The Primal Hunter 11, page 68
“I will do my utmost, but I must warn you that any energy extracted from my body will not be usable as part of any Creations,” the attendant answered without a moment of hesitation.
“Oh, that’s fine; I just want to test the potency of a mix between a curse and a poison,” Jake said casually.
“I see. I must add further that when it comes to feedback, I will only be able to answer any questions and not volunteer information,” the attendant further elaborated. “More restrictions may also apply. Is this acceptable to the Creator? If not, there are plenty of potential test subjects in the worlds through the portals and the lower floors of the House.”
“The terms are just fine,” Jake said with a nod. “Ah, finally, can you turn off your own perception of pain to not make this an unpleasant experience?”
“I can if that is what the Creator wants.”
Just like that, Jake recruited the best test subject one could imagine and quickly got experimenting. The attendant quickly followed him to the lab, where he took off his robe and wore only a pair of pants to allow Jake to see the visual response of his attacks better.
Jake entered a hardcore session of constant experimentation from here on out, with the attendant gladly helping whenever he could. Having already prepared a few potential mixes before he went to grab his test subject, Jake got started right away.
Eternal Hunger in hand, Jake started out by doing a few baseline tests by punching the attendant in the stomach while activating the curse energy in the mythical weapon. His katar easily penetrated flesh and drew blood from the male human attendant, yet the man didn’t even react, even with a bloody hole in his stomach.
Pulling Eternal Hunger back out, Jake saw the curse do its thing for a little while as it absorbed some of the attendant’s life energy. Alas, Jake felt that only a few seconds later, this energy dispersed, having not truly benefitted the weapon or Jake in any way. So that was one exploit out the window.
Jake continued his test a few hundred more times and had the attendant compare the effectiveness of each attack. Jake noted down the baseline “damage number” as 100. Each hit Jake made dealt between 97 and 103 damage on this scale. This number was after Jake factored out the damage done from the stab alone by also doing a few stabs with Eternal Hunger while he suppressed the curse energy entirely. As for how he got this number? Well, he just asked how many health points the attendant lost. Pretty simple, actually.
He also only needed a few of these stabs to establish he could hit in pretty much the exact same way several times in a row if he wished. Jake had brilliant control and a good feel—clearly due to his wonderful Perception—for precisely how hard he was hitting every time, which made this a lot easier.
Anyway, with a baseline down, it was time to test some of Jake’s poison.
Taking out Eternal Hunger again, he coated it in the poison he had created. It seemed to nearly instantly evaporate, but in fact, it stuck to the weapon and seemed to almost merge with it. With the weapon in hand, Jake went over to the attendant and got ready.
“Prepare yourself,” Jake said.
“Very well.”
Without waiting further, Jake stabbed forward as he stirred the curse and made it come to life. The katar penetrated the attendant’s stomach easily before Jake pulled it out and observed the results. He counted down how long it took for the curse to be eliminated by the attendant’s vital energy and got a feel for the damage as he looked at the man.
After some quick calculations and asking him how much health he’d lost, Jake frowned. “A 91, huh? But the curse energy dispersed in nearly half the time…”
So, Jake had weakened the curse, probably by making it consume some of its energy to eat the poison, but he had also made it work with twice its usual speed. Curses were usually slow burns, much like poisons. They took time to properly take effect. Jake’s Eternal Hunger curse was a bit different, as it was usually pretty fast-acting, especially due to most working to eliminate it immediately, making it devour some vital energy quickly before running out of steam.
However, this time, the curse worked even faster, which was, in all honesty, not something Jake was really interested in. Sure, if it worked faster, it was fine, but not at the cost of potency. So, back to the drawing board.
A week later, Jake was stabbing the attendant again and once more evaluating the results.
“A 134? Good on paper, but…” Jake muttered. This time, the problem was the exact opposite. The curse energy had acted slow as fuck, so even if it had done more damage overall, its damage per second was far, far lower, having taken nearly four times as long. Moreover, the curse had somehow gotten even less aggressive than before and only really bothered to eat the vital energy that got close to it.
Jake once more sat down to think and test different things. He ended up making many more concoctions over the next few days, most of which he could sell back for a Merit Point profit after he tested some from each batch. He got different results, some of which were purely positive and kind of did what he wanted, but he still wasn’t satisfied.
He couldn’t figure out what he was missing and even began looking in the books to see if there was some crucial ingredient that could help him, but nothing came up.
Suddenly, one day, Jake was reading a book about more effectively using cursed items. It wasn’t even directly related to what he was doing, but as he read the book, he had an epiphany. He realized he had been looking at the problem all wrong.
“Why am I just trying to make the existing curse energy more potent?” Jake muttered. “I should draw out more…”
The book talked about how one would often use “bait” to activate certain cursed items to draw out their energy more easily, which got Jake thinking… why didn’t he do that? If there was something he had a lot of, it was curse energy. In fact, the amount Jake accumulated had only grown since Yalsten, as Eternal Hunger devoured more than it used when he employed it.
