The Primal Hunter 13, page 48
Jake also wasn’t alone in helping to hunt down Primas for the alliance Kindroth had granted them access to. When the Sword Saint soon returned with a dead Guardian under his belt, Kindroth was initially skeptical until he learned the Sword Saint was also one of the top ten people of their universe. He was downright flabbergasted when he met Vesperia, Sylphie, and the Fallen King, who’d stopped by before heading to their next planet. When he later learned about all the others like Arnold… yeah, the guy didn’t hold back.
“How in the fuck did you manage to gather a planet of freaks like this?” the elf had complained loudly while it was just the two of them, much to Jake’s amusement. “No, why does the system even allow this to happen? Shit, when I imagine if I’d chosen to really go hard on the neutrality stance and risked having to face you and your freaky group… Yeah, this is straight-up unfair.”
Jake couldn’t really say anything, as the situation was absurd. He could also give the guy who’d helped facilitate him clearing forty-three Prima Guardians in three months a bit of leeway, and from the looks of it, things were only speeding up.
Through Kindroth's efforts, the planets Jake hadn’t yet reached began actively preparing for him to head there, with the elf sending help to make that happen. They placed teleportation circles closer to the Prima Vessels and—annoyingly—supported them in killing more Primas.
Okay, Jake shouldn’t complain about them killing Primas, as that had to be done no matter what and to help reduce losses, but it just sucked for the released boss to get even weaker. It was bad enough that even the Sword Saint commented on the decreased difficulty.
Altogether, Earth had killed over a hundred Prima Guardians by now, and that wasn’t counting those from the Holy Church who had left to help their faction without returning to Earth to check in or anything. It did count the planets Vesperia had visited with the others, the one handled by Casper and the Risen, and Caleb and Maria’s efforts.
Things were definitely going well… but as expected, something unexpected had to happen.
Right at that very moment, Jake wasn’t in a rush to head off to kill more Prima Guardians. After returning to the Prima Vessel on Earth to check in with Arnold and the teleporter the scientist was working on, he was promptly called to the map by the Sword Saint, who’d returned not much earlier.
Looking at it, the map had changed a lot in three months. So many planets were green now, having replaced the blue color from before. When it came to the red ones, Jake wasn’t even sure any of them had been cleared outside of their own, though he was certain at least some of them had. A few of them had definitely fallen, though.
But that wasn’t why Jake had been called to the map.
A new color had shown up on the map of the galaxy. They had seen green flags for cleared planets, red for those handling the event alone, blue for those who’d joined the system-made Prima Guardian Alliance, and finally, gray for the planets that had fallen to the invasion. Now, there was one more: black.
He was joined by the Sword Saint as the two of them looked at it, the old man asking with narrowed eyes, “How did this even happen?”
“I’m not sure,” Jake said, shaking his head, “but I’m pretty sure it was green before, so…”
Frowning, the old man looked certain that the true answer wouldn’t be something he liked.
Until now, Jake hadn’t been sure the criteria for a black planet could be met, and he certainly saw no reason why it would. A planet turning gray on the map meant the Prima Guardian had killed the World Leader and claimed the Planetary Pylon, while green meant the World Leader had killed the Guardian and claimed the planet…
Black meant no one had claimed the Pylon, and furthermore, that no one would ever claim it… because it signified the destruction of the Planetary Core.
As for what planet it had happened on? The planet cleared first alongside Jake and Ell’Hakan’s, done by the creature known as “I.”
Miranda went over all the daily reports, of which there were honestly far too many due to recent happenings. She had to be quick, too, as she had several meetings lined up—courtesy of Jake and his pals, who’d been way too busy.
When they killed Prima Guardians and “saved” all these planets, the local World Leader’s response was almost comically predictable. Every single time, a delegation would apply to visit Earth within a day or two, and Miranda naturally saw no cause to ever reject these. In fact, she welcomed them.
Firstly, they would actively hamper the efforts of Ell’Hakan and the story he was telling of uniting the galaxy under his influence, also giving them potentially valuable allies should the conflict escalate further.
Secondly… they were really great for her Path. Miranda had gotten so many levels and learned a lot over these last few months. Having to deal with so many different cultures, World Leaders, and people of high political skill and standing was a constant challenge that repeatedly pushed her forward.
There was one person who pushed her more than anyone else, though.
Miranda had met a lot of different World Leaders and political figures, both on Earth and when she went to the Order. Within her dream skill granted by the Witches of the Verdant Lagoon, she also had many encounters… yet the most frightening political figure she had encountered thus far was the elf she was due to meet in a few minutes.
She was painfully aware that this event was going well not because of her own political prowess, but the skills of the one known as the Voice of the One. At first, based on Jake’s description, she had expected a conman who’d hoodwinked his planet into thinking he was some semi-divine figure through lies and manipulation. It was not a good first impression.
