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.

another arrow 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

more than alert it to his position. With its more than

another time before it reached him. And once more, he dodged it, this time without even using a

straightforward. Its only advantage was in speed. Clearly, its agility and maybe even strength were far above his own. He didn’t doubt

few minutes, with Jake dodging and the mantis frantically trying to cut him to pieces. Eventually, Jake began to get bored, as the insect hadn’t done jack

ability. But… nothing. It was just slowly fighting a

Jake decided

One Step Mile

arrow already nocked. The mantis was once more confused, having clearly learned

the Apex

felt its body freeze for a moment, not moving when

Infused Powershot

its head to an arrow that soared

the serene pond. She saw the small eels swimming without a care

and the young formerly-masked man. Not just in power, but mentality and

system. Like he had lived in it far longer than Miranda or the others. Or actually been able to learn from

tutorial were so much more than hers. The most significant difference, however, was

her work before the system, she interacted and worked with many different types of employees. Over time she had begun to classify them mentally. Put them into boxes - one for

group was also split into many different types. Troublemakers, the lazy, the incompetent, etc. - yet she found the most volatile of them all of

home. But the driven want more than that. They want to advance. They want to improve. They become

the first types of person. Not in her job before the tutorial, but in the tutorial itself. Like a worker merely working to live, she had done the tutorial simply to survive.

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 die in the

moment they ended, Miranda returned to the rest area as quickly as possible. Yet… what if she had remained within the trial area? No one forced them to leave. What if she

was the first type of person. The type that was just walking forward to survive one day at a time.

the good and the bad. They would be the employee that could take the company to the

could be the worst type. The one who would advance by any means necessary. Willing to stomp on anyone in their way

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 lurked in

had gone above and beyond and come out of the tutorial more powerful than she thought possible. And what did he do then? He kept working; he kept grinding. Somehow, he had managed to find the

at the same time,

and driven. But was he the archetype that would bring himself up, and by doing so, uplift everyone around him? Or

It wasn’t just a lost bonus or a missed promotion. It wasn’t a bastard taking

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

had been so sure… until the end. Now she wasn’t so confident.

face easily reflected by the calm water. Her slightly haggard look was making her a bit embarrassed. Her long orange hair all curled up

she looked quite good usually, but now she could easily be confused for being homeless. At

the change was according to the one evolving and their own desires. If you had flaws or blemishes you considered faults, the system would better them. It

have gone under without a doubt, she thought as she sat down at the edge of the pond and began clearing her face and hair. The water was cold and pleasant, and

turning around to see Hank standing a few meters away. Not staring at her, but the two

he asked, appearing slightly worried. “And where