The Primal Hunter

Jake awoke and felt well-rested and relieved. He had feared a nightmare when he closed his eyes, but instead, he got a pleasant dream. Like the last one, this one was also weirdly lucid throughout. Of course, this one didn’t have some bastard god but was of his own making.

From the very beginning, some part of him knew it was a dream. Yet, he went through the motions as if he wasn’t even in charge of his own body. He was just a ride-along, experiencing the memory as it had been. Everything up to the final conversation with his brother had been precisely the same.

The dream only served to cement his conviction to seek out his family after the tutorial. But to do so, he needed power. Or maybe that was just yet another excuse he made to himself to justify his obsession with slaying the King of the Forest.

Feeling out his body, he noticed that the soreness was mostly gone. He still felt a bit stiff. His stamina had regenerated to about 75%, with his health having regenerated a few hundred points too. Health didn’t regenerate very fast by default, which is why he took out a healing potion and chugged it down.

It was good that he spent such a long time just hoarding all the potions he made while grinding levels. He was starting to get low, but the time remaining was also starting to get low.

[Tutorial Panel]

Duration: 5 days & 7:31:01

He had slept for longer than he hoped. Exactly how long he wasn’t sure, but it appeared to be on the other side of 10 hours. It was time he honestly didn’t feel like he could afford to waste currently. Though, of course, it was arguable if he had truly wasted his time.

The experiment he had made was partly successful. He had managed to temporarily boost himself with stamina without blowing himself up like a popped balloon of blood.

However, it was only partly. The weakness after the incredibly long winddown time made it useless in combat outside of the most desperate of situations. It had gotten Jake out of a bind once, but it wasn’t a stunt he had any intention of repeating any time soon.

Getting up from the hard ground, he stretched a bit to get some flexibility back. He felt his body crack here and there, and he instantly felt refreshed. The healing potion was surely also doing its work.

He didn’t delay any longer as he walked up to the wooden door and entered the dungeon once more. He was ready to repeat it from the beginning once more but found that the wall that had been broken down was still broken, confirming to Jake that the dungeon didn’t reset.

Clear signs of the chase from the many beasts were also present. Jake decided to walk towards where the boars had come from, to see what the hell they were doing back there.

What he found was a large lake of murky water. It exuded clear indications of strong mana within it, and walking up to it and using Identify only confirmed that it did.

[Soilwater (Common)] – Water infused with strong earth-affinity mana, making it purer and hold certain magical properties. Can be used as an ingredient in many alchemical recipes or simply consumed in its raw form to restore mana for those possessing the earth-affinity.

This water was a lot like the Lucenti Water he had found in the Lucenti Plains dungeon. The description was pretty much the same, except this one mentioned earth-affinity mana instead.

The last time he had come into contact with this type of water, it burned him like acid. But he still cautiously placing his hand into this Soilwater, mentally preparing himself for the stinging sensation. However, to his surprise, it didn’t even sting. It felt somewhat normal, actually, aside from the unmistakable feeling of mana within it.

I guess I do have some kind of earth-affinity? he thought to himself as he took out an empty barrel from his storage. It would be stupid not to collect some of the wonderful water while he was here. He was in a rush, sure, but who knows when he would stumble across earth-affinity water again.

As he collected it, he got an idea. He assumed that the boars drank this water and ran to eat the rocks afterward. That it was their “pattern,” so to speak. But he would have to confirm it before he could turn his idea into action.

He finished up collecting water, and afterward, he jumped straight into the water. The lake wasn’t very wide, perhaps only 50 meters in diameter, but it was quite deep. His Sphere of Perception extended effortlessly through the water as he dove downwards.

further down he dove. The intensity of the earth-affinity mana increased the further down he got. Fifty meters down, he began to feel a bit of pressure,

him, but he kept going. His constitution meant

120 meters

140 meters

160 meters.

sphere picked up the bottom of the lake. His eyesight was nonexistent at this

however, pick up that the lake was deeper towards the center.

he soon found the epicenter of it all. And his sphere also picked up the source of the mana. No larger than a finger, a small shard was embedded in the soil, giving off

essence of earth. Can be used in a variety of rare earth-affinity alchemical creations. Passively transforms atmospheric mana into the earth affinity. Has become intrinsically linked

with the natural pressure from being down there pressing unto

know any

it toxic and weakening the boars. He didn’t like the thought of doing it, as he felt it was a cheap way to fight, but he was in a rush. In fact, the thought hadn’t even occurred

poison it slowly died, however, as he dove further and further

wasn’t even sure he could get it up to a level where it was lethal or able to

couldn’t. He could feel its connection to the rest of the lake and how every single strand of mana felt like it originated from it. Likely because it did. It also said that the mana in the lake was linked closely to

could corrupt the water source and not the water itself… perhaps that would make it possible to transform this entire lake into one big concoction of death. He

skill description also specified “being,” making him unsure if objects also fit that description. He didn’t know if water counted as partly living for some

see

is determined by the user. The alchemist can only use

him only being able to inject poison he had prior concocted, but that wasn’t entirely accurate. Besides the limitations - such as being unable to inject the Amalgamation he made to clear the Challenge Dungeon and whatever he made in the pond in the Lucenti Plains - he could create necrotic poison and hemotoxic

of necrotic poison, but it also just straight up corroded and corrupted everything else. The description of that skill said it bases the toxin’s

type he pretty much always used with Touch of the Malefic Viper because it was the strongest type he had. At least it appeared

the crystal essence with Touch. Perhaps trying to soak it in his blood would work too, but he doubted it could penetrate into it and corrupt it. Better to use the

first, he would confirm that the beasts indeed did drink from

surface, his sphere picked up something at the edge of the lake, but he had too much momentum and ended

froze the instant his head popped up. He could see the beasts drink the water, with not a single one of them

he slowly ducked his head under again - no reason to tempt

What they did have was some weird sense related to the ground. If he had to guess, then he

it would help hide him, so

once more, he headed straight for the crystal. Being so deep in the dense mana, he didn’t fear the

could likely cut it out along with the surrounding stone

resistance from the essence. Like a barrier blocking the toxic

nothing. Well, not nothing. It was just that what he did barely had any effect. It was like

However, what did take a hit

rethinking his approach. He could feel the toxins within the essence, but he

tinge of poison. His theory that the essence was inherently linked to the Soilwater had proven right. This meant that if he managed to corrupt the essence,