The Primal Hunter

Fucking shitty bullshit boss, Jake thought as he chased after the damn vampire Count. It had been barely a second ahead of him, but that second meant that when he reached the entrance to the trap room, the damn barrier was back, blocking his way. It had a slight red glow now, and there was no illusionary barrier trying to conceal it either… in other words, it was just there to slow him down.

Jake fired explosive arrows to blow it up, and while that process only took about ten seconds… ten seconds could be a lot. He rushed through the broken barrier and down the hall as he made it to the atrium. While he couldn’t see the Count, he could still pinpoint the direction of his foe with Mark and feel the poison running through the vampire’s body.

But… he could also feel the poison weakening significantly by the second. It was like the vampire was just chugging down healing potions or something as his body kept getting infused with vital energy again and again.

Rushing even more than before, Jake soared down past the countless terraces towards his target, both blades at the ready as he just wanted to stop the Count from doing whatever he was doing to heal himself as fast as possible, and he didn’t have a line of sight to shoot an arrow.

He saw what the Count was doing just a few moments later as the scene entered his sphere. Five dead dried-up husks that Jake barely recognized as humans were on the floor, a sixth person was in the grasp of the Count being rapidly drained, and a seventh person was lying on the floor with both legs crushed under the vampire’s feet. Likely the next meal.

Luckily, that would never come to pass.

Jake crashed in from the side and swung his scimitar that was now surrounded by a mix of arcane and dark mana. The guy the Count was holding was already dead, but the woman under his feet was still alive and even struggling to get free.

The Count tossed the nearly fully drained corpse away and moved to block Jake’s blow. The blade extended and cut across the room, even cutting the flying corpse in two just before it struck the vampire. His opponent was blasted away with two nasty cuts on his palms from Descending Dark Arcane Fang, the wounds infected with the dark and arcane mana.

Jake quickly checked the woman with the crushed legs and tossed her a healing potion before he charged the vampire again. She looked confused but still managed to catch the potion by instinct – Jake already gone before she managed to open her mouth and say anything.

To say that he was pissed was an understatement. While it was doubtful Jake could have stopped the Count from running away; he was still mad that other people had to get involved in their fight. He was equally mad at the Count for running away like that. Was it a good tactic by the vampire to go and consume the life energy of others to revitalize himself? Sure was.

It didn’t make Jake any less mad, though.

He pushed Limit Break even further as it jumped to 20%, and his aura intensified. His presence was infused with even more power as four arcane bolts condensed around him during his charge. The vampire got up from being blasted away and yelled loudly.

”Mere livestock dare interrupt my meal! I shall-”

”Just shut the fuck up,” Jake answered as he pressed the attack. The four arcane bolts were fired first, making the vampire dodge to the side. Jake responded by nudging them to follow the hulking monster using his presence-empowered mana control. At the same time, he reached melee range.

With the first swing, he broke his opponent’s guard, and with the second, he left a deep cut. This was also the time the four bolts reached them, and the Count was struck in the side, leaving Jake another great opening as he stabbed the vampire through the chest with the long Nanoblade.

”I SHALL NOT FALL!”

Jake was pushed back by another red wave of energy, but this time he didn’t even bother using an arcane barrier as he knew this attack wasn’t meant to damage but only force him back. His scales were good enough.

The Count of Blood didn’t attack Jake but flew past him again towards the woman on the floor that had just consumed a health potion.

no, you fucking

grab hold of the woman, he himself was taken hold of as Jake used One Step Mile into the air, and with a flap of his

of the Count’s wings with his right hand, and using the left, he cleaved down at

of the tower was cleared of any activity as people who had entered to explore had begun moving up the many floors… and he

and was hit by the arrow and sent crashing down into the ground. Jake began charging his Arcane Powershot right

Count’s chambers. No one had been aware that someone had already rushed to the top of one of the towers, somehow obtained a Rune of Blood and unlocked a boss in this short

the balconies were fast being filled by humans. The fight had sent mana and

people staring at him, and he was even less so now. All of them were just prey for the vampire.

stared down at it as his Arcane Powershot charged. His opponent had been hit by this specific

dodge. Jake needed to stop it, but Gaze wouldn’t have enough duration… so

spoke in a taunting voice as he infused it with

coward and a weakling. Worse than livestock. Just.

Count froze. He looked at Jake for a moment, his red vampiric eyes wide as suddenly the slits on both narrowed and began glowing an even deeper red color. Jake had found his opening, and

didn’t make a snide remark or cringy comment. He just shrieked as the mouth opened wide. A new wing instantly sprung out, fully regenerated, and he flew up towards Jake, now

to back down as the Count swung his claws and sent out an absolutely massive wave of blood energy. It was powerful for sure, likely the strongest blow the

as the onlookers from the balconies had to take cover from the explosion. The Count of Blood was struck by the stable arcane arrow just

get up again but was hit by five

A large one, looking almost like a spear and made of dense, arcane mana.

infusing with voice with willpower. He felt over a hundred eyes on him, and the warning was

straight down towards the vampire, the gemstones on his bow dimming. The Count seemed to

of the

last-ditch effort, the vampire sent out a wave of blood-red energy that crashed with the arrow as the entire tower became bathed in pink-purple light. Jake

*BOOM!*

up on all the balconies with observers as the people

entire bottom floor as the destruction wormed its away across the ground, leaving everything destroyed and pulsing with pink-purple cracks of arcane energy. Yet, despite the devastation

party of humans to the bottom of the atrium and,

cracked and broken. One of the wings was once more ripped off,

path wasn’t a party of living health potions but a blade covered in arcane mana. The vampire moved to block the

went for the only source

Jake.

chest. A large gaping maw opened up right in front of Jake’s face as he ripped out only

the Count light up out of every opening in his body, dealing catastrophic

Gaze of the Apex Hunter,

head of one of the nine Counts of Blood was sent flying