The Primal Hunter 11, page 77
Choosing what you wanted to corrode wasn’t that much different from before the system, but instead of targeting certain chemical compounds, you targeted affinities and even concepts. All metals partly shared an affinity, and they all had the same conceptual Records of being metal. So, if Jake made a metal-melting acid, it would work on all metals, at least somewhat.
The same was true if Jake made something that was just a mana-melting acid. As for what acids could target, the narrower it was, the more potent the acid tended to be against that specific thing. So, if Jake made an acid targeting earth-affinity mana, it would be much more effective than one generally targeting mana. What’s more, it could target only that one thing while ignoring everything else around it, not wasting any energy on what Jake didn’t want to get rid of.
There was one other big reason Jake thought creating his very first acid would be a good idea. Jake had nine Creations he had planned to submit, and while all of them used his arcane affinity… none of them really made any use of the destructive aspects of his affinity. They had all been about the stable elements, especially the small marble he submitted—though that entire thing had more to do with Jake Juice than anything else, his arcane energy just the packaging to show off the energy.
Jake did use his destructive arcane affinity when doing alchemy. He used it to eliminate things he didn’t want or need during crafting. To break apart certain ingredients. Something that was extremely similar to how acids worked.
Using his destructive arcane energy was incredibly difficult in his usual poisons due to its… well, destructive tendencies. It liked to destroy anything that wasn’t stable arcane energy, and coupled with volatile poison that also wanted to kill stuff, the two of them went for each other the second Jake wasn’t holding the reins.
Acids were a lot more stable. It wouldn’t fight back as long as the acid wasn’t made to corrode Jake’s arcane affinity. This meant Jake only had to address the destructive arcane energy to make it calm down—a task that wasn’t as difficult as one would expect as long as it wasn’t actively being attacked. Jake’s arcane affinity was a lot about balance, so all Jake needed to do was stabilize the destructive arcane energy just enough to not want to consume itself along with the acid. He would put it in sync with the acid so his arcane affinity would work in tandem with it, helping with the corrosion. So that when the acid became aggressive, so would the arcane energy.
It also wasn’t like acid wouldn’t have uses outside of combat, especially if he infused his arcane energy. There would be many instances where he could use it together with transmutation to corrode away unwanted parts of an item he planned to transmute, and the experience of learning how to make a good acid and how exactly acids worked would surely prove useful. Especially if one considered how an acid could target very specific things to corrode.
Finally, Jake had one more reason he wanted to learn acids… one many probably wouldn’t expect:
Blood of the Malefic Viper.
Jake had noted before how his blood was pretty much acid in its own right, even if it was a pretty weak one, and he knew that a part of the Path of the Malefic Viper revolved around acids. He also highly suspected that either Palate—due to stomach acid, though that may be a stretch—and/or Blood of the Malefic Viper were skills more directly related to it.
If Jake actually learned how to make acids and even consumed a lot of it, his blood would also get more potent acidic properties, which would help when he used his blood as a crafting ingredient. Considering how much damn blood Jake could spill these days, he could see that proving very potent. So, yeah, one of the reasons Jake wanted to learn how to make acids was because he thought it would be part of upgrading Legacy of the Malefic Viper skills and because he wanted to make his own blood more acidic.
Anyway, these were all the many reasons and thoughts Jake had in regard to making an acid. As for the Hemonecrotic Poison Jake was also working on? Well, he only had all this time to work on his acid because he was already done with that one.
[Potent Hemonecrotic Poison (Rare)] – Mixing potent Hemotoxin and Necrotic Poisons, a Hemonecrotic Poison has been made, capable of rotting your foe from the inside. If injected, this poison will bind itself to your foe’s vital energies and blood, using it as a vehicle to spread necrotic toxins. Wounds caused by Necrotic Poison are extremely difficult to heal. Cleansing the Hemonecrotic Poison vital energy is extremely difficult.
Alright, it wasn’t really right to say he was done, but he had made one. Reading its description, it did exactly what Jake had wanted it to. It had the good properties of both Necrotic Poison and Hemotoxins, making it an extremely difficult poison to deal with for anyone unlucky enough to get it into their system.
The entire crafting process had been precisely as Jake expected. It was just a lot of work to make the two poisons properly mix while checking books whenever something didn’t work, and if the books didn’t have any answers, he’d just kept trying until he eventually found the problem himself.
This poison was probably Jake’s strongest yet against other humanoids or beasts. It would deal a lot more damage than his usual poisons, for sure. So, Jake had done the only logical thing he could and promptly went to the Merit Exchange Store and sold his very first Hemonecrotic Poison.
What? Jake wasn’t going to actually submit this one. Jake had checked the time, and out of all the Challenge Dungeons, he would definitely spend the most time in this one. As he had been pretty damn fast in Minaga’s Labyrinth despite clearing so many Sections, he was even ahead of schedule. Two years had been allocated for all the Challenge Dungeons, and Jake hadn’t even spent that long in any of them so far. It had gotten close with the Colosseum of Mortals and Test of Character Challenge Dungeons, but it hadn’t taken quite that long.
