The Primal Hunter 15: A LitRPG Adventure, page 69
Despite things being tough, though, Jake remained confident. He still had a few cards up his sleeve, after all.
Diving into the melee once more, Jake dodged between the tendrils and summoned a set of stable arcane barriers to block an incoming shadow dagger that flew at him from behind. Stabbing forward, he landed another nice jab, then had to quickly retreat when an axe came down from above.
Circling around the B-grade, Jake tried to make use of his better mobility and smaller frame. As he got behind the Chimera, he noticed something. The Shadow Realm appeared less dark at the B-grade’s back, and his body felt lighter and faster, which was when he realized…
Those flowers... their magic only works frontally.
Jake wanted to punch himself for not figuring it out faster, though even if he had, it was doubtful how useful that knowledge would have been. The tendrils themselves could turn without the body having to, meaning Jake was only free from the flowers’ influence for less than half a second. Enough to land another quick stab, but nothing more.
Retreating away, Jake avoided both daggers, but two spear-tendrils came quicker than he had anticipated, putting him in the tough spot of having to choose between the axe and the spears. The choice was clear as Jake had his thigh pierced, the attack luckily not strong enough to go all the way through.
He also used this as an opportunity, dismissing one of his katars and grasping the vine once it pulled out of his leg. Right as it was in his grasp, his hand began to glow a deep green as Touch of the Malefic Viper activated, sending a flood of poison through the tendril and toward the main body of the Chimera.
The B-grade quickly tried to make Jake stop, but he managed to avoid two hits while still keeping hold of the tendril. His grip was too strong for the thin appendage to break free, but the Chimera still tried to pull him all over the place.
Finally, it swung an axe that Jake couldn’t dodge without letting go. Right before the attack reached Jake, he held out his hand, and an explosion of arcane mana sent him flying back with sudden speed, dragging the tendril along with him... right into the path of the axe.
The Chimera screamed as it cut off its own tendril, poisoned blood flying everywhere from the amputated limb. With a small smirk, Jake quickly pulled out his bow and took full advantage of the B-grade’s lacking experience and combat prowess once more.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but overreactions to taking a lot of damage were a great way to take even more damage. Most creatures considered competent learned to fight through pain, didn’t feel it in the first place, or had some way to deal with the pain. Evidently, the Chimera was not one such creature, as it reeled back in agony and gave Jake time to release a follow-up far more powerful than should’ve been possible.
The Arcane Powershot, charged for several seconds, blasted into the shoulder region of the reeling Chimera, piercing straight through the cloak and into its flesh and bark.
His aim had been far from random, as he had targeted close to where one of the flower-tendrils connected to the rest of the Chimera’s body. Initially, he had only hoped to maybe blow off the tendril, but with the extra time provided by the Chimera’s pathetic reaction to losing a single tendril, he had aimed for more.
The Chimera lost its entire shoulder section, including the tendril that was sent flying into the Shadow Realm, the flower of flesh wilting after being separated from the B-grade.
This attack seemed to shock the Chimera back to reality, as its survival instinct finally won out over its reaction to pain. Annoyingly, despite losing one flower, the suppressive effect on Jake hadn’t lessened in the slightest, meaning he probably had to get rid of both to free himself fully.
That would be quite difficult, as the B-grade was back to attacking, now with newfound fervor after losing two tendrils. The small one Jake had severed using the Chimera’s own attack wasn’t healing either, due to the effects of Touch and all the other poisons coursing through the B-grade’s system.
Despite losing one of its methods of attack, the Chimera wasn’t any easier to deal with. Quite the opposite. It had been more arrogant and confident after its power-up, but as the fight continued, it had realized Jake still wasn’t an easy target. Its confidence had slowly morphed into frustration and a slight sense of desperation that now colored its attacks.
Usually, this wouldn't necessarily be hard for Jake. A powerful opponent losing their cool and attacking wantonly was a good thing under normal circumstances, but this B-grade had never been skilled enough at fighting for it to have any effect. One would expect that when technique and coordination started to falter, it would have a negative effect, but for the Chimera, its desperation only made its attacks faster and stronger.
Under a constant onslaught of axes, daggers, tendrils, and even the B-grade trying to ram him with its entire body, Jake was put solidly on the back foot. While being pushed back repeatedly, he continued to dodge, block, and deflect as much as he possibly could, the damage accumulating with every passing second.
This reckless attacking method did leave plenty of openings for him to exploit, but he had a hard time committing. If he wanted to strike back, he had to get close to the Chimera, putting him in a dangerous position. What’s more, with the current state of his hands, he wasn’t even sure he could put all his power into them without his fingers falling off.
Something needs to change, Jake told himself, doing something he had delayed as long as possible. Using the special function of his necklace, a Malefic Health Potion appeared inside his mouth. He munched down on the entire thing, allowing the flood of vital energy to rush through his body.
Mentally, he tried to guide as much of this energy as possible towards his hands, fingers, and even wrists, which were also starting to experience trouble. He instantly felt his situation improve, and he got a second wind to strike back, landing a few stabs in exchange for more cuts marring his own body.