Even now, it held enough pure curse energy to flood at least an entire solar system, which was, needless to say, far more than Jake could ever use or control as a C-grade. It was a bit like how he walked around with a drop of blood from the Malefic Viper that could probably poison a god to death if he had any way of using the power and Records within.
Jake quickly adapted his plans after getting this new idea related to using bait. He used some of the ingredients it suggested, which, luckily enough, turned out to primarily be a slightly modified version of the usual healing potion. Jake was very lucky in many ways, as the Sin Curse of Hunger was considered the simplest of them all due to how it wanted to eat pretty much anything.
Only three days later, Jake made his first uncommon-rarity version of this poison and quickly tested it with his very helpful assistant.
Coating Eternal Hunger with this new poison, Jake prepared to stab the man the same way as always as he drew out some of the curse energy. As he did so, it was like more energy hidden inside wanted to come along, making it far easier for Jake to pour out more than before. Extremely dark red mist began to seep out of the weapon as the poison coating turned blacker and more reddish in sheen. Jake could tell the energy was mixing, but the curse hadn’t pounced yet. Feeling the energy, he gladly let the curse have at it as he stabbed forward and drew blood.
Once more, the attendant didn’t really react, even as the weapon embedded itself in his stomach. Jake felt the coating rapidly being consumed, especially when the energy of the attendant was thrown into the mix. Black veins spread from the attendant’s wounds as Jake pulled back his weapon and felt the results with Sense of the Malefic Viper and his other senses as best he could.
The curse energy ended up taking about the same time to be consumed as when he didn’t use any coating at all, but the result was far better.
“168,” Jake said happily.
Other alchemists would probably have found his happiness odd, though, as the cost of this increased power was Jake having used more than three times the usual curse energy to only inflict around seventy percent more damage. The efficiency had gone way down, but Jake was still happy, as he would gladly spend curse energy like some trust-fund kid in a toy store if it meant he could do more damage faster.
Finding himself on the right track, Jake refined his concoction over the next week and a half. All in all, it didn’t end up being as complicated as he had feared, and in a pretty quick fashion, he created a product he was satisfied with.
[Cursed Stimulant of Hunger (Rare)] – A poison created with the express purpose of feeding a cursed item related to the Sin Curse of Hunger, allowing it to indulge in gluttony uncontrollably. Whenever this poison comes into contact with curse energy related to the Sin Curse of Hunger, it shall be rapidly consumed to attract and draw out more curse energy from nearby mediums and serve as a stimulant for the curse by turning it far more volatile, consuming significantly more curse energy in the process.
It was an entirely new poison, unlike anything Jake had ever created before. He kind of liked how it framed the fact it consumed more energy as one of the “benefits” of the poison, which was somewhat correct. This was ultimately still a poison that worked against the Sin Curse of Hunger in particular, and if Jake fought some creature relying on the Sin Curse, it would not want to be hit by the poison at all. Of course, the volatility did make it deal far more damage in the same time span, but the increased cost and lack of control would rarely, if ever, be worth it. Unless they were Jake. And as for how much more damage it dealt now?
“242,” Jake concluded after his final tests with a huge grin.
Nearly one and a half times the damage with each stab from the curse energy. It was about as good as he could ever expect.
When it came to downsides, it now consumed roughly eleven times more curse energy. For a one hundred and forty percent increase, this was even more inefficient than the uncommon-rarity versions Jake made, but he didn’t care.
He did consider improving it further, but he realized that diminishing returns were kicking in hard. Maybe he could push it to 260 or 265, but at that point, it would consume sixteen to eighteen times more curse energy. No, he would have to make some hardcore qualitative improvements if he wanted to make a better version, and that just wasn’t worth it. Thus, he would simply be satisfied with this one.
Sure, it was only a rare-rarity poison, but Jake genuinely believed this was a good item to submit. Rarity wasn’t everything, after all, and this item had a good “story” related to its crafting process, especially the part where he had an attendant help him. So, to conclude, one more Creation down, eight to go.
Ah, and speaking of another Creation-in-progress, it had been about two months since Jake sent Temlat on his training mission. Jake had only gone once, about three weeks ago, to see if the guy was still alive, and he most definitely was. Based on how the centaur camp was on high alert and definitely on edge, he seemed to be creating some trouble, even if he had yet to get through.
The only reason Jake waited that long to check in was because he felt like Temlat was still alive. Even now, he felt the young man still kicking, and if he trusted anything, it was his guts. In fact, he got the feeling the young man would soon be back, and just in time for Jake having finished his poison.
Now, there was one last thing to address… How good would this poison be in actual combat? Well, to put it nicely, it was completely and utterly useless when he could use any of his other poisons, as quite frankly, a good dose of Necrotic Poison did far more damage than even a double-damage dose of Eternal Hunger’s curse. One could argue the life-stealing effect of the curse would make up for this, but not really. There was also the problem of all the poison being consumed in just a single stab, requiring that he reapply it all the time.
