The Primal Hunter

”Just do know there is an innate power imbalance, and it isn’t that you will gain all his memories or Records. So training with him is best. Out of everyone, no one understands you better than yourself, so take advantage while it lasts. Also, I gotta add, having yourself as your teacher is the epitome of ”fuck it, I’ll do it myself,” and I applaud it.”

”Alright,” Jake nodded and smiled a bit at the last joke. Believing they had enough simulation talk, he moved on. ”So, the Seat of the Exalted.”

”Definitely one of the Great Wonders of the ninety-third universe. Well, not this Seat itself, but what links it all together. The true headquarters of this massive undertaking. Perhaps this Exalted Prima is even a Bound God,” Villy answered rather confidently.

For some context. While in the Order, Jake had bumped into the mention of Great Wonders quite a few times and had wondered – pun intended – what they were all about. It turns out that with the birth of each universe came places created not just for the native universe but the multiverse as a whole. Chances are the Seat or wherever the Seat led to was one such place.

Jake knew of a few other famous Great Wonders. The most famous one was Nevermore, where the Primordial known as the Wyrmgod had ended up effectively taking it over and ruling the dungeon, but others included the White Sun, a massive star and one of the largest celestial bodies in the multiverse, or the Mothership of Null, a giant spaceship of sorts where no magic could exist. There were many others, but some disappeared with time, some only appeared at set times before fading away for a period again, and most importantly, most were not aimed at anyone on Jake’s level but those who had reached far higher. A place like the White Sun would instantly kill even weak gods just by them getting near.

The second thing was Bound Gods. Bound Gods were not living beings with Truesouls but gods born out of objects or places. They would be real in every way but be limited severely and most often served a function of sorts rather than possessing truly free will. Many believed these Bound Gods were merely apparitions of the system like the Guide, but others believed they were creatures born by the system to run certain places or even as protectors of some zones.

Another reason for a Bound God to exist was also simple enough – deterrence. Most Great Wonders in the multiverse were claimed and controlled by factions, but those with Bound Gods were often different. A Bound God would often have total control over what they inhabited, so even if they were weaker than a god, they still had the ultimate defense of merely making the Great Wonder useless by stopping its functions. Destroying a Bound God was also impossible unless one destroyed the Great Wonder, and destroying one tended to be a good way to make a lot of enemies. Some had been destroyed throughout history, but it was incredibly rare as with every time one was lost, it was lost forever and considered a major setback for the multiverse.

Of course, this assumed anyone was strong enough to destroy a Bound God. Some Bound Gods in the multiverse were more powerful than even Primordials.

”I do find it probable it is a Bound God of some sort and that it is a Great Wonder,” Jake answered. ”Having been there, it was clear that it wasn’t just made for this one event; it even existed in the universe itself and not some hidden dimension. Moreover, with its competitive element, I believe the plan is for someone to gain at least some partial control of these Seats, and with that in mind, there would have to be some protections in place, or this whole Administrator Candidate business would be useless.”

”I second that. It is a massive opportunity to get system-sanctioned partial control of any Great Wonder if it truly is one,” Villy agreed.

”So… this is one of the reasons why so many gods want to get involved in new universes, right?” Jake asked, understanding a bit more.

”Right on. This event is only open to you natives, and you have a first-mover advantage. Having just some influence will allow one a better position to negotiate and form alliances or even sell off eventual rights,” Villy said.

”So, you want me to try and claim this Seat of the Exalted in the Milky Way?” Jake asked.