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Considering there was only a handful of S-grades in the entire world, it didn’t take long for the people present to realize who the man Jake had arrived with was. His overwhelming aura suppressed every single one of them, his power simply at a whole other level, even compared to the peak A-grade Lord Protector.

”Ge… General…” the Lord Protector stuttered as the Founder’s form also changed. Jake already knew he had transformed his body, so it didn’t really come as a surprise when he turned into a slightly older-looking human man. It did surprise everyone else, though.

Also, Jake learned that, apparently, the Founder had been a general back in the day.

”I must admit I find myself disappointed,” the Founder spoke as no one else dared open their mouths. ”I truly, for a brief moment, believed this could be resolved without my involvement. Alas, I was proven wrong. Despite all the evidence and the testimony of a high-ranking courier with a borderline-perfect track record, your response is to do… nothing.”

”We… we will conduct a thorough investi-” the Duke of Blades tried to say but was silenced with a single glance.

”Do you think me a child? That I could not see through such an obvious attempt to suppress the truth by all parties involved?” the Founder shook his head as he looked at the Lord Protector. ”Are you also going to tell me I’m an idiot, Colonel?”

”No… no, Sir,” the formerly awe-inspiring Lord Protector said as he bowed. ”It is just as the General observed.”

”At least someone besides this Courier is capable of telling the truth,” the Founder scoffed as he turned his attention back to the king. ”You, too, lived during the war. Many of those here today did… yet you all seem to have forgotten what happened then and the aftermath. Why I made the Guild in the first place. Do I need to remind you, little king? Remind you of the oath your kingdom swore? The promise you made!?”

The king looked down, almost ashamed. By now, the tides had truly turned, and things were not looking good for the Dukes. The Duke of Flames, who had wiped the blood off his lips, clearly also noticed this as he tried to not be fully suppressed.

”Lord Founder…” the Duke of Flames began as he tried to get his bearings. ”I truly apologize for how things turned out… but… is the Guild not also breaking protocol by getting directly involved in an internal conflict of the Human Kingdom? While it is true we were partly to blame, we were also fooled by this Courier as he plotted against us all, and he was the one who initiated today’s conflict with his widespread accusations. I can admit I hired him through the Guild to use against my political foes and to get rid of the terrorist organization harassing me… but is that truly so wrong? Is that truly a crime deserving of the Guild Founder’s wrath?”

The Founder let out a loud sigh as he looked directly at the Duke of Flames.

”You just admitted to your biggest crime… how you used the Guild. In truth, I do not care for the internal conflicts of the Human Kingdom. The internal disputes of any country, for that matter. But this entire thing has been made possible by exploiting the nature and good reputation of the Guild. For years, the Dukedom of Flames has pressured the Guild into accepting Courier Jobs to hide its dirty dealings, and the other dukedoms are no different. You have viewed the Guild as nothing more than a tool for you to abuse without ever considering the consequences or when things would reach a breaking point… so let me just make it clear. That breaking point was well and truly reached today when you tried to make such an exemplary Courier into your accomplice,” the Founder said in a loud voice with an undertone of anger. Jake even saw a few of the people present shiver as a bit of bloodlust emanated from the S-grade.

Jake had to do his utmost to hold himself back from grinning. The people who had been calling him a fucking moron only minutes ago were now shivering because the Founder had shown up. He alone was strong enough to utterly suppress every single person in the room, and in truth, his actual words barely mattered. His arguments were meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

It was the same as when Jake had spoken up. It didn’t matter if everything Jake said was the truth. Before a bunch of A-grades, his words simply didn’t matter as he was only some C-grade whelp in their eyes. Perhaps this wasn’t the lesson one was meant to learn from this Challenge Dungeon, or maybe it was… but it reaffirmed something Jake already knew but had foolishly disregarded during this dungeon. Power still came first and foremost before everything else.

As the Viper had said a long time ago, if you were strong enough, your word became truth. Your interpretation of a situation became the correct one. As a Chosen, Jake was usually capable of always borrowing the influence of the Malefic Viper, and in many cases, people even believed his opinion mirrored that of the Viper, making them take him more seriously. In cases where he interacted with his peers who didn’t necessarily care about his status or had an equally high status, Jake was still considered one of the stronger people, so he could still be part of the conversation as an equal.

