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.

be connected,” Jake

world still existed, separate from everything else. Some creatures did live on the edge, such as the frogs that did dive a bit below water or other beasts that used the river to ambush foes, but these were not considered part of the true river. No, those creatures lived

a C-grade swept

make it impossible, though, as it could just be one that is

we can do is move on,” Carmen sighed as

River as peacefully as possible if there were no more Primas. It wasn’t really a good place to hunt, even

forward as the general mana level in the air grew. An extreme level of nature, water, and wood affinity also dominated the air, making them all a bit more on edge. It was normal for the mana density

within the tunnel with the Earth Elemental Prima. High mana density didn’t really mean much for humans besides affected mana regeneration and

also lead to beasts and other creatures naturally spawning at a higher level, including anything born from eggs or even living births – hence why rituals were often used to nurture eggs and pregnant animals. It also resulted in more natural treasures appearing, and those that did appear were stronger and would grow

and materials spawning. Two flowers could be uncommon rarity, but one would be far more suited for E-grades and the other for C-grades. They could have

benefit from treasures in low-mana areas suitable for E-grades unless it consumed ludicrous amounts. In the same vein, then a C-grade would also not benefit much

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 keep progressing for all the reasons stated above. Hence, high-mana areas tended to be dominated by and become the

was enough to support not just D-grades… but something above that. Jake could feel that there were C-grades ahead. He could not pinpoint them, but he felt their presence, and soon enough, they would enter an area where he knew

stealth skills, use them. If not, just try to stay low profile. If we are going to get

quickly asked Jake if he wanted her to make a big whirlwind to

they tried to ignore it and moved slightly away from that direction. Jake

to face one, he didn’t want it to be within this mangrove. Any C-grade able to make the Grand Mangrove

Arnold. C-grades shouldn’t bother with a small group of three… but Jake had made one 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

often seen, which was why

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

Jake saw it. Almost

were open

this was

a moment as he went all out. Arcane Awakening fully activated as he had already spotted their attacker more than two kilometers away through the path it had created with its own rain of bullets. It was hidden well, but not well enough… not that Jake was sure it mattered as he managed to land an

King – lvl

as she also activated several boosting skills. The frog in the

it the moment he saw it. He felt its movements as

spread out and sought