The Primal Hunter

The combat arena changed once more as the forest was replaced with a mountainous valley. When it was done changing, the environment was bare with a mountain range in the distance, making Jake think the room had also expanded spatially.

Jake considered if he should head there, but instead, he saw movement. From atop one of the mountains came a black mass of flapping insects that would no doubt look like a black cloud to someone with far less Perception. Jake used Identify on a few of them as he inspected.

[Soilwasp Swarmer – lvl 105]

[Soilwasp Swarmer – lvl 107]

[Soilwasp Swarmer – lvl 106]

Each Soilwasp was about the size of a human with a large stinger and, of course, wings. As they got closer, Jake saw them point their stringers upwards towards the air as they all released their attack at once. A rain of small black, almost diamond-like shards rained down upon him as he was attacked by thousands of D-grades at once.

At the same time, Jake felt something not from the sky but from the direct opposite direction. Through his Sphere of Perception, he saw several forms move below him. He had no idea what it actually was, but it looked like some weird insects that managed to dig through the ground.

Describing these insects was difficult. They had long slender bodies and huge claws and mouths that seemed to somehow swallow up the soil as they moved through it. Jake had to be honest; they all looked kinda creepy.

With a casual demeanor, Jake raised one of his hands as arcane energy moved around it. A bubble formed around him, shielding him from attacks coming from below and above. He then turned his gaze towards the many incoming wasps as he smiled.

Through Jake’s extensive training to control Shroud of the Primordial, He had become very familiar with his own Soulshape. He had already faintly noticed how he flew a bit better on his way back to Haven, But it was not only his wings that had improved.

In the same vein that understanding a skill, it helped improve it, understanding your own body also made you better at using it. So what happens when a skill is inherently tied to the body? Wings were an example, but one example was even more prominent and relevant for this improvement.

The skills Jake had received related to the Malefic Viper didn’t actually alter Jake’s physical body or his Soulshape, but instead simply created phantasmal body parts. These were only temporary parts of his Soulshape but It funtioned similarly, even if it wasn't exactly the same.

However, one skill had permanently altered Jake’s actual physical body. It was the skills that had turned his eyes from their normal brown color to a beastly yellow. It was the first legendary skill Jake had achieved that wasn’t done through simply bullshitting with his Bloodline. Well, alright, he had kind of bullshitted it by buying it through a tutorial store, but still.

Jake usually only used his Gaze of the Apex Hunter to freeze foes that were difficult to fight or to simply keep them still for him to land a good blow, but today, he would use the more lethal part of it. With intense focus, Jake controlled all the energy going towards his eyes, as he almost felt the metaphysical veins going to them.

It wasn’t to make the ability more powerful. Instead, it was to shield himself from doing any more damage than necessary using this skill. Was using Gaze necessary, and wouldn’t it just be better to bombard them with some arcane attacks? Well, sure, but Jake wanted to use his Gaze, so he did.

He infused his eyes as they glowed yellow, and bar-none Jake released the most powerful Gaze of the Apex Predator he had ever used. The legendary skill truly showed its power as he looked at all the incoming wasps, wishing death upon them.

After a brief sting in his eyes, the sound of wings flapping in the distance suddenly lessened significantly as more than seventy percent of the swarm fell to the ground, lifeless – the remaining ones only surviving by having their bodies covered by their comrades.

Something a second Gaze quickly fixed as the last nearly seven hundred wasps also fell lifelessly to the ground, their souls destroyed by the gaze of an apex hunter.

At the same time, the ground beneath him erupted as seven huge insect-like burrowers tried to consume him. Each of them was as large as a bus with huge maws filled with teeth-like grinders. When they came up, they shot Jake into the air as the arcane bubble around him held up.

float upwards as he gathered mana in his hands. He also identified

[Razormaw Rockshooter– lvl 151]

lot more sense in the next second when they all shot human-sized shards of rock towards him, but Jake simply dodged to the side as arcane bolts gathered around him. With a mental command,

every second as the insects struggled, some of them even trying to re-burrow in the ground. Jake shot that down as he teleported down and grasped one by its tail-like limb and pulled it up again before just giving it

muttered. These enemies sucked. Straight up did. They were low-tier creatures, and Jake reckoned that most humans above level 135 or so could kill them. This was also why Gaze so easily killed them all with nearly no

token and activated it. The environment began changing again as he now found himself standing on flat plains with nothing around

of arms practically dragging across the ground. They had not seen Jake yet

– lvl

–

–

head-on. He just ran towards them as he pulled out Eternal Hunger. The blade had been complaining a bit recently about being hungry, so why

him, surpassing Jake’s own running speed. Jake met them as he stood his ground and swept his blade upwards as he met the claws of the first Kalamore and sent it flying back, its hand now dripping with

as he dodged the third and weaved in between them as he swung his blade and cut one in the back. The third one attacked again, but Jake blocked it with

blood, also infusing its venom. Weaksauce venom doing little more than provide him a bit of mana regeneration as

two others fell soon after, having not really managed to

felt like it had gotten very hot as everything turned red. Looking up, he was now within some kind of

was on a large circular, almost arena-like platform as someone appeared

Demon

much intelligence and awareness in its eyes. It was a large bulky demon wearing tattered plate armor and wielding a two-handed

and, with a bestial screech, stormed towards him as its large sword began burning and red pulsating veins that seemed to almost burn covered its body. This was the test that marked the average member who did the test back during the trial period, but

it to come. He blocked the first blow and found himself tossed airborne

in front of the demon. He didn’t give it time to respond as he stabbed his sword into his opponent, also making the blade explode with arcane energy

a hole in its chest, but at the same time, the veins also began glowing more intensely as the wound

a stereotypical berserker. Take damage? Do

exploded in arcane energy as he released Arcane Awakening at the balanced 30%. He dodged under the first swipe of

as the berserker grew stronger and faster,

unscathed besides a few burn marks on his cloak. He deactivated Arcane Awakening

a hundred observers as he activated the token again, not feeling like he

obviously enough for even Jake to notice. The cave walls were gone, and he now found himself within

[Whisperleech – lvl 174]

a humongous balloon with lightning crackling within. Like a massive sky-jellyfish or something like that, but with just ridiculous proportions. The cloth-like banners extended for more than fifty kilometers out from it as the main body was

how it could feel so… unthreatening? Jake stared at it, and even when it also became aware of him and began

take out his bow and just finish it quickly and decided that yes, that would be a good idea as he really didn’t wanna storm in and try to stab the massive creature. Primarily because he could only begin to imagine whatever goo it would spew when stabbed. He

hope the next

few parts of the combat test but had eventually turned quieter. That he easily passed the first test was expected. Practically everyone did, with the only ones struggling being those who were pure alchemists, having likely not even evolved their classes yet, or were of a race with close to