The Primal Hunter

”We’ll need to build it deeper. There is no way the ceiling of the cellar can take that kind of toxic exposure. Even if we put some serious enchants on the floorboards, they will eventually lose effect as they are slowly corroded, and the stronger you get, the faster we will need to keep reapplying the enchants,” Hank explained as he shook his head.

”How deep do you reckon?” Jake asked. ”It would be best if we can still keep the lab within the area affected by the Pylon to function as a ward to keep people out if they for some reason try to dig in.”

”Oh, that should be easy enough. We just need to put in some good layers between the lab and the rest of the lodge. I would be able to put in some wooden layers that can absorb a lot of the poison and other toxic energies released, but you will have to switch them out or extract the poison from them again occasionally. That, or you could just sell them. They may change into actual items,” Hank answered.

”That would be fine; I just don’t want my entire valley to turn into a wasteland from my own experiments,” Jake responded.

”Great. Anyway, we will dig down to create a second floor to the cellar below the first one. I intend to leave at least five meters between the two floors with the wooden layers placed there. You will still need some magical warding on top of that, I reckon. I am sure Miranda can hook you up with someone, or maybe ask that bird friend of yours,” Hank said as he did a rough sketch of his plans on a piece of paper.

Jake just looked on, nodding. Making it be that low also allowed them to make the whole lab a lot bigger and… wait.

”Say, could we link it up somehow with the cavern leading to the dungeon? The barrier by the Pylon should help isolate the lodge still and keep any energies from flowing that way, and it would mean easy access for me when I make a garden down there,” Jake asked, liking his own idea quite a lot.

”That is a lot of digging, and we would need to place the lab a lot lower, most likely… how far down are you comfortable with it being? I would assume the lower it is, the more future proof it will also be, but everything will add to how long it will take to get done. We are talking meters in the triple digits,” Hank said after scratching his beard and thinking for a while.

”I am fine with any depth; it doesn’t matter much when you can walk on air and make your own staircase at any time, anywhere. Or, you know, just fly. It is more if you think you can do it, and of course, have the time to. I know you’re a busy man,” Jake smiled.

He really didn’t wanna put too much on the father of two. Hank had been in charge of most of the construction in Haven, and the man had barely stopped working ever since Jake met him. Yet he actually looked a bit younger now and full of spirit, even if he still had that vibe of a grizzled old lumberjack.

Jake had heard he was getting close to his profession-evolution. He was actually a bit surprised the man hadn’t gotten it yet with how much he worked, but then again, he still wasn’t sure exactly what determined why some leveled so much faster than others. In retrospect, his class actually leveled pretty fast. At lightning speed compared to his profession. 15 levels in a week was kind of insane, even if he had spent nearly every hour of every day fighting monkeys at higher levels than himself.

”Alright. I’ll have to bring in quite the crew to get it done properly. Do you want proper ventilation down there too? I know you probably don’t need it; it’s more of a comfort thing,” Hank asked.

”Nah, no need. I already have a plan myself for the future. One that includes really sealing in the flavor,” Jake smiled mischievously.

”Sounds like we’re making a real man cave here,” Hank chuckled. ”Do you want us to get started right away?”

”Not today, tomorrow at the earliest,” Jake answered.

”When I said right away, I didn’t mean here and now… at the earliest we can begin tomorrow afternoon, we need to finish the current project first. Miranda’s orders. The whole town is really coming together,” Hank answered, a big proud smile on his lips.

and Louise doing?” Jake asked curiously. He hadn’t seen the man’s kids

care,” Hank answered honestly, surprised at the question. ”Both of them are currently staying and working at the Fort. While we agreed to keep Haven itself small, the same can’t be said for the Fort. Sure, it technically counts as Haven, but the flat plains around the Fort are just perfect for building on. More people already live there than in the entirety of Haven. At least twenty thousand

Jake smiling as he found the builder’s embarrassment as he answered. ”Yeah, she already gave me

Hank scoffed. ”You’re barely older than them, are

”Teenagers then,” Jake corrected.

incorrect. Mark turned 20 last month; Louise is 22,” Hank answered, shaking his head

won’t it more end up being an alchemy

unable to tell

bit more time discussing the details, and Jake got more and more hooked on the idea of making a deep cave beneath the lodge to use as his alchemy lab. Possibly an entire network of sorts. It would also

few more uncommon-rarity Potent Necrotic Poison. While he most certainly knew it would fuck up the spot he used

wasn’t like he couldn’t get someone with nature magic or something like that

of fungicide as

had one more thing to take care of before heading into the

forward. His travel speed with One Step Mile was quite frankly insane at this point, and just the short way to

actually

like that, as well as the timed injectors Jake had used for the Indigo Mushroom. Apparently, the guy needed help

the Pylon’s area of influence had grown even more. The city of Haven was now technically over 100 kilometers in radius, though it was a bit oval, and the area was directed towards

could eventually come under the influence despite the long distance between the two. Then again, distances seemed to matter far less now, especially when you could travel hundreds of kilometers in less time than his commute to work was before the system. When Miranda reached D-grade, he reckoned it would expand to encompass

for was because the blacksmiths were there, and Jake needed a second weapon for the dungeon. With Venomfang broken and his Shortsword of Icy Winds subpar, to say the least, he wanted to check out if they had something decent. He didn’t even need it to be that good, just at least something he could transmute to improve a bit, though he hoped

It had hurt him to do… but his old bow needed some change.

(Rare)] – A bow made from a tree inhabited by wind elementals. The string is made from the sinew of the beast that dared destroy their home. Now restored to a form made for hunting down the beasts hated by the young elementals. The elementals’ spirit and mana have left their mark upon the wood, making it light and flexible. The remnant will of the spirits within blesses any arrow

in any

He had noticed that after he began using

he had transmuted it with a focus on one thing: stability. He just wanted it to be as tough and durable as possible to support

the arcane energies - their final wishes and will made into nothing more than nourishment. All that they were

in any humanoid

the description, mainly about how it really painted him as a bad guy. Seriously, all he had done was to transmute it a bit, and now it made him feel like he had

but did have some subtle pink-purple lines running through it. It was also damn durable