The Primal Hunter 4, page 4
Although Jake countered the beasts quite hard and they were all weak for D-grades, it still took a while to put them all down. D-grades were still D-grades, and unless he landed a lethal blow with Arcane Powershot, they took a fair amount of damage to put down for good.
The Crusher was the second-to-last to fall. In its final moments, the Crusher managed to make Jake dodge in a direction he would prefer not to, and it put him right in the crosshairs of the Dervish.
SWOOSH!
A figure zoomed by him, and Jake failed to fully dodge the blow. The two tails seemed to extend just as they were about to hit him, leaving him a nasty cut on his stomach and chest when the beast passed by. He barely had time to stabilize himself in the air before it struck again, this time finding itself countered like the first time it had tried this tactic.
Jake looked over at it and made it freeze with Gaze of the Apex Hunter. Yet the beast had learned a little—it was already spinning at high speed, effectively making itself a sawblade soaring through the air towards him.
The hunter dodged to the side and extended both his hands out beside him, a net of mana strings woven between them. The spinning tails cut through many of them, but a few remained as the monkey was stopped mid-air.
With a slight smile, Jake infused a bit more arcane mana into the strings. The stability broke and turned to destruction.
BOOM!
The entire net exploded, searing the Dervish as it screamed in pain. Jake himself wasn’t unscathed, as he was also hit by the large explosion, but the scales covering his body took most of the blow. Besides, it was his own arcane mana, and he had plenty of experience being hurt by that already.
Without any momentum and hurt pretty badly, the Dervish was forced to accelerate toward the ground to try and get away. Jake quickly followed by flying a few meters to the side and unto a tree.
Standing horizontally, he took a step and traveled down the length of the tree, appearing on the ground just below where the monkey would land as it accelerated down towards him.
He didn’t have time to fire an arrow, but he did have time to take out his sword and meet the descending beast. It had clearly managed to notice him, too, as it spun around itself and attacked.
With his scimitar, he blocked the spinning blade-like tails, finding himself forced back a bit. Taking another step back, he exchanged several blows with the tails. The monkey hissed, and Jake felt the weight of each blade rapidly increase. At the same time, he felt his own blade become heavier with every block.
Jake took a step forward and once more used Gaze of the Apex Hunter, a few droplets of blood flowing from his eyes from overusing the skill within a short amount of time. However, it was fine. He was about to finish the fight.
He moved in between two spinning tails, the monkey unable to move them as it stood frozen for a moment longer. With both hands on his blade, he raised it high and stabbed down towards the skull of the monkey, swirling dark mana around the edge.
Descending Dark Fang
Not unlike a giant spike of dark mana, his blade penetrated its skull and came out the other side at the base of the Dervish's neck.
The still-spinning blades managed to land a few more cuts on him and scratch his scales a bit in an instinctive reaction, but the monkey was unable to do anything more as its life ended.
*You have slain [Tri-Lighttail Dervish – lvl 123] – Bonus experience earned for killing an enemy above your level*
Jake pulled out the blade and stumbled back, sitting down on the ground as he breathed out heavily with a smile on his face. Individually, these monkeys weren’t that hard to deal with, but damn, was there a lot of them.
Still smiling, he checked his notifications.
* ‘DING!’ Class: [Avaricious Arcane Hunter] has reached level 102 - Stat points allocated, +10 Free Points*
* ‘DING!’ Race: [Human (D)] has reached level 102 - Stat points allocated, +15 Free Points*
Another level. D-grade was quite a bit slower, but Jake knew he was doing exactly what he was meant to. He was hunting higher-leveled enemies, using Mark of the Ambitious Hunter on every enemy, and even killing foes more than twenty levels above himself.
Standing up once more, he did a few stretches before leaping up one of the trees and beginning his journey further into the domain of the Lighttails. With so many of them… something good was bound to be in the innermost area.
Chapter 4
Worthy Opponents
Jake opened his hand as he let the body fall, the dark green glow of Touch of the Malefic Viper fading. The body that fell was that of a monkey with a black handprint on its neck and its body already half-rotten. When it hit the ground, it squashed together as its insides were already decayed and turned to mush.
*You have slain [Tri-Lighttail Dervish – lvl 128] – Bonus experience earned for killing an enemy above your level*
Its killer took out a healing potion and drank it. The dozens of deep cuts on his body rapidly began closing, leaving only a few of the worst ones, such as where a tail had penetrated his chest. Those would take a bit longer.
The entire section of the forest he was in was utterly wrecked. The trees had deep cuts in them, the ground was littered with craters, and everything had a horrible smell of death and decay, as he hadn’t held back on using his poisons at all. The bark of many trees was black from the poison mist or arrows coated in poison hitting them.
* ‘DING!’ Class: [Avaricious Arcane Hunter] has reached level 103 - Stat points allocated, +10 Free Points*
He flew over to a branch, where he sat down and entered meditation. This was the third fight since he met the first Dervish and by far the hardest. The first fight had only been a small group of normal D-grades with a single Suppressor, so those were pretty easily put down.