However, when she met him, reality soon struck her. Miranda had believed herself pretty adept at dealing with other World Leaders and political figures of high influence, yet after her first meeting with Kindroth, Miranda felt she had a long way to go.
Uniting an entire planet with over a hundred billion citizens into a homogenous, well-functioning society was not a fluke. His ability to invoke trust in over two hundred World Leaders that allowed Jake and others to teleport to their planets also wasn’t luck. He was good, to the level of it being intimidating.
In the eyes of many, Miranda was the “leader” of this budding alliance, with Jake as the figurehead. But reality felt different, as Kindroth held a far more central position. He was the one the other World Leaders trusted and followed. He was the one to whom they showed loyalty. Sure, they were afraid of and almost seemed to revere people like Jake and the Sword Saint, but Kindroth ended up with much of the credit for their achievements, as he was the one who introduced them as Prima Guardian slayers.
But… it wasn’t like Miranda could really say anything. He always made sure to refer these World Leaders to her, and whenever they met, he was very respectful and made it clear he did view her as someone with a higher position in the hierarchy than him. Yet sneaking up on her was the lingering feeling she was slowly being replaced… at least until the meeting they had that day. The elf entered the office just as she finished with her paperwork.
After a bit of small talk and discussing recent events, such as Arnold reporting that he believed a special teleporter to reach all the planets would soon be ready, Kindroth seemed to turn more serious.
He looked her in the eye and said, with a comforting smile, “I want you to know I am no cause for concern—and becoming one would be a foolish endeavor. You have the trust of the Chosen of the Malefic Viper and his comrades, making your position unshakable. Right now, it may not seem that way, but this situation is only temporary. History will not speak of me as anything but the person who assisted the Chosen of the Malefic Viper and his Court Witch in achieving their goals, and that is the position I am comfortable with. I have no ambitions of reaching for a position I do not belong in. Besides, who else could possibly deal with the Chosen of the Malefic Viper as well as you? If it was me, I would feel my lifespan actively shortening with every report of his most recent shenanigans.”
The elf’s words were exactly why Miranda found him frightening: She found them genuinely comforting. Kindroth always seemed to know what to say and how to act around people. From Jake, she’d learned the guy was “pretty chill” and relaxed. He didn’t realize this was part of what Kindroth could do. The elf had realized Jake wasn’t a person who liked others being overly respectful, preferring casualness, so he acted casual around Jake. His level of insight wasn’t something a skill could grant; it was pure talent. So was his level of guts to stand up to Jake during their first encounter. That hadn’t been some act… though Miranda did suspect it had perhaps been a gamble. One few would have dared to attempt.
Looking back at Kindroth, Miranda returned his smile. “Jake can indeed be a handful to deal with, but such is life. Thank you for your words, and I hope we can both continue carrying out our roles well. I look forward to learning from your continued exemplary performance.”
“I shall do my utmost,” Kindroth said as he stood up and bowed.
They said their goodbyes, and Miranda stared after the elf as he left.
Even if she remained cautious around the guy… she couldn’t argue he was an incredibly valuable asset to their cause, and she understood why he had been perhaps the top person in the universe that Ell’Hakan had been clamoring to get on his side.
Chapter 53
The Impetus Takes Flight
Question of the day: What happens when a Planetary Core breaks?
Nothing good would be the short answer. For a more detailed answer, it was all a bit more complicated, with many factors in play. One of the main factors was the method by which the core had been broken.
Breaking it through pure power wasn’t something a C-grade was capable of. Not even a B-grade would be able to accomplish it, which quickly made Jake write off the notion that the dead planet’s core had been outright destroyed. Instead, it was likely a method of more subtle means that had been deployed.
Jake knew an annoying amount about planet-wide sacrificial rituals due to Villy and his constant semi-joking, and one of the primary methods of doing such a ritual was using the core. The Planetary Core functioned as the wellspring of mana and energy for the entire planet, and it was what held the entire thing together. Corrupting it would thus lead to the corruption of the whole planet, and using the core as the catalyst for a massive ritual to kill every living being on a planet was truly the best method.
When the Planetary Core was transformed into a Planetary Pylon, things got even more complicated. From Jake’s talks with Kindroth and Miranda, he’d learned that it was entirely possible to use their influence and control over the Pylon to mess with it. Miranda had even mentioned that one could likely rig the entire planet to blow using only the control granted by the Planetary Pylon.
This wouldn’t be something that could happen in a day, though. Not even a few months. This was why Jake was so confused about what had happened to the map planet that was now black. It was especially confusing trying to grasp why this creature known as “I” had done it. It had been the only living creature on the planet… Why would it have had to go out of its way to seemingly spend the last three months destroying the core?
All that would accomplish was making sure the planet would never recover. That no new life would appear. It would effectively just turn it into a giant dead rock, susceptible to the destructive forces floating in the universe, as one of the primary functions of the core was to maintain and regulate the atmosphere, and with that gone, it was open season for all kinds of meteorites and whatnot.
