The Primal Hunter

*’DING!’ Profession: [Prodigious Alchemist of the Malefic Viper] has reached level 50 - Stat points allocated, +5 free points*

*’DING!’ Race: [Human (E)] has reached level 48 - Stat points allocated, +5 free points*

Briefly basking in the ever-satisfying feeling of level-ups for a while, he decided to get into the meat of things without unnecessary delays.

*Prodigious Alchemist of the Malefic Viper profession skills available*

It had sure been a while since he last unlocked any skills for his profession. Which did make him a bit excited to see what would present itself.

Skimming the list, he noticed all the usual ones, but also quite a few new ones. Four, to be exact. The first of which was a quite interesting common-rarity skill.

[Spectral Hand (Common)] – Sometimes, all you need is an extra hand. Summon a hand of mana able to interact with and hold physical objects. The hand is weak and lacking in dexterity, making it unsuitable for strenuous activities. Adds a minor bonus to the effect of wisdom when using Spectral Hand.

While he couldn’t be totally sure, he was ninety-nine percent sure he unlocked this one due to his practice with mana. He was already using his strings to add ingredients, effectively acting as hands, and Jake believed this was the system recognizing those efforts.

Not that he had any interest in picking it. He could already do what it did, albeit a lot worse. He was sure one of the other skills would prove far more valuable than a common-rarity third hand. Besides… he felt like he would eventually learn to conjure a hand of mana even without using a skill, but just through pure mana manipulation.

Moving on down the list, he got to the uncommon skills, of which only two new ones had appeared.

The first of which was a skill that he had seen mentioned in many of the alchemy books, so it wasn’t exactly a surprise.

[Distill Powder (Uncommon)] - Poison can come in many forms and is far from limited to a liquid. Allows the Prodigious Alchemist of the Malefic Viper to distill a concocted poison, making a powder that holds similar effects. If the powder is burned, release the poisonous product into the air. The effect and nature of the poison are dependent on the poison distilled. Adds a small bonus to the effect of wisdom when using Distill Powder.

This one was a bit tempting, mainly due to giving him a far more solid area of effect attack. It would be a way to do continual damage to more enemies at once. If he had been able to release a cloud of poisonous gas into the dungeon, it would have, without a doubt, done untold damage.

On the other hand,… the thought of the skill just rubbed him the wrong way on so many levels. He had gotten over using poisons on beasts, but he feared what the road could lead to if he started using more and more extreme means. He was pretty sure chemical warfare was outlawed for a reason.

Yet, he couldn’t deny how effective poison was. It would make him stronger if he could burn Necrotic Poison and just release a cloud of death upon others.

Skipping over the skill, for now, he moved on to the next one.

[Brew Flask (Uncommon)] – For when you need that little extra push to win the battle. Allows the Prodigious Alchemist of the Malefic Viper to craft flasks which provide temporary bonuses. The nature, magnitude, and duration of the flasks vary based on the material used. Adds a minor increase to the effectiveness of created flasks based on wisdom.

This skill was far more fitting for an alchemist- the kind that isn’t a walking war crime.

of creations an alchemist could make, and flasks were one of the most common products along with

on the other hand, could last hours or even days. They could give a vast array of bonuses, such as bonus health and mana, increased stats, or other

and he quite frankly didn’t feel like he had time left over to get into crafting something entirely new that very likely had its own entire methodology behind it. He also doubted that his

even a sure thing that he would manage to craft one before the tutorial ended. Not even if he focused all his time on it. It would also get in

at making poisons anyway. He was an Alchemist of the Malefic Viper and not an Alchemist of Tasty Flasks, after all. Besides, his profession and all his skill-set were just

if he ever got the chance. It had many pros, but the lack

vastly increasing the effect of toughness and adding a certain damage threshold. All damage below the threshold is nullified. The scales are exceptionally

double-check it to make sure he hadn’t read it wrong. Especially the rarity of the skill.

still wasn’t sure about the different rarities, but he was pretty sure Ancient was above Epic,

defensive skill. He had hoped for something like a mana barrier, maybe even a parry or blocking move or something from his class, but this went way above his wildest

Big Game Hunter did give stats during actual combat with high-level enemies,

him think… does it work

extra 10%. If the percentage bonus also worked, of course. It worked with stats

pick the skill anyway. He needed a defensive skill, and this one was just far too good

warm flow go through his

Viper’s scales are the first, and often the only required, line of defense. Allows the Prodigious Alchemist of the Malefic Viper to turn parts of his skin into scales, vastly increasing the effect of toughness and adding a certain damage threshold. All damage below the threshold is nullified. The scales are exceptionally resistant to magic, allowing the alchemist to handle toxic

than any level-up he had experienced so far. His skin itched all over

few minutes later, the discomfort disappeared, and everything returned to normal. Well, a new normal. Checking his stats, Jake saw that it had grown by not just

instantly replaced with dark green scales that seemed to reflect the false sun above.

the tough surface. Weirdly enough, it didn’t feel much different than when he touched his skin directly. It was an odd feeling, like if he just had a lot

The blade managed to cut through the scales quite easily, leaving a small wound on his arm. Maybe testing

he removed the dagger, he waited a bit to see if the scales would regenerate, which they, to his disappointment, didn’t. Instead, they disappeared after only a few minutes, as his skin

again, he hadn’t transformed a huge area. Which, of course, led Jake to a realization. He finally had a skill that used mana that he could use actively in combat. Maybe his vast mana

the next few minutes doing various tests until he decided to put his new skill to a real test. The description said it was strong

his alchemist equipment into his storage, he made his way

The deer were not that exciting, as they mainly engaged in melee and acted as guards for the

fired an Infused Powershot and instantly killed the first deer. The next two didn’t even make it to him before they were riddled through with Splitting Arrow. And a bit of necrotic poison, for

died too fast for it to do anything. Instead, it turned its attention to Jake as

as he raised his now scaled arms in front of his body. A bit of the beam went through and hit his chest, causing burns, but the part of it that hit his scales did absolutely nothing. It was as if the beam just disappeared

at him as he blocked attack after attack. The stag was level 54, and yet it was utterly unable to cause him any real damage with the

mix things up as it started charging its beam. The stag would have no time to do this in normal conditions, but its enemy was just standing there

more intense than the others, and Jake panicked slightly when his sense of danger warned him. Instinctively he covered his entire upper body with scales as

a tingling sensation, but otherwise, he was completely uninjured. He had