The Primal Hunter

Jake dismissed his bow as the stag fell to the ground, never to move again. The fights with the beasts had only gotten more comfortable as he got accustomed to all their tactics and fighting styles. In the end, they were just beasts, making their strategies repetitive and straightforward. It had started getting a bit boring as they stopped being real challenges.

But at least the experience was good. Only four ponds cleared out, and Jake had reached his first goal.

*’DING!’ Class: [Ambitious Hunter] has reached level 50 - Stat points allocated, +4 free points*

*’DING!’ Race: [Human (E)] has reached level 50 - Stat points allocated, +5 free points*

He waited for a few moments after the notifications. After a few seconds, it became disappointingly clear that he wouldn’t get anything for getting his race to level 50. He had kind of hoped to get some amazing bonus or something. At least a skill or something. His only consolation was that his class, of course, didn’t disappoint.

*Ambitious Hunter class skills available*

Yet again, he decided to take the slow approach and go through the skills one by one. He quickly dove into the tall grass once more as he hid far away from any potential enemies. The pattern of other deer coming to investigate the pond he had just cleared was sure to repeat itself.

When he found a safe spot, he sat down and entered meditation as he went through the skills. He was low on both stamina and mana anyway.

He had a total of five new skills to pick from. The maximum he could be offered. The first one not being overly exciting, though.

[Stealth Attack (Common)] – The most decisive blow is the one not seen coming before it is too late. Increase the power of the first attack made to an otherwise unaware foe. Works with both ranged and melee attacks. Adds a minor bonus to the effectiveness of agility and strength when using Stealth Attack.

He was ninety-nine percent sure this one came from him advancing his stealth. He could see the usefulness of the skill, but the common-rarity tag just put him off. He was sure that he could get better at some point. If he advanced stealth more, chances were new skills would follow suit.

So he skipped it as he swiftly moved on to yet another common-rarity skill.

[Grappling Shot (Common)] – Getting to the right vantage point or merely climbing whatever impedes you is invaluable to any hunter when hunting his prey. Shoot an arrow with a string of mana attached. The arrow will easily stick to any surface it encounters without doing any notable damage to said surface. Adds a minor bonus to the effectiveness of agility and wisdom when using Grappling Shot.

This one was at least a bit more interesting. Jake assumed he unlocked it through his small rock-climbing session and by his constant use of mana strings. But while the way he had unlocked it was interesting, the skill itself was not.

Discounting any fantasies of cosplaying as a vigilante in a bat costume, he didn’t see many practical uses. If he really needed to climb something badly, he could just use the same tactic he used before.

The only other exciting thing he could find about the skill was that it scaled with wisdom and agility like his Shadow Vault of Umbra. Not that it had any effect on his decision to skip it over. His next option at least looked quite a bit better.

[Descending Fang (Uncommon)] – A fang descending like the clamping mouth of a snake. Do a downward strike with a melee weapon, significantly increasing penetrative power and damage inflicted. Damage improved further if the weapon is benefitting from Twin Fang Style. Adds a small bonus to the effectiveness of agility and strength when using Descending Fang.

This was the first true melee skill he had been offered that he would have to use actively. The skill was also clearly linked to Twin Fang Style and was likely also influenced by his liberal use of Venomfang.

The skill itself was without a doubt useful. Jake’s favorite move was to stab, to begin with, and it also made applying the venom far more effective. Besides, it was far more suitable for stabbing than cutting with the dagger formed like a sharpened fang. Hence the name Venomfang.

To say the skill didn’t tempt him would be a lie. It fit right into his style, and it would prove incredibly useful. He decided to reserve judgment, though, until he had also checked out the last two skills. The first of which was also incredibly interesting.

any weapon used prior composed solely of mana. Only the form of the weapon is replicated, and it does

had similar roots to the Grappling Shot skill. Jake’s mana practice, to be more exact. He also had the option to learn Spectral Hand in his profession, so it

It was useful for sure, but Jake nevertheless felt unsure. There were many unanswered questions, such as how well the conjured weapons would hold up to his current gear and

quiver took a few seconds per arrow, and if the speed of conjuration from the skill were anything close to that, it would prove pretty useless in combat. It took

course, there was the last point. Jake felt like he could do what the skill did without it. He could learn how to make a bow or a dagger from mana. Not that he felt anywhere close to able to do that, but his

the last skill - one that felt very

to feel a distinct sense of danger from any attack, and improved reaction time for a brief duration after triggering the effect. Adds a small bonus to the

seemed just to explain what his bloodline ability already did, though in more detail and from the description, just straight-up worse. It only had a chance to activate, and it improved his reaction time? His bloodline

isolation, ignoring his bloodline, it would surely be useful for someone that wasn’t him. His danger sense helped him immensely in combat and helped him gauge how strong a blow would be

had it. Perhaps it was just something many creatures got, but humans had to pick special skills for. Or maybe it came with levels as one’s combat instincts

still call it far less reliable than his own. It seemed to not really differentiate between harmless attacks and lethal ones,

abilities? Double-down on the same, and just give him massive headaches from two danger senses activating at the same time? Maybe

intuition didn’t really give him any details as to

the skills he had passed over at level 40. There was still the one rare skill that offered him better mental defenses. It was attractive for

active camouflage… but at the point he began thinking about taking that, the thought of

better of

can now imitate their superhuman senses. Has a small chance to feel a distinct sense of danger from any attack, and improved reaction time for a brief duration after triggering the effect. Adds a small bonus to the chance and

the skill, he initially didn’t feel much except for the cold sensation of instinctual knowledge of how the skill worked enter him - just like with every other skill. The feeling, however, quickly changed as he felt a warmth spring up. He began to have a vague sense of annoyance at the new skill, an annoyance that soon

the sound of his

THUMP!

come

THUMP!

heating up, but it didn’t feel uncomfortable in the least, but more like something within him had stirred. Like the intrusion of this new skill upon the domain of his bloodline had awoken it. Angered it and him. He felt angry, as if he wanted to just rip the

THUMP!

continued. Time itself seemed to stand still as the system message

*Synergy Detected*

bloodline, the skill [Bestial Survival Instincts (Rare)] is

Upgraded*: [Bestial Survival Instincts (Rare)]

but he didn’t feel any better at all as even more instinctual

[Extreme

(Epic)] --> [Supreme Bestial

came, and once more, he found it wanting. It was weak, a downgrade. Not good

bloodline, the skill [Supreme Bestial Survival Instincts (Ancient)] is evolving. Maximum rarity reached.

skill seemed to cap out. The knowledge entered his head throughout the entire process as he got a far better understanding of the

in the forefront. No, that part of him that was his more impulsive and instinctual side, wasn’t satisfied. It was still so weak. Inferior to what he already had, what he already was. A lesser part of

THUMP!