The Primal Hunter

The rain fell upon Yalsten, not even affected by the fact that the clouds were no longer visible due to space having broken apart. As long as the effects of the Sword Saint’s Springtime Advent remained, so would the rain continue to fall. Their existence contradicted all logic and rules, but such was only to be expected based on what had been used to summon them.

Down on the wet soil, two figures fought as they clashed, again and again, sending explosions and soil flying everywhere. More blood than should have belonged to merely two people soaked the ground, mixing with the rain as neither party gave up.

Caleb stared at the rain as he felt space close in on him from behind. Carmen and Sylphie now both stood up as they also stared, concerned at the collapsing world behind them.

“I believe we should leave,” Caleb said. He really wanted to stay and observe, but he also knew he could not get closer to avoid the collapsing space. All of them wanted to see how this duel would end, but sadly reality did not make that possible.

Even Eron agreed as the man who was said to be immortal clearly didn’t want to wrestle with what lay beyond the broken world of Yalsten. Understandable, as such a place was the domain of the gods and not somewhere a mortal should ever find themselves.

With resignation, their figures disappeared one by one, with Sylphie and Carmen being the third and second-to-last to leave, with only Caleb remaining.

Good luck, Jake, he thought as he disappeared, unsure of who would win till the very end.

Treasure Hunt will end in: 4:00

Jake and the Sword Saint sent each other flying away from each other as the water and arcane energy mixed, their blades both soaked in their respective energies. The old man had lost an arm, but his movements were still sharp and powerful, but it did allow Jake to keep up in melee a bit more easily.

Both of them were low on resources, and time was running out in every sense of the word. The only place they were decently okay was in health points and the reason for that? The potion cooldown. The Sword Saint had used one after he lost his arm, and Jake had also used it at the same time as he had the opportunity and had a strong feeling he would need it. The potion did not allow the Saint to regrow his arm or anything like that, and neither did it even come close to healing the more than a hundred cuts and stabs on Jake’s body. What it did allow them to do was keep fighting.

The old man was now truly old, and all his hair was gray with wrinkles everywhere on his body and face. For every second that passed, he got closer and closer to his original appearance, and Jake felt like he had weakened, but far less than Jake would have expected. But even if he had weakened, it wasn’t like Jake himself was in top form.

Jake felt the toll on his body primarily caused by Arcane Awakening as more and more of his skin flayed and broke – him having already deactivated Scales of the Malefic Viper to save on mana as they didn’t help much anymore.

The Sword Saint didn’t use his skills anymore, except for the occasional crescent wave, raindrop attack, and barrier of rain, but even those had stopped now. Jake was also certain the old man would not be able to keep going anymore if not for the effects of the Summer Rain skill constantly rejuvenating him. Without it, the poison should have left him incapacitated by now.

A crack of space suddenly separated them once more, not only creating space but also making Jake’s arrow disappear as it was turned to nothing. For every moment passing, those cracks appeared more and more frequently, forcing the two of them to wrestle with them while battling.

The intensity of Jake’s Arcane Awakening was slowly lessening as the rainfall also wasn’t as heavy anymore, the Sword Saint barely manipulating it as they fought, likely out of resources to do so. Jake tried to take advantage as the old man didn’t want to teleport anymore, as he fired a Splitting Arrow with the sparse resources he had remaining.

At the same time, he tried to use Gaze but felt it only activate for an incredibly brief moment as his head hurt, and both of his eyes began dripping with blood from overuse. However, it was worth it as the Sword Saint was struck by two arrows, one in his arm and another in his stomach, making him groan in pain. The only negative thing was that the Saint had still managed to deflect the arrow with poison on it.

his danger sense flared as Jake only teleported five or so meters before a tear of space

himself as both he and the Sword Saint saw the tear in space, the old man clearly also deciding to stay far away from anything even close to teleportation for

a hole whenever he used the skill, creating a dangerous situation. The brief thought of using it offensively appeared, but he seriously doubted he could make it work and was fully aware that he had just gotten lucky to not get caught in it himself. Additionally… he couldn’t really afford spending

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forcing the Sword Saint to deflect it, as another one swiftly followed, which exploded, making the old man get sent back slightly. Arcane Arrow was simply the most cost-effective skill he had, which is why he kept using it, with the exploding ones costing a good deal more

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shot and the old man blocking as the Saint slowly came closer, one step at a time. Jake could no longer retreat due to the world shrinking and was forced to seek downwards as soon they found themselves on solid ground back on the Mistless Plains, Jake instantly dispelling his wings to avoid the

of the Mistless Plains at ground level was the absolute middle, making that the last place to collapse, forcing them closer and closer to it. Jake kept shooting arrows as long as he could before space finally shrank to be only

met, both of them weaker and slower than before. Three arrows stuck out of the Saint’s body, reduced from four

they exchanged several blows, him losing out as he was simply outmatched in skill. He had it going for him that he managed to dodge most counters, but it was simply impossible to dodge

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grab the Sword Saint, him using a bit of mana to infuse it into his gloves.

He wasn’t sure if it was because of his Arcane Awakening or the old man getting weaker, and he didn’t have time

opening as he prepared to attack but thought twice as he identified it as a feint. Instead, he just did a more straightforward blow, ignoring the opening to take the

feinted… he had been double-feinted as the old man smiled and allowed Jake’s blade to sink

suddenly felt himself lose his footing as there was no foot to step down with. Jake tumbled back as he tore out his scimitar from the Saint’s body while

he blocked two impacts, with the first one failing to be blocked as Jake got a long cut down his chest mid-roll, making the damage even worse. Using a bit of his last mana, Jake fired a blast of arcane energy out of his hand, sending the old man back as he was forced to block, falling over as he

one leg as the Sword Saint got to his feet again and attacked. Jake, refusing to give up, dove forward as he blocked another blow, making him lose his balance – or

and raised his entire body as he smashed his leg into the Sword Saint’s side, sending him stumbling back as Jake made the Pillar lighter and swung it as he was still mid-air.

at that moment, he also had the awareness to wave his hand as a small collection of raindrops sent Jake’s dropped scimitar flying away,

before Jake had the chance to

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but found his balance too bad as he was kicked in the stomach. Before he could recover, he received

making him fall over. Jake still had hold

the throat as a leg swept up and pulled Jake backward, smashing him into the ground, with the Saint rolling away to get standing again. Jake couldn’t stand up properly for good reasons, but he stilled pulled himself to a better position as their

Both their armors were utterly broken at this point, Jake more or less only wearing a single boot and his mask along with some tattered pants, with the Sword Saint only clothed on his lower

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despite the mask. Several bones in his face were broken as he learned that his trying to bite made the mask phase-through not just for

back foot as his vision was blurry, but with his sphere, he managed to dodge a blow