The Primal Hunter

Meira waited in the entrance hall after she had changed her clothes out of the ragged robe and cleaned herself up. She had even set her hair and tried to look as representable as possible for her new master to arrive. Not a single part of her doubted the first impression would be important, so she wanted to look and perform her best.

She knew it would be a good while before he arrived, so she had gone through the mansion. There were seven buildings adjoining to it, including a large lab, two greenhouses, three more residential buildings, and a large warehouse of some sort to be customized by the new owner.

The main mansion was massive with dozens of rooms, three stories not counting the underground, and everything looked incredibly well made. It was like the buildings of the Brimstone Conglomerate and only hammered home that her new master was a person of influence.

Meira had gone through everything in preparation for him to arrive. She had located the meditation chamber, the formation control room, the relaxation rooms, and even the bed-chamber. Considering D-grades no longer needed to sleep, the use of that room was obvious, especially with a bed that large, made to accommodate several people at once.

Once everything had been gone through, she had returned and was now waiting in the entrance hall. It took only an hour more before something happened. At the entrance to the courtyard appeared a single figure wearing black clothes and a mask. She looked through the one-way glass out and the door leading into the mansion as she subtly tried to study him as he also stood still and appeared to observe his new surroundings.

Soon enough, he began walking towards the mansion. Meira had already gone over hundreds of scenarios in her head of how this first meeting would go and felt as prepared as she could when he went through the door and laid eyes on her.

“Welcome, Master.”

She said the words with as much servility as she could, making sure to keep her head low to make it absolutely clear she knew her position.

“Thanks? May I know who you are?”

His answer was unexpected, especially his tone as she felt genuine confusion. His voice also seemed very relaxed and not as intimidating as she had feared. She dared raise her head as she met the admittedly frightening yellow eyes, but she tried to keep her cool as she answered.

What followed was even more confusing as Meira introduced herself, and her new master kept asking probing questions. At first, she began to believe it was a test for her to prove she truly recognized her position, but that became doubtful as he kept sounding so genuinely perplexed.

This wasn’t good. Meira’s new master had clearly not expected her to be there. Meira tried to calm herself down and make it clear she would be useful, but he kept seeming dissatisfied at her presence. If he decided to throw her out…

“Villy, what the fuck is this?” he suddenly said, as an aura of bloodlust poured out, making Meira shiver. Who was this Villy? What was-

Then suddenly, she felt something else. Like the entire world stood still, and an utterly oppressive aura appeared. Every fiber of her being cried out as she shivered, her mind unable to comprehend what exactly was happening. Yet she still knew… instinctively she knew, after spending so long within the Order, seeing the statues, and being bathed in their aura:

It was the Malefic One.

Her mind was jumbled as she couldn’t comprehend what was happening. Meira’s psyche was in disarray as the aura weighed down on her, and she felt herself slip in and out of consciousness, but she was mercilessly forcefully awakened again and again. She felt like death was upon her, tears streaming down her face as she wasn’t even able to open her mouth to beg for merc-

“Relax that fucking presence, man, look at her!”

Meira barely registered the voice of her new master, but it shocked her nearly as much as the appearance of the Primordial. How could he… how did he-

“Fine, fine. Geez.”

suddenly it was like the god had never been there. She almost wondered

why the fuck do I suddenly own a

out from sheer fear. It was different than that of a god… if the aura of a god made you feel like you could die at any point, the aura she was currently feeling made her think she would be killed at any moment by something just as scary as any diety. It seemed the same on the surface but

what you are doing!” the Malefic

breathe again. Yet she was still shivering and crying as hopelessness and confusion dominated her mind. She couldn’t comprehend what was happening, but she knew she was the cause of it. She knew her new master was unsatisfied with her

suddenly felt herself be helped up. Meira looked up and saw the scaled

relax,” her master said as she was gently pushed down, and she felt

you later the-“ the

to the god. “Now explain to

going on. How could a mortal yell at the Malefic One? Why was the Malefic One here to begin with? Why did

was just lost for words as all she could do was try to make herself smaller and hope to fade away as

as a ghost and like she was certain death

you before, this has nothing to do with me. Do you really think I descended down and ordered what kind of slave you would get? No, my interfering would only have been for you to not get one, as it is customary for one with your

why the hell that is a procedure,” Jake shot

about how no one else can observe within this

calmed himself a bit and let the Viper keep

not worth your time. A slave like this can also help you in the alchemy lab as a great test subject, take care of your garden, or just help you relieve boredom. The point is, having someone so close and working with you will inadvertently lead to them finding out some of your secrets and have access to valuable items you own. This is ignoring the fact that it would be annoying and stressful to constantly be on watch within your own

still stood annoyed. He didn’t like it nevertheless, and when he looked at the elf just

to repeat an old conversation on the topic. You know my stance, and you knew I wouldn’t like it. You could at least

a contract? Well, those contracts have the huge issue of being limited in scope, impossible to revise without consent from both parties, and can even be circumvented in many cases through smart wording or even just mental manipulation. Like if someone made an illusion to make them look like you perfectly, that girl on Earth could spill the beans and be none the wiser. She would still be hit by the backlash after the fact, though, once she realized she was fooled, but at that point, the damage is done. That doesn’t happen with slaves, as the limitations are far more extreme, especially the kind deployed by the Order. In fact. Even if she was fooled, she would be unable to say anything as the system itself would make her clamp up,” the Viper explained. “Oh,

the first part as he knew he had no legs to stand on when it came to arguing

it wasn’t a coincidence it had used “under control” rather than

and dependent on how mad that makes you, it could lead to heavy punishment. Also, with the slave contract, everyone knows she would be useless to try and extract information

“It doesn’t make me like it. I don’t need a slave and would rather just do all the mundane stuff myself rather than force someone else to. So just tell me how I break this thing. Just set her free and let her

far kinder than release

she originally came from, or just on some weak world or something. I know

moment you called out directly to me, released your aura, and didn’t bother hiding anything anymore, that ship sailed. It isn’t like the memories can be scrubbed from her head, and I don’t trust any contract less than a soul contract that may as well be a slavery one to keep her quiet. Even such a contract would be proof in itself of her association with the Order or at least someone powerful at one point, leading to her life being messed up as a result. So if you truly wish to set her free,

Villy again. “We both know that is bullshit. Shit, you can just place her on some fringe planet no one has ever heard about, and even if she knows some things, so what? I am the one at risk here if anything leaks, which is

disappointed or really like this conversation was of any consequence but remained oddly neutral. Like he truly didn’t care what Jake decided to do. “But how

“What?” Jake asked.

her decide,”

Meira had kept quiet throughout after her shaking had stopped, and by now, she just looked down at the ground with empty eyes. She