The Primal Hunter

Barry had worked in the service industry for thirty years before the system apocalypse, as some had come to call it, happened. He had believed such a momentous event would have meant the end of his life or at least have severely changed it, but honestly? It was much the same as before, just a lot more relaxed as he didn’t need to fear burning himself while working the grill and didn’t need to try and balance shitty work hours and tryïng to get enough sleep in between grueling fourteen-hour shifts.

The best part was probably that he now was his own boss and even had his own small restaurant, having upgraded from a booth. He was primarily just selling his signature meat skewers – a specialty that had even been enjoyed by the city owner Lord Thayne – both at the booth and in the restaurant.

Now, there were also issues with running a restaurant, mainly that people didn’t really need to eat much anymore, if at all. E-grades still had to eat, especially at the lower end of E-grade, and the few F-grades that somehow still existed needed quite a bit of food. Still less than pre-system humans, but a good deal.

This meant those who came to eat did it for the pleasure or for the temporary stat boosts from the food. A lot of crafters frequented his place, but it was rare he was more than at fifty or sixty percent capacity, and that only happened if big parties came.

But… that day, something had been different. Barry had been snacking on his own creations a bit more than usual as he felt a rumbling in his stomach he hadn’t for months. It wasn’t the usual “oh, I can take a bite” kind of rumble, but the “I need food” kind of rumble.

He was hungry.

And he was not the only one. People began coming into the restaurant almost immediately, ordering food and putting him to work. Barry frowned as soon over 80% of the seating had been taken, and people kept coming, all talking about how they suddenly felt hungry and had an urge to eat.

It wasn’t just his restaurant either. He saw out of the window that the guy across the street selling that heretical vegan stuff was also at full capacity, truly proving the desperation of the masses.

Back at his own place, customers just kept coming as soon no more seating was there, and they waited all the way out the door as Barry had his best day of business ever since opening.

An emergency meeting was being held as the governing body of Sanctdome was under heavy pressure. Jacob sat at the end of the table as the man in charge of the food supply explained the situation, all while failing to snack on something looking a bit like jerky.

Jacob had also failed to hold himself back as he had eaten a sandwich just before this meeting, and even now, he failed to restrain his desire to grab another just after.

“We are under significant pressure from several groups and parties as the kitchens have run out of food. Even the private sector is facing a shortage due to the sudden influx of customers… what is happening? Are we under attack by something?”

“Sir, there is signs of civil unrest, and many complain at the lack of proper preparation from our side… we need to do something, and fast, or we may face a legitimate crisis,” the man in charge of security explained while snacking on some fruit on the table. They had actually just been there for show, but only a few berries remained by now.

Jacob wracked his mind as the same issue was playing out in every single settlement of the Holy Church. Some places had enough food by themselves, but the megacity Sanctdomo was simply too big. They could normally handle the food situation, but suddenly everyone became hungry and wanted to eat something, nearly simultaneously.

The timing couldn’t be any worse either as the System Store had just disappeared, making easy acquisition hard. Merchants had already been pressed for everything they had to sell, but they hadn’t exactly banked on such a situation happening either.

“All we can do is damage control,” Jacob finally said as he prepared to head out and try to placate the masses before any true rioting and looting began.

Similar scenes played out all over the planet. Cities found themselves facing an issue none had predicted as suddenly food became a much-needed commodity. Some merchants became rich, others cursed their own luck, while everyone was hungry and needed to eat.

they did not require food at all. They still lived off

and sought out victims to sate their hunger as fighting broke out

ecosystem was in an uproar as beasts killed more than ever before. Many theories

it was all because Jake wanted to make a cool

had become a wasteland of death and destruction as Jake tore through it, killing anything that moved in his path. He went deeper and deeper as he

Jake killed them. Giant insects the sizes of trucks, mandibles able to tear

termite suddenly shot up from beneath, but Jake naturally reacted in time

in a stomach full of acid that failed to do anything to his body. Jake began hacking away at the inner walls of the stomach as blood mixed

appeared on its inner walls, but all the wounds it made

his blade stopped absorbing vital energy as he ran forward

sated after a big kill. It was only for a brief period,

Jake could not continue as he was currently with the insects getting stronger. The last one had been level 160, and even if he

the blade fed. Natural treasures originally used to create vitality-increasing elixirs, herbs of various kinds, and even a few beast cores he found

to part with

The Lifevine is a part of the main body of the fungus. Contains intense amounts of vital energy and is incredibly resilient. Can be used in

(Epic)] - The Lifecore of an Indigo Fungus Mycorrhiza. Contains a massive amount of life affinity mana and vital energy. Can be used in a myriad of alchemical creations. Will grant a permanent increase to the

the plan was to make elixirs with them, but he was out of options. Jake consumed a potion as he simply used Alchemical Flame to melt down the Lifecore and let it drip unto the blade, as he

of meditation in as soon, the hunger struck again. Jake

nearly two full days at his point, as Jake once more fell into a half-conscious state, his rampage continuing. His only remaining mental faculties were used to loot

was instinct as he was little more than a well-oiled machine. Jake felt like he was just a passenger along the ride as he killed everything he came across. The deep caverns were fields of death as Jake deployed everything he had as long as it didn’t get

mist. His blood was used as a weapon. It went on the blade, he punched something with a bloody fist, or he simply splattered it on his foe. Mana burned all around him as arcane explosions blew up the tunnels to make them collapse, sometimes giving him a bit more time to finish

did, it was not enough. It was never enough. The hunger refused to subside no matter how much he killed or how much blood he spilled. It just kept wanting… to the level that he could nearly

went black, for him to only be aware again when suddenly he found

when

The weapon is breaking.

became fully aware: the Chimera Weapon was not powerful enough to contain the curse. He didn’t know what would happen if it broke, and he

More.

A method, a way out. Just… something. He needed to improve it. A

Make it stronger…

session. Two items appeared floating around him as he kept pressing on with reckless focus and sheer willpower, even activating Pride. The two items in question were

(Legendary)] – The heart of a powerful C-grade Nalkar Vampire. This type of vampire is a rare variant with extremely high innate abilities in illusion and mind magic. It often possesses a

Focusing Catalyst is of extremely high quality and has absorbed affinity-less mana to allow itself to grow for