The Primal Hunter

At the end of the Treasure Hunt

Caleb used his Hunter Insignia to leave the Treasure Hunt as he found himself back inside his main office located in the center of Skyggen. He quickly checked the time on a clock on the wall and saw only a bit less than ten hours had passed since the Hunt began.

He briefly reflected on the battle between the Sword Saint and his brother but quickly shook his head as he got to work. There was loot to categorize, and when he got the message about the Auction a moment later, he naturally also added that on his to-do list.

Just as he was exiting the office, someone else slammed the door open, surprising Caleb as he saw one of the workers there.

“Judge! Hurry, we had an invader, and something is going on at your home!”

Caleb stopped for a moment as he let the words sink in. Without any hesitation, he activated a skill as his body turned to lightning, not even giving a chance for his aide to elaborate on the situation.

He flew through the city for a few moments before his residence came into view. He saw it surrounded by people, including some of the recently returned D-grades. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, he slammed down in front of them all as he turned corporeal.

Pushing past the people around, he saw that they were taking a defensive perimeter. The situation was tense, but when he saw his wife holding his son while standing with some of the guards, Caleb breathed out a sigh of relief as he hurried over.

“Maja, what happened!?” he said loudly as soon as he was within earshot, running over to her.

She looked calmer than he expected with all the commotion, and when she saw him, she just shook her head. “I already told them everything is fine, and they’re just overreacting.”

“Ma’am, an intruder managed to break through all the barriers and enter the residence without being detected…” one of the guards beside her said.

“And he didn’t do anything besides talking once he did,” Maja countered.

“Give me a rundown,” Caleb ordered the guard.

“Sir, approximately two hours ago, an individual managed to sneak into the city and get through the barrier around the residence and entered without being detected. We only became aware when he triggered an alarm on the way out, and guards are currently in pursuit, joined by Matteo and Nadia,” the guard quickly answered.

Caleb frowned as he considered it. Someone had purposefully waited for the Treasure Hunt to enter, and based on his ability to sneak in had to be D-grade at least, so he chose not to join it on purpose. Who the hell?

“What did he want?” he asked his wife.

“Just to talk, he wanted information about you and Jake. Just regular stuff… like who you were and what you did before the system. He even asked questions about you two growing up, and it didn’t feel malicious in any way,” she explained with a shrug.

“Who was he? Did you get a name?”

“Just a young man. Now that I think about it, he never gave a name. He said he was friends with Jake and knew quite a lot about him, he even told me about Jake’s tutorial, and it was pleasant enough. Debra and Robert didn’t even consider not answering as we all assumed he had gotten in with permission with a proven identity. And again, nothing seemed weird, just an old friend of Jake who had gotten split from him after the tutorial and wanted to get to know him and you better,” she kept explaining. “It was only once he left we figured out something was wrong as he tripped the alarm, and then all hell broke loose. That was fifteen minutes ago or so.”

getting in. Why sneak

and dad?”

inside, I decided to go out and handle it,” Maja answered as she held the sleeping baby. “I don’t really think any of

considered her words as he turned to the guard. “What direction did they

mere direction by giving

I’ll check it

he didn’t seem like a bad

“Of course.”

of them quite making sense. Was it the Holy Church? It was a possibility as he was never quite sure what they were doing. It

magic was not in their MO. An independent faction? Did they even have anyone strong enough to break in? Honestly, Caleb was lost for possibilities.

I will

across the terrain and the settlement built within the hidden valley, seeing the evergrowing city. Soon, he was outside the border, and he kept flying onwards as he felt himself get closer and closer

before he spotted something in the distance, and what he saw wasn’t what he expected. He saw a large cube of silver-like metal. Matteo

breaking the roof as he hit the ground within. Orienting himself, his eyes opened wide as he saw Nadia and a dozen or so other assassins all lying on the ground. Some were missing limbs and covered in blood. Some turned partially to metal, and

faster than expected,” he heard the armored figure say as he let down Matteo’s unconscious

a single one of the assassins were dead.

but got a somewhat

[Human – lvl ?]

to obscure

person before him as he asked: “Who are you, and

are similar. Seeing you, it makes more sense as I was beginning to doubt Debra and Robert were truly his parents. I do wonder how such regular people can give birth to you two… but I guess it is

Caleb listened as he worked his identification skill to pierce the other guy’s obfuscation skill.

[Human – lvl 172]

formulating a plan to retreat. But he also

“You must be William.”

retracted, he got his suspicions confirmed as he saw the man appear. But he looked slightly different than what Caleb had heard. He was supposed to be

brother didn’t the last time we met,” William answered calmly. “I guess you

due to the constant influence he felt. Some kind

the true path to victory and the best way to overcome gaps. So I am gathering intelligence,” William answered with a smile. “I must admit, it was more pleasant than expected. It turns out that having non-shitty parents does a lot for a kid’s

and more unsure about the entire situation. For the disciple of Eversmile to show up like this was clearly no coincidence, much less the timing. He had somehow known when the Treasure Hunt would end, timed it, so he left just before Caleb returned and then baited him to follow. It was a

but I don’t think he was ever quite a basket-case like you. I do wonder, how did you manage to find a way out

inhabitants access to areas and opportunities elsewhere. Such as where William had clearly been based on his aged appearance: Nevermore. It was the only dungeon Caleb was aware of with built-in time dilation without any negative consequences, besides the limited amount of time one could spend there per grade. Based on Caleb’s estimates and his aged appearance, William had to have spent

to Nevermore… why do it? He had not attended the World Congress, which one could argue wasn’t really missing much, but the Treasure Hunt? It gave a title that was massive by multiverse standards, and, of course, it was a lot of loot lost just to do something anyone could do anyway once they found a way to other universes. So why would Eversmile make William do that,

another universe wasn’t actually that hard. Well, it was, but it only had to be for one side – either the receiver or sender. This meant the other side could soak all the cost of bringing someone from the 93rd universe and doing the same when sending them back. All you needed was someone sufficiently skilled to put down the transfer formation on Earth,