The second fight had been a bit tougher and a lot like the first group with the Dervish, but with his increased experience fighting the monkeys, it had ended a bit faster.
As for the third and final fight he had just finished, there had been two dozen enemies with three Dervishes. It had been quite the battle, as the Dervishes honestly weren’t easy opponents at all. They were incredibly fast, no doubt Agility-focused, and, combined with their weight-increasing magic, their whip-blade-tails felt like heavy-as-fuck razors barraging you constantly.
Jake was fully aware that if he screwed up, he could lose his life to them—which was why he found them entertaining to battle.
He also made a decision. One that might be viewed as controversial by many… but Jake felt like it was necessary. As he made the command through the system, it hurt him down to the core of his soul… but he had to. He needed the speed to keep up with his foes, and he could feel his body unable to move as fast as he wanted, so he had done it.
Jake had used Free Points on something that wasn’t Perception.
The 105 Free Points he had saved up since entering D-grade were all put into Agility, taking him from 1595 to 1748 after all the bonuses were applied. It was around a ten percent increase, and he instantly felt the difference, as he could now move even faster than before, and perhaps now he could begin reacting to even the Dervishes above level 130. The one at 128 had been a bit too fast for him, and he’d had to freeze it, grab hold of it, and use Touch of the Malefic Viper to win the fight instead of just beating it with his blade. Fighting with his sword tended to be more fun, after all, so he preferred to do that.
Checking the time, he found he still had plenty to get to the inner area, and he had a feeling he was close.
Still, he had to spend a few hours getting himself back in top condition. Between his meditation and liberal potion use, Jake’s recovery was far faster than most other D-grades, allowing him to battle more than normal.
Once he was done sitting around meditating and chugging down potions, he moved on with his day of slaughtering monkeys.
He tried to avoid unnecessary fights and encounters with small squads, as those battles weren’t exactly entertaining.
Just as he made his way around a tree, he spotted a small group of D-grades heading his way from around three hundred meters ahead of him. Not feeling like battling four regular D-grade Lighttail Monkeys, he focused on staying hidden. He even used his cloak to camouflage himself a bit better.
It wasn’t something he aimed for or even expected… but that small action gave him a notification.
[Advanced Stealth (Common)] – The deadliest blow is the one not seen coming. A proven artisan in the arts of stealth, you have learned to stay undetected far better than a mere novice. You now find it even easier to blend into the environment, waiting for just the right moment to strike. Adds a minor bonus to the effect of Agility and Perception while successfully remaining undetected.
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[Expert Stealth (Uncommon)] – The deadliest blow is the one not seen coming. You have proven yourself an expert in the arts of stealth, as you have learned to become a shadow that is only seen when you wish to be so. You find it easier than ever to blend into the environment, making your presence, mana, and nearly all traces of your existence hidden as you wait for your prey to be vulnerable. Adds a small bonus to the effect of Agility and Perception while successfully remaining undetected.
Jake read it over and couldn’t help but just shrug. Staying hidden was never anything he really thought much about; it was just one of those things you did. The skill itself was the type that just existed and didn’t require any more thoughts than that. Not that he complained about getting it upgraded, as he knew it would make the hiding he already did just a little bit more effective.
Anyway, with a random skill upgrade out of the way, he continued his quest into the heart of the monkey-lands.
He estimated the entire domain controlled by the monkeys to be several hundred kilometers in diameter, making it a small country based on old-world standards. Still, Jake knew that compared to some other beasts, it really wasn’t that impressive.
The scale of everything in the multiverse was just bigger. It made sense, though, as an area did feel a lot smaller when you could fly faster than a fighter jet or practically teleport with every footstep. Populations growing to ridiculous levels and cities becoming absolutely massive were also just kind of natural.
Heck, trees could now naturally grow to be kilometers tall, and buildings could easily be constructed to be even taller. The logistical issues with large cities were primarily eliminated by magic, the population’s lower requirements for sustenance, and their natural ability to survive better independently due to stats and evolutions. E-grade required way less food than a normal pre-system human, after all, and so far in D-grade, Jake had yet to feel any hunger.
Well, except a hunger for good challenges, but that was a bit of a different thing.
Back in the real world, outside of Jake’s neverending random thoughts about things getting bigger, he had just made his way around a massive tree. It was one of the true behemoths in the area, and while he did consider flying to the top for fun, what he saw as he got to the other side of it dissuaded him.
Before Jake lay what could only be described as a small, ancient temple with a few stone buildings placed around it. The temple itself looked like one of those old, boxy Aztec pyramids, except without that entrance on the top. There was a small entrance at the bottom, though.
If that was the only thing worth noting, he would only be mildly interested, but what was living among those ancient-looking buildings made him quite excited. Hundreds of monkeys jumped around, a lot of them D-grade, but there were even more E-grades running about.
He saw dozens of Dervishes, Crushers, and Suppressors… but what was even more noteworthy were four huge monkeys, each sitting on top of their own small, ancient building.