This meant Jake was fine with spending a bit longer in the House of the Architect as long as he saved two years for the Neverending Journey.
He also had to consider Temlat. The half-elf was improving, yes, but Jake didn’t want to pressure him and put him on a timer, and who knows when he would evolve? He sure as hell wouldn’t tell his student he had to evolve just because he got tired of waiting. That would go against any kind of teaching style Jake would ever want to be associated with.
Plus, Jake had kind of forgotten that Evolution Quests were a thing, and Temlat had come to him a few days prior and said he still needed to do those. So, yeah, that added a bit to the time Jake thought he would originally take to evolve.
That was why Jake settled on just letting Temlat decide when Jake would be done with the House of the Architect. He wouldn’t rush himself to complete the Hemonecrotic Poison. He would only submit one to the Architect after Temlat was also ”submitted.”
If not, all Jake would be doing was making himself impatient, waiting for Temlat to get done.
As for the acid, Jake decided that he would be fine submitting that even before Temlat had reached his final form. Even if he did want to make a good acid, the regular poison was still his biggest priority, so that would be the final thing he submitted. It did kind of go against the notion of saving the best for last, but the Architect had never mentioned that was a thing, so Jake should be fine.
Time quickly passed as the usual routine continued. Jake had more time to focus on Temlat since his poison and acid projects didn’t take up all his time, especially the poison, as he was just reiterating and improving on the current poison while making a few small improvements.
Finally, one day, Temlat approached him…
”Lord Thayne,” he said in his usual, semi-respectful voice.
His body looked a lot different than when Jake first met him. He had a dark aura around him and had begun to wear a cloak at all times, with shadowy energy hiding him due to his stealth skill. His eyes looked full of determination, and Jake could feel a faint bloodlust within him. A suppressed anger.
[Half-Elf – lvl 199]
Seeing his level, Jake had a good idea why he was there.
”You got your race evolution quest?” he asked.
”Yes,” Temlat answered in a solemn and serious tone, making Jake frown a bit.
”What do you need to do?”
”It asks me to reaffirm… or reject the source of my hatred…”
Jake wasn’t sure what it meant, but he quickly got a good idea and sighed. ”Well, it seems like it’s time for you to finally visit your homeworld again.”
Because surely, nothing could go wrong there, right?
Chapter 87
Temlat's Path
Temlat hadn’t been home ever since the day Jake fetched him from the dystopian futuristic world he came from. He hadn’t even asked to go once. Instead, he had stuck primarily to the centaur world and the jungle world for all his training sessions.
His reasoning was that he didn’t want to risk losing control of his emotions. Also, he was certain he was still wanted in his homeworld after having escaped from that noble woman on the floating island. Jake had briefly asked Temlat if he wanted him to go and check things out, but the half-elf had answered in the negative. He didn’t even want Jake to tell the lady Temlat was dead or anything like that.
One of the reasons for this was his desire to protect those he actually did care about. The freedom fighting force he had been working with were the only people in that entire dystopian world he considered friends and family, and he feared getting them involved wouldn’t end well. If they knew Jake had taken Temlat in, they would want to see him, and if they were told he had died, Temlat feared they might seek revenge or do something dumb. Jake also sensed that Temlat was afraid of how they would look at him these days. He had changed a lot in the time he had spent with Jake, the curse energy affecting him significantly.
Jake had simply done as Temlat asked and continued to go with his free-range teaching style. However, even so, he gladly joined his student when he asked Jake to join him on this first visit back.
Standing in the portal room, Jake gave Temlat a look, noticing he was hesitating. “Nervous?”
“I… What if they can’t recognize me?” Temlat muttered. “My friends, that is. You know… the last time they saw me, I was running from some monstrous cloaked guy, and now I have suddenly been gone for nearly two years. I feel like I have changed a lot during this time, too… I know I have changed.”
“Any changes will surely be easily explained away by telling them that the monstrous cloaked guy decided to help you get stronger,” Jake said casually and calmly, trying to reassure his student.
Temlat flashed a light smile, the curse energy around him temporarily fading a bit. “Yeah, probably. No matter what, they’re gonna be ecstatic when they learn why I am back. When they learn what we can now do to set things right.”
Jake just nodded, genuinely hoping his reunion would go well. Jake knew the feeling Temlat was currently experiencing, as he had felt something very similar when he had first gone to see his parents after the integration.
To return to loved ones a changed man wasn’t easy. You wondered if they would accept you, and even if they did accept you, if they would begin to treat you differently. Especially if you’d experienced a large shift in your status. Jake had already been tired of everyone acting all weird because he was the Chosen of Villy, and he really hadn’t wanted his parents to also act differently back then. Jake had gotten lucky, and he hoped Temlat would share the same fate.
“Let’s not delay anymore,” Jake finally said as he gave Temlat a pat on the back. “Let’s go.”
Temlat nodded. “Right.”