In this Challenge Dungeon, Jake was no equal to the Dukes he had tried to call out, and it was shown when everyone sided with the A-grades to just sweep everything under the rug. Power meant everything, which was once again shown when suddenly everything Jake had said was given a new level of legitimacy and taken far more seriously because the Founder popped up to tell them to take Jake seriously.

”I…” the Duke of Flames began, as he looked like he tried to come up with a counter-argument, only to have the Lord Protector stop him.

”Do not sully the reputation of the Human Kingdom further with your stupidity,” the old man scoffed as he looked at the Founder and kneeled. ”I am ashamed that something like this could have happened under my watch… I have been blind to what is happening for too long.”

”No, this is ultimately my responsibility,” the king also spoke as he, too, promptly kneeled. ”I knew many of these crimes of the dukedoms were taking place, yet I did nothing. I even knew they abused and threatened the Guild to do their bidding and used the Guild Founder’s institution as if they owned it. I reneged on my responsibilities and can only be ashamed of my own incompetence and failure to do what I must. For this, I can only beg for forgiveness, and if the magnanimity of the Guild Founder allows it, try to better myself and this country.”

Jake was honestly impressed at how the king handled the shit that was all the way up to his neck. He didn’t make any excuses but just took responsibility while admitting things that had otherwise not come to light already. Finally, he promised to better himself and the Human Kingdom as a whole. Overall, a pretty good apology.

”And how will you take responsibility?” the Founder questioned.

Without any hesitation, the king stood up as he spoke loudly. ”Detain the Duke of Flames and the Duke of Blades along with their immediate family and close collaborators.”

”Your Majesty, this is-” the Duke of Flames began to argue before the king threw him a sharp gaze and spoke even louder than before.

”Lethal force is permitted should they resist.”

For a moment, Jake thought the Duke of Flames was going to fight it out, but he ultimately didn’t. Jake had a feeling that should the Founder not be present, the power-hungry Duke would have escaped, leaving behind everything to save his own hide. Even if the Lord Protector was stronger than him, the Duke of Flames was still a close second and was more than capable of getting away, even from a space mage. Of course, with the Founder also there, his chances of escape were non-existent, so he ultimately decided to surrender.

”Your actions were sufficiently swift… alright, I shall give you a chance,” the Founder said, and it looked as if an almost physical weight had been lifted from the king and Lord Protector. ”However, I shall remain in the Human Kingdom for now to ensure everything proceeds in a satisfactory fashion. I take it there are no complaints?”

”Having you as a guest would be a great honor,” the king bowed as the royal guards and Lord Protector began to escort out the two dukes along with a bunch of other nobles. All of them already had pretty bleak facial expressions, and when the Founder proclaimed he would stay in the kingdom for a while, things only got worse for them. That pretty much killed all escape plans, and especially the Duke of Flames looked like a plan he was beginning to form in his head had already fallen apart.

Throughout this entire debacle, Jake had just been standing next to the Founder. He was pretty much the only person present who hadn’t bowed or full-on kneeled at some point, nor carried an unmistakable sense of reverence for one of only five known S-grades. Jake hadn’t needed to say anything after he had already done his assignment and laid out the evidence, and that honestly felt pretty good.

He wondered if someone more skilled in the political arena could have handled things better and not necessarily needed the Founder’s help. Perhaps it was possible, especially seeing as the Lord Protector wasn’t happy with the status quo… but Jake sure as hell had no idea how to make it happen. Alas, it didn’t matter because Jake had managed to make a good impression on the S-grade Founder and gotten super fucking lucky the guy was even there in the first place. If not, he would have probably lost one of his lives on this day.

”Thank you for your help on this day, Courier,” the Founder said after a bit more discussion with the king. He said this with many nobles and the king still present as everyone looked at them. ”Without you, this would have been much more difficult, and your actions helped uncover the depths of this corruption. You truly are an exemplary Courier and fully deserving of the reputation you have built yourself. An example for all other Couriers.”

”No, I should be the one thanking you for trusting me with this job,” Jake bowed as he kept up his persona as the perfect employee. ”And I am just happy when the client is happy.”

