The Primal Hunter

Jake smiled as he took a deep breath of the toxic concoction. He felt the fumes enter his system and quickly be eliminated and turned to mana, but he also felt the potency of what he had just made. Even if the fungicide wasn’t made to kill humans, a person sure as hell shouldn’t risk getting it on them.

He quickly bottled up the super-fungicide. He didn’t get a lot of it, only enough for two of the small bottles, but the most important thing was that he had succeeded.

Leaning back in his chair, he quickly went through a few of his other notifications. The first of which was one he had expected, but seeing it still broadened his smile.

[Concoct Poison (Common)] – While most focus on the aspect of giving life through their craft, others prefer to take it away. Allows for the concoction of common-rarity poisons and below. Must have suitable materials and equipment in order to create poisons. Adds a minor increase to the effectiveness of created poisons based on Wisdom.

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[Concoct Poison (Uncommon)] – While most focus on the aspect of giving life through their craft, others prefer to take it away. Allows for the concoction of uncommon-rarity poisons and below. Must have suitable materials and equipment in order to create poisons. Adds a small increase to the effectiveness of created poisons based on Wisdom.

The changes in the description were absolutely minimal, but that didn’t matter. Jake knew the requirement for upgrading both Brew Potion and Concoct Poison was just to make a creation of that rarity with your own skills, aka without effects such as those from Malefic Viper’s Poison. The upgrade did little to actually help him except making his wisdom increase the effectiveness of his poisons a little more.

No, what mattered far more was the implications of him having upgraded it. At F-grade, he had learned to create common-rarity poisons, and now in E-grade, he had learned to make uncommon-rarity ones. He was a step ahead every time.

It would help him with his profession-evolution for sure. Though Jake had to admit he wasn’t sure if he needed any help in that regard, as his Records had to be quite good. But a small part of him did fear his evolution options would have too much focus on his friendship with Villy and not as much on his abilities as an alchemist.

Jake would hate for that to happen. He refused to become some kind of priest or preacher for a friend. That was just too fucking weird. No, he wanted just to be a damn great alchemist. This is also why he had set the requirements of upgrading his skills before reaching D-grade.

Now, he only needed to upgrade Touch of the Malefic Viper and Sense of the Malefic Viper. As for the last skill from level-ups, he had naturally picked that up.

[Fangs of the Malefic Viper (Ancient)] – When born, the Viper had limited weapons to fight with, yet it prevailed only with its fangs. Its bites the deliverer of death. As a human, you have taken inspiration and learned to apply the same concept. Allows the Alchemist to coat his teeth in deadly venom, sharing all the same effects as Blood of the Malefic Viper in an empowered state. Additionally, all poisons you have crafted or created are significantly more effective when injected directly into the body of your foes. Passively provides 1 Strength per level in Prodigious Alchemist of the Malefic Viper. May you bring death in a single strike.

Jake had briefly skimmed the other options, and while they were fine, some of them great even, nothing could compare to the Fangs skill. There is also the fact that Jake predicted it to be part of a “set,” and he really wanted to complete that set.

With his skill chosen, he took a look at the free points he had built up. While it was suboptimal for sure, he hadn’t actually spent any for a long time. Not since he last picked a skill at level 80. For the longest time, he had just been putting every point into perception and honestly still felt like doing so.

He had 90 free points available to distribute. Of course, those points would be way more after the percentage bonuses from all his titles, so it was closer to 150 in any stat he wanted. He opened his status screen to see how it was beginning to look after many weeks of alchemy.

Status

Name: Jake Thayne

Race: [Human (E) – lvl 95]

Class: [Ambitious Hunter – lvl 99]

Profession: [Prodigious Alchemist of the Malefic Viper – lvl 92]

Health Points (HP): 13068/13150

Mana Points (MP): 3841/15637

Stamina: 7014/9930

Stats

Strength: 855

Agility: 1172

Endurance: 993

Vitality: 1315

Toughness: 840

Wisdom: 1251

Intelligence: 640

Perception: 2234

Willpower: 926

Free points: 90

[Forerunner of the New World], [Bloodline Patriarch], [Holder of a Primordial’s True Blessing], [Dungeoneer V], [Dungeon Pioneer V],

[Basic One-Handed Weapons (Inferior)], [Advanced Stealth (Common)], [Basic Twin Fang Style (Uncommon)], [Basic Shadow Vault of Umbra (Uncommon)], [Splitting Arrow (Uncommon)], [Hunter’s Tracking (Uncommon)], [Big Game Hunter (Rare)], [Infused Powershot (Rare)], [Mark of the Ambitious Hunter (Rare)], [Archery

(Common)], [Alchemist’s Purification (Common)], [Alchemical Flame (Common)], [Toxicology (Uncommon)], [Cultivate Toxin (Uncommon)], [Concoct Poison (Uncommon)], [Malefic Viper’s Poison (Rare)], [Sense of the Malefic Viper (Epic)], [Touch of the Malefic Viper (Epic)], [Scales of the Malefic Viper (Ancient)], [Palate of the Malefic Viper (Ancient)], [Blood of the Malefic Viper (Ancient)], [Sagacity of the Malefic Viper (Ancient)], [Wings of the Malefic

[True Blessing of the Malefic

(Unique)], [Identify (Common)], [Thoughtful Meditation (Uncommon)], [Shroud of the Primordial

Primal Hunter

changes every single day, but it was still developing at a noticeable pace. He was looking forward to D-grade more than ever too, and he could almost smell it. He had less than ten levels remaining… it was truly

power swirled around him. He stared through the void, not looking at anything in particular but just the vast nothingness that existed between the universes. He raised his hand and stared at it before sighing as yet

up and shifted his gaze to raise his spirits

before shaking his head. “I wonder how that

the most intelligent among all elementals and wielded powerful magic, not just of the wind-affinity but also possessed a plethora of other means. They were hell to deal with and could often defeat enlightened races at equal levels. A top-grade

the end of their lifespans before evolving. Was that his own contribution to the creation? A touch of time and ancientness? No… that wouldn’t

Jake’s mana that had caused the change? It was incredibly pure and was approaching a new threshold; one the Viper hoped he would overcome before reaching D-grade… even if it would be

power itself. A truly pure and straightforward path. So was his approach to everything, including mana. His way of doing it was… simple. His mana practice was almost insultingly effective considering how inane and uncomplicated it

to pollute or specialize any of his mana with any mana attunements because of that. One didn’t need to have an attunement to shape one’s magic, but simply using a type of magic

remained pure. A purity he was only condensing and refining to an entirely new level, even if

Just… the purity of his mana? The Sylphs were as pure as any elemental could get. They were primeval and

a strong power of “purity” within his Records could only hold one explanation… his bloodline.

bit too. What did increased

details of his pal’s bloodline outside of pure curiosity. The

clearly cared for the small

realm as his mood dampened significantly. He

eyes as it became dormant and returned to slumber, the Viper’s real

was currently on a mighty quest to find the big human. For too long, she had been denied her rightful resting place. Too long had her parents kept her away. The warnings of danger by being near when the human created the smelly smoke

making sure to stay low. She swiftly made her way under one of the chairs, staying perfectly hidden throughout it all. Small amounts of wind even surrounded her to limit sound, a true stroke of genius she had

made a long leap - assisted by the wind and a flap of her small wings – as she made her

Halfway there.

and through the opening leading to the water with the scary-long-fish. She could have tried to go around the building, but she knew her parents watched from above and would detect her instantly. No,

had planned - each of her

the door. She could already see the tall human, utterly unaware

the slightly open door as she made a mighty