The Primal Hunter

Jake’s attachment to archery didn’t exactly stem from anything logical. Sure, one could argue the fact that his Bloodline gave Perception made it an obvious choice, but Perception was a stat highly beneficial to nearly all classes and professions. Heck, Arnold had said himself that Perception was his highest stat, and he didn’t even use a gun… or any weapon for that matter.

Many types of magic were also based on Perception. Jake could become a melee fighter with a focus on the stat too, or do so many other things. Some would maybe even be more effective as there was a dissonance between his Sphere of Perception and the fact that he preferred to stay at long range to land arrows.

So, why did he focus on archery anyway? Well, because he liked it. It had been the first sport he had gotten into. It was linked with many positive memories of his life. Times he went to tournaments or the archery range with his father, memories of his brother cheering whenever he hit a bullseye. When he got introduced to the system, he had instantly known he wanted to do archery once more.

This didn’t mean he wouldn’t also do other things. He was fully aware he was a bit of a Jake of all trades, but archery was still a centerpiece of those trades. With all of that in mind, it only made sense to upgrade his archery skill, even if said archery skill also pointed out Jake’s vast toolbelt of fighting methods.

[Archery of Vast Horizons (Rare)] - An Archer’s best friends are the bow in his hand and the arrow in his foe’s heart. Unsatisfied with merely becoming an expert, you have sought beyond mastering common bowmanship, and do not shy away from using magic to enhance your technique. You seek to cross all horizons with your arrows, and your target shall be pierced, no matter the distance, no matter the means. Adds a small bonus to the effect of Agility and Strength when using a ranged weapon. Adds a small damage bonus to all arrows based on distance traveled and Perception.

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[Archery of Expanding Horizons (Epic)] - An Archer’s best friend is the bow in his hand and the arrow in his foe’s heart. As your horizons expand, you realize flaws and build upon a foundation to make that expansion everpresent. You do not shy away from mixing archery with magic and making your arrows arbiters of your will. Your arrows will cross all horizons and bend over any obstacle to pierce your target, with only your own will limiting the possibilities. Allows you to apply your will to control the trajectory of arrows before releasing them. Adds a small bonus to the effect of Agility and Strength when using a ranged weapon. Adds a small damage bonus to all arrows based on distance traveled and Perception. Arrow trajectory control based on Willpower.

Jake read over the improved skill a few times. Out of all the ones he had, this one had quite a bit of flavor text, which probably made sense considering its role as a general archery skill. When he had gained the skill, Jake had also surprisingly gained some instinctual knowledge, making him more aware of how it truly worked.

When he fired a bending arrow, Jake infused it with a small pack of Willpower along with the usual energies he threw in. This pack of Willpower would work on the arrow to effectively nudge and push it in a certain direction with a constant force, making it follow the trajectory Jake intended. This was also why something like Arcane Powershot didn’t work well with it because the pack of Willpower he would have to infuse into the arrow was above what Jake could do at his current level of power.

Due to the Willpower being a part of the arrow upon firing, this did also mean he could copy it with Splitting Arrow. The packet of Willpower would remain within the arrow even when it was split. Looking at the skill, he also became more and more certain… true arrow control was a possibility in the future. Guided arrows. Just thinking about it, countless ideas entered his head for future improvements, but all of those were for the future. For now, they had more targets to hunt.

Jake briefly explained to Sylphie and Carmen about his upgrade, got his congratulations, and then they took a quick break to chug down potions before moving on.

The map given by Arnold stopped giving any useful information about a third of the way into the mangrove, meaning the entire central part of the Grand Mangrove River was a complete mystery. The central part was also the most dangerous area.

According to the map, the entire river was about two hundred kilometers wide and didn’t have any significant places where it became more narrow – in fact, it was wider in most places. There were also safer places to pass than others, but the mangrove forest was everpresent, showing how utterly massive the ecosystem was.

This did perhaps seem overly huge, but one had to remember that the forest Haven was placed on the outskirts of extended for thousands upon thousands of kilometers into the distance. Arnold hadn’t even been able to map a small part of it yet, and it was likely the largest forest in the region of the planet humans currently occupied.

“Are there more Primas nearby?” Carmen asked Jake as their group took a small break up amongst the branches and leaves of the mangrove trees.

Jake had a fragment in his hand as he searched for similar energies but shook his head. “There was one, I think, but the energy is faint. It either moved or was killed. One thing is for sure, it is no longer in this area.”

“Ree?” Sylphie asked.

could be connected,”

existed, separate from everything else. Some creatures did live on the edge, such as the frogs that did dive a bit below water

C-grade swept through?” Carmen asked,

lingering aura of one. That doesn’t make it impossible, though, as it could just be one that is good at

on,” Carmen sighed as

make it through the Grand Mangrove River as peacefully as possible if there were no more Primas. It wasn’t really a good place to hunt, even with Jake’s archery upgrade. Some annoying opponents also fled underwater if they got

An extreme level of nature, water, and wood affinity also dominated the air, making them all a bit more on edge. It

besides affected mana regeneration and sometimes slightly stronger or weaker attacks

eggs or even living births – hence why rituals were often used to

more suited for E-grades and the other for C-grades. They could have the same name, but the amount of energy contained within the one for C-grades

amounts. In the same vein, then a C-grade would also not benefit much from treasures suitable for D-grades.

all ways, beasts benefitted from higher mana density areas, which is also why they loved being in them, and the stronger beast got, the more this became almost required to

the Grand Mangrove River was enough to support not just D-grades… but something above that. Jake could feel that there were C-grades ahead.

them. If not, just try to stay

Jake if he wanted her to make a big whirlwind to hide them. She only

through the mangrove quietly. At times they heard noises off in the distance and felt the reverberations of energy as powerful entities clashed, but they tried to ignore it and

done half-arsed, and if Jake had to face one, he didn’t want it to be within this mangrove. Any C-grade able to make the Grand Mangrove River their home had to have adapted to the environment and be masters of using it to their advantage, making fighting them there too reckless, even

miscalculation. They maybe didn’t bother with humans, but if there was one thing other beasts enjoyed, it was consuming Beastcores… especially from more powerful beasts. Killing a D-grade wouldn’t give a core worth much, but what if it was a

quality would be supreme. Hunting these beasts was often seen, which was why dragon hatchlings were protected by

Carmen weren’t currently traveling with a dragon hatchling but something that was perhaps even more precious to an ambitious C-grade:

it. Almost a moment too

thin line of water moved across the mangrove. They all somehow managed to get some height as the needle-thin wave of water passed. Jake’s eyes were open wide as

was only the

were shredded, and Jake didn’t hesitate for a moment as he went all out. Arcane Awakening fully activated as he had already spotted their attacker more than

Frog King

activated several boosting skills. The frog in the distance fired off a few more

his Mark on it the

he yelled again as they all spread out and sought up towards the branches of the mangrove trees for