The Primal Hunter

The situation was just a tiny bit tenser after Jake took out the trash. He considering if they should slap on a charge for contaminating Haven with toxic waste but held himself back. During the brief intermission, the two women had exited the cabin. They now actually stood behind Sultan as if seeking protection from him, both looking terrified.

Miranda cleared her voice, bringing the attention back to her even if Sultan still threw glances at Jake. He didn’t seem mad or offended at all but borderline elated.

“Needless to say, we reserve any right to dish out punishment as we see fit. If it is decided by the leadership of Haven – especially Lord Thayne – to deliver the aforementioned punishment, then that is something you will have to accept,” Miranda said.

“Naturally,” Sultan agreed, his smile now back. He seemed less stressed than before despite just losing two of his “bodyguards.” Not much bodyguarding going on, honestly, as those two had been weak. He guessed they were the kinds of casters who needed ample preparation to show their full power, and Jake hadn’t given them that. Not at all.

As to why he had killed them? Because they had crossed a line. Where exactly that line was, he couldn’t say. They just had, so he acted. Jake was inherently an impulsive person, so when that overwhelming feeling of bloodlust came up, he felt it hard to hold himself back. He still had the self-control to throw Miranda a glance and get a nod of approval from her. After that whole Abby and Donald business, Jake didn’t always trust his own sense of anger when it came to other humans.

As for the two last slaves? He didn’t care. One of them was that Gabi woman, and he didn’t know any details of the other, not even her name. Considering there wasn’t any visceral reaction to her, Jake assumed she couldn’t be as bad. Miranda could decide what to do with her. They were fucked up, sure, but they didn’t incite any feeling of anger, only disgust. He did have some clue as to why that was and also why he disliked Sultan so much.

What Jake truly despised was unnecessarily causing harm to others in a disproportional way. He was fully aware sometimes you had to kill weaker individuals when it came to fighting, but going out of your way to torture or kill someone weaker was just wrong.

This was why Jake didn’t just kill any random beast he came across, even while he still got experience from them. Killing a foe many levels below himself just for an insignificant amount of experience just didn’t sit right with him. As an example, if the Minotaur Mindchief had only tried to kill powerful D-grade humans, he would say fair game. The problem was that it tortured and killed those significantly weaker than itself, like a fucking coward.

Sultan was a lesser version of that. He was a sadist who enjoyed torturing, not because he got anything out of it, but just because he was a bastard. Actually, if Sultan just had those four slaves without the whole torture part, he could maybe even see them get along. Sure, he was an ass, but who wasn’t a bit of an asshole these days?

It was not like Jake would even pretend he and Miranda were the good guys right now. They were essentially blackmailing and forcing Sultan to give in to all their demands. Shit, they had yet actually to offer anything in return besides his potential survival.

Yet, for some reason, Sultan seemed fine with all that. It was honestly perplexing in every way. Things were going terribly for him, weren’t they?

He hadn’t been wrong. Sultan had begun questioning his decision to come to Haven before, but seeing the Chosen act, all that doubt was dispelled like the morning fog.

Lord Thayne was domineering, assertive, and acted like he didn’t care about anyone else’s opinion. He was perfect. His bloodlust and power were enough to send shivers down his spine and make his heart pound. This was what a true powerhouse of the multiverse should be like.

Sultan had met the Augur during his last visit. He had even been asked to join the Holy Church or just become an affiliate partner, but he had refused. The church was controlling, and so was the city. In the end, you had to work for the collective, and while they supported the standouts a lot, Sultan didn’t like the way they did things. It was a hive of covert corruption and politics. Without the Augur, the shitshow that was the political arena of Sanctdomo would already have fallen apart. Being a part of that city would mean being forced into politics if he wanted any proper benefits.

with Lord Thayne at the top, Miranda Wells acting as the voice of his will. This was far more to his liking. He had hoped to endear himself to the Chosen personally, but even if that had failed, he had time. Even if he couldn’t make Lord

was why he couldn’t help but be happy. What was giving up a few slaves? A silly hobby? The profits and power he could accumulate from working with Lord Thayne would

Holy Church already had hundreds of talented merchants. With a population in the city in excess of 50 million, that only made sense, and that number was increasing with sometimes

would never

of Sanctdomo. Meanwhile, Haven didn’t have any merchants associated with the city quite yet. At least Sultan hadn’t heard of any, so no one worth his notice had appeared. It was

a Chosen of? The Malefic Viper, a Primordial, with his Order of the Malefic Viper. To get direct access through the Chosen to the Order, one of the most prominent alchemy-related organizations in the multiverse, would be invaluable. Sure, they were known as

multiverse. The best merchant needed the strongest backing. The richest man would be the strongest, and the most influential would be the one capable of killing anyone who

lost everything once already, and he refused to be a victim in

all of this was, in the end, a gamble. A gamble Sultan believed only required him to put some of his wealth and the potential of being forced to leave on the table. At least to begin with. It had now changed to him already having lost two D-grade slaves, and he was sure he would lose the two others too. One way or another. Even his life was on the line, and he didn’t have a single complaint about

else. A natural D-grade only still viewed as a juvenile of its race at D-grade? It was bound to become powerful. Sultan was certain Haven also hid other secrets – not that he was even close to comprehending the three before him fully. Neil, the space mage he had

becoming more and more determined to join them. Sure, Sanctdomo was large. It had hundreds of D-grades already. It

he couldn’t see Sanctdomo and all their powerhouses coming out unscathed. No… he wasn’t sure he could see them

to

and he accepted death as a potential risk in pursuit of his goals. He was a man who went for what he wanted and either got it or

the future. And while the Chosen didn’t like him, he sure as hell liked the Chosen. Hopefully, they could foster a relationship in

to keep one of the slaves.

honestly went too easy. Jake was confused why Sultan just went along with borderline anything

binding him to Haven, but Sultan refused adamantly, refusing to be bound by a contract to the city. To Jake, that only made sense. Why would anyone clearly talented bind themselves to another faction? Jake himself sure as hell

point but fast discovered it was an absolute dealbreaker. Ultimately it didn’t matter to Jake if the guy was loyal. Having to write a contract to have someone be loyal and work for you seemed kind of unnecessary

slaves and what to do with them, it became more

two, and straight-up asked: “So, if you get to choose, then

aware one of them liked to kill entire families because she was fucked in the head and had dearly

the next question is if you would prefer to work under the authority of Haven or

got surprising. The one called Gaby didn’t hesitate to want to get the fuck away from Sultan as she began pleading about being reformed. Honestly, it was bad. Like, even Jake could say with 90% certainty she was just desperately trying to be freed.

serial-killer and stalker woman wanted to remain with Sultan… in fact, she stood oddly close to him as if afraid they would take her away. Could Jake try to analyze her movements and intent? Sure, but that would be a massive waste of brainpower. While it had more or less been decided he wouldn’t kill her, that didn’t mean he would have to deal with her. Hunting kids was just bad sport – be it to kill or enslave them. Adding on to that, had Sultan walked in with a child slave, he