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“That is a meditation bed,” Jake said stoically. “Also, it is super old and comes from a dungeon, and I didn’t wanna risk breaking it. Sentimental value and all that.”

“As long as you don’t feel the same about the table,” Carmen joked about the broken pieces of wood in the lodge as she sat up. “Should we get going? Also… aren’t the others going to start asking questions?”

Jake looked to the side and saw a part of the valley pretty damn banged up from their earlier spar, including quite a few craters. “Nah, I think they will just assume we only sparred. Does it matter either way?”

Carmen thought for a moment. “I guess not, but I would prefer for no stupid rumors to spread.”

“Oh, I already got those rumors related to Miranda and me,” Jake shrugged.

“Really?” Carmen asked, a bit surprised. “So have you-“

“Nah. Professional boundaries and all. Don’t wanna make things awkward with someone who effectively works for me,” Jake shrugged.

“Don’t wanna shit where you eat, huh?” Carmen nodded. “Though, as a Chosen, isn’t everyone below you in the hierarchy? And does your Patron give a fuck about professional boundaries?”

A vivid image of Villy with three witches flashed in his mind as he shook his head. “Oh, the Viper sure doesn’t, but that doesn’t mean I don’t. As for everyone being above me as Chosen, well, if I don’t think someone is below me and they don’t think I am above them, then who the fuck is to decide?”

“Truly masterfully argued,” Carmen smirked. “Now, let’s go to that office and get this entire World Congress bullshit done with.”

“Fine,” Jake agreed and stretched as he walked towards the main office. The others were already waiting there, and not long after, it was time. The invitations were sent out, and Jake agreed as his vision went black and he entered the Third World Congress.

The World Congress chamber hit Jake like a bag of bricks filled with nostalgia when he entered. His sphere spread out, and he could only sigh internally. Figures appeared all around him, but some people who had been at every other Congress were notably missing.

Sanctdomo and the Risen city that Jake didn’t remember the name of were both gone from the top ten. Jacob and Casper were nowhere to be seen as it really got hammered home; they were both gone from Earth for good.

Another notable figure that was nowhere to be seen was Eron. Jake had kind of hoped to see him there, but his absence also confirmed for good that he had left Earth with likely no desire to return. His reason for leaving was still a mystery, and Jake wondered if he knew about Ell’Hakan coming or if it was totally unrelated. Either way, he was gone.

He did at least see some familiar figures he hadn’t heard much about in the last month. Two people in particular. The first one was Maria, the fire archer who had been with Bertram and his party as a mercenary and had helped in the fight with the Monarch of Blood. She looked to be with an entirely different crew, and from what Jake could guess, she had split entirely from the Church.

The second person was someone Jake himself had told to be there but was still surprised to actually see. William stood on a platform way at the back of the room and looked unassuming as hell. His presence was oddly muted, and even if he had just appeared, Jake saw his eyes wide open as he looked deep in thought. He didn’t get the feeling William would make any trouble, as he had far too many internal issues to deal with. At least he hadn’t found his Path yet, judging by his level still being 199. In fact, scanning the room, no one at C-grade was present. A few were at level 199 here and there, but no one had evolved. What stumped them, he didn’t know, but he guessed it was either natural barriers caused by Records or an issue with quests.

Standing there and scanning everything, it felt oddly hollow. So little mystery remained of who those unknown City Leaders were. All intrigue about hidden experts on the planet was killed. Besides a few odd rumors about standout individuals who didn’t bother with politics, there really was nothing. His only hope was in the unexplored parts of the planet and what monsters may hide there.

Jake had appeared on the platform together with the usual suspects. He, Miranda, Lillian, and Neil attended from Haven just like all the other times, but all the others who had been in Haven appeared on their respective platforms. From what Jake gathered, the Sword Saint had given up control of his Pylon when he pretended to die to better sell the ruse but had now gone and reclaimed it without any opposition. Carmen and Arthur had also appeared at their original Pylon locations despite being in Haven.

He was still looking around as the welcome message appeared.

Welcome to the Third World Congress of Earth.Two World Congresses have passed, and it is time for the final scheduled one.