”I believe you,” the Founder laughed as he patted Jake on the shoulder. ”I truly do.”

Jake smiled in return. This definitely felt like some kind of climax to the story. He had met the Guild Founder himself and worked with him, upended the political landscape in one of the countries, and even had an A-grade killed and several imprisoned. However… for some reason, Jake didn’t feel like this was the end, and a feeling of dread began to worm its way into his mind as the Founder spoke once more.

”Ah, but I shouldn’t hold you up for too long… you have completed this Special Courier Job flawlessly, and I must thank you once more, but I also know you must be eager to continue following your calling. I am certain many others out there need such an exemplary Courier… and who knows, perhaps you can even reach the realm of Legendary Couriers.”

You gotta be kidding me…

Special Courier Job 15 Completed.

”If you go to the Guild, I am sure they have many Courier Jobs available, even for someone of your skill, and as I work to restore order and remove corruption, I may even need the help of a skilled Courier once more. If I ever do need you again… can I trust in your assistance?”

Jake really wanted to tell the guy to just fuck off, but instead, he smiled. ”As long as there is a Courier Job worth doing, and I am capable, of course I’ll be there to help.”

”In that case… truly thank you once more. Now, I need to remain here and speak to these fools a bit longer, but you are free to do whatever you wish,” the Founder smiled as he gave Jake another pat on the shoulder.

”I shall be heading straight to the Guild then… work awaits,” Jake said respectfully as he gave the Founder a small bow and left the royal palace. On the surface, he was smiling, while on the inside, he was cursing loudly. He just thought, for the briefest of moments, he had ”beaten” the Challenge Dungeon in less than a year, but it turns out he had just finished one of the goddamn story arcs.

Relax, Jake… just keep going at it, and at some point, you’ll run out of jobs or become unable to finish them.

--

”That could have gone worse,” Minaga said with a grin. ”A lot worse. Jake is really freaking lucky his strategy worked out somehow… or maybe it’s that weird instinct or intuition or whatever that helped him along. Who knows? For my own sanity, I will just call it pure luck.”

Valdemar, who usually didn’t bother saying much, actually spoke for once. ”Luck is also kind of a skill.”

Vilastromoz wanted to call that out as bullshit but held his tongue. He didn’t deny luck was a thing, but to call it a skill was going overboard… even if Valdemar was known as someone notoriously lucky.

”Luck is just when preparation meets opportunity,” the Blightfather chimed in. ”Many of those who dare claim others just got lucky are those incapable of even taking advantage of the opportunities they gain.”

”But isn’t someone who gets more potential opportunities considered luckier then?” the Holy Mother also decided to get involved… likely just to take a jab at the Blightfather.

”Opportunities are more often than not taken, not given,” the Blightfather shook his head. ”And the definition of an opportunity varies widely. For the talented, they can turn every day into a few opportunities. A powerful beast nearby may be viewed as nothing but a danger to the common person but is an opportunity for the strong to test themselves and claim Records, yet none will claim someone is lucky for choosing to face a beast they have a high chance of dying against.”

”Why are we even discussing the definition of luck?” Minaga questioned.

”You started it,” the Wyrmgod simply added.

”And now I’m finishing it,” Minaga said with a grin. ”Anyway, back to Jake. Man, am I looking forward to when he unlocks the final arc. Gonna be so funny.”

The Wyrmgod sighed but didn’t say anything, as the Viper wondered what would happen… but seeing as Minaga looked so amused, he had a feeling something really interesting… or stupid… was about to happen. After Jake had done a load of more average Courier Jobs, of course.

--

Jake remembered always finding it incredibly funny in video games how none of your prior accomplishments were properly acknowledged. One could be the divine archmage and emperor of a nation, but some random farmer would still give you a quest to kill rats, and the recruiter of a new faction would still call you ”new blood” and act as if you were a total novice.

It was a nice joke and something to laugh about when it happened, even if it could take you a bit out of the story. But surely, this kind of thing wouldn’t happen in the ”real” world, now would it? Well…

Jake Thayne, Courier extraordinaire and the man who had personally worked with the Founder to expose the corruption of many nobles of the highest rank. A man who had led to the death and arrest of many A-grades, a man even the king and Lord Protector would show respect to, and even a benefactor of the Guild itself, soon found himself busy trying to convince a bunch of children who had ”stolen” his package that the toys inside weren’t for them, but his client.