It was time for him to either reaffirm or reject the source of his hatred. In order to do that, he would first meet up with the freedom fighter organization to learn what had happened during his absence. To have clarified how shit the world still was and to hear their opinions on whether his deep hatred was truly justified. In other words, he would have a discourse about his own hatred to either come out feeling vindicated in what was to come or reconsider his entire Path. Needless to say, Jake wanted him to feel confident in the Path he was walking, but even if he ended up rejecting the curse and evolving in another direction, it would be interesting for sure.
Jake wouldn’t involve himself either way. It wasn’t his job or why he was there. He was just there to guide Temlat in whatever direction he decided to take his life.
Walking through the portal, Jake was instantly hit by the slightly metallic smell and taste of the futuristic world. He didn’t like it at all, and his unprompted Sense of the Malefic Viper made him aware that pretty much nothing alchemical could grow anywhere nearby. Yeah, definitely happy Haven has strict building codes.
“It looks the same,” Temlat muttered as the curse energy around him fully retracted, absorbed into himself to keep it hidden.
“Even if you have changed a lot in recent times, two years is just an insignificant blip in the existence of a world like this,” Jake commented. “Especially if those who live there have no desire to pursue change.”
Temlat looked at the floating mansions still high up in the sky, adding, “Or if those who hold power do not allow any change to happen.”
“That too,” Jake agreed. “Anyhow, this is all you. I’m just gonna be the little spirit that’ll follow along as you decide what you want to do. Feel free to ask me if you need something, but I won’t interfere in anything unless you ask me directly, alright?”
Temlat nodded with determination. “Thank you, Teacher.”
Jake had already been focusing as they talked, his body slowly shifting on the spectrum of Perception. The stable arcane mana covered his body, and soon his form faded away, making him invisible to anyone who wasn’t Temlat. Temlat was only able to see Jake because he already knew he was there to begin with.
The two of them headed into the city, Temlat flying over it with confidence. His own stealth skill wasn’t too shabby, and Jake knew most weaker C-grade couldn’t see him unless they really tried. Even if they were spotted, Temlat had good odds of defending himself, even if a C-grade got mixed in there.
While Jake hadn’t been the most attentive, he did keep up with Temlat’s progress. He knew the young half-elf had gotten a lot stronger in the nearly two years since Jake took him in, to the level where he had even managed to take down a handful of C-grades, that centaur warlord included. Sure, he did sometimes use tricks to get it done, but as a hunter who liked to start a fight with an extremely strong Powershot, Jake couldn’t exactly fault him for getting early advantages.
Temlat and Jake had appeared quite far up in the air after going through the portal but soon headed downward toward the slums. The city was absolutely massive, but Temlat clearly knew where to go as he beelined for a certain area Jake recognized. It was close to where he had originally been “kidnapped” by Jake, and also close to the headquarters of their particular freedom fighter squad.
Also, while Jake had said he wouldn’t interfere, he could ask questions.
“Did your former friends have any C-grades among them?” Jake asked while wondering if they even stood a chance against the C-grades living in their mansions with C-grade guards.
“We had one,” Temlat shared as they kept flying. “Our leader. He used to work security for one of the mansion owners, but after a particularly bad case, he quit. The government tried to make trouble because he didn’t work for any of the people in power, but he managed to convince them he had retired and that he would contact them if he ever wanted to go back to work. Now, he is under surveillance, but as long as he stays in the same area, there shouldn’t be any problems.”
“I see,” Jake said, nodding solemnly.
He didn’t say anything more… because he felt the area in front of him. There wasn’t a single C-grade anywhere to be found below any of the high-rises or the floating islands—at least, not in the entire area of his Pulse of Perception. Jake didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but he got a bad feeling.
Soon, they arrived in the district where Temlat’s squad used to reside. Jake could feel the half-elf’s excitement but bit his tongue even as they landed, and Temlat began to scout the area. They went toward a few warehouses that stored ores from the underground mines, then headed inside and toward a hidden staircase.
Temlat frowned a bit as he went closer, muttering to himself, “It hasn’t been reinforced for a while… Our leader was the one who did that…”
With a careful demeanor, he unlocked the hidden pathway and entered using some secret code, Jake following. Down below the warehouse, Jake saw several people gathered, none of them particularly powerful. At least, none of them matched up to Temlat at all.
The people in the room had also noticed Temlat was there, as the entryway also included a detection spell. One that Jake naturally dodged easily with his stealth skill. Anyway, the people in the room quickly hid themselves, likely preparing for an ambush.
Right before they reached the final door, Temlat stopped and raised a knuckle. He knocked in an odd pattern and said, “The Broken Collar has returned.”
One would assume the people inside would calm down with this revelation, but instead, they tensed up. Jake was quite curious, as he saw that nearly all of them carried what looked like laser rifles or guns, and while he very much wanted to disassemble them, that wasn’t why he was there.
Temlat opened the door only to have all the weapons trained on him. The half-elf was confused, but before he could say anything, a woman who also happened to have the highest level in the room—190—raised her voice.
“Temlat!? What the fuck are you doing here? No, where have you been!?”
“I… I just got back,” Temlat stammered. He had removed his hood and hidden the curse energy as best he could, but Jake still saw some of it shimmer beneath the surface, barely being suppressed. “As for where I was… a lot has happened, and I cannot tell you exac—”
