The Primal Hunter

While Jake was working on his elixirs in a trance-like state, everyone else around the globe also progressed. Parties dove in dungeons, hunted down more and more powerful beasts and crafted items more potent than anything they had ever created before.

Every single day more D-grade appeared, and in these last two weeks, it was easily in the triple digits every single day. At this point, Neil and his party had also all managed to reach D-grade and begun hunting as a group to get in a few more levels.

Sultan had spent fewer days within Haven but gone hunting himself with the one remaining slave who remained under his charge to get some more levels in too. Miranda had taken charge of the other, and she would also join the Treasure Hunt.

There was some bad news, though.

Miranda was in her office in Haven, Phillip in front of her, sitting slumped over on a chair.

“I guess I’m just not really that up to it anymore,” Phillip said as he sighed.

Miranda also sighed as she sat together with the man. He looked a bit thinner than last, and his eyes were a bit sunken. He had gone hunting many times but always returned faster than anyone else. His entire demeanor was just that of a tired man who looked to have stretched himself thin. He was still high level… but his progress had stopped.

[Human - lvl 99]

He was level 99 but had not gotten any chance to evolve. His class was not maxed out yet, but it too had only gotten slower. Miranda was fully aware of what it was all about.

Phillip had lost his purpose after she and Jake had come to take over the Fort. Phillip wasn’t someone who had risen to the occasion out of desire but out of responsibility. He was a career-man in the military, and the soldiers at the Fort were his to lead, so he led them. He sought power not because he wanted to but because of the constant pressure from the bovine hordes. In the tutorial, it had been the same, as he only progressed because he had to, not because he wanted to.

But now? Now, he didn’t really need to do anything. He still led the soldiers in day-to-day operations, handled personnel, and acted as head of what was essentially the police, but that was it. The man had little to no desires outside of this and only really worked due to obligations.

To say it in the nicest way possible, then he was burned out and halfway to retirement. In a less nice way? He had gotten lazy and complacent when his own personal power stopped mattering as much. The meeting with Sultan seemed to have fully pushed him over the edge. Phillip didn’t believe such an event would never repeat itself. One where a single individual could just show up, and he and the soldiers under his employ would be powerless to do anything.

Miranda did have some sympathy towards him. She herself only had a purpose now because she was given one. Without Jake, she knew she would have also been directionless, only trying to survive. She would likely have settled down somewhere and maybe worked with the local smithy or a group of craftsmen. Maybe she would have tried to start a company or something. She sure as hell wouldn’t be the leader of one of the premier cities of Earth, have a Divine Blessing, and work directly under the Chosen of a Primordial.

“Have you considered a replacement yet?” she asked him.

The conclusion was clear. Phillip was planning on stepping down within not that long. He would still work, but he would not be the one in charge, more a supporter who helped where needed while otherwise enjoying the retired life.

mind, and I swear they’ll do good. It will still be a while before everything is finalized, but I’m working on it,” Phillip said

“I’m sure we will be able to find a way to manage without you, and I’m sure your successor will do wonders. Just… no rush, and if you want to stay, we can always find a position or change things up. But ultimately, the choice

experienced some massive change in mindset, he would never even reach D-grade, and if he did, that would surely be where his road ended. He likely wouldn’t ever reach the

It was the truly driven and often a bit ‘off’ people who truly did well. Sultan, Jake, Arnold, the fanatics of the Holy Church, heck, even herself were examples of this. All of them weren’t exactly normal by old-world standards anymore. They were now all driven with strong internal motivation. Miranda wanted to do her best, not because she had to, but because she wanted to. She would dream of the ways Haven could expand, of where she could

Jake, of course. She had resigned herself to that, and while he could be a bit… challenging to deal with,

anyone were driven by internal motivation, it

had even come by with a shitload of cores and ingredients for his perception-elixirs earlier, making him a very happy man. He had spent most

chugging them down. That meant he had consumed eighteen uncommon-rarity perception elixirs total. Along with that, he had also downed another fifty-one of the common-rarity version for a total of +243 more

– An elixir created from a mix of uncommon and rare ingredients as well as a D-grade Beastcore of a Sunshade Eagle. Allows any who drink this elixir to receive some of the innate power of the materials, enhancing one’s Perception. +5

Requirements: D-rank or higher.

the bullet and consume some of

damn efficient way of leveling, even if it wasn’t as fast as his last trance-like state. That one had been quite intense, and as his familiarity with making elixirs increased, so did the diminishing return of crafting similar things kick in. Still, three levels in ten days

Malefic Viper] has reached level 129 - Stat points allocated,

[Human (D)] has reached level 129 - Stat points allocated, +15 free

the exact same level again. Additionally, many would argue 129 was close

It was time.

cauldron and instead summoned the token he had

within, upgrading the item to a maximum of Epic-rarity. If the item is already Epic-rarity, it will try to amplify existing effects through awakened

User must be below

been saving the token for this day. His boots on his feet were ready to be blessed and become better boots. All he hoped was that their comfy feeling would remain untouched as he would despise losing that. They were the snuggliest boots he could imagine, and he remembered those

did note that their stat values were a

Wandering Alchemist (Rare)] – Boots once offered to an alchemist before setting out on a journey to experience the world outside. Despite being made of simple leather, the Records of the alchemist have left a deep mark on this item, allowing it to transcend many ranks. Enchantments: +20 Endurance, +15 Agility. Reduces stamina expenditure from all movement-related skills by

in any

from an ancient Challenge Dungeon that the Malefic Viper, one of only twelve gods at the time, had made. Jake wasn’t sure if the boots were from all the way back then, but to him, they had always felt old. If they truly had relations to the first universe, the Records

off his boots and held up the token. He

was changing, and it

change. He felt it become stronger, and as the item