The Primal Hunter

Hm, should I go for human-form Villy looking silly? Nah, that would be boring. Small snake eating a mushroom? That could be funny. Oh, what if I added a plaque below saying ‘danger noodle’? Yeah, that could totally be funny, Jake thought as he considered his options while waiting for the two men to wake up.

His hands were weaving different figures of stable arcane mana as he tried out a few shapes he thought could be funny.

After fifteen minutes, Chris woke up. Felix was still out, as it seemed like being possessed by that god had done a number on him. Without the healing potion, he would have 100% died. Again, that Eternal Servant guy was a major asshole.

“What happened?” Chris asked as he woke up. He didn’t even try to stand up right away but stayed on the ground as he rubbed his head.

“Felix got possessed by a god, and the aura knocked you out. I heard that can happen, so no reason to feel bad about it,” Jake explained.

“Oh…” Chris answered. He sighed as he sat up and stared at the floor as he muttered: “Why do I keep being mentally assaulted and knocked out all the time today?”

“Sorry, that’s on me,” Jake apologized. “On a positive note, that should be the last time. I hope it is, at least.”

Chris nodded. He looked at Felix also lying on the ground and saw the bloodstains from the possession earlier. The missing eye was still being regenerated, but it wasn’t exactly visible. “What happened to him!? Is he dead!?” Chris yelled as he got up in a jiffy and backed away from Felix.

On a second look, he did look like a corpse. His entire body was bloody from his cracked skin, blood had flown from every opening, and he didn’t look healthy at all. If one looked a bit closer, one could see that no actual injuries besides the still healing eye were present, but Chris hadn’t done that.

“I told you, divine possession. Apparently not the healthiest of things to engage in. Don’t worry, Felix should be fine. Physically at least. I think he’s already a bit out there mentally,” Jake patiently explained. Not like he had anything better to do, and Chris was a nice guy who just seemed to accept all the fucked up shit he told him without question. Quite refreshing.

“I hope he’s okay,” Chris said, clearly worried about the sculptor.

“He’ll wake up eventually. Anyway, while we wait, do you know where Hank is these days?” Jake asked. He had been meaning to ask for a while, but things kinda happened.

“Hank and Louise went to the Fort. They’re always super busy there, and he needed to help them out and handle some issues. There are a lot of new settlers because of the increasing presence of beasts, and people feel unsafe due to the lack of a physical barrier between the outer parts of the Fort and the surrounding plains,” Chris explained, sounding more confident than before.

I guess it helps to talk about things you actually know about, Jake chuckled internally. “Has there been any major issues with beasts?”

The Minotaur Mindchief was still on his mind, and Jake wondered if something similar had happened. Anton and Neil were there, both D-grades, so they should be able to hold enemies off. Neil, at least, should be able to put up lots of resistance. Jake didn’t know if Anton could really fight, but he had a feeling the man wasn’t defenseless.

“Not as much as elsewhere. I heard a lot of the smaller settlements are struggling, but the attackers only hit the places with Pylons. Apparently, Neil is in communication with some other space mages, and they let us know. I’m not sure about the details, though…” Chris said, looking apologetic.

in; we’re meeting tomorrow

Jake came to learn a lot about the young man. He looked a bit meek and nice, but he was also headstrong and determined. Jake learned even more information he

of one day getting his revenge for what they did to his sister. He had outwardly looked loyal, but when he talked, Jake saw the pure hatred in his voice, coupled with the elation when he spoke of that

who didn’t even flinch when he mentioned stealthily throwing a dagger at someone’s calf as he tried to dodge a charging beast. Jake liked him

had already written his life off, so when Jake had ended up ‘saving’ him, Chris had decided that he would gladly use his life to repay that favor. It wasn’t normal at all, but the man had clearly been fucked up mentally by what he had gone through and had a weird mindset now… no matter how normal he could seem most of the time. Jake was beginning to think Villy hadn’t just blessed him as a joke. Chris was loyal to Jake to

to accomplish, Chris?” Jake

ask? What do you mean?” the young man asked. He looked genuinely

still only in the middle parts of E-grade. You’re gonna live a long-ass time, and that lifespan will only increase as you level up. While you’re still in your early days, you can change what you wanna do still. What you want to be. So, what do you see yourself doing in a decade? A century?” Jake asked. It was something he had been meaning to ask, because besides “repaying Jake,” Chris didn’t really seem to have any other real goals. He just trudged along and worked as a builder. Well, he did have a massive crush on Louise. Did that

his confusion growing. “I’ll just keep working, I guess. Do my best.

what do you want to do? Seriously, nothing’s holding you back. Do whatever you want to, and as long as you don’t piss off people you shouldn’t piss off; no one that matters will judge you for it. So I ask again, what do you want to do?” Jake reiterated. He himself had thought a lot about it. He knew exactly what he wanted to do and the way to reach that goal. Even

for several seconds as he looked deep in thought until he looked back up at Jake with a serious look. “I don’t

retrospect, maybe it was a bit much to expect the young guy to figure out his entire path of life on the spot like that. Jake should have known

above all else. Be your own man and have your own goals. You don’t owe me anything. I helped you because Donald and Abby were pieces of shit and invaded my territory. That you also got helped

with the young guy being so reverent towards him. Chris was already awkward enough before Jake inadvertently helped him get a blessing from a god that the title description made clear was very powerful. Now he was even worse. Jake didn’t want that; he wanted Chris to be his own man. If he then decided to still be on team Jake? At least that would be his own decision, not made due to some odd sense

Jake kept playing with his mana strings, making small funny-looking miniature statues of Villy as

pain as he struggled to sit up. His one eye was still

a coughing fit, spitting out a glob of blood, before

by your Patron,” Jake said, shaking his

A meager sacrifice to learn I am in the presence of a Primordial’s Chosen! Please, let me know of any way I can be useful! I shall do my utmost in creating a sculpture to the best of my abilities! Even if it isn’t able to display even a

he had made a mistake. For between his

asked as he looked at

just playing around with

a Primordial!? I’m so sorry for my arrogance and disrespect! To not be kneeling… I… I

further before he let out a big cough, spat out a large

sculptor

he dead?” Chris asked after a few seconds as it became clear Felix wasn’t

“No.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah.”