The Primal Hunter

The heat dispersed as the sun was severed in two. The world flashed as it exploded, blanketing the entire plains in flames that washed over the old swordsman. His stance held firm as all the fire soon enough stopped.

Clouds above were parted as if a giant blade had cut them open. Miyamoto lowered his blade as his body wrinkled again, and his black hair turned gray, with most of it falling off. At least the burned-off eyebrows and what little hair he did have before getting it burned off had returned.

“A Transcendent…”

The rain had already stopped falling, and the sun above dimmed. The Sword Saint frowned and squinted as he saw the form of Ell’Hakan be revealed. A part of his thigh and his entire left arm had been severed, but his stance remained strong.

Miyamoto had hoped to do more.

Ell’Hakan regarded his injuries as flames licked the wounds. The sun was no longer red, but gentle flames still descended as Miyamoto saw them heal the enemy Chosen. The Sword Saint considered his next move. To have a single Glimpse was something he could do without any significant backlash, but more than that would lead to consequences. To fully use Springtime Advent was also an option, but one he would naturally prefer to do without.

Just as he considered all this, his opponent dismissed his trident and floated down, and landed on the ground.

“You called it a glimpse,” Ell’Hakan spoke. “Which must mean that should you truly call upon it…”

The alien sighed. “You asked for my assessment. It appears you entirely fell outside of any I could have possibly had before we fought, but now that we have clashed, I believe I understand. You are truly just an old swordsman, in all its purity and all its power. I thank you, but continuing this battle would be detrimental to both of us, wouldn’t it?”

Miyamoto did not disagree. “You, too, asked for my assessment. While you are powerful, you seem to walk different Paths. Writing a story and trying to form a legend is not something one can force but something that is born from truly monumental events. You can try but never guarantee success. No strategy or plan will ever work perfectly… but I have a feeling you already knew this.”

Ell’Hakan smiled. “Several minutes ago, I already got the message that the Ashen Phantom Devourer has fallen. If your primary objective was to delay me, then I will wholeheartedly admit defeat. Several miscalculations were made, the biggest of which being the Malefic’s Chosen’s speed at getting back and, perhaps more importantly, your existence. I heard the natives of this world call you the Sword Saint. An earned name.”

The old man simply nodded in recognition, seeing no need to speak anymore.

“Considering all this, I must say my goodbyes and bow out. Once more, I thank you, this was an enlightening encounter. However, I will leave you with a warning. While you may not see it happening now, the Order of the Malefic Viper is a faction to be wary of. The Malefic’s Chosen may strike you as a person worth trusting, but I felt his instability. He would not make a good leader, and I find it highly probable that other forces will simply make use of him until those with actual power in the Order steps up and takes over. So decide. Either give this planet to the Order of the Malefic Viper or find a way to push them off it entirely,” Ell’Hakan said.

Miyamoto frowned, not due to the words but what was lacking. He felt no emotional manipulation at all, and while it was possible he could just not detect it, he didn’t feel that was the case.

“Another miscalculation you have is in regards to Jake Thayne. I do agree he is not a good leader, and I do not see that changing. Leading is simply not his Path, but you view him as solely chaotic. I see more than that. You are not the only one who has clashed with him and made an assessment, and it is my turn to apologize now. I trust my own assessment far more than yours, young man,” the Sword Saint answered.

“Fair enough. I hope, for your sake, your choice turns out for the best. If not, then I am sure countless factions in the multiverse would gladly offer you a position. Perhaps my biggest miscalculation was to focus so much on the Malefic’s Chosen and not those who had chosen to gather around him,” Ell’Hakan said.

“Now, I had more I wanted to do and say, but staying here only puts me further at risk. It would be silly for me to stay only to figure out the Malefic’s Chosen somehow had a teleportation circle set up or something akin to that, leaving me to face a battle between two monsters. So may we meet again, Sword Saint. It truly was a pleasure,” the nahoom spoke.

been protected beneath the rubble. Ell’Hakan turned into flames and appeared atop

as a figure of blood condensed beside the Sword Saint. Iskar, the former Monarch of Blood, looked at Miyamoto and

crushed it as he waited for Ms. Wells to contact him. He

not the

seen the nahoom as

loot?”

the Ashen Phantom Devourer means a victory for you against an enemy

ninja-looted it. No reason to try and justify yourself. This is why I don’t do group hunting, by the way,” Jake said with quite a bit of snark as he unfolded his wings and took to the

the old man dying in the slightest, but there was the risk of him overextending himself using his Transcendence. Ell’Hakan dying was not even a potential outcome in

would expect of some nahoom scout or observer. One that also felt oddly familiar, though he could not place where he had felt

was lying on the ground, clearly unconscious, while someone in a suit of armor stood by him. On a second inspection, the suit of

bending and tearing it apart as the person inside of it was made into a mushy soup of flesh, blood, and bones.

[Human – lvl 199]

was only their third-ever time meeting, and Jake reckoned it would go the same way as every other encounter. Maybe… because he didn’t feel anything from the other party. Not

opened with the most

hell are you

knocked out the nahoom? Why had he clearly just been standing back and not trying to interfere with the fight? Based on his track record, trying to strike Jake mid-fight would totally be something he would

maybe he had read it wrong and he had just left the armor there, but his senses told him that there was a human inside of it. Jake then considered if he should just rip it open

a meek voice that Jake could barely hear even with his Perception.

I be the one confronting you? Did you just come here to get your skull bashed in again, or what? Make

Jake had heard, and he had briefly faced Caleb and come out on top. Yet, even so, he had done nothing ever since returning to Earth besides that one time he decided messing with Jake’s family was a good idea. He had missed every single World Congress despite clearly having a Pylon. He hadn’t even taken part in the Treasure Hunt or the Myriad Paths event, which once more

had been almost apologetic about what William had done. It was not outright said that he was a changed

something Jake honestly had a hard time seeing. To suffer from something like that was far less common due to the system, and it wasn’t like it was just something that naturally happened due to death. Jacob