The Primal Hunter

Jake stood on top of a large purple mushroom as he inhaled deeply, taking in the atmosphere. This cavern, which he had decided to now call a biodome, was truly interesting.

On the ground beneath him lay tens of dead insectoids. None had been a threat, but all of them insanely aggressive, nevertheless. The beasts above had either scurried off upon seeing him or at least been hesitant. These insects didn’t give a damn.

Which naturally resulted in their untimely demise. One charging mantis quickly attracted others to come out of the woodwork - or shroomwork in this case - and joined the charge. One charging mantis had quickly resulted in many dead mantises.

The strongest had been level 48, with the weakest at 26 - quite the disparity. Far more so than a dungeon would have, but then again, this area wasn’t as ‘designed’ as those were. Besides, Jake could feel that he hadn’t met the big boss of this biodome yet.

For the first time, he felt a bit of excitement. Maybe he could even find something worth fighting down here.

With those thoughts, he moved onwards. Slaughtering everything in his path as he went towards the center of the biodome.

On the way, he didn’t care for herbs as before. He only focused on the aura he felt. It was faint… but it was there.

A sword in one hand, a dagger in the other, he cleaved down mantis after mantis. Occasionally a centipede-like monster would appear, but they didn’t seem to be on friendly terms with the mantises either. Most of them were either injured or in the middle of being devoured.

The same was true for every other species than the mantises. This was clearly their territory. Their domain. A domain that had now been invaded by an enemy predator in the form of a human.

Soon he couldn’t strike the mantises down in a single blow anymore. Their levels were growing. From the early 50s to now being in the early 60s. Even the occasional one in the early 70s. Any of these mantises would be the apex predator only a few hundred meters above them.

But down here, they could only play second fiddle to the true lord of the biodome.

Jake jumped to one of the tallest mushrooms and stared down at the huge insect beneath him.

Its body was bright green, its eyes even shining slightly. Its two blades were more than three meters long, strong mandibles that looked like they could easily crush steel, and a level making it worthy of being the ruler here.

[Alpha Mantis Scyther – lvl 89]

Smiling, Jake looked down at it, making eye-contact. He had hoped to see a trace of intelligence as he had seen in all of the dungeon bosses. Yet, he found only disappointment. Not a single spark of intelligence was present; it was clearly nothing more than just a giant stupid insect.

A shame, he thought. Hopefully, it can make up for it in power.

Taking out his bow, a quiver appeared on his back simultaneously. At the same time, the mantis had now clearly noticed him also. And like all the others, it merely attacked.

Jake didn’t use Infused Powershot but instead opened with a Splitting Arrow.

In-flight, one arrow split into two dozen, the most considerable amount Jake had created so far with a single shot. Jake could see the arrows about to hit the mantis when he got his first pleasant surprise. Its back opened up, and out came two transparent sets of wings.

With a swift motion, it dodged all of the arrows as it continued its attack. Even faster than Jake had anticipated. Less than a second after he had fired the arrow, the alpha mantis was before him, its scythe cleaving down.

Jake took a step forward as he saw the mushroom be split in two behind him through his sphere. His step had naturally been the skill One Step Mile and had taken him down to the ground, close to where the mantis had been initially.

before the clearly confused insect managed to locate him. He hit it right in its midsection and saw the arrow sink in deeply as it shrieked in pain. He was pretty sure mantises couldn’t shriek

it to his position. With its more than six-meter tall body, it flew towards him

it reached him. And once more,

were far above his own. He didn’t doubt that if he got hit by its blades, he would lose an arm or a leg. He just didn’t feel like it would ever

frantically trying to cut him to pieces. Eventually, Jake began to get

of new skill or hidden ability. But… nothing. It was just slowly fighting a battle it clearly couldn’t win, with no thought of any kind. It was

sigh, Jake decided to end

One Step Mile

tens of meters behind the mantis as he turned around, an arrow

of the

its body freeze for a moment, not moving when

Infused Powershot

an arrow that soared through the biodome with

staring out at the serene pond. She saw the small eels swimming without a care in the world as the thoughts jumped around in her

there was a vast difference between her and the young formerly-masked

Like he had lived in it far longer

more than hers. The most significant difference, however, was the disparity in mindset between the

worked with many different types of employees. Over time she had begun to classify them mentally. Put them into boxes - one for those you need to watch out for and

lazy, the incompetent, etc. - yet she

live. Get the job done and go home. But the

the first types of person. Not in her job before the tutorial, but in the

had worked hard in her own mind. She went above and beyond to organize and try and lead some of the other survivors. But… she couldn’t honestly say that she hadn’t done it for the sake of survival. To make herself useful and gain levels to not

the moment they ended, Miranda returned to the rest area as quickly as possible. Yet… what if she

was just walking forward to survive one day at a time. The other type was

both the good and the bad. They would be the employee that could take the company to the next level. Have a new innovative idea or strategic insight that could lead to practical change. They could be the

could be the worst type. The one who would advance by any means necessary. Willing to

and driven type. If he had been in their tutorial, he wouldn’t have stayed in the trial area. He would have gone beyond it. She heard how he spoke. As if it was natural to hunt down whatever monsters

come out of the tutorial more powerful than she thought possible. And what did he

respected him. But at the same time,

he the archetype that would bring himself up, and by doing so, uplift everyone

bonus or a missed promotion. It wasn’t a bastard taking credit for work

killing them. The difference between the ones killing the people they entered the trials with and those

good kind for the majority of their conversation. She had been so sure… until the end. Now she wasn’t so confident. Was he

face easily reflected by the calm water. Her slightly haggard look was making her a bit embarrassed. Her long

usually, but now she could easily be confused for being homeless. At least her skin was still as healthy as before.

flaws or blemishes you considered faults, the system would better them. It couldn’t do significant changes, at least not at E-grade, but it could do smaller things

she sat down at the edge of the pond and began clearing her face and hair. The water was cold and pleasant, and it was

voice she recognized, turning around to see Hank standing a few meters away. Not staring at her, but the two chairs right

the masked man go?” he asked, appearing slightly worried. “And where did