[Tri-Lighttail Monkey Matriarch – lvl 142]
[Tri-Lighttail Monkey Matriarch – lvl 147]
[Tri-Lighttail Monkey Matriarch – lvl 146]
[Tri-Lighttail Monkey Matriarch – lvl 146]
The Matriarchs looked a bit like their brethren but were twice the size of an average monkey, with quite a bit of bulk and fat on their bodies. They looked like they could put up a decent fight, but it wasn’t their primary role. Many small monkeys with levels as low as 25 crawled all over their bodies, making Jake believe this was their primary breeding ground.
Just as Jake was trying to get a good count of how many baby monkeys there were, he felt something look his way. He barely managed to see a figure exit the ancient temple in the middle before he instinctively hid behind the tree he was on and focused on his newly upgraded stealth.
A few moments passed before he felt it was safe. He peeked out and saw what had just nearly spotted him from so far away.
It was another monkey, but it was rather different from the others.
Like the Dervishes, it was tall and slender, but it was bulkier than those. What truly set it apart was its pristine golden fur, the glowing silvery symbol on its forehead, and the five tails extending out behind it. Jake didn’t doubt for a second that this beast was the most powerful in the entire settlement and could in no way be considered weak. He used Identify on it as he hid, and the level didn’t actually surprise him.
[Penta-Lighttail Monkey Prima – lvl 131]
It was lower than all the Matriarchs and even many of the Dervishes, but Jake knew level wasn’t everything. Shit, he just had to look at himself and the pile of dead monkeys in his wake, all of whom had been higher in level than himself.
A smile crept onto his lips as he, for the first time, spotted prey he found worth hunting after reaching D-grade.
Miyamoto was in his courtyard with his eyes closed, slowly swinging the blade through the air. As if dancing, he moved fluidly through the motions in a patient manner, his blade appearing to almost shimmer with every stroke as if it was made of water.
Every movement was calculated, every step predetermined, and every fiber of his being and soul invested as he trained. To Miyamoto, there was no world outside of him and his sword at that moment.
But all things have to come to an end. He stopped, opened his eyes, and softly looked down at his sword. The old heirloom that had been proudly displayed by their family for generations was no longer just a normal weapon. Oh, no, far from it.
One of the tutorial rewards he had spent his points on was making this old family blade awaken, allowing the spirits of his ancestors and their will to come to life and for the blade to become a true artifact. His request had been met, and the blade had been bound to his soul as it became his life companion.
Miyamoto was level 99 in his class and 95 in his profession. While it did hurt his pride a bit to not be the first D-grade as the patriarch of his clan, he would be the first to achieve the Perfect Evolution.
If he had chosen to become a City Lord, perhaps things would be different, but he knew he did not desire to be a leader of the people anymore. He was past that age, and he had passed the baton to the younger generation. No, he would focus on the blade and his passions as he helped protect his family as any good patriarch would do.
By following his own desires, he had spearheaded the expansion of the clan. He had fought and claimed the first Pylon, losing many family members in the process, but for the second Pylon, he had taken care of the foe by his lonesome. He hadn’t even needed to be present for the third Pylon, as his grandson and great-granddaughter had handled that just a week prior.
As an old soul, he had little to complain about. He spent most of his time focusing on improving himself to be a pillar of strength for the clan. He had just gone through a session of Sword Meditation, a skill he valued quite highly.
[Supreme Sword Meditation (Ancient)] – The sword is you, and you are your sword. While in meditation, regenerate stamina and mana significantly faster, more easily find inspiration, and experience enlightenment in relation to all sword-related skills. Allows you to earn far more experience points while using Supreme Sword Meditation. While in Supreme Sword Meditation, you must perform a compatible Sword Dance flawlessly. Any mistakes will lead to forcefully exiting meditation and being unable to reenter it again for a short period of time. May you find your truth through your blade.
It was a great skill, and he had gotten it to its current rarity shortly after returning to Earth. It had only been epic rarity upon his exit of the tutorial.
He had gotten it to rare rarity the day he reached level 25 and earned the meditation skill.
Taking a deep breath, the old man extended his sword and began drawing in the air, painting with his sword. It was an ephemeral painting of water that would disperse the moment he stopped the skill, a mere snapshot of reality that only he would ever lay eyes on.
Finesse had many forms, be it swordsmanship or painting. Ultimately, both were about control, conviction, and the ability to execute techniques accurately. All these things had only become more true when the system arrived.
Miyamoto had seen many others of the older generations—people still his juniors—fail to adapt to this everchanging world. They relied on the ways of old, or their mindsets were simply not adaptive enough. It was difficult for him to understand.
Life was but a series of shifting seasons. Every new season would bring about change as the world developed, not one day the same as the last. Throughout his life, he had seen so much change, so many shifts in society.
If he had been unable to adapt, how could he ever have hoped to achieve success? If he could not embrace new technology and even be willing to try and get ahead and prepare for the coming winter as fall arrived, how could he ever hope to excel?
To him, the arrival of the system was just yet another changing season. As he’d lain there in his bed, he’d believed that it was his winter, and that that season would be his last. Yet spring had arrived and brought about new life and new opportunities.