After Special Courier Job 15, Jake had gone to the Guild, where, despite all the kind words they had for him, they still gave him regular-ass jobs to do. Was the difficulty higher now, and did he even get into a few fights during some of them? Yes, but it was clear combat wasn’t really the core of this Challenge Dungeon. It was instead just the ability to handle different annoying situations while not losing your cool or getting tricked.

Jake had hoped he would only need to do a few more Courier Jobs for something interesting to happen, and he was kind of right? After he had done ”only” 50 jobs in the capital city of the Human Kingdom, he was contacted by a Guild employee on behalf of the Founder. Jake was given a Special Courier Job to go to a different capital city and work there for a while to ”audit” the Guild before then reporting back after he had done another fifty to seventy Courier Jobs there…

This pattern continued as weeks turned to months, with Jake traveling all over the world inside the Challenge Dungeon. Every new country had unique challenges and different cultures to navigate, but Jake thought he did pretty well as he really got into the groove. Soon enough, over half a year passed since he had gotten his ancient rarity medallion, and Jake had been to nearly every single capital city. Things were a bit stale by now, but he kept up his work ethic as he knew things were bound to end at some point.

Finally, after around eight months as an ancient rarity Courier, Jake met the Founder once more as he attended a ceremony and was given the highest honors as a Courier. His Medallion was upgraded for what he believed was the final time as he stepped into the ranks of Legendary Couriers.

[Courier Medallion (Legendary)] – A Courier Medallion belonging to a Legendary Courier, a title that has only been seen a few times through history and can only be given by the Guild Founder himself. This Medallion will hold information related to jobs and can give general directions to your destination if those are provided (may not be entirely reliable). This is the highest-known rank of the Courier Medallion.
Requirements: Soulbound

As even the description of the Medallion said, this was the highest-known rank, and after getting it, Jake felt as if he was well and truly done with the Challenge Dungeon… but no message appeared. Perhaps it had been silly of him to expect something known as the Endless Journey to have an end, but it had to end at some point?

After the ceremony where he got promoted, Jake was given a week off to relax. However… just two days later, as Jake was chilling and doing a bit of alchemy as he had run out of potions again, a Guild employee suddenly stormed into the room.

”Hurry, you must come!” the attendant said in a panicked voice.

”What happened?” Jake asked.

”Somehow, the dragon tribe returned!”

Comments

Anonymous

Thanks for the chapter

Michael McMahon

"You gotta be kidding me…" my reaction to seeing this wasnt the end of the Challenge Dungeon. Tftc!

Anonymous

Wow minaga must have really liked The Rise of Skywalker

eric holman

Not the dragon tribe!

Abdulaziz ALRumaih

All of them already had pretty leak facial Pretty sure you meant bleak

Valhazstromoz

"Somehow palpatine is back!" Is the vibe I get from the ending lmfao

Captain the Red Beard

I hope we are getting towards the end of the challenge dungeons. I'm ready to see those nevermore points total and the end of the whole damn thing. I wanna see those big numbers go brrrrrr.

Burkes

Actual video game levels of goofy. Somehow, the big bad came back outta nowhere, and now it’s YOUR problem. Now go kill god.

Cameron Yourell

Legendary medallion. The hight know medallion ever awarded, until the next teir of never before seen medallion issued by the founder... which requires another round of minor side quests. Tyftc

Hodge Wasson

Hah. For all the bitching about the challenge dungeons taking too long, the way this twist was delivered was great. Wonder what the final twist is. Use the courier job to make peace with the dragon tribe?

Jana

Now, just when Jake is waiting for an epic fight against the evil dragon empire a bunch of Dragons in Human form enter the Guild … just to commission few courier jobs. Like all the ones that gathered dust during the years they were hiding.

Anonymous

Tftc. Now that's a twist

Anonymous

I see the Wyrmgod, Nevermore and Minaga are taking notes from Disney……

Tyler S.

Ah bummer another theory foiled welp tyftc

Naotsugu97

There be dragons here!