As Jake was wracking his brain, wondering why anyone would bother with that, the Sword Saint proposed some potential explanations. “Is it possible the core was absorbed or transformed in some way? Perhaps this ‘I’ was capable of devouring it?”
“That isn’t possible,” Jake said, shaking his head. “While there are creatures that can consume Planetary Cores out there, we would be utterly fucked if we were dealing with one here, as the power required to do something like that is ridiculous. If some kind of ritual was used to absorb the core’s energy, it would also have taken way longer than a few months. No, the core must have been corrupted somehow.”
“Would a C-grade truly be capable of such levels of magical corruption?”
“I would be capable of doing it,” Jake answered in a dry tone, earning him a judging glance. “What? I didn’t say I would do it…” Recalling the work he’d done alongside Temlat and his study of planetary rituals the Viper had made him do for funsies, he believed that if he used Eternal Hunger as a catalyst of corruption along with—
“Naturally, you would never do anything so crass,” the old man said, cutting off Jake’s thoughts. “The question still remains, though. Why would someone who’d already taken control of their planet choose to destroy it?”
“The only explanation I can find is that it’s part of this creature’s Path. Clearly, it isn’t some unintelligent beast, as it requires more than just raw power to corrupt a core, especially when one considers that it must have entered the Prima Vessel after killing the Guardian, teleported to the core, and then done whatever it did there… In fact, the mere fact it was capable of doing that must mean this creature was the World Leader…” Jake frowned.
“Doesn’t that mean it’s enlightened?” The Sword Saint raised an eyebrow.
“I would assume so, unless there are system rules we are not yet aware of.” Jake sighed. It was entirely possible there were rules or exceptions, especially on planets with so few people on them. Either way, this entire situation was one they had to watch closely.
“Definitely make sure Miranda doesn’t accept any applications from this creature to visit,” the Sword Saint said in a semi-joking tone, shaking his head.
“If I really had to tell her something like that, we would have even bigger problems to deal with.”
The two of them stayed there a bit longer, talking about the latest planets they had visited. No one else came to the Prima Vessel during this time, which was to be expected. Only people from Earth who had gone to help other planets used the Vessel, and they didn’t even have to do that anymore if they didn’t want to.
Originally, they hadn’t had any plans of making a Prima Guardian Alliance teleportation circle to allow people to visit Earth from other planets in the Prima Guardian Alliance, but after some further deliberation, they made one anyway. In their first plan, Miranda had wanted to send people to the planets they “saved” to avoid exposing Earth to potential bad actors or giving away too much about their homeworld and its peculiarities. After the entire Ell’Hakan fiasco, people also weren’t that keen on the possibility of those affiliated with the enemy Chosen sneaking in.
However, it quickly became clear that Jake and the others were just too damn efficient in their work, and there was no way Miranda or those she trusted could keep up. When they established this new teleportation circle, they wanted it far away from the Prima Vessel. Making the circle had been incredibly easy, as the system had intended it, and they’d placed it in a small, secluded city with teleporters capable of taking the visitors elsewhere on Earth, but not straight to Haven or another major city from the get-go.
As an added bonus, Arnold had commented that this process of making the magic circle had been beneficial for his research. So definitely worth it.
“I should head out again,” the Sword Saint said after they spoke a bit more. “Can’t fall behind Ell’Hakan and his alliance.”
“True, true,” Jake said, nodding and also preparing to go help out another world. The thing about keeping up with Ell’Hakan also wasn’t a joke. His alliance was clearing planets fast, and while Jake honestly didn’t have a complete overview of who had done more, he had a feeling the other Chosen wasn’t that far behind—if he was behind at all.
So, nothing to do but get back in the saddle and kill some more would-be world-ending bosses as if they were some annoying chore that had to be dealt with.
One thing did definitely suck. As was already touched upon, the Prima Guardians had just gotten easier and easier with time. Not only did this mean Ell’Hakan’s alliance could clear planets more easily with their elite teams, but it also meant that Jake’s experience gain had flatlined.
Maybe he shouldn’t complain too much, though… Three levels—or four, if he counted the first one on Olliandra’s planet—wasn’t bad progress at all in only three months.
’DING!’ Class: [Arcane Hunter of Horizon’s Edge] has reached level 294 - Stat points allocated, +50 Free Points
…
’DING!’ Class: [Arcane Hunter of Horizon’s Edge] has reached level 296 - Stat points allocated, +50 Free Points
’DING!’ Race: [Human (C)] has reached level 286 - Stat points allocated, +45 Free Points
’DING!’ Race: [Human (C)] has reached level 287 - Stat points allocated, +45 Free Points
System events were well known for having what were effectively hidden experience amplifiers, primarily due to the many Records associated with any event. Knowing this, Jake wasn’t sure if he should be happy or sad about his level gain, though he was fairly certain he wouldn’t really get more than one or maybe two more, even if he killed hundreds of other Guardians.