So, to conclude, it kinda sucked from a practical standpoint. However, that didn’t mean it would continue to be that way, and Jake was certain he would find use of this kind of poison in the future… Who knows—maybe he could even use some of what he learned when it was time to play with rituals later on in the Challenge Dungeon.
But for now, it was time to go and turn in his second Creation to the Architect.
Chapter 77
The Prodigal Son Returns
”So, you’re not angry I had one of your employees act like a test dummy for several weeks?” Jake said as he stood in front of the Bound God, having presented his second Creation. “Imagine how many perfectly pristine statues he could have looked like he was cleaning during that time!”
“Calling them my employees is not entirely accurate, now, is it?” the Architect answered, already done putting away Jake’s poison. “They are merely summoned creatures, created to serve a simple function and give ambiance to the House of the Architect.”
“Can I, you know, get a little hint of how good this Creation was?” Jake said, smiling. “I know it isn’t as unique as the first one, but just a tiny bit of direction would be great.”
“No. Now, be on your way before you try to glean any more information than you should.”
“No thoughts on any of my current projects? Anything to say regarding my little student? He’s an interesting lad, don’t you thi—”
Jake still had his mouth open when he appeared standing in front of the entrance to the Architect’s room, the door shut. He stood there for a moment before shaking his head. The Bound God was really stingy when it came to giving out tips or even allowing Jake to be in her presence. It sucked a bit, as Jake would have loved to “glean some things he shouldn’t,” as she said.
Returning to the alchemy lab, Jake wondered what his next project should be. He had worked on poisons for a good while now and considered if he should go in an entirely different direction. Referring back to his list, he put on his thinking cap.
He considered looking into making an elixir or perhaps a ritual. He also had the skill improvements to think about… So much to do and so much time if he was fine fucking over his party members by spending several years within this Challenge Dungeon. Jake obviously was not, which was part of the reason he had submitted a rare poison and not tried to make something more impressive.
Considering Temlat should also soon be back—assuming he survived—Jake went with just reading some books on something he knew he would want to craft no matter what. So, walking to the stacks of books he had left so Temlat could take what he wanted, he began to go through them. He had noticed Temlat had brought a few books with him, but he didn’t really care. He would get them back at some point anyway, and even if his student died, he could just go retrieve them himself.
After looking through the stacks a bit, Jake finally found one that looked promising as a starter: Grimoire Creation: To Forge a Legacy.
It was a bloody huge tome that Jake picked up and began to slowly go through. Even if he had a skill that gave him some instinctive knowledge, it never hurt to also study a bit on the subject. He also saw a few more books on the subject when he picked this one up, so he definitely had plenty of reading material for a good while.
Five or so days went by before an attendant walked into the alchemy room, giving Jake a big smile. Putting the book away and getting up from the bed he had been lying in, Jake walked out of the lab and toward the portal room, where he knew a certain someone had just arrived. He had asked the attendants to inform him when someone arrived through one of the portals, and it appeared someone just had.
Entering the portal room, Jake saw a young man lying on the ground, breathing heavily. Blood colored the otherwise pristine white floor as it dropped from several wounds, both new and old. Temlat was looking bloody exhausted, and a dense air hung around him, infused with his cursed energy. Without even having to check, Jake knew the young half-elf had made quite some progress.
[Half-Elf – lvl 194]
Temlat had already maxed out his profession before following Jake, meaning he had gained levels solely from leveling his class. Ten or so class levels, it appeared, all in the span of two and a half months or so. Great progress, especially at late-tier D-grade, which proved he hadn’t been slacking off.
“Still alive, huh?” Jake said, smiling beneath his mask as he walked over.
The young half-elf groaned as he sat up and looked at Jake. “I am.”
His gaze held a level of defiance and indignation Jake found endearing. What’s more, Jake detected a minor hint of hatred that stemmed not just from the surrounding curse energy, but a small grudge against Jake for having put him through this kind of hellish training. At least Jake assumed that was the reason.
“Are you angry with me?” Jake said as he stood over the sitting Temlat. “Do you think this method was too harsh? Too risky? Do you despise me because you nearly died more than a few times?” Temlat didn’t answer, but his silence was good enough of a response. “Articulate why you feel this. Explain to me your indignation.”
Jake’s student remained silent for a while before he finally answered, “You just threw me away to fend for myself.”
“I am perfectly aware of that,” Jake said without arguing. “But so what?”
“You… You barely taught me anything and then just left me there to die… What did you even do? How are you even teaching me? I… If I died, everything up till now would have been for nothing!” Temlat was practically yelling with gritted teeth, clearly having built up quite the resentment over these last couple of months.
“Remember what you asked of me when I took you in as a student,” Jake said in an admonishing tone. “You want me to make you strong, and that is exactly what I am doing. Do you think power comes without risk? Do you think anyone truly powerful hasn’t risked their life innumerable times throughout their Path? What exactly did you expect when you accepted my offer? That we would sit in a lab for a few years, and you would emerge an expert capable of fulfilling all your desires without ever having to risk your life?”
