The Primal Hunter

Sultan was relaxed and confident as he studied the masked Chosen of the Malefic Viper. A powerful man worth working with. He had done his research before coming and believed he had an understanding of the man.

As a Chosen, he would naturally be a reflection of his Patron, so with the limited information on the Progenitor himself, he instead studied his god and the Order his god was in charge of. He studied customs and the ethos of the Order. Their logos and their - albeit lack of - foundational pathos. Instead, there seemed to be a focus on each being in charge of their own destinies, with morals judged based on how powerful a person is. To do harm upon those weaker than yourself was no sin but a right. For Sultan to find a worthy partner and one compatible with him in this new world would be difficult, but he believed the Chosen would be his best shot.

Going into it with honesty would no doubt be the best strategy. Lies would eventually be picked apart, and half-truths would only serve to offend the Viper’s Chosen. The Viper was known as a straightforward kind of god, and his Order also valued not beating around the bush.

Sultan was a bit surprised at the questioning of slavery. To his knowledge, that was commonplace in the Order. For the Chosen not to have a few slaves or at least slave-like servants would be ludicrous. Thus he would put all his cards on the table and negotiate from there. If nothing else, he was sure the Chosen would prioritize benefits over a slight disagreement.

Though that should not even be a concern. As far as Sultan knew, the Order of the Malefic Viper had quite the number of sadists within, and would their Chosen not be the worst of them all? Nevertheless, Sultan reckoned he enjoyed the show.

Because Sultan knew he did.

Jake looked down at the woman and back at Sultan. At the moment, he was 50-50 in his head if he should believe the guy. There was some evidence to his claims, though.

The kind of poison Jake had consumed wasn’t easy to make. Far from it. It would take a lot of practice to learn and a lot of time. Of course, it was entirely possible Sultan had made her learn to concoct it for other means, which is why he placed it as a 50-50 kind of thing. Also, his lie would be easily disproved just by checking in with Sanctdomo. Someone who was either close to D-grade or D-grade had to have left some records.

So, let’s say the story was true. Fuck Gabi. Jake would have killed her, but he also understood that imprisonment or even slavery was preferable to that for some people. Not to Jake, though.

Ultimately, Jake chose to assume the man had been honest, not because he thought him particularly trustworthy, but because it was the easiest thing to do for now. He had nothing to lose from doing so, and he would always take another more lethal approach if the man proved to be a liar.

But… there was one thing.

Jake looked straight at Sultan, meeting his eyes as he spoke: “I don’t like you.”

If the man wanted an honest conversation… Jake would be honest.

“And I don’t mean that I dislike you a little. I mean that I am contemplating if I should just kill you or continue listening to what may or may not be bullshit. But I’ll humor you for now. Let me make it clear; I don’t like slavery. I know, shocking. So what reason will you give me for not ending you right here and now? What purpose do you see in keeping slaves? Why not just kill them and be done with it? Are you so weak you need to force a bunch of slaves to protect you?”

as if Jake’s reaction wasn’t at all what he had expected. Jake was genuinely curious what the man’s

not at all the expected response. I appear to have made some serious miscalculations,” Sultan said, taking out a potion bottle and handing it to the woman. She instantly grasped it and drank, and shortly after, she calmed down and began breathing steadily. She backed off and gave Jake a

impression you would enjoy that. Is my information on the Order of the Malefic Viper and the Primordial himself that inaccurate?” he asked. It wasn’t a rhetorical question

a part of the Order, at least not officially, and I am not the Malefic Viper. I have no idea why the fuck you would attribute their beliefs to me. I’m me; they are them,” Jake

top button of his tuxedo. He was sweating a

points. It removes the values their futures could provide too. Even if we ignore their combat prowess, simply having them be crafters would be preferable, would it not? I am not saying it’s a

it to him; most would back down. But Sultan clearly hadn’t reached his level

has to be a part of any good punishment, right? I am sure it

humans tend to judge ourselves by our intentions and others by their behavior. My words or justifications hold little meaning to you, so I won’t even bother trying to convince you I am in the right. Think me a maniacal monster who enjoys torturing others, a hero of justice, or whatever you want in between. Just know that I hold no ill intentions towards you nor any of your comrades, and I am very

because he’s some sadistic fuck. I guess you don’t have a good reason though,

outright, offering them no alternative?” he laughed. “Besides, it’s a choice that remains. I do not restrict them from harming me; it is just that harming me will begin the process of their deaths. It will start a timer. If they manage to kill me within the period, they will all live. If they fail, they die. Exciting, wouldn’t you agree? It helps keep me on my toes. Sadly, all four of them are too darn cowardly to take a stab at me. Who knows, they might

bastard, but at least he had been honest about it. This didn’t make Jake dislike him any less; it just made him continue the conversation. He did have one burning

do that? As far as I know, the moment someone is enslaved, they essentially become Soulbound to a person, and their owner’s death would mean the deaths of the slaves,” Jake asked. This part he was

off to the side shuffle a bit. They likely had never heard this conversation before and were afraid Sultan had lied to them at some point about the potential to

Potent, but also limited, as you just said. It’s a perfect one-way bond that has many benefits but also restrictions. One of those is the inability to release others for good. That is not my method. Instead, I use the far more regular method of using a medium. I use this,” Sultan said as he took out a notebook from his breast pocket as he

die, the item will cease to exist, and thus they will be released. Alternatively, I can choose to nullify the contract, which will also result in

bit as they moved closer. Perhaps looking for a chance to do something. Jake knew that he would have tried to kill Sultan long ago if he were in their shoes. Well, he would never be in their shoes, because in

could, and it went smoothly. Next, Jake just threw a glance at Sultan before he burned it with Alchemical Flame. Was it fake? No… it just wasn’t

another identical notebook and placed it on the table. Without any prompt, he turned a single page, and

is the contract they are under,” Sultan said, leaning

close to him unless they had permission to leave, and finally, that they could protect themselves as long as

of it?” Jake asked after

is not instant. I reckon it would take around ten minutes, and as long as they kill me within the period, they would be fine. Ah, also if they get above me in level. That

why don’t they

their fear of retaliation. They can ignore all my commands too. That has yet to