The Primal Hunter

For so long, they had waited, generation after generation, era after era. Their hope never died, their conviction eternal. Yet the branches died out one by one. Now only a single hall remained - the once glorious order corroded by the march of time.

For only the gods are immortal. Only the gods can stand against time and preserve what was. Perhaps the only reason why his hall had survived so long was that they had one such god among them.

Here, in this world, they were still respected. They had power, after all. But outside, in the other universes, their once mighty order was nearly forgotten. The Lord Protector, the god who watched over them in place of their Patron, having no desire to leave. So, they could only wait. Wait for the day of his return.

The current Hall Master was one of those waiting. She had been in her position for many generations, and like the many predecessors, she too was patient, never losing faith. Every year she dreamed of their Patron's return. And every year, she found herself saddened when nothing happened.

If not for the Lord Protector and the grand legacy left behind, perhaps even they would have forgotten the Malefic One. Many, even today, still doubted he would ever return. But she believed that the Patron was out there, and as long as they waited, as long as they remained forever faithful, the Malefic One was sure to reemerge.

Suddenly she was awakened from her meditation as an old man teleported into her chamber. He wore a black robe with a snake's motif on it, one similar to her own. However, his snake was not giving off the same aura as the one on hers. One had to distinguish ranks after all.

“What do you disturb my meditation for?” the Hall Master asked, slightly annoyed. If this were another petty squabble with the Brimstone Conglomerate, heads would roll.

“Honored Hall Master, the Lord Protector has ordered you to his realm. Immediately,” the man said, bowing deeply.

The Hall Master kneaded her brows, feeling a mix between excitement and fear. This was only the second time she would meet the Lord Protector. The only other time was during her inauguration as Hall Master, and even then, it was only him making an appearance briefly. She knew that the Hall Master that was before her had only met him twice also, the first being his own inauguration and the second being when he reached the peak of mortality. The Lord Protector didn’t even bother to show up at the funeral.

“I shall go at once,” She answered as she teleported out of her chamber. She couldn’t teleport straight to the entrance of the Lord Protectors realm but had to walk the majority of the way due to all the protective wards and spells put up through the ages. A minor inconvenience compared to the security provided.

As she walked further and further down towards the entrance, her nervousness only grew. But at the same time, so did her hope. Had it perhaps finally happened?

Unlike most other grand orders or churches like theirs, the Malefic Order did not build grand castles or towers that breached the skies. Instead, they built into the ground, making vast networks of caves, which wasn’t to say that the splendor of their order in any way could be belittled. The gloriousness and grandness of their halls were among the best. Caves could easily be far more extensive than some landmasses, especially with a bit of space magic mixed in.

The entrance to the Lord Protectors realm finally entered her sight after only a few minutes of descending. The portal unadorned and straightforward, being merely an archway of stone with a portal in. Taking a deep breath, she stepped through.

This was her first time in the Lord Protectors realm, and her expectations were most certainly met. The realm was not very large, perhaps only the space of a few smaller planets. But numerous reptilian creatures lived on the vast landmass that floated beneath her. Very few buildings stood on the entire continent, and only a single one was of any note - the Lord Protectors abode, she assumed.

“Come, child, come quickly!”

She heard the venerated voice of the Lord Protector as she promptly teleported to the source. The god sounded… emotional.

After teleporting, she found the Lord Protector, all alone with a gleam in his eyes as he stared at a colossal obelisk made of black stone. The Hall Master had never seen this obelisk before, but she instantly knew what it was. And she knew what this meant.

made even the Lord Protector’s seem weak in comparison. The rune represented a single message. A message they had been waiting for oh

Malefic Viper was

only tighten her knuckles as she started shaking from excitement. Their Patron, their one true god, was coming back to them. After Eras of waiting, the Malefic One would finally return and once more bring

be made! They had to get everything in the absolute best of conditions. She had to brief

LITTLE SNAPPY! MISSED

for most, one would imagine. But Jake had never thought that a 'habit’ could get old after less than a month. Without even thinking about it, he had found himself munching on mushrooms. Much to his horror, he even found enjoyment in

and now Jake found himself sitting beneath a tree with a mixing bowl in his hand with moss and mushrooms floating in the purified water. After his fight with the boar and a lot of practice with his new Shadow Vault skill, he was excited to find

of bed for. So instead, he had gotten bored and started doing a bit of alchemy. It helped calm his nerves, and he needed to

if he should start learning how to make stamina potions. He hadn’t needed them during the challenge dungeon as he only used stamina

were some he had trained many times before. He still had plenty of ingredients left in his spatial necklace, so he didn’t

not-bird-birds, but it wasn’t. Raising his head abruptly and turning to the side, he activated

kinds of the warrior class and a caster. Jake, with his high perception, used Identify on each of

[Human – lvl 19]

[Human – lvl 20]

[Human – lvl 18]

[Human – lvl 21]

[Human – lvl 20]

rather mean-looking two-handed sword. That warrior also happened to be the one at level 21 and was even wearing plate armor. Armor Jake guessed was enchanted, either by upgrading it with a token or just by finding

decent gear. The archer's bow even looked quite a bit nicer than his own. All of their armor or cloaks were for

of nowhere. If possible, Jake wanted to avoid conflict and just move on with his day. Though information would be useful, as he had some doubts about the validity of what William said, considering the guy did turn out to

towards the five people in an as non-threatening manner as he could. Which is to say he walked with both hands held out in front of him, showing he wasn’t armed. Something he could change in the blink of an eye

warrior with the two-hander went a step forward from the group and yelled. “Who are you?

because I kind of like it that way. Also, it was just a bowl earlier, see?” he said as he pulled out the bowl once more, making sure to make it seem

care little for the bowl, as their gazes all sharpened when he

asked as she stepped forward, glaring

knew it without a doubt, and while he wasn’t exactly on friendly terms with Richard, he doubted the man would still have people out hunting for him after

name?” he asked, hoping

a bolt of ice followed by an arrow. The three warriors didn’t

avoid the ranged attacks because of his danger sense. What the hell is wrong with them? he asked himself as he saw the eyes

is for Mickey, you

the big sword said in a stern tone before he sped up, a green

time to contemplate further, as he jumped backward, dodging the first swing of the warrior. This had to be some kind of misunderstanding. Perhaps another guy named Jake killed that guy?