The Primal Hunter

A question Jake had asked himself many times since the tutorial was how powerful the King of the Forest truly was. A part of him feared that he had almost deified the being and made the King out to be stronger than he actually was.

Jake had only ever felt the aura of the King. He had never felt his full power. He had been played around with until he cursed the King with a black bead and then stabbed him with the Tusk to weaken him further. Jake had used so many items and done so much just to get a fighting chance.

Of course, the current Jake was incomparably stronger compared to back then. He had evolved, gained levels, skills, his arcane affinity… so many things. His power had grown more than tenfold. The current Jake could have killed himself from back then with a single arrow… but… the King back then could also have killed him with a single attack.

However, today, all of these questions would be answered. Had Jake overestimated the King? Had his constant comparisons of every other D-grade and his conclusions the King was stronger been wrong? The answer to that was simple…

It was a resounding no.

*BOOM!*

The fight began with an explosion as the entire area around them for over a hundred meters was leveled as Jake was forced to teleport back. He had barely landed as a wave of force made him teleport again, exploding the area he had just appeared at.

Jake snickered as he took another step and drew the string of his bow, feeling time slow down. He took aim as he fired the arrow as it split into five. The King held up his ivory claw as a wall of force appeared and was pushed forward, blocking all of the arrows and making them explode.

Refusing to be outdone, Jake drew again as arcane energy whirled around him. An Arcane Powershot was released as he took a step and circled the King, as he channeled another and fired.

The first was blocked by a blast of force, making both explode on impact, as the second one was dodged by the King moving to the side with unnatural movements. He manipulated his own body with telekinesis.

In that case, Jake would just kick it up a notch. Pride activated as mana began condensing all around him, dozens of arcane bolts appearing. He also continued his assault with his bow, not giving the King a chance to counter without exposing himself.

Or at least he thought he did.

The King pointed his ivory claw towards Jake and blasted a wave of force out as the arcane bolts landed upon him, only to encounter a small transparent shield. The same one that had stopped his other attacks during the tutorial and had been broken by the Tusk.

They were both far more evenly matched than Jake had believed, making holding back useless.

Jake’s body exploded with Arcane Awakening in the balanced mode, boosting all his stats by 30% in an instant. With it, he had believed he would be superior… only to see the King respond in kind as a golden mist surrounded him.

“Back then, I could not control my energy at all… this time is different.”

Another wave of force was released. Jake quickly teleported but saw where it had hit as the ground was cleaved up. The moment the blast hit anything, it was as if golden dust was mixed in, as a mist of gold appeared and disappeared in a moment.

“You have new tricks, too,” Jake commented.

“Even in sleep, when deep within my soul, I learned. I had never had a desire or seen a need to improve. Why bother when none could challenge me?”

“Always strive to improve!” Jake yelled as he fired back arrow after arrow, seeing them all blocked or dodged as he also avoided the blows of the King.

“A sentiment I have grown to embrace,” the King answered as the two of them slowly began closing in on one another.

Arcane energy and the golden energy of the King mixed as their attacks clashed and explosions sounded out on the otherwise peaceful area as they soon found themselves on the Insect Plains.

over a dozen previously summoned stable arcane arrows soaked in poison

not on his palm but within the space of the quiver. Attempt… because he failed. Not because his idea of summoning it within the quiver didn’t work, but because he realized… he

King was the same mask, meaning it now existed two places at once. The weird black flesh of the King was not any biology he had ever seen before, and the bark-like skin was of a material he didn’t know.

study in a book or understand within a

gladly strive to

out the poisoned arrows and trying to mix them in but quickly

he usually did to freeze the King. Yet the moment he did, he felt a backlash as if he was smashed with a hammer in his face, making him groan

forced to block with the shield, but Jake had no desire to use Gaze again. Maybe it had been a bit optimistic using a soul attack on

his telekinesis to fire waves of force and his passive shield, but Jake also knew he had more to show for himself. Both were feeling out the other party as they finally got within less than a hundred meters of each

Lifeform reminded him of the mana shield on the Altmar Census Golem, so he tried a similar tactic as

back by an omnidirectional wave of force –

sizzling and corroding, and Jake knew he only needed a bit more time. Something he wouldn’t get as his danger sense exploded in warning, making Jake back away as the King turned as

he landed on a hastily constructed platform teleporting him to the side just in

scars now marked the surface, each of them several kilometers long and dozens of meters deep. Jake had no doubt hundreds if not thousands of E-grades

that triggered his Moment of the Primal Hunter, and while he believed he would be able to take it

scimitar in one hand and the other with Touch constantly active as he whittled away at the shield

as time passed, Jake’s dodges got narrower and narrower, as he soon found it difficult to land

to stay in contact as finally, he got through. His hand landed on the bark-like body of the King as his poison was infused. The barrier could

you since you became a D-grade… I have been sleeping, but I dreamed.

felt himself be pressed down towards the ground. He struggled as he dodged the swipe of a second Golden Claw,

held back… this

constant headache grew as Jake began feeling like he was half-asleep or drunk. His body was heavy… slow… unresponsive. His health was dropping… his mana… his stamina… everything was being

Soul attack.

down and teleported back. He had only done it once as a blast of force hit him in the chest, sending him flying through the air as blood

when he fully stabilized himself. The effect of the soul attack was gone as quickly as it came, and the remnant effects disappeared within moments the second he was out of it. What was eerier was that he didn’t see any indication of

cursed under his breath as he decided that melee wasn’t the way to go if that is what he had to deal with. Luckily for him, he was

body… but he had not

explosive arrows, poisoned arrows, stable arrows, and all

could dodge all the blasts of force, but with the blasts of force, he couldn’t get a good chance to channel his Arcane Powershot for more than a brief period. Their

to go all out?” Jake asked as

“Come,” the King answered.

small barrier covered his skin as he fully entered Arcane Awakening, boosting all of his skills by a massive 60% as

his his body in scales, Pride activated fully, and Jake took a stance and nocked an arrow as he took aim. At the same time, the golden energy

in preparation for what was to come as he charged the Arcane Powershot. The King lifted a golden claw and

at

simply smiled. Same to

hue that soon gathered as an orb appeared in the palm of the King. It echoed with power as if filled with lightning within, crackling in an almost

*BOOM!*

wave of energy was released in all directions, but more than ninety percent was sent in a focused