The Primal Hunter

Jake carried the heavy as fuck gate down towards the underground, having left the still-sleeping Sylphie back in the lodge as working with a bird on your head while working on construction was considered a safety violation by Haven’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (HOSHA).

Hank was also carrying one as they tried to get them all down and in position. The two other workers had tried to carry one, and while they could, they quickly noticed a problem… the ground beneath their feet.

See, the problem for them wasn’t necessarily that they couldn’t lift it using certain skills, but that it would be like walking through a bog with your feet sinking down to your knees due to the sheer weight with every step.

Hank managed to avoid this by using some skill a lot like water walking, except it made so every one of his steps seemed to hit a far larger area. On the other hand, Jake used a few different methods, like wrapping it in strings and lifting it up, while condensing platforms of mana to step on to lessen the stress caused by his feet on the ground.

Now, while Hank could carry the gates himself, that wasn’t all one had to do to get them installed. When Jake reached the tunnels, he saw that the tunnel had been equipped with what looked like a large doorframe that went a few meters into the soil around it.

Currently, they were in the tunnel dug into the cave leading down to the biodome with the dungeon in it. This tunnel led into the alchemy lab under construction and served as one of two entrances. The first entrance was directly below the lodge itself, while the second was through this cave. They had also discussed having another tunnel connect the biodome and the lab but had decided against it for a few reasons. Primarily that the biodome area would likely become a bit more populated once more people began actually using the dungeon.

Something Jake learned Neil and his party were planning on doing soon. Felicia and Roman would probably also want to try it shortly after getting a few more people to go with them. Or they would do it as a group of two… though Jake didn’t think they could currently.

The doorframe itself was heavily fortified once they got to it. In fact, the entire tunnel was enchanted and reinforced with several pillars and beams to keep it stable and – perhaps more importantly – incredibly durable. Jake could still break it, but he doubted anyone below D-grade could, at least not without a lot of effort.

Of course, it would all be made stronger with time, but for now, it was fine, and once they got some barriers and stuff in place, it should be even better.

“Yeah, hold it just like that,” Hank said as they had finally managed to get the gates into the large tunnel. Jake was amazed how well they fit but learned this was because the man had spent part of the week Jake was gone to make sure it would.

Jake was holding it all up as the man attached the two gates on hinges, dropping them down as the ground shook a bit. Hank did some stuff on them one by one, as the two people with him got to work. They did something that almost looked like welding to fasten it even more and reinforce the entire thing.

“So, how will the gate open?” Jake asked as they were working on attaching it fully.

“By having enough strength to make the gates move,” Hank answered. “There are methods to enchant the hinges and implement an opening mechanism, but doing so right now will be incredibly difficult. We will also have to isolate those enchantments as the metal the door is made from almost gives off a magnetic field isolating itself from other energies. Great for not caring about having small gaps in the side of the doorframe, not that good for making automatic door-opening devices. Maybe an analog one can be made, but it will need a lot of force.”

Jake shrugged. “Works for me fine so far. Any plans on how to make the door work at the other entrance?”

“Made some modifications adding a small entrance area once you drop down where the gate can be put. The drop itself is not large enough to support getting a gate through, so we will have to carry it through the underground complex through this entrance. Anyway… before that, let me show you around the place,” the builder said as he and Jake went through the newly-installed gates, leaving the two workers Hank had brought with him to continue their work.

The tour made one thing clear… Jake really was getting a bit more than just a lab. It was an entire underground complex, and he even saw that a part of it had several stories. A lot of the multi-story part of the complex was what Hank described as the living area, which included a few bedrooms, a meditation chamber – that was apparently popular, Hank said – and a massive library.

One of the biggest rooms by far was the lab itself. It was large and currently mostly bare, with tiles covering the floor and what looked like a black glass-like coating on the walls and ceiling.

tiles, walls, and ceiling are all covered in three layers of materials. Towards the outer edge is a coating of a metal a lot like Tungsten, which is incredibly durable and will keep outside energy from leaking through the soil. The middle layer is a silver-like metal that is very mana conductive and enchanted with several enchantments to strengthen and isolate. The last layer

out

to physical damage, so don’t begin shooting that bow in here.

gate there to isolate

gates were made to isolate from curse energy and not poison. Finally, while they resist magic, they are not immune

the alchemy lab into a poison-filled hellhole for anyone but himself to create poison in. The atmospheric poison would provide him with increased mana regen at all times, help feed his Palate, and even allow him

you pretty much needed an isolated lab due to the fumes and escaping energy being harmful. Energy also escaped while making potions or elixirs and other beneficial products, but getting a whiff of health potion fumes wasn’t going to kill anyone, while a good whiff of Necrotic Poison fumes could melt your

made poison in the valley above and the black

furniture of any kind, and the walls were still only halfway done. Jake had to admit, he had expected it to just be an underground cave, but they were cutting out the walls, hardening the soil to turn it into stone, and then shaping it to make the walls look like concrete. Hank even asked if he preferred a certain color to paint them. Jake didn’t and just let the interior designer handle it. Because that was

below his lodge. As a final thing,

below the pond above.

“A swimming pool?”

know alchemists tend to need a lot of

that’s also

with a smile as he showed

pond above and even reverse the flow on other pipes to jump water up there. The pond itself has a natural drainage and the waterfall provides a source, making it quite a good place to get water from. Ah, and the pipes are enchanted, so nothing living can even enter them, meaning you don’t have to get scared of any of those small eels getting through. You can even use these controls to raise barriers and section off certain parts if you want to create water with specific affinities,” Hank

a large swimming pool. It was around thirty meters long, twenty meters wide, and an impressive five meters deep.

me how to do that sectioning off thing?” Jake

panel. The panel looked like a mix between an eighties computer and a

if weird as fuck, and possibly

end of the pool to the other without any issues. The way

glass appeared and sectioned off an area around two and a half meters long and wide area, creating a box. It was the smallest

in there,” Jake said as he took out a small stone and threw it into the empty section of the basin he had just created. He had actually

The stone he tossed?

the Dewstone from the

water nymphs to help heal a close friend. A powerful vampire eventually acquired this stone and brought it to

planned on infusing a section of the basin and create his very own special Serene Water. Hank saw him

is, but now it’s part of the complex and adding to the value. Anyway,

not empty the pond above. Then he redirected a bit of the water into the cube he had sectioned off. Ah, but again, only a little bit to raise the water a

Jake felt the water around the Dewstone be affected. Then, a few more minutes later, he felt like a switch had been flipped, and the water began giving off a faint glow as

to more easily focus while suppressing the effects of