He was still waiting for an opportunity to get the final flower tendril out of the way, but the Chimera was very defensive of it, even with its semi-desperate fighting style. With the flower still up, ranged combat wasn’t a feasible option. While the effect was barely noticeable while near the Chimera, he still considered going for the last lotus, potentially even sacrificing something in the process.
However, even having to do something like that felt... insulting. The only reason he even had to consider something like that was because of the state of his body... No, not his body, his damn hands.
Jake knew Toughness wasn’t his highest stat, and it never would be, but he had still never suffered this badly. Sure, he was often rattled by heavy impacts when he had to block something, and the bones in his fingers had broken at least a few thousand times, but usually it never limited him.
With a good flow of energy and his Soulshape intact, Jake could continue to use his body normally, even if it was severely damaged. Things like muscles and tendons shouldn’t be what limited him, and in some ways, they still weren’t. Jake could still forcefully move his hands and fingers as usual. The problem was that if he punched too hard or blocked too powerful a blow, his fingers would just... bend. Break.
No amount of energy or Soulshape stability could stop that from happening.
At this point, the fight wasn’t solely about beating the Chimera, but about Jake overcoming himself and this obvious weakness he had uncovered. He hated the feeling, and many of his plans were slowly being washed away by his stubbornness.
Did he have a Protean Arrow prepared? Gaze? Moment? More uses of Eternal Shadow? Yes to all of them, but Jake didn’t want to use them. Not now. Not as a crutch for him to escape his own shortcomings.
Instead, he foolishly faced the challenge head-on.
As the fight continued escalating, the two exchanged blow after blow in a vicious brawl. The Chimera’s durability and longevity were truly its most outstanding properties, as despite Jake doing all he could to inflict more poison and even using Touch a few times here and there, the B-grade was refusing to fall.
With the shadows empowering it, the monster made full use of its environment by continuing to absorb energy from all around it. The cloak also kept mending itself by absorbing shadow energy whenever he managed to damage it, leading to a less-than-stellar cycle.
Jake’s belief that he had an advantage as long as he dragged things out rapidly faded, as the Chimera didn’t seem to tire at all, no matter what he did to it—especially once he realized just how much energy it was constantly getting from the Shadow Realm. That was definitely a part of Umbra’s influence he could do without.
That meant he would have to do something drastic to get back his advantage, and he was wracking his brain for what to do. Especially about his hands. He considered many possibilities and searched his memories for what he had done in the past, and a few ideas emerged, with one memory especially standing out.
He remembered the time he’d battled the Hive King termite. How he had failed to penetrate its carapace with normal attacks and how trying to stab it had been a downright painful experience, as it’d felt like punching a wall. Back then, he had infused his entire body with stable arcane energy right as the Hive King charged into him, all in an attempt to stand perfectly still while also increasing his durability.
Sure, he’d still gotten absolutely wrecked by the Hive King and used Eternal Shadow to avoid taking lethal damage, but the concept had worked to some extent. Of course, things weren’t as simple as just infusing his hands with stable arcane mana. Otherwise, he would have done so a long time ago, and technically, he was already infusing his entire body with stable arcane energy through Arcane Awakening whenever he used his boosting skill.
Say Jake did infuse his hands with stable arcane mana. It would turn them rigid and not even that much more durable. It also definitely wasn’t a healthy option, and there was a reason that the last time it was used, he’d done so in combination with Eternal Shadow.
Yet... he felt like he was onto something. At least partly. He scoured his memories for other ways, and an obvious one that entered his mind was naturally Carmen, but he instantly knew her methods weren’t ones he could use. She’d made her entire body into a living weapon through a long period of forging it, and her entire Path as a Runemaiden had made her into what she was. It wasn’t something Jake could mimic on the fly.
However, there was one person in Jake’s memories who was both a human and had managed to display what he would call superhuman durability and resilience, even among other superhumans. A man who could stand before any beast unarmored and unarmed, yet still be regarded by most as possessing every advantage. Someone who was perhaps the strongest melee combatant in the entire multiverse:
Valdemar.
He would never let the limitations of the human body inhibit him... No... he probably didn’t even believe his body had any limitations in the first place, and if something did bother him, he would barrel through and fix it with sheer will and his Transcendent fighting aura.
Jake was pushed back yet again by an axe that got too close for comfort, leaving a cut down his front. By now, his entire body was covered in wounds and the Chimera was growing in confidence, as he had a hard time finding opportunities to attack with the current state of his body.
He did get a brief opportunity when he tried to apply some kind of temporary measure. Strings of arcane mana appeared and wrapped around both his hands to try to keep them together, even if every bone was broken.
The Chimera didn’t seem keen on giving him more time, however, as it charged once more. Jake met it head-on and directly parried a shadow dagger before proceeding to punch forward with a Piercing Fang.
Power rushed through his arm and hand as he struck the B-grade directly in the chest. The katar went straight through the cloak and into the bark. However, at the same time, the force also went back into his hand and arm, and at this point, even with wrappings of arcane mana, his poor fingers had reached their limits.
