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.

have Miranda fill me in; we’re meeting

young man. He looked a bit meek and nice, but he was also headstrong and determined. Jake learned even more information he frankly didn’t need or want to about Donald and Abby, and it only helped

getting his revenge for what they did to his sister. He had outwardly looked loyal, but when he talked, Jake saw the pure

flinch when he mentioned stealthily throwing a dagger at someone’s calf as he tried to dodge a charging beast. Jake liked him more and more as they talked. However, there were some

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

you want to accomplish,

ask? What do you mean?” the

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

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

you could keep doing, but 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

silent for several seconds as he looked

guy to figure out his entire path of life on the spot like that. Jake should have

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 too was just a happy little accident,” Jake

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

with his mana

pain as he struggled to sit up. His one eye was still regenerating, and his body was a mess. Jake wouldn’t blame him if the guy asked

the sentence, he got a coughing fit, spitting out a glob of blood, before continuing: “-ners… I apologize for the

by being possessed by your Patron,” Jake said, shaking his

utmost in creating a sculpture to the best of my abilities! Even if it isn’t able to display even a fraction of a Primordial’s magnificence,

focus on healing for now; we can discuss the sculpture later,” Jake said. But he had made a mistake. For between his hands was a miniature

you are conjuring?” he asked as he looked at Jake’s

with sculpture

I’m so sorry for my arrogance and disrespect! To not be kneeling… I… I swear I will depict it just as shown! Have no doubts; it shall be

before he let out a big cough, spat out a large amount of blood, and passed

down at the sculptor who had managed to knock himself out

seconds as it became clear Felix

“No.”

“That’s good.”

“Yeah.”