The Primal Hunter

Miranda walked together with quite the group of people through the giant maze. A single Vault far larger than any other, and they soon found out why... because it wasn’t only one. It was several Vaults hidden within one Vault in some complex pattern, and one had to solve all of them to open the final one in the middle.

Coupled with that, it was a massive maze with dead-ends, traps, monsters, and – worst of all – other participants. Fights happened all the time, forcing people to group up whenever possible, and small factions had ended up forming.

As for who Miranda found herself with… well, it was a nice mix of new and old. Sultan had stuck with her after the whole Eron business, something she wasn’t sure how to feel about. They had later been joined by Sylphie and Carmen, who had managed to find each other. Then suddenly, a drone from Arnold had passed by, which was how they got to their current size, as he apparently had over a hundred in the damn Vault scouting things out.

Neil and his entire party, people from Valhal, a few members of the Court of Shadows, random individuals who Arnold had ‘employed’ prior, and even people led by a woman named Reika from the Noboru Clan ended up joining them. It was a mighty political mess, only made worse when Priscilla and a large group of undead also turned up.

Miranda, Priscilla, Carmen, and Reika became the leaders of this small band of misfits – although some would argue Sylphie was the true leader - as they explored the Vault and solved challenges one by one. The difficulty increased the further in, and as more and more powerful foes and dangerous traps appeared, their collaboration became quite the boon.

The four women and bird handled everything far more easily than expected, and Miranda had to admit things went a lot more smoothly than anticipated. She had expected it to be a political nightmare, but it actually turned out quite pleasantly. She was already friendly with Carmen, Sylphie accepted her, Priscilla was very accomodating and open to any positive relations, and Reika was also surprisingly friendly for someone associated with a faction Miranda felt wasn’t exactly an ally.

Solving the final Vault itself was done through their teamwork, and more than the final rewards which they shared, Miranda felt like the foundation of trust built among their factions was the true gain. Not that she was complaining about the Legendary-rarity Magic Circle Foundation she got – a large disc of odd stone specifically made to carve magic circles on and amplify them significantly.

Upon exiting the Vault, Priscilla turned to them.

“I believe it pertinent to warn you all that the final phase of the Treasure Hunt will begin shortly… heading towards the central plains would be the wisest to do.”

Reika nodded. “I also just got word when we got out of the Vault that the Holy Church has been preparing there for a while for what is to come. The rest of the clan too.”

Miranda listened, being a bit jealous of the women’s information network, while also wondering how the hell Arnold had managed to communicate and help guide them through the Vault while still hiding outside. Because it appeared like everyone else had been cut off.

Nevertheless, she nodded as they all split up yet stayed fairly close to each other as they all began heading back towards the Mistless Plains. Even Miranda, who was not a fighter or had particularly honed instincts when it came to this kind of thing, knew a big battle was on the horizon.

Jacob opened his eyes as he shook his head at the uselessness of his divination of the upcoming fight. The system wasn’t the one making things difficult; it was the presence of so many extraordinary people. All he knew was when and where it would begin. Thus the Holy Church made preparations – in fact, they had done so for days already.

A mighty magic circle was being prepared to face the final opponent of this Hunt.

“Think we will even need it?” Bertram asked as he stood beside him.

“I truly don’t know… this fight just has too many unknowns. Better safe than sorry, right?”

“Hm,” the large man nodded. Jacob looked at his old bodyguard and friend. The man was powerful, one of the strongest people of Earth, and the party he was in was likely the strongest on Earth… yet Jacob was fully aware the five of them couldn’t truly stand tall before the best Earth had to offer. They were all geniuses, but people like Jake and the Sword Saint were more than that.

“Great-grandfather,” Reika reported in as she met up with the Patriarch. The man stood staring into the horizon. Reika followed his gaze and saw the figure she recognized as the Judge from the Court of Shadows. He looked back their way, his gaze icy, but he didn’t look like he was planning to pick a fight. It would be foolish of him to, for the Patriarch had already shown mercy when he taught them a lesson.

“Has your time been fruitful?” he asked with a friendly smile. Reika couldn’t help but feel how he looked so weak standing there with his thin frame, long sparse white hair, sunken eyes, and wrinkled face. Yet his eyes remained strong, making her admonish herself for even thinking such things.

“It has,” she said, returning his smile. “How about you, Patriarch? Is all well?”

“We always have more to strive for, and there is

her frown as she saw the melancholy in her great-grandfather’s eyes. She didn’t understand why and looked questioningly at him. He returned her gaze and gave a

man who has to realize perhaps his time in the sun will soon be over. This world is for your generation, Reika. Ah, but don’t worry, dear… I

his arm a bit, revealing a few black spots that still emanated faint amounts of shadow mana. He was hurt. He had not trounced the Court of Shadows for free… and the wounds still lingered. She

I still have a role to play, and I shall not bow out before it has been played to completion. The wound is merely a reminder of my

that was the water level. He was a bit sad he hadn’t learned the subspecies of vampires responsible for

far above.

issue was, Jake had no idea what it was trying to tell him. He was pretty sure that was one of Arnold’s satellite-like things, wasn’t it? Staring way longer than he should, he finally noticed something else looking at him. A small drone flew towards him at pretty high speeds, and this one he knew for sure

it as it got close. The drone

Lord and others have organized

answered, staring up at it again, noticing it had

“Through morse code.”

know

acknowledged in the most insulting way Jake could imagine phrasing it, yet he felt not the slightest

meet exactly?” Jake asked. “Also, how has the

in this event. To get to the central plains, simply head that way,” the drone said as it fired off a small beam of

and took off, waving to the

good it felt to run across the open plains and over the small hills after just being stuck in water or that small final room for so long. He felt faster than before

face. He passed a few groups of people and soon made it to the top of a hill giving him a good look at the Mistless Plains. Looking in the direction where he felt Sylphie, he could faintly spot Miranda and Carmen with her. Sylphie sent back a mental greeting asking if she should come, but Jake declined and said he would come

he was about to head off, someone approached him. A man was flying through the air surrounded by odd energy, and when Jake got a

Jake elegantly, touching down elegantly before not-so-elegantly

too,” Jake said

what I mean, right? It can take many forms, including a small pebble-like seed, perhaps a large

asked as he turned

curse any vampire it comes into contact with; however, it can only be used once. While in possession of this root, the cursed mist will not see you as an enemy. Be warned that while the curse will not seek to damage you, it will still influence you. This effect grows as it absorbs the curse energy of any cursed vessels related to the curse in

in Jake’s hand before he slowly nodded, having clearly used Identify on it himself. “That’s the one. How much do you

stuff, so maybe he wanted to make a weapon

give you. In actuality, we will use it on the spire to still absorb the curse, act like it has no other uses, and beat the final boss without it by using people like you and

in. “Sounds fancy.

be very useful

me think about it, okay? If I don’t find a use for it, I doubt there will be much interest at the auction,” Jake answered. “Also, thanks for the tip. I didn’t even think

to get the show started. Once the two of us move closer to the spire, the final phase of the Treasure Hunt will begin. You

Jake felt the guy was using a skill to see that far but didn’t consider it more as he saw Jacob just give him a nod.

wings. Casper followed him as they flew to the spire. Once they got within a certain distance… something shifted. Like the sound of a massive mirror being

before swiftly disappearing into his Insignia, and at the same time,

Quest Received: Cursed Monarch