All four fingers broke entirely at their base when the katar pressed into them, his hand buckling unwillingly. Jake grimaced in pain and quickly pulled back, but in the process, he had to let go of his katar, as he could no longer open and close his hand.
The four fingers hung limply, barely connected to the rest of his body, and they’d only stayed attached due to his tattered gloves encasing them.
His only lucky break was that the Chimera had been sent back from the attack, giving him a brief moment to stare down at his broken hand. He tried to close it into a fist, but there was no reaction at all.
Move.
As the Chimera stabilized and quickly positioned itself to attack again, Jake just stood there and looked at his mangled right hand, a feeling of anger and indignation welling up inside of him. He simply refused to acknowledge his body was this weak. That he couldn’t even handle his own attacks. Sure, he could understand something like Arcane Powershot taking a toll on the body, as that could be charged infinitely and was only limited by his own durability, but this current situation?
It was unacceptable.
With his left hand, Jake took out Eternal Hunger again and forcefully placed it in his right hand. Closing his eyes, Jake took several deep breaths even when the Chimera was upon him.
Stability...
Using his arcane energy to make his hand more stable wasn’t a good option—he already knew that—but he wasn’t entirely on the wrong track. He’d already used Arcane Awakening to flood it with arcane energy, so he needed something else to be the source. Something far more fundamental.
Two axes began descending toward Jake’s front, yet he remained unmoving as something stirred in his mind. The two axes got ever closer, until finally... the world slowed.
Jake had entered his Moment of the Primal Hunter, the world as motionless as his body. Eyes still closed, Jake appeared within his own Soulspace for a brief moment and connected with a certain set of Records. These Records took form within his Soulspace, as he had a very vivid memory associated with their Origin.
As Records mixed with memories and his Willpower inside the Soulspace, his otherwise mangled hand began giving off a slightly foreign aura in the real world. The completely ruined fingers rapidly healed, forcefully reattached under the influence of this aura and Jake’s will. As they mended one by one, the fingers slowly closed around the handle of the katar, and the world started moving once more.
Chapter 79
Weakness Overcome
Within the eternal darkness of the Shadow Realm, the goddess who called it her home observed a small corner of this multiverse-covering realm with great interest. A curiosity for sure, considering the involved parties she observed were merely a C- and a B-grade locked in combat.
The entire fight was... sloppy. Almost to a hilarious degree. One fighter was extremely skilled and considered nearly unrivaled in some areas, certainly in his grade and perhaps among all mortals. Meanwhile, the other was unskilled, untrained, and lacked any outstanding abilities. The only advantages it had were its B-grade stats and power that far surpassed those of the more skilled C-grade human.
And sometimes, raw power did overcome technique. The human was struggling, his body unable to keep up with what he required of it. His limbs were giving out with every clash, and Umbra saw the struggle and frustration whenever his body couldn’t adhere to his will.
She guessed the human had some way to turn the tide, but for some reason, he kept stubbornly fighting in the same way. Finally, he reached his apparent limit. It seemed he’d gone one step too far, the accumulated damage passing a point of no return. That last hit had broken the dam, his human form showing its limitations.
Yet he just kept standing there, looking at his hands as if they had greatly betrayed him. After recovering, the Chimera moved to strike in retaliation, and once more, the hunter did not do as one would expect. In fact, quite the opposite.
With an enemy closing in, he closed his eyes. Even as the two axes rose and swung down toward his head, he remained still. Umbra merely observed, having a good idea about what the Chosen was doing. To experience growth in combat was a hallmark of anyone worthy of calling themselves a genius, and this appeared to be one such moment.
The timing could have been slightly better, though. As the axes grew closer, Umbra saw the distortion of time affecting the Chosen. He’d used a skill the goddess had never seen in person, only heard about. From her perspective, it didn’t look like it did anything, but she knew that from the human’s point of view, time no longer moved the same.
To use a survival skill as a way to buy a second of enlightenment was novel, and as the goddess of shadows wondered if it would be enough... she felt it. Nothing so far had even been worthy of raising an eyebrow. The hunter hadn’t shown anything she found outstanding or didn’t already know about.
However, in that moment, she felt a familiar aura from the human. One that belonged to the one man who had shown the multiverse that humanity was a pinnacle race that was there to stay. The aura of a legendary warrior...
Except it wasn’t his aura, even if, for the blink of an eye, it did feel like it. Instead, it was a very faithful imitation born from the Records of Valdemar. As a human, the Chosen naturally had a deep, innate connection to Valdemar, the same way most dark elves were connected to her.
That didn’t make his feat any less impressive, though. To produce an echo of a Primordial’s aura from mere Records...
Umbra couldn’t help but smile as the human opened his eyes again, feeling quite confident he was hiding even more secrets than she’d first assumed.
As Jake’s eyes opened, a feeling of power welled up from both his katars and entered his hands and forearms. His grip was tighter than ever, and as the axes descended toward him, a sense of stability and confidence rushed through his body.
