

“Figure of speech, figure of speech,” Minaga waved him off. “But hey, your Chosen is fun, if extremely infuriating. Though I guess you already know the suffering. That guy is just kind of crazy with that Bloodline of his.”

The Viper just smiled as he looked at the Unique Lifeform, not bothering to comment on how Minaga was the crazy one. Because in the eyes of many, himself included, Minaga was one of the craziest existences in the multiverse.

Minaga was a mistake born in the middle parts of the third era. At least Vilastromoz firmly believed he was a mistake, and the system seemed to agree based on no creature like him ever appearing again. Furthermore, the fact that the system had so uniquely limited the abilities of the Unique Lifeform meant that the sheer level of power from that one Unique skill was roughly estimated to be equal or superior to every single skill Minaga would have earned from when he was born in C-grade all the way to godhood. The only skills Minaga ever got were certain “earned” skills that were pretty much required, such as some related to godhood. However, he even lacked many basic skills and had things he couldn’t do, including giving Blessings.

However, he was still a Unique Lifeform. Just due to his sheer stats, he was able to overwhelm most foes at equal levels from birth, and even from birth, he could create clones of himself. About a dozen from what Vilastromoz estimated, with the number steadily growing as Minaga grew. By now, being a powerful god, the Viper had no idea how many clones he could have in total. However, if one included just the divine-level clones, he estimated it to be in the thousands.

And… this led to why the Malefic Viper believed Minaga was a mistake. The entire concept behind his existence was too much.

Vilastromoz had told Jake that Aeon was perhaps the hardest god in the multiverse to kill, and he still stood by that… but if he had to say who was the hardest to get rid of permanently, he would say Minaga. Minaga himself was strong, yes, but he was not a pinnacle god. At least Vilastromoz didn’t think so, but it was hard to know how powerful the highest-leveled clone was.

No, the problem was that in order to kill Minaga for good, you had to kill every single clone. There was the benefit that if you killed the currently highest-leveled clone, then Minaga would have to level up to that stage again, but that was in no way a permanent way to get rid of him.

Killing people with cloning abilities or avatar-creation wasn’t a new thing, and Vilastromoz had many tools to do so. Eversmile was an example of someone who rarely cared if people had hidden ways to try and survive, even if they killed their main bodies. He could track down any failsafe, any contingencies, and any avatars left behind. But for Minaga, that wasn’t an option.

Back when Minaga had just entered B-grade with his highest-leveled clone, he managed to piss off a god and, through that god, an entire pantheon. A late-tier B-grade ended up killing the Minaga clone, and they thought that was that… until a week later when a new clone appeared and wreaked havoc until it, too, was killed. A few days later, another clone appeared on a nearby planet and attacked the faction again. This kept happening with at least one attack every month. A few times, the Minaga clone did come to talk about maybe making peace, but every time he was killed. What exactly the faction believed they would accomplish, not even Vilastromoz in his infinite wisdom knew, but they clearly failed as the “war” continued.

Spanning four galaxies. Nineteen thousand years. More than a million Minaga’s killed. Three gods hunting down Minaga for over ten thousand of these years, with their biggest accomplishment being a thousand years of peace after they believed they had killed off the final clone… only for a new Minaga to appear, stronger than ever before.

In the end, the gods had capitulated to a mere A-grade mortal and made peace with their heads bowed. An absolutely ludicrous scenario that had only happened due to the stupidest of reasons. The entire conflict had been due to someone telling Minaga he should bow in the presence of a superior, something the Unique Lifeform had not liked, and told the other guy to stick his staff up his behind. They had attacked due to this comment, and… well, the rest was history.

This was also the first time Vilastromoz had heard of Minaga’s existence, as this story sent the rumor machine of the multiverse into overdrive. Many factions approached MInaga, curious gods investigated him, and quite a few even tried to kill him just to see if they could. Vilastromoz had honestly expected Eversmile to try, but the god hadn’t and even warned others to perhaps reconsider.

