The Primal Hunter

It had only taken Sandy about a day to find good prey for Jake, and it wasn’t even guarding that good of a natural treasure according to the worm, heavily insinuating he should feel thankful.

His opponent had been this weird wooly thing that Jake had no idea what was about, but it bled and suffered from necrosis the same as everything else, and with it only being level 201, Jake quickly took it down. Quickly being a relative term as the damn ball of wool had still been damn tanky. Anyway, with it finally dead, the last level came.

*’DING!’ Class: [Avaricious Arcane Hunter] has reached level 180 - Stat points allocated, +10 Free Points*

And it was skill-selection time.

*Avaricious Arcane Hunter class skills available*

Jake was naturally excited. These last skill selections always felt special, and this profession skill had not disappointed with his freak soul mutation skill. Jake did not necessarily want a similar skill for his class but something more directly related to combat. Maybe an upgrade to Arrow of the Ambitious Hunter? Oh, how about a skill, any skill, that scaled with Perception? He would very much like that. He had some Free Points saved up, and if he happened to get a skill that scaled with Perception… well, he had an excuse.

So, without further ado, he dove in and saw five options. It was as expected, and true to tradition, he went through them.

[Minor Arcane Seal (Rare)] – Through the concept of stability, none shall find a path of escape. Allows the Hunter to create a seal by infusing stable arcane mana into a chosen target or area around the Hunter. Consumption of mana is dependent on the object or area the Hunter tries to seal. The durability of the seal is dependent on Wisdom and mana expenditure. Adds a minor bonus to the effects of Minor Arcane Seal based on Wisdom and Willpower.

And the first one was a solid dud that Jake quickly skipped over. He knew how to infuse stable mana into stuff already.

[Hunter’s Blade-Fang Style (Epic)] – To you, your weapons are your fangs, and your fangs are your ultimate shield. A defensive combat skill that revolves around countering and dodging your foe to keep distance and minimize damage taken. Unlocks intermediate proficiency in the Hunter’s Blade-Fang Style and adds a small bonus to the effects of Agility, Strength, and Perception when using a bladed weapon.

The first interesting option. It was an actual melee fighting technique skill. It had a slight overlap with Fang of Man, with the stat effect increasing while wearing a weapon. In cases like that, the strongest skill would take priority, and while you would gain a small bonus from the other one, it was minor. As for if he wanted to pick the skill? No. There was a chance Jake could upgrade it to the style he had made with sim-Jake, but there was also a risk the innate knowledge from this skill could lead him astray. One had to remember that Jake’s fighting style was dependent on his Bloodline, so no normal skill would ever be offered that truly fit him. Unless it actually referred to Jake directly in the description, he wouldn’t even consider it. Hence he moved on.

[Grand Arcane Explosion (Epic)] – Through sheer power and an abundance of resources, you can overwhelm your foes. Overload your surroundings with unstable arcane mana and detonate it all to create a massive explosion. This attack is especially effective against the environment but also causes significant damage to anything else caught in the blast. Adds a bonus to the effects of Intelligence and Wisdom when using Arcane Explosion.

Skill makes Jake go big boom; Jake no need; Jake already knows how to go big boom.

[Arcane-Shadow Vault of the Avaricious Arcane Hunter (Ancient)] – Your prey believes it can escape your avarice, foolish in its assumptions as your pursuit is endless. Through practice and sheer power, the Avaricious Arcane Hunter can turn into an Arcane-Shadow to either attack or defend. Allows you to vault forward a short distance between you and your destination. Phasing through physical or magical obstacles will result in either destroying the obstacle or impeding you entirely. Your methods are crude and destructive, allowing you to create an arcane explosion at your target destination based on the distance traveled. Adds a bonus to the effects of Agility, Endurance, and Intelligence when using Arcane-Shadow Vault of the Avaricious Hunter.

WARNING: This skill is unlocked by and will serve as an upgrade to your existing Basic Shadow Vault of Umbra, resulting in the loss of the skill

to see this kind of skill offered, and it came as expected. This was the reward for sim-Jake’s work so far, but it was clearly not good enough. He knew that sim-Jake would not accept his Legacy merely being some

momentum during a hunt by slowly finding an opportunity to strike. This momentum can then be turned into a tangible weapon. Successfully landing blows while not taking damage yourself hastens the accumulation of hunting momentum. Can consume all hunting momentum to significantly empower a single attack to deal devastating damage. Momentum can carry over if a new hunt begins shortly after another one ends. All skill effects have an

read the skill over

good while, it wasn’t at the level of what some other attacks he had seen. Carmen had her Fist of Ragnarok, his brother had that huge lighting attack, and many beasts also had supremely powerful attacks they could only release as a final gamble. Shit, that weird space-tunnel attack by the Panther had been insane, even for its level. Jake had kind of wanted something like that, and while he realized this skill would not give him some massively powerful blow, then it was good too.

his archery skill already did this, but this added another layer. Moreover, nothing said it required one to use a ranged weapon, so

his head. Honestly, there wasn’t much to it, and he knew that to truly get a feel for the skill and how good it was, he would need some actual combat. What he was sure of was that his overall damage

to trust other people in his life to be able to fend for themselves. Caleb should protect Jake’s family, and Miranda could handle herself, especially if she managed to get to the Grand Mangrove River. In there, she should be absolutely safe. He also wondered why, even now, no one had tried to

out for her to contact him once available. If Ell’Hakan was making some plans, so would Jake. Ell’Hakan had clearly done a

he would need to speak and

had managed to teleport them far, and they

Neither of them had reached D-grade, making them far slower than everyone else and forcing Hank to carry one and Christen, one of Neil’s party members, the other. Miranda was not at all a

United Cities Alliance wanted her dead, just as Ell’Hakan had warned, and a group was in hot pursuit. Clearly, then the United Cities Alliance had some teleporters still

it. Neil and his party were good fighters, but not at all at the level of true elites, and information on them was also abundant, making her sure Arthur

the Grand Mangrove River before they were fully reached by the other

“I felt a teleport about… more than a kilometer, less than ten, right behind

asked with concern, looking at Hank

use it locally, but it is like the

far enough for monsters to appear and hassle them, but fortunately, Neil and his party

had gotten some Jake a long time ago

the bottles, she spilled the liquid all over the water. She knew it could attract something they didn’t want to attract, but it could also do just the opposite.

Miranda yelled to the builder as Christen tossed Louise to him. Hank complied and started running further away. Not only because of the croc, but due to what came

get far. The water rose in front of him like a barrier as it crackled with lightning. Hank turned back in

all of them

equipment, and there was even a caster with the Fulgarian Deepcaller class Jake had sold the Akashic Tome to. He was also the one who had made

[Human – lvl 174]

[Human – lvl 178]

least put up a fight until more presences appeared behind the wall, having circled around with incredible speed. Miranda saw them as she squinted and

Hound – lvl