The Primal Hunter

Meira sat and stared at the pile of papers within the western residence as she had been ordered. However, she was utterly lost as to what was expected of her. The assignment simply didn’t make any sense. She had done as asked the first time around already, but that was clearly unacceptable.

The problem was she couldn’t figure out what would be acceptable. She began shaking a bit at the thought. She hadn’t even served her new Master for a few days, and she was already disappointing him and failing tasks. Perhaps she simply wasn’t good enough to comprehend what he asked of her? Was there some profound reason or deep meaning behind the task he wanted her to see?

There was only one thing she felt relatively sure of: this was a test. It had to be. Was it a way to scout out her thought process and evaluate if she was suited to serve? Maybe it was just as simple as him wanting the insights of a nobody like her because he valued perspectives widely different from his own?

She recalled the final thing he had said about if she had to choose a path for a sibling of hers. She had two sisters and five brothers, but her brothers were already set in their paths as builders and miners, while her two sisters were naturally trained to be married off or sworn to another faction or influential family.

But, what if she had to pick lessons for them? They didn’t know anything about alchemy, but would it do them good to learn? Were they even talented enough to learn it? Her one sister was pretty good at mana control and a promising mage, so maybe?

Meira began looking at the lessons again. Her sister was still free, and if she learned some useful things, she would be able to increase her value. Maybe even enough to be viewed as more than just someone to be married off. Skilled alchemists were valued nearly anywhere and by any faction, so that would be a good path. If she was talented in it.

Turning her gaze to the pages, she picked up one of the lessons she had picked before about finding the path suitable for yourself. If she had to pick for her sister, brother, or even herself… this had to be one of them, right? She was certain it would be good for anyone starting out on any new path to truly learn what they were good at.

The problem was… wouldn’t the other lessons be based on what it was discovered a person was talented at?

She thought again and remembered she had to answer why it was interesting. Meira thought about it and decided to write her reasoning on a separate piece of paper. As she prepared to write, a wild thought entered her head… wouldn’t it be interesting if her sister was talented enough to not just learn alchemy but even become a member of a faction? Maybe even the Order of the Malefic Viper?

That would mean she would not only be able to uplift herself but everyone else. If she was good enough, she could even buy or acquire their father, who had also been turned into a slave… maybe have some influence over the clan back home?

Don’t be stupid, she reminded herself as she slapped her own chin a few times, enough to draw blood. She wiped it off quickly before she sighed and wrote down that it would be interesting because it would allow someone to be more useful and have a better future. It was far more realistic her sister could become a valued servant or find work somewhere if she was a talented alchemist. Not by the Order of the Malefic Viper standards, but just for a small place like their village.

With this mindset, she tried to put together a proper list. She had been given three days, and she was certain it could not be this simple. Clearly, there was a deeper reason she had to realize, which was why she was given this much time.

Jake felt damn good finally having some alone time. No one bothered him for over a day as he just relaxed, ate toxic materials, chilled with books, and overall had a swell of a time. The mansion itself was filled to the brim with different things to explore, including some board games that reminded Jake of chess and even a damn television of sorts. A 3D television one could buy lessons for to enjoy on their own time.

The first one had been a very low-level one where it was entirely possible Jake had been the strongest one attending. He

on an entirely different level, and Jake was extremely interested in seeing how it would work out. Before he went, he decided to actually change things up to hide his identity in case he somehow met someone who knew of

his armor and put it in his spatial storage as he shifted to something more casual. Jake was pretty sure

damn obvious it was changed. It led to some doubt that Jake could be far stronger, likely not even in D-grade,

clothes he wore were ones he had found in the mansion. It was just a casual shirt and pants that he covered with his cloak. He even went as far as to change his boots. As for the mask, Jake thought a bit as he mentally tried to change it, and to his surprise, it responded. Jake could slightly warp how it looked and even change the color just with mental commands. Perhaps it was part

through

upon his face as his environment changed completely. Jake found himself standing not in a lecture hall but atop a large flattened mountain with shaped stone pavilions on pillars surrounding a

lounging on the different pavilions all around him. On one was a raging inferno that sometimes took on a humanoid form, on another a large wyvern, with others

felt like the majority of those in attendance were dragons, and looking about confirmed this feeling. Down on the center stage sat a single being in meditation too. It looked like an

did not look at all like this dragon in human form. Jake wondered why that was but decided to just write it up to gods probably being able to customize their form more. Or maybe it was that the humanoid form was just highly

wyverns, a human, and some other scalekin were among them. It

impacted him, Jake glanced the way of the dragon. He met its eyes as Jake just stared. A second passed before the dragon averted its

like he had passed some weird test to be allowed to stay there. Not that Jake thought a normal D-grade could manage being surrounded by C, B, and A-grades all around. He

the lesson to begin. The dragon teacher sitting down on the platform opened his eyes as he slowly stood

”Welcome.”

throughout the entire mountain as Jake felt the inherent power in it. Not a shadow of a doubt was in his mind that the A-grade below could erase him from existence with a mere thought. It was almost

version a marvel at the concept of destruction. It can destroy objects far too powerful for the user to otherwise break. Melt a

is something each of us has wielded on our path as alchemists. A loyal companion that has been at our sides since we began walking this path. Such prolonged use leads to familiarity

the first part. The second part was also something he understood, even if it clearly led with an assumption

first, this flame is merely another skill and a tool, but as with all other things, it changes the more one

to the malleable nature of the Alchemical Flame, the impact of Willpower is even greater; due to the conceptual nature of the Alchemical Flame, Willpower is more impactful. However, the unconscious effects of Willpower will result in changes to your flame outside of your own intention at times. Many attempt to alleviate this by increasing their level of control and focus during crafting sessions, but I would like to propose doing the exact

revolutionary, or perhaps just went against what many presently did. Jake, of course, was mostly clueless about what the guy was on about, even if he did

will, a new path opens. I hold this lesson because I recently experienced enlightenment in my struggles to improve my flame. I did not believe it possible, but one day, while I

reached higher levels than ever before, and for a brief moment, I felt like I had grasped the cradle of creation and the vessel of destruction incarnate within my palm. It faded as the flame ran