The Primal Hunter

The mist rolled over the hills as the vast open plains that were otherwise desolate suddenly saw movement. First, a figure appeared, a hawk still on his shoulder. Then, another person appeared a second later, and within two minutes, over fifty people stood there.

Jake saw Miranda had entered with both the slave woman and the thief. He wasn’t sure what she had done, but both seemed to be under her charge for now. As far as he could tell, it wasn’t any kind of slave contract or something like that, but there clearly was some kind of control involved. But, ultimately, it wasn’t something he bothered dealing with.

The Treasure Hunt was far more important.

He noted they were currently within a transparent bubble of sorts. Likely there until everyone had entered the Treasure Hunt. While the others were talking, Jake decided to spend this time more efficiently as he tested some things. The first of which was his divine connection.

Jake felt inward, and while he could feel his connection with Villy, he couldn’t pull on it. It was like the World Congress with the gods completely cut off. He was fully aware this was advantageous to him, and he was more than happy to have the system block it out. It meant far less bullshit would go on, and it would just be mortals fucking up other mortals.

Seven minutes or so later – when the original invitation time was over – a notification appeared as the bubble around them faded.

Welcome to the Treasure Hunt!

The Treasure Hunt takes place in the ruins of a fallen realm, one where civilization still left behind many signs of its existence. Explore their world, challenge the many monsters that still roam these lands, and most importantly, claim their treasures.

A mist hangs over these lands, hiding many secrets and forgotten places. Venture through it to discover the dangers and opportunities that lie within or stay in the safety of the plains. The choice is yours, but be warned of what the mist may hide.

Each Treasure Hunter has been given a Hunter Insignia that allows them to store treasures within. All spatial storages are restricted during the hunt. This insignia can be activated to transport the Hunter out of the Treasure Hunt prematurely at the cost of leaving all rewards behind.

The final reward will be calculated at the end of the Treasure Hunt. The Treasure Hunt will last a total of ten days. May fortune be with you!

Time remaining: 9 days, 23:59:59

Jake read it over and nodded to himself. He was currently standing on a grassy plain, except he noticed the grass has a neon blue color and was even giving off a very faint amount of light. The first thing he did was test the insignia versus his spatial storage. Jake tried to activate his spatial storage and easily took out his bow. He deposited it again without any issues.

Existing items I brought in are unaffected, he noted. Next, he picked up a small handful of grass from the ground and tried to put that in his spatial storage. It didn’t work. Next, he tried to put it in the insignia storage, and that worked just fine.

All items from in here must be put in the insignia. Pretty simple, Jake thought with a nod. The insignia itself could be summoned anywhere on the body at any point and was just a box with some runes he couldn’t recognize within. He saw some people had it appear on their hands or arms, with the back of the hand seeming like the preferred position for most.

Jake also naturally listened in to the chatter all this time. It had been going on since anyone entered, and he was looking forward to leaving, but he still took the time to hear if anyone had any interesting insights he didn’t’.

“The mist is dense,” he heard someone with a bow say - an archer of some kind.

“I can’t see shit,” another one answered.

we should stay in the plains

it more circular in shape. If his guess was correct – which he was certain it was – then the plains were the center of this entire Treasure Hunt with a ring of mist around it. Jake looked to the side, and far off in the distance, he saw another group of people. Looking inwards, directly away from the barrier, he also saw people far off in the distance. Further, into the plains, he even saw a few buildings scattered about. The mist was still present in the plains, but it was far thinner and more just a

fucking huge, he thought as he peered into the mist. He saw it moving a bit uphill away from the plains, and far off in the distance, he saw the outline of what looked like tall hills or mountains. Wait, wasn’t a tall hill just

here,” Miranda said. “A larger group will be able to find far fewer treasures, and considering that our relative safety is guaranteed, there is no need to stay

Miranda didn’t want to bother with these independent D-grades either. Not that he thought they wanted to deal

is that creatures hide within,” Jake said, having all the independents turn to him. Considering he still had a lot of goodwill

a word but still giving Jake a nod in thanks. They had likely just stayed behind to be polite to him and Miranda and saw both him and her speaking up as approval for

at Jake, and he looked back and smiled beneath his mask as he nodded. She would handle the rest, and now… now it was

a Treasure Hunt, and he was a Hunter. A

very

discussions, while others left for the plains. Neil and his party had chosen

only people remaining were Sultan, the two slave women, the potion thief, and

to the one slave woman and the thief, “just don’t

be told twice as they both took off towards the inside of the plains. Together. She didn’t question that one but just assumed they saw each other and decided to stay together for now. Miranda would bet a thousand Credits they were gonna fuck over each other

your plans?” she asked Sultan, who was standing there patiently with his one remaining

perhaps go together? Strength in numbers, and

down. “Thanks for the offer, but I am

man shrugged. “In that case,

emitted from the man, and she felt a slight prickle in her mind looking his way. No doubt

Arnold to ask him, but the man just stood there with his damn tablet out, pointed towards the ground. He also repeatedly looked at the insignia that he had summoned on the back of his hand, and he even took a small needle to it, put the needle in a small slot in the tablet, and nodded in understanding just after. Miranda had some serious doubts if Arnold coming to the Treasure Hunt was a good idea, but he had chosen to attend. In the end, she just shook her head and asked

you do,

looked up at her briefly. “The

again as he walked a bit back and forth; the tablet still pointed down, and he sometimes did stuff on it. Miranda shrugged as she also left. “Good luck,

she also entered the

her, it would have been nice. She summoned wisps of verdant light that flew out in

and saw it enlarge nearly a hundred times over. He placed it in the ground as it began drilling. Then, opening a small pouch on his belt, he took out

plains. Finally, Arnold took out what looked like a mix between a rifle and a cannon and pointed it upwards. He pressed the side of his glasses as they showed

*BOOM!*

more shots later, and he felt like his entire arm was paralyzed. Thankfully, he was done with

mid-sized drones that he sent into the air and into the mist. Once they were sent off, he saw that the drill was about done. It

a final drone on the ground. Then, he jumped down into the hole and let himself fall till he reached the bottom, where he sat down in the cramped space. Finally, he took out

above began filling the hole up, the umbrella making sure he wasn’t covered. Once it was done covering the hole, it would self-destruct to make