Derze

Technically there is room for at least one more rank. Mythic should still be a thing. Maybe he will need to integrate the dragons into the mix. Or completely eradicate them. But considering the politics heavy aspect I'd say diplomacy is the "intended" or most expected outcome

Jason Hardman

Next up "Mythic Courier" 😅

TheAverageNerd

Not the "some how Palpatine returned" reference lmfao

Ty Cooper

The faces look "leak". I think you meant to type "bleak"

Anonymous

"Highest-known"... It is unsufferable! Jake will get tired of this even faster than us ! He will probably get Unique rarity by the end !

Ty Cooper

I am excited. Jake is going to get to fight some dragons.

Anonymous

Only reason I can see for extending this dungeon is Jake getting inspiration from these dragons on skill upgrade directions. Otherwise this ending would have been a really good place to stop, as he already achieved the impossible.

jazz

Lord help us. Zogarth has officially lost his mind

Bent Sommer

Haha still 2 chapters left before Cliffhanger friday. So nevermore Points and achievements on monday🤣

Anonymous

tftc! Edit/Suggestion: was currently busy trying to convince a bunch -> was trying to convince a bunch The story is mostly written in past-tense, but the word "currently" very briefly changes things to present-tense for one sentence, which doesn't make sense unless it's in spoken dialog. Not a huge issue but worth noting.

Jonathan

he was contacted by a Guild employee on account of the Founder. he was contacted by a Guild employee on behalf of the Founder. His Medallion was upgraded for what he believed was the final time This is the highest-known rank of the Courier Medallion. Highest-known ... perhaps not the final time at all, lol.

Johnny_B

The description basically screams 'secret mythical rank'.

Isley

good chappie

Austin Barton

As soon as I read dragon tribe at the start of the arc I had a feeling Jake would fight a c grade dragon or drake possibly a wyrm maybe a wyvern. It doesn’t really matter honestly I want him to fight a dragon get beat up bloodline shenanigans ensue and then he fights the wyvern on earth using the primal dragon slaying arrow or some shit that would be an awesome upgrade for protean arrow dragon slaying has to be a higher concept right with natural dragons just popping out b grade

0x0F

”Somehow, the dragon tribe returned!” Somehow, Palpatine returned.

Anonymous

There are options as he can just use scales and Wings to look like a dragon kin and infiltrate or parlay with the dragons.

Anonymous

He already did it once in this challenge dungeon so the Founder may already know he has the ability to do which makes him the “perfect” candidate to interact with the dragons

Anonymous

I should have seen the dragon tribe coming back but I was so ready for these challenge dungeons to be over.

ReadingObsessed

I can feel Jake's annoyance through the page expertly. Just the "it'll be over soon" repeating in his head.

TBONEMAN

It would be funny if the lesson of this challenge dungeon was stay out of the way of the Malefic Viper.

Christian Sullivan

Can't wait to see the buggy spoilers minaga spoke of

Alexikon

"Highest known" is not equal to "HIGHEST POSSIBLE"

JJB4345_80_815

Apparently, Zogarth saw his shadow and now there's gonna be 6 more weeks of Challenge Dungeon... 😥

Ty Cooper

Isn't wyrmgod the one that united the dragon tribe? I mean Jake hadn't had a chance to fight the wyrmgod yet. I'm going to laugh so hard if it is wyrmgod.

joel southard

Nice thank you for the chapter

Scout Mills

I choose to believe he used that piece of radioactive garbage specifically to spite Jake.

Anonymous

I so want to see how the Orange guy with his Karmic skills would have dealt with this story arc. How would he have fared with the infinite loop agent possibility?

Kaibutsu

Mythic medalion when? Because I doubt divine is a thing somehow :P

Ty Cooper

I don't think orange guy is a karmic mage. His bloodline only affects emotions. William is the karmic one. El'h is story or legends and something celestial I think.

Arkenian

I mean basically this is a video game. You can't even die in challenge dungeons iirc. Manage and wyrmgod have been making an rpg. It even missed its original release date, and needs patches. I am very much enjoying the meta of a litrpg character playing an rpg inside his litrpg world.

