The Primal Hunter

The dark ball of mist hung above the valley with mana swirling around it in a spiral. Bolts of arcane mana were condensed by the dozen every single second, falling on the many people around the valley as they tried to attack the person hidden by the mist.

Jake, who stood within, had his aim set. Arcane Powershot had been charged to the maximum, and the three bolts hanging above him ready. He released the three bolts down towards the healer and leader of the ambush, these three far more powerful than those prior.

The healer swiftly reacted once he saw the bolts exit the mist and poured more mana into his barrier. The people around him also helped as the three bolts arrived. A massive explosion was kicked up, sending soil and dust flying everywhere but didn’t do much damage to the barrier itself. Not that the blow was meant to… it was just a smokescreen.

It was simply there to make the healer feel a slight moment of relief before the true blow arrived.

*BOOM!*

For this second attack… the healer didn’t react in time.

The entire ball of black mist exploded, the mist scattered by the sheer release of power from the Arcane Powershot. Arcane energy burned in the wake of the arrow as it tore through the air. Before anyone below could react, it reached the barrier of the healer. The man only managed to open his eyes in fright as his defenses shattered like broken glass, and the arrow pierced straight through his chest. Usually, Arrow of the Ambitious Hunter couldn’t pierce magic barriers… except Jake had come far in his understanding, especially of humans. He viewed mana as simply an extension of the body, so why the hell couldn’t his arrow pierce a barrier constructed of it? The skill had clearly agreed with his conclusion.

Once the arrow hit, there was no grand explosion, but simply the man being sent smashing into the ground. Yet, at that very last moment, something activated as his body began glowing. Jake recognized it as some kind of life-saving skill. Perhaps one to nullify some damage or ensure he couldn’t die to one attack… Jake didn’t know, but what he did know was that the healer wasn’t ready for the follow-up.

Because before he even saw the arrow land, he fired the next one. This one wasn’t simple either. The two orbs of power on his bow began channeling all their energy as an arrow condensed on the string as Jake prepared to make the area into a Scorched Plain.

He fired the second arrow only two seconds after the first, not leaving the healer any time to prepare. Seeing their leader suddenly be downed had already created even more panic and doubt, meaning no one reacted adequately.

Jake released the arrow and, at the same time, used One Step Mile. While Arrow of the Ambitious Hunter was his most powerful attack by a fair margin and archery was his best tool of combat, his greatest damage per second didn’t come from ranged attack.

It naturally came from Touch of the Malefic Viper.

The large arrow infused with all the energy from his bow landed just before Jake did. The Scorched Plains effect activated as it exploded, sending a wave of destructive arcane energy burning through the area; all the blue grass it encountered turned to nothing.

Jake landed amidst this explosion, the arcane energy washing over him. He took it unbothered as his scales blocked what little damage it could usually do to him. Out of everyone in existence, Jake was the one with the most natural resistance to his own affinity, meaning he could tank it pretty damn well. Far better than the other humans.

His target within the inferno of arcane energy was the healer. The man was still alive, but that would soon change. The guy was still thrown off and semi-conscious as Jake jumped him. The other party failed to respond as Jake smashed his face into the ground, and his hand began glowing green. Jake pressed down with all his might as power swirled around him, the arcane energy still dominating the environment.

Jake squeezed his hand tighter and tighter as he pressed down until eventually, Touch of the Malefic Viper had weakened the skull enough. With a final push, he completely squashed the head of the formerly oh-so-confident leader of the independent factions.

already damaged man didn’t

- lvl 130 / Auspicious Mind Mender – lvl 108 / Pioneering City

his rage began to subside. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, focusing on getting his emotions under control. Jake was fully aware that this had been another case of his emotions – specifically anger – going

he reckoned nearly everyone should be able to survive and many even block it as the Scorched Plains attack was more about widespread destruction than killing singular foes. However, based on everything else Jake had shown so far, those that were hit chose to

them all to take. As the effect from the Scorched Plains attack subsided, everyone saw where Jake was standing and the corpse beneath him. Once Jake felt their

around the valley as Jake looked at the four people he had been solving the puzzle with. His attack earlier had hit not only his enemies but also those within the valley. In fact, the arcane energy

left some wounds, but as they weren’t attacked by anything else, they had managed to put up some defensive measures. The same couldn’t be said about the earth mage, who had

having none of that. He raised his bow and fired a quickly charged Arcane Powershot. The arrow landed true, making the armor of stone explode and sending the man tumbling through the air with a large hole in his

to attack and finish off the earth mage, but the man defended himself at the very last moment as he yelled: “We will

words, he activated his Insignia and

arrow and have their head pierced or something similar, making them unable to flee. Jake noticed that some people did stay behind, all huddled together in a defensive position. He saw around thirty people and saw among them several of the more powerful humans who had been around the healer. None of them had taken any significant damage but had

the front spoke: “Lord Thayne, please, I believe this is all

at the man as he asked: “In what way am I misunderstanding you trying to trap and kill me within

not done with the intent to kill, merely to give us grounds for

me like a normal fucking human being. If you want to negotiate from a position of strength, at least make sure you can actually back it up. Oh, and last of all, don’t fucking insult someone you want to negotiate with. I’m no expert,

but more by the prospect of being forced to leave the Treasure Hunt with more than half of the time

without having to leave the Hunt?” the man finally asked sensibly. He

inside the valley. The elemental mage had already swiped up the loot from the earth mage and now stood with the assassin and

one under ambush. These people had been implicated too, and Jake was to admit he felt a bit bad about it. He hated getting others involved in

couldn’t know for sure. In fact, he had a feeling the guy would have tried to rob it all by

“Who the fuck brings a

“Great fucking display, by the way, but ya

I didn’t choose the color. Also, I just trusted you guys and gals to know how to block a massive explosion. I’m sorry if my assumption of competence was incorrect,” Jake fired back. He and the elemental

dare interrupt, and from what Jake could detect, the man seemed happy to let the two of them talk, lightening the mood. Jake didn’t doubt the guy would prefer less killing to be going

for that. I just want to make it clear that the words of Jakob weren’t spoken for all of us, but were his personal views only,” the man said, it not being certain if he was fully telling the

the guy was

man answered, a bit

With a C or a