The Primal Hunter

Chugging a health potion, Jake opened his eyes once more and wiped the blood away. He was currently flapping his wings, trying to keep himself in the air as he saw the hawk gaze back at him like he was an idiot for talking to thin air. But its look was now not only of ridicule but now containing a hint of fear and respect, which gave him a silly sense of satisfaction for one-upping a freaking bird.

Villy being a peeping tom was something he honestly didn’t even notice anymore. Maybe the tutorial where many gods observed him all the time had desensitized him, but he did notice when suddenly three new observers joined after no one but Villy looking since returning to Earth. How exactly he knew… well, it was just his intuition.

He took a quick glance at his notifications and saw that he had killed 641 birds with his Gaze. This was the first time he used it with full power and the intent to kill and not immobilize - the effect was way above his expectations. Not a single bird below E-grade survived, and even the weaker ones in E-grade died instantly.

Jake had chosen the skill for its ability to immobilize his foes. To have a skill that made use of his high perception. But today, his eyes were opened to exactly how potent the skill was. It wasn’t just its ability to kill, but how it did it.

Not a single one of the dead birds had any wounds. Their bodies were completely unharmed. Instead, their souls had been completely and utterly shattered by the Gaze. The attack had been instantaneous and unavoidable. As long as they were within his line of sight and he intended to hit them, they would be affected.

The backlash he suffered was more due to his own inexperience with the skill than the skill itself. He had pushed more power into it than he could handle, which caused his eyes to suffer damage. But it was nothing a healing potion couldn’t solve in seconds.

Flying down, he managed not to screw up the landing entirely as he only took a few stumbling steps. The hawk followed him, perching itself on a tree nearby. Jake could feel how tired it was as it rested its eyes for a moment.

Jake also sat down on the ground as he entered meditation. The first thing he did was to check the notifications. The birds he had killed with his Gaze had all been between level 10 and 37. Sadly the experience gained wasn’t really worth much due to the significant level-disparity.

Next, he checked the upgraded skill.

[Advanced Archery (Common)] – An Archer’s best friend is the bow in his hand and the arrow in his foe’s heart. You have shown improved proficiency with a bow, making the weapon even more familiar to you. Adds a minor bonus to the effect of Agility and Strength when using a ranged weapon.

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[Expert Archery (Uncommon)] – An Archer’s best friend is the bow in his hand and the arrow in his foe’s heart. You have proven yourself an expert with your chosen weapon and are fast approaching the level of mastering your craft. Adds a small bonus to the effect of Agility and Strength when using a ranged weapon.

It wasn’t fascinating either, despite how much he had anticipated it. It was a simple and boring skill that just made his archery slightly better. It didn’t give him any knowledge of any kind. It was more just a confirmation that he had reached a level of proficiency - unlike his Basic Twin Fang Style, which gave him limited knowledge and guidance for melee combat.

He did remember that Casper told him how the Basic Archery skill gave him knowledge of using a bow upon first entering the tutorial. Knowledge Jake, of course, already had.

Closing down his menus once more, he instead focused on recovering his dwindling stamina pool. He and the hawk had been flying around for a few hours before the flock attacked them. It had already been more than half an hour into the fight before Jake decided to end it with Gaze of the Apex Hunter.

He and his new bird friend had truly bonded over this past day. And when he said bonded, he meant that his hatred had slowly been replaced by gratitude, while the bird was still condescendingly teaching him how to use his wings properly.

Yet he had a feeling the bird would be a bit nicer after today. Despite its level being higher than his, he believed that he had proven himself stronger. Because he was.

While the hawk was quite strong, even for its level, it didn’t make Jake feel threatened at all. It was focused on speed and wind magic. Its attacks mainly comprised of quick and powerful blows that aimed to take the opponent by surprise.

Meanwhile, Jake had his danger sense and, if necessary, Moment of the Primal Hunter that would warn him of any sneak attack well ahead of time. At the same time, he could use Gaze to freeze it and land a blow. The hawk had been hit by a few blasts from the flock before, making him aware of how feeble the bird actually was.