Vilastromoz understood why this warning was given, as after Minaga became a god, he went on quite a revenge spree. He became a menace that ravaged dozens of pantheons for half an era. This was also when he was given quite an interesting moniker: The All-God Legion.

Legion was… fitting. For Minaga was a faction by himself. Fighting a single god was already a nightmare, but they were ultimately limited by only being a single individual, even if they could make armies of avatars and whatnot. The reason why the Automata and True Royals were so feared was due to the armies they could spawn and mobilize.

Minaga was that but as one single creature. Many gods could kill a Minaga… but no god could destroy Minaga. No faction dared make him an enemy, as Minaga had never once in history lost a single conflict. He would be a relentless force of destruction that would bear down on you infinitely, impossible to ever get rid of. Not that many worked with him, as he was also known to be an actively infuriating character and refusing to ever do what others told him. Most thus chose to merely ignore his existence entirely, never antagonizing but not ever really interacting with him either.

The only hope the Viper could have seen to ever kill Minaga permanently was making sure he never made it to godhood. As he made clones, it meant that the age of the Truesoul was equal in all clones, so age would have still been his end if he failed to ascend. Now that he was a god, truly killing him wasn’t something the Viper saw happening. Especially not after he teamed up with the Wyrmgod and picked up dungeon engineering.

Because the Unique Lifeform had one… side-effect of his ability. One that was utterly ridiculous from the Viper’s point of view. One of the biggest reasons he firmly believed Minaga was a mistake, even in the eyes of the multiverse. Because his unique cloning skill had led to a “bug” in the system of sorts.

There could only ever be one unique Truesoul of a creature present in the multiverse at once, which meant that one could never bring multiple copies or prior versions of an individual out of a dungeon. However, at the same time, then having a prior version of yourself in a dungeon also didn’t have any effects on you.

This turned out to have some seemingly unexpected effects when it came to Minaga. The way Minaga made clones was a bit similar to the energy Hive Queens used to create spawn or perhaps even what Jake expended to bring out Primeval Origins. That is to say, he spent a form of energy separate from anything else but still had a limited pool.

Here is where the issue arose:

Minagas in dungeons don’t count towards his maximum number of clones, as they don’t affect the other clones.

Minagas in dungeons can leave and remain unique, as their Truesouls are different.

Minaga is aware of all his clones in dungeons, and they are aware of every other Minaga.

If Minaga is already at his clone cap, the clone will die upon exiting a dungeon, but if not, it can simply exist from there as normal.

All of this is to say that Minaga had potentially billions of clones hidden in dungeons throughout the multiverse. No, it was certain he had that many just based on Nevermore. Clones hidden in separate dimensions that no one could ever access.

These things combined were why the Malefic Viper felt certain that Minaga was the most difficult being to kill off for good in the entire multiverse. Not for lack of trying either, as Minaga’s personality had made him quite an infamous figure. However, there was one being who had managed to forge a mutually beneficial relationship with this unique Unique Lifeform.

“His Bloodline is indeed exemplary,” the Wyrmgod said in a relaxed tone. “I have considered potential methods of limiting the scope of his powers within a given floor, but I find most solutions will have other unintended consequences. Seeing as his skills are mostly based on intuition, there truly are no simple solutions. I would not find myself surprised even if a procedurally generated floor was susceptible to his powers.”

“Exactly! It’s like trying to address a fundamental bug in a system by introducing more advanced systems to work around it, rather than just removing the bug… or ignoring it, I guess,” Minaga said, sounding offended by Jake’s mere existence.

“Ignoring it is the solution indeed,” the Wyrmgod nodded as he seemed to switch his mental attention elsewhere for a second.

“So, Vilas, gotta ask, why the deceit about his Bloodline?” Minaga asked the Viper curiously. “That whole aura-resistance thing is a good lie and all, but we both know that the Bloodline is so all-encompassing it can’t be hidden forever and… well, why hide a good thing?”

