The Primal Hunter

Jake was pretty sure he was actually shit at transmutation. The first part of the test had passed, and the second one had begun. A half-finished concoction had appeared before him as well as about twenty different ingredients, with his task being to identify the best one of them to transmute and put in the concoction.

There was just one tiny issue.

I have no fucking idea what I’m supposed to do.

Okay, he knew he had to transmute an ingredient to put into the concoction, but he had no idea what to use. He quickly realized it was some mana-destroying poison, and he remembered lightning mana having the ability to “burn” other mana types, so should he add that?

Was he even supposed to transform the energy into a different affinity? He tried to go with his initial thought even if his intuition didn’t make him feel it was right. Which it wasn’t, as the first concoction failed as he put the transmuted herb in.

A new half-finished work popped up, and Jake was just as clueless. He stumbled and tried different things for a while until he just took the time penalty and skipped. A third one appeared, and he once more had to skip.

In the fourth one, Jake managed to somehow transmute some weird liquid by combining two of the items that appeared, and it worked when he put them into the large cauldron with a half-done elixir. That gave him a bit of confidence that was swiftly crushed and utterly stomped all over for the next fifteen minutes or so as the second part of the transmutation test ended with Jake only doing a single thing correctly and way too many skips.

He gritted his teeth and did a mental reset as the final part began. The one where he could do whatever he wanted. As it started, the room changed as more than a hundred weapons, dozens of armor pieces of different kinds, gems, herbs, and a plethora of other ingredients appeared all over the chamber. It was almost overwhelming, making Jake think being decisive enough to even get started was a part of the test.

Jake did not fall into this pitfall but just got started. Strings of mana flew out as Jake furiously dragged a sword he liked the feeling of and several more ingredients straight in front of him. He then picked up the sword and began inspecting it as he cursed a bit to himself over his performance in the last test.

What the fuck kind of test was that with such stringent rules for transmutation anyway? It was like he was expected to just know what fits in where and just magically come up with a solution instantly based on a bunch of bullshit materials he had never even seen before. What the fuck was up with that?

He activated Touch as the blade began cracking and groaning from the pure energy. “Yeah yeah, stop crying,” Jake insulted the sword as he just dragged a spear and an axe to him that looked to be made of the same metal. He forcefully broke them and melted them down, and just pushed the metal to merge. The three weapons resisted the merger, but Jake was having none of it as he just brute-forced his will through.

If the curse within Eternal Hunger had failed to resist being overwhelmed by Jake’s will, then what chance did a few pathetic weapons in this test have?

That is when Jake noticed something else as he scanned the room with his Sense of the Malefic Viper: cursed items.

Get the fuck over here, Jake thought as strings of mana flew out, and Jake gathered about thirty such cursed items and gathered them all in front of him. There were a few pieces of equipment, metals, a single dagger, and just a bunch of random items, some of which looked like household items.

He looked at all of them for a second before he channeled his mana and created an arcane barrier around himself and his victim- eh, ingredients. He then picked up three cursed items and began absorbing the curses out of them as he slowly destroyed the physical item with Alchemical Flame.

The barrier was to keep all the wayward energy in and to amplify the power of Jake’s own Pride as he destroyed the cursed vessels one by one and used himself as a temporary container for the curses. Now, one could argue absorbing thirty curses, none of which Jake even knew what was about, was recklessly stupid, but on the other hand, Jake was still pissed about the prior part of the transmutation test, so he really didn’t give a fuck as his own emotions overpowered whatever the curses tried to do.

looked like utter shit, and the “sword” barely had any edge or anything as Jake had just mashed metal

what the fuck the monstrosity he was creating would actually turn into. He just dominated the curse energies with his own

dust of broken items, and he held a sword of sorts with bulks of metal all over it and no discernable edge. The only

time expired, the projection appeared as expected and

made sense. But that second part was just a god damn scam. I had no information on what to do and what to put in. It would take way more than half an

one,” the projection

because I got lucky,

deep as a pond but only as wide as a puddle. You need to sit your ass down and study properly for a long time. You have only done alchemy for what, a year or two? Most, even the talented, who reach your level will have taken at least a decade, probably more. True, areas you have dabbled with, you do well in, but it feels like everything else that doesn’t fall into your narrow scope of interest just falls to the wayside,” the projection answered as he sighed. “Also… you talk about the test being unfair? Tough shit. The world isn’t fair, and it is your job to adapt when thrown a curveball. Even if you fail something, just use that time properly for something else or do as you did and experiment. Use it as a learning opportunity, and don’t look at it as a failure. You are still a novice and in many

a bit and was about to counter but forced himself to calm down. He took a deep breath as he felt his own heartbeat also calm. Closing his eyes for a moment, he breathed out

been his Bloodline acting up again, and that experience of any kind of loss kind of triggered it. The

at him. “Emotions can be both a weapon and a hindrance. In the second part, you proved how much it can be a hindrance if you lose your cool. If you’d

sorry for my rant,” Jake

that said, powerful emotions can also be a weapon. Simply look at what you created in the last part of the test,” the projection said as he motioned

was for sure. But the aura it gave off couldn’t be ignored. Jake tried to use Identify on it but failed as the skill simply didn’t activate. The same as all his other “creations” during this dungeon, as things he

how badly did I do

your methods are crude, the second part we already spoke about, and the third part went… well, rather uniquely,” the scalekin said with a smirk as

enter the academy with

matter for your acceptance,” the scalekin

confused. “Isn’t

the parts of the test count a third each, and it is an overall evaluation. The reason for your grade is the last transmutation. You dominated thirty-one curses, absorbed them without being affected, and then merged and transformed a weapon to make it compatible with the new curse you forcefully

asked, looking

sealed off from all prying eyes by the grand array protecting it along with the Malefic One

anyway?” Jake asked.

presences, that is why,” the projection said, shaking his head. “That you didn’t even notice the presence of the merged curse that affected you in your state of high emotions is proof enough you have something special. As items are not allowed during

in a few hours, so you have time to calm yourself completely and reach a proper mental state. The seventh test in alchemy will be the toughest of

the projection disappeared along with everything else in the room,

as he closed his eyes

halfway

decided to join him throughout it all. His disciple was curious as to how Jake would perform, and the Viper