Abhishek

I see where this is going.. another end of week cliffhanger!!!

austin kutz

Jake killing a young B grade dragon is definitely something to look forward to. It would make since only because they wouldn't have enough time to properly learn to fight and could be baited into bad situations though, since their breath attack, scales, and claws should still be mythic equivalent

Anonymous

Palpatine is back?! ......nevermind, wrong franchise

thendavesaid

"Hurry! The dragon tribe returned and they have... Amazon gift cards!" dun dun dunnn.

Anonymous

At first I thought he would do really well like Jake but then I remembered William was able to tell all the karmic threads were messed up and he’s only C-Grade so I think he will have a tough time using his bloodline to cheat

JJB4345_80_815

Based on the wording in this chapter, fighting isn't the likely answer for Jake completing the Challenge Dungeon. The following is copied/pasted from this chapter: "...did he even get into a few fights during some of them? Yes, but it was clear combat wasn’t really the core of this Challenge Dungeon. It was instead just the ability to handle different annoying situations while not losing your cool or getting tricked."

Justin

Zogarth is literally throwing it in our faces at this point. If you have drug this out as long as they have, then you reach what would honestly be a fitting end to this challenge dungeon, and then you basically say, "Psych! Its ongoing." If you feel the need to write Jake thinking - you gotta be kidding me- to finding out this challenge dungeon is still not over, then you're to the point where you might as well just admit you're writing it annoying on purpose. It's insulting tbh. Pretty much just blatantly admiting I make 50k a month from you idiots and I'll pull the taffy as long as possible. This chapter got my unsub. Wish you all the best. ✌️

Anonymous

You literally already unsubbed before that, I don't know why you're pretending at this point. You even did a charge back LOL Stay mad, but keep it to yourself.

Devin

So will he make it to mythical? I’m looking forward to seeing if he will end up siding with the dragons (or making them part of the Guild) or the Guild? It’s gonna be fun.

Anonymous

For all of you who find this, you should be warned of this individual. He is a right bastard that is just trying to tear down the chapter after both blocking the author and pulling a charge back

Devin

Yea I think stuff like this is pointless to wright, like we get it you don’t like that the challenge dungeons are taking so long… but it’s been a little over 9 years at this point since he started them. So You have to see that this is a decent place, plus if he was “drawing it out” as you are saying, then this chapter would have had a lot more fluff work to it. If it bother you that much what’s the point in telling everyone else. Zogarth is going to see you unsub if you choose to. I think your just bored and lonely so get a life

Devin

Hollyshit… I don’t know why I didn’t think of that, but you’re right he was a lead catalyst in why the flights formed and stopped a lot of the in-house slaughter. Maybe he will get to fight a C grade version like with Vlad?

Anonymous

That is the question, on the discord one of the assumptions we are making is that he could act as an envoy to the dragon tribe.

Devin

Oh that’s right I have access to the discord now… I had forgotten. I may join soon.

Davan Krueger

So I thought the challenge dungeon bits and nevermore as a whole were slow but on reread they're fine about the same as any other part of the story and super good a bit light on stat progression but in less than 2 months from now that should change

eric holman

I mean at this point challenge dungeons have gone on for over a hundred chapters and while there have been some great highs I can see being tired of the challenge dungeons.

donvitogonzalle

I doubt it will be over Monday, challenge dungeon will probably go on until March and Nevermore until end of the year

Frederik

I agree that they do drag a bit but thats only because we get only one chapter at a time as a full book this pacing would be just fine

Gavin

The pain is reading them as they come out. So it makes sense for those struggling to step back and come back in a bit and binge

Frederik

Amazone gift cards?? I feel like I am overlooking the joke here😅

Ty Cooper

Yeah but Villy never was a part of the dragon accord (tribes) or whatever. He still associates himself as a snake even after he became a dragon.

Hunter Thornton

Reenter postman Jake, soon to become the dragon slayer Jake. Or maybe he ends up seducing the dragon princess and lettin go of his (ahem) Jake juice and creating the bane of all existence. The dragon of eternal chaos. Honestly I believe it could all come down to the coin toss

Derek

”Somehow, the dragon tribe returned!” I can feel the jab in this

Olof Karlsson

Thanks for the chapter!