The Primal Hunter

With the wand in his inventory, he moved on to some of the other stuff. The next item of interest was a white crown sitting on top of a pillow. The crown had a relatively simple design and was made out of some kind of white metal, reminding him a bit of white gold. In the center of the crown was a small red gem that looked to almost be glowing. It also gave off an impressive aura, reminding him a bit of the Nalkar vampires, and it became clear why upon identifying it.

[Nalkar Crown of the Dominant Mind (Ancient)] – A crown created by a powerful crafter from the Nalkar vampire line. The crown is made of an unknown metal and is extremely durable. A processed heart of a powerful Nalkar Vampire is embedded in it, soaking it with magical powers. The Nalkar Heart enhances all mind, illusion, and phantasmal-based magic. Passively grants resistance to all mind-affecting magic while worn. Enchantments: +200 Willpower, +150 Wisdom, +100 Intelligence. Dominant Mind of the Nalkar.

Requirements: lvl 130+ in any humanoid race.

Well, damn, Jake thought as he looked at the stats. That was some impressive stuff. The pure stats it gave were quite insane, and with the added benefits of making mind magic better? A pure win. Especially considering the wand he obtained earlier. Jake reckoned a mage using mind magic could go far with those two together. Even if you weren’t a mind mage, he reckoned most mages could make good use of those two items together. The pure stats and mental resistance granted by the crown were likely considered enough by most people.

He also wasn’t going to ask about the ethicality of using the heart of a brethren to make a crown. Because honestly, that was less weird than people getting their loved ones cremated before the system and turning their ashes into jewelry. He wasn’t judging, he just found it weird, and it was probably a cultural thing.

As for the question if Jake would use it… he would find that out later. He had a feeling he couldn’t due to the mask on his face getting in the way, and he really didn’t want to try and put it on his head there and then, potentially looking like an idiot with the projection watching.

Thus he just put it in his inventory, not showing any visible signs he was impressed.

Jake finally went over to the token with the Order of the Malefic Viper symbol on it and picked it up, the projection looking on nervously behind him. Once he did so, he used Identify on it… and was honestly taken aback.

[High-tier Alchemy Token of the Malefic Order (Legendary)] – A token created by the Order of the Malefic Viper. This token represents a deal made with the Nalkar vampire line to grant a set number of the Nalkar Clan vampires membership to the Order and includes a set number of benefits. This token has never been turned in, and doing so may lead to certain rewards. Gives off an aura that encourages growth in toxic alchemical products.

First of all, legendary-rarity for a token that would grant access to the Order of the Malefic Viper? Was this just Villy and his Order flexing by having such a high rarity item do that? Or was there actually something special about it? Was that aura really enough to warrant the rarity?

He was also surprised such an item was present in this Treasure Hunt. Was it a bit like the Altmar things in the dungeon? A method to recruit people? But from what Jake had gathered from Villy, the Order wasn’t really that big on recruiting and had quite high standards usually.

Maybe the Nalkar vampires were just that great? Considering the starved heart of one was epic-rarity, he assumed the regular version was ancient-rarity. With their natural magic abilities and the stats granted by the crown likely corresponding to what their race gave… he could see how they were well-dispositioned to doing alchemy.

It would be pretty funny if they had a big presence in the Order, he joked a bit to himself. He kept walking around the room, trying to look as disinterested as possible as he emptied it out.

I may be speaking out of turn… but for what purpose do you acquire the

is of poor quality? I just don’t believe anything, even with low value, should be wasted. That is the true path to strength, always strive for more and take anything you can. I am a man of avarice;

as Jake left the Vault’s interior an empty husk, taking everything and anything he came

kind of curated things and chosen what should remain. This Vault was supposed to be left behind by beings several grades above Jake, so for it to only house D-grade equipment and items a D-grade could feasibly use wouldn’t make much

looting spree, the projection just looked on as she deeply reflected on his words. A bit useless considering she was a projection who could never leave the Vault. Jake found this entire practice of leaving projections behind a bit odd if useful. He just couldn’t imagine how a projection with sentience must feel… knowing it would cease to be in not that long, existing only with a single purpose. Or maybe they were programmed

turned to the projection as he nodded. “While there was nothing of use to me, I still found some items of value I can give to my subordinates. I shall remember the courtesy of the Nalkar line and be sure to

ask a single more question,” the projection said, as

her a bit, suppressing himself from giving any reaction. He should have known this one was coming, shouldn’t he? The True Ancestor, Sanguine, was without a

possibly have some bad effects, but so could lying and saying the guy was still alive. Heck, if it was even a guy. Was Jake even sure of it being a man? Sanguine wasn’t really a name Jake could place gender on. Wait, maybe the Ancestor was

his answer and just settled on a

and stay mysterious. Any answer could backfire, though, at this point, he had a feeling he could answer anything he wanted without any

like this? Why would he allow us to suffer and see his children be hunted and slaughtered for no reason? Why would he permit so many

a great way to bait some more info out, Jake

one, Jake actually had an answer. Perhaps not the right one, but the one he was sure Villy would give…

rise? For the lines that remained to become more powerful than ever. Perhaps it was a cleansing. A test. All you need to know is that the Nalkar line remains… and if the True Ancestor died or not, does it really matter? If the Nalkar line was so weak as to require the help of Sanguine to remain viable, it was never

in Jake’s opinion, the truth. If a race existed only by relying on some powerful god, was that truly a race that should exist? Clearly, the vampires hadn’t all ceased to be after the True Ancestor disappeared or died or whatever. Being caught up in some old geezers vanishing was just a waste of time. Jake knew the gods had probably created some races throughout the ages… but those races remained even after the god

just stood looking at him for a while, her face looking a bit offended and angry, but she didn’t say anything. Jake saw this

True Ancestor to be powerful. You don’t need the Order of the Malefic Viper. You can stand on your own feet and show the multiverse the Nalkars are not to be trifled with. That is true power and worthy of respect,” he said,

Jake himself was considering if now wasn’t the time he should get out of the damn Vault, considering he was done looting it, and for every sentence he spoke, he got closer and closer to saying something he really

shook as everything around him seemed

powerful and under the umbrella of the Order of the Malefic Viper.. with your

into a formerly hidden compartment Jake hadn’t even noticed before with his sphere. He had simply thought it was part of the magical construction of the metal sphere and some power source… and in some ways, it was. It had been the

an aura similar to the projection. It was a vampire heart - the projection’s heart. Jake hadn’t expected it to turn out like this… but when he used Identify on the heart, he

often possesses a larger reserve of blood energy than most other vampires. The rarity is higher due to the high innate

had been C-grade. A part of him felt proud he had just managed to fool a C-grade, but another part of him felt a bit shitty about his deceptive tactics, especially considering how the projection had made itself cease to exist by giving him the heart. Not that he believed being stuck in this sphere was much of