To sum it up, the hawk was a glass cannon - incredible speed and damage, but low toughness and vitality. If he had to guess its stats, he would say nearly all of it was mainly in intelligence and agility, with a respectable amount in wisdom and strength.

Not that he had any intentions of fighting the hawk. They were buddies. And from the bird’s actions, it clearly didn’t intend on fighting him either.

hawk saw him do this, as it gave him a knowing glance. With a slight chuckle, he tossed the stamina potion up in the air, only for it to be swept up in a gust of wind, landing in the

spread his wings once more as they, in concert, took

blades of wind. Soon the hawk began flying back towards wherever it left to the day before, and like the day before, it

out his upgraded archery skill. There was not a lot to test, but he wanted a better idea of how effective the increase in the effect

was flying slightly faster and carrying an almost negligible amount more power.

few more arrows to get a better feel for it, he thought about what to do next. It was either alchemy or

the rest of his body remain as stable as possible. He

he couldn’t even correctly hover in the air yet. His flying practice was something that would simply

mean it was entirely instinctual. It wasn’t like

was indeed a newborn bird in the sky. His only real help was his monstrous stats, which allowed for

hawk returned, he still hadn’t learned to hover, but it was getting better by the hour.

learned that the skies had their own separate ecosystem from the ground below. Different flying creatures dominated above.

The flock they ran into earlier being an incredible outlier. They were like locusts

more kilometers, one began running into the occasional stronger monster. Which is the threshold the two of them had

unnatural movements. He couldn’t quite discern as to what they were - a natural phenomenon or perhaps a monster. Either way, he decided

like before. One looked like a flamingo but

level above 50, making Jake and the hawk ignore them entirely, but as they kept flying further and further up,

eight and a half kilometers, they encountered a not-so-friendly giant wasp that tried to sting Jake. This resulted in Jake just catching the stinger and with his hands on the thing, spreading death through it with Touch of the Malefic Viper. It had only been level 61, so Jake honestly

had to avoid a brawl between two giant flocks of birds. Thousands of birds in each flock were ripping into each other. They

use Gaze of the Apex Hunter but decided against it pretty quickly. It was pointless to do, and he quite honestly wasn’t keen on the idea

hawk had clearly been up here many times before as it swiftly dismembered any bird that attacked it while avoiding flocks and stronger-looking monsters. Jake felt more like a

why it was like this. The hawk had clearly shown a need to land once in a while. To rest. While he didn’t doubt that some monsters could rest while remaining in the air, he seriously doubted any of the more common-looking

three hulking birds. They looked like vultures that had gone to the gym 6 days a week, never forgetting wing or

novel to encounter such strength-focused birds. They attacked the pair as one of them went for Jake and the two others the hawk. The hawk danced around them effortlessly as the wind cut into them,

even try to dodge but just smashed into him, trying to pierce him with its sharp talons. He summoned his sword and dagger, blocking the foot

a few good blows to its stomach and lower body. The wounds didn’t look lethal, but they sure as heck were. The dagger was releasing its innate venom with every stab, only further amplified by Jake coating the blade with

keep itself airborne. It began falling to the ground as he flew over and helped the hawk

which was why he was surprised as the message popped

[Ambitious Hunter] has reached level 84 - Stat points allocated, +4 free

reached level 77

since returning to Earth, and he had a feeling that the sky would be the source of a lot more levels and unique

to the Viper forbidding them from speaking of the mortal. Her two sisters

said, getting up off the bed while summoning a robe. The women following his lead

turned to shit in my absence. I don’t blame anyone but myself for this. I wallowed in self-pity for long enough,”

confined to only a small part of this universe. I fear that

my lord?” the second sister asked, excitement in

is not a big part of my path anyhow, and I couldn’t give less of shit about how many faithful believers I have.

the third sister asked, stars in