Vilastromoz smiled a bit to himself, fully aware that even if Minaga and the Wyrmgod had a lot more insight into Jake’s Bloodline than nearly anyone else, they still only knew a bit of it. From what he had gathered, they were still unsure if the Primeval Origins aspects came from the Bloodline or if the Bloodline was just a catalyst allowing him to use some special item.

This wasn’t even getting into the potential effects the Bloodline had on his own evolutions, resulting in him being a higher form of human, nor the most shocking part of it: the fact it included a percentage amplifier to a stat. One that was even growing with every evolution. Even Jake didn’t understand why that portion mattered as much as it did, and luckily it was something no one could easily find out unless his dear Chosen spilled the beans himself.

“Minaga, do you remember the many factions who came to you in the early days when they learned of your ability? The many pantheons who wanted you to join the moment you became a god?” the Viper answered Minaga with a question.

“Well, yeah, they were pretty annoying, but Jake is already part of your social club, so I can’t see that being a problem,” Minaga shrugged.

“True, they may not try to recruit him outright… but that doesn’t mean they can’t become major pains in the ass,” Vilastromoz shook his head.

Minaga still looked like he didn’t get it as the Wyrmgod zoned into the conversation again and sighed. “They seek his Bloodline in the way it can be obtained without having him join them directly: through the act of procreation. Suppose they succeed in getting him sufficiently attached to a member of their faction. In that case, there is also a chance they might eventually recruit him, in which case it would be him voluntarily going over to their side..”

“How is that a pain in the ass?” Minaga questioned further. “Don’t humans like to procreate? Heck, most enlightened races seem to love it based on how they multiply so much, especially those who manage to get even relatively powerful. Based on his meetings with the Runemaiden, it didn’t look like he wasn’t a fan either.”

“It is not that simple and not something that should ever be done without plenty of forethought, especially not when you have a Bloodline like Jake’s,” the Viper shook his head as he looked at Minaga. “I could try to explain to you the nuances, but I fear they may be lost on a Unique Lifeform that, by definition, will be forever alone. No matter how many clones they can make.”

“Low blow,” Minaga grumbled. “But, fine. I guess you know him better than I do…”

“I would sure hope so,” the Viper smiled.

“So… you taking bets on how long it will take for him to create a Soulflame using the Cradle?” Minaga asked in a cheerful voice, changing the topic.

“I am not doing any bets with you after the bullshit you pulled last time,” the Viper refused.

“That was eighty-seven eras ago; you can’t still hold a grudge!” Minaga complained. “Also, that bet wasn’t with me but with another Minaga, so it isn’t fair to hold me accountable.”

VIlastromoz glared at the Unique Lifeform. “That is the exact excuse you used to not pay up last time.”

“Well…. It was also true then?”

The worst part was, due to how Minaga worked, there wasn’t even any karmic debt to reap or take advantage of, as Minaga had gotten rid of the clone in question the Viper made the initial bet with.

“What if you make a bet with my highest-leveled clone?” Minaga asked with a smile as he pointed a thumb to his own chest. “In other words, me!”

“That isn’t your highest-leveled clone,” the Viper shook his head.

The Wyrmgod raised an eyebrow as Minaga looked defensive. “It totally is!”

“No, it isn’t,” the Viper insisted.

“It is!” the Minaga clone said as he flared his aura. True, it was far beyond the norm, surpassing Godkings by a wide margin, though not quite matching Snappy’s, but…

“Odd, because Oras mention-“

“Anyway, Jake sure is overpowered, huh,” Minaga cut him off with a smile as the Viper just shook his head. The Wyrmgod also seemed unbothered, knowing that arguing with the Unique Lifeform was an utter waste of time. The Viper did have to consider recent developments, though, some of which were out of his expectations. Primarily what exactly Minaga would do from here on out.

It was clear Minaga had taken an interest in Jake. More of an interest in him than Vilastromoz had expected, at least. He had even gone as far as to plant a clone of his with the swordsman in a covert way. If such developments were a good or a bad thing…

Well, only time would tell. With Minaga, it could truly go either way.