Reincarnated Jester: Taming Players-Chapter 108: Rule The Mountain

"Jester god?" Jung repeated. "Am I reminding you of that guy?"

"Yeah. You sound like him. But now that I look at your archetype, I get it... It’s not you who acts the same way as he does—it’s me seeing you that way."

Ori justified his reasoning, materializing a wooden stick in his hand to aid his stride.

"It’s about perception, right? You are reminded of him because you saw something similar, but others might not agree with you. And I’m interested in what you saw looking at my archetype."

This entire conversation exceeded players’ understanding of Maskera.

They listened and recorded but couldn’t comprehend what was said.

"Nothing," the sage god said. "I can’t see your archetype. Either you don’t have one—which is highly unlikely—or you are protected by someone stronger than me. As a knowledge collector, I want to find out more."

"She is on your track," Jung said to the system.

[Thanks for that, but you did it for yourself.]

"Worth it," he answered.

Then looked at Ori and said,

"What if I have something far better than a measly archetype?"

"It’s possible. But only in theory. In a world where gods no longer exist and Archeons never existed."

His words made little sense to Jung.

If there were no Archeons, neither gods nor archetypes would prevail, and the world would have ended long ago—when the moon changed its colour.

Yet, none of that happened when Jung started his keeper archetype creation.

"He is wrong," he concluded.

[Who knows?]

"Both of you shut your traps and keep going," Nero said, never leaving his side.

"The Quinn is angry. We need to hurry," Ori said, speeding up.

"You can hear her? And how do you know her identity?" Jung questioned with a curious expression.

"I told you, I know stuff without knowing how. But no, I can’t hear her. She wouldn’t let me. I think she is quite fond of you, and that’s why you can communicate with her."

"Can I hit your brother?" Nero questioned angrily. "What kind of nonsense is he talking about? And I know a stupid guy would believe him for his own good."

"Easy there, my pussy cat. We both share a connection and don’t deny that. Do you remember our first hug?"

"Stop talking like a pervert!" Nero yelled.

As this pair continued their relentless conflict, the entire team walked through the hill.

With the storm gone, it was easier and quicker to move.

Days and nights went by, and even with the absence of perception of time, they could tell how long the journey had lasted.

[It’s nothing but a beginning,] Vex said before Jung found another important location for his travel. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

After the Igloo village, they didn’t encounter monsters.

Nor were the settlements in sight.

Finally, they saw something interesting on their boring path to the mountain.

It was an enormous waterfall with no water in it.

Only the snow came from it, blocking the path ahead.

"What are we going to do, sir?" asked the same innocent player who never left HugeP’s side.

"We can work around it."

He was content upon seeing another source of amusement.

Constant walking and no stimulus to entertain his mind quickly bored him.

Even if he had sidekicks and the sage god around, he still needed variety not to get bored.

According to the system, the entire week had passed since he met Ori.

He spent most of it speaking to him.

Conversing with a god, no matter how weird he was, proved to be a foreign yet captivating experience.

Ori was Vex’s brother, and Jung tried to befriend him.

He didn’t express enmity or anything.

By controlling himself, he wasted time and nerves because he found absolutely nothing.

The sage god was just as clueless about the system as she was.

Even the god of knowledge was powerless against her identity.

He also merged pills, devoured them, and cursed them, increasing his progress and stock to trade them later down the line.

As for the players, the more time they spent with Balatro and the more they observed him, the more their reverence for him intensified each day.

Balatro spoke to the god, sometimes rudely, sometimes harshly, and sometimes in a friendly way.

Ori didn’t mind it either, but he built some kind of wall around him, only letting Balatro in and completely ignoring players.

"What is this waterfall? Or snowfall?"

Jung asked and glanced at the sage god.

"It’s a trial. You need to pass it by completing the hidden mechanic. It should be fairly easy, but don’t ask me to help you."

"I like how convenient it is to travel with a god of knowledge."

"You aren’t getting any help from me."

Ori repeated as if he already knew how to pass the trial.

"I wouldn’t have asked you even if you begged. What’s fun about that?"

Then he neared the snowfall, scrutinizing it.

Ten seconds was all it took him to understand how the passage worked.

"It’s too boring."

Jung shook his head in disappointment.

"I hope that other trials, if there are any, won’t be this anticlimactic."

As soon as he spoke, the gravity stopped working for the snow.

The unique persona touched them, shaping and creating the stairs to let them ascend.

There was no path or peak before that.

"Good job," Ori complimented. "You did it quicker than I expected."

"Then you are severely underestimating me. This wasn’t a challenge. It was an insult more than anything."

[It is because you understand how the ruler god’s mind works. You know him better than he knows you, and it’s a tremendous advantage you need to abuse.]

"He doesn’t need ego boosting," Nero said and hopped off his shoulders.

Afterwards, he took the lead, climbing the frozen stairs.

Players were interested in the assessment.

"What was the content of the trial?" HugeP spoke in their stead.

"Nothing impressive," Jung said, thinking it was time for him to brag.

"I just ordered the mountain. I ruled over it, and it obeyed like a cute puppy. Now, let’s not waste time and see what other funnies the god has in store."