The World Congress is an opportunity for the newly integrated denizens of Earth to establish political connections and an arena for discussion, voting, and international politics that can impact the planet as a whole. Note that no fighting will be allowed during the World Congress. Each booth has an aura that will offer privacy to each city.

During the Third World Congress, two votes will be held with a maximum length of five (5) hours per vote. After one vote finishes, the other will immediately begin. During this World Congress, a World Leader must be elected, and if none has managed to accumulate 60% of the total votes, the candidates shall be cut down and options limited until the World Leader is elected.

The first vote will pertain to the election of a World Leader. The World Leader will automatically have their noble rank advance one stage and must be elected during this World Congress. The Second Vote pertains to the final trial of the enlightened races on Earth.

The first vote will automatically begin in thirty (30) minutes.

Jake read it over and saw only minor changes from the last time. More freedom with voting periods, an inclusion that the World Leader must be elected, and finally, information about the vote for a final trial of some kind?

Everyone read it, and Jake also double-checked that the voting rules had not changed since last year.

Voting rules of the World Congress:

The number of available votes is based on the nobility rank of the attending members. The number of votes per nobility rank is as follows:

King: 1000

Prince: 250

Duke: 100

Marquiss: 25

Earl: 10

Viscount: 5

Baron: 3

Lord: 1

The noble in question may distribute their votes as they choose if there are multiple options. The noble may abstain from voting. Votes are final and cannot be appealed. Any agreements will come into effect until the next World Congress or if all included parties choose to revoke it. All tie-breakers will be decided by the highest-ranking noble present at the World Congress.

It was the exact same as last year, indeed. Jake still questioned how and why prince was a thing considering the prince was usually the son of the King, but hey, who was he to question the omnipotent system?

Jake also knew that he would advance to marquiss after this vote. It was still a bit odd that he, as the World Leader, would still be three entire nobility ranks below the Fallen King, but there wasn’t really anything he could do about it. Unique Lifeforms were pretty bullshit like that.

Also, no, the King could not give others nobility ranks. The nobility title of the King was a bit of a weird case in more than one way. Monsters could not have nobility ranks, but despite that, the King had one, which also did make it kind of funny when the system talked to everyone within the Congress like they were among the enlightened races.

After Jake had read through everything, including the usual prompt to vote for World Leader, he turned his attention back to all those in the chamber. He felt many gazes upon him and knew what he had to do. Miranda had told him many times, and sometimes he still had to do a bit of politics. With a mental command, Jake made his mask invisible and clapped his hands together to get everyone’s attention.

”So here we are again at the third World Congress, but we all know this one is quite a bit different than the first two. With how things have gone in recent times, how couldn’t it be?” Jake spoke, the speech only semi-practiced. He was mostly just winging it. Seemed more genuine that way.

”Enemies were invited onto our planet due to naivety, ignorance, stupidity, and deceit. Millions died due to the decisions of a few, and countless more now find themselves struggling from the aftermath. As I am sure you can all see, the Risen are gone. I knew many of you didn’t like them, but out of everyone, they were one of the most peaceful factions. At the same time, the Holy Church has also chosen to leave. Why, you might ask? Because they realized their goal of world domination was not feasible, and they were the kinds of people who either want everything or nothing,” Jake continued, seeing a few frowns here and there. Probably the idiots who still believed in the Church.

”Another question you might have is who this invader was. I am aware most of you have no idea, so let me clarify. His name is Ell’Hakan, an alien who has already dominated his home planet and is the Chosen of Yip of Yore, an incredibly powerful god that even the Pantheon of the Holy Church is wary of. His reason for coming here quite honestly had nothing to do with any of you. He never cared about Earth. He came for me.”

A bit of chatter was heard here and there, but Jake raised a hand.

”I know, I know. Rumor has no doubt gone around that I am the Chosen of the Malefic Viper, an even more feared god than Yip of Yore and one with quite the, let’s just say, reputation. I do realize it is somewhat my own fault for not really bothering with letting more be known about myself that you all think I am some evil bastard, but I hope that you have come to realize I have no desire to lead Earth down a bad Path. I just want the planet to survive and be defended, nothing more. That is also what most of you want: for Earth to remain independent, but you must also realize that simply isn’t possible. Without backing, we are like a poor country with pointy sticks trying to defend ourselves from global superpowers. And not just any small, impoverished country, but one with a shitload of oil that everyone wants.”

Even more chatter, only a handful of people with some muted chuckling. All of them were people Jake knew, sadly. The joke did not land.

”What I am saying is that Earth would be fucked without someone big and scary to intimidate multiversal forces. Arthur, the former leader of the newly dissolved United Cities Alliance, tried to have Valhal be this big scary force, but needless to say, his plans fell apart and were built on a foundation of lies and naivety. However, through talks with Arthur, I came to realize that we do want the same thing, so I am proposing that we use my backing as the deterrent. That we use my identity as the Chosen of the Malefic Viper as a shield. Again, I know a lot of you are probably skeptical of this idea, but the Order will have no influence on the planet,” Jake explained.

There were still a lot of skeptics in the hall, but Jake continued nevertheless.

”Instead, Earth will be led by a council of five, me not included. I have no interest in actually leading anything. Thus, everything will be up to their discretion, with me only getting involved in matters I care about or find important. The same way as I have led Haven thus far. And before anyone asks, let me just address the question of why I then don’t just make someone else the World Leader and sit on the council. The easy answer to that one: because I don’t want to. Because if there is one thing I want less than to become World Leader, it is for someone else to become World Leader,” Jake grinned. ”Anyway, that was my big speech. I will now take questions.”

”How will you-”

”What are-”

”If you-”

People instantly began yelling, and Jake raised a hand to silence them again. ”That was a damn joke; I am not actually answering any questions. If you want to know more, ask the people on the council. After the vote.”

”Are we not even gonna dignify a discussion of alternatives? Not even going to act like this is the democratic election it is?” someone with a particularly loud voice yelled. Jake did not recognize them at all and just shrugged.

”Not really, no. Not gonna lie; you people are way out of your depths by even being here. Didn’t you hear what I said? Gods decided to fight over our planet. Beings who can blow it up with a wave of their hand. Does anyone here really think they can do shit to defend Earth? The answer is no. This is not a democratic election either, and I bet you that after this vote, we will come to learn that there are more violent ways of attaining the title of World Leader. I hope that anyone open to being voted for is also fine with having a constant mark on them. People who are not just from Earth will come after you. That is another reason I think I am the best candidate. I welcome my would-be-assassins,” Jake answered confidently.

His response seemed to shut down the guy as Arthur spoke up. Just as planned.

”What Lord Thayne is saying is that he will act as a shield for Earth from the multiverse. Outside forces will hesitate even having machinations on Earth due to fear of the Chosen of the Malefic Viper being the World Leader there. Assassins who would be interested in Earth would not dare risk offending the Order by attempting to assassinate him. In addition, they will fear killing anyone they perceive to be working for him out of fear. His role will be nearly entirely passive, and from my understanding, he will not even be on Earth for the majority of the time,” Arthur said, looking over at Jake.

”True, I will not. I have a multiverse to explore,” Jake confirmed.

Jake didn’t really think there needed to be more talk, but damn, was he wrong. He had been warned beforehand, but it was still annoying that it happened. Even if they had the vast majority of votes and they could just vote instantly and make him World Leader once that first half an hour ended, they still freaking talked. However, the four council members had made it clear that simply brute-forcing the vote was a bad idea.

Instead, they wanted to bring everyone there on board with their decision. Jake could only sigh and sit back as he allowed the council members to show their prowess and convince everyone. Especially the Fallen King had some heavy lifting to do before he would get a proper approval rating.

The only ones with good approval ratings were Arthur and, surprisingly, the Sword Saint. Arthur because of his former status and existing connections, and the Sword Saint because… well, Jake would describe it as old-man energy. Who would dare disagree with an old man’s wisdom? Plus, he just seemed authoritative whenever he spoke, making everyone subconsciously agree and take all his advice as sagely. Again, old-man powers.

Miranda was also working hard, primarily in the department of convincing everyone that while the Order was pretty damn evil by human standards, then it was not the Order but Jake taking charge and how those things were different. Everyone on the council was working damn hard.

As for Jake?

Jake was fighting the temptation to just zone it all out and just do some damn alchemy like all the other political events…

Luckily, it was soon time for the vote and for Jake to finally get to see what one got out of becoming World Leader. As long as he could stay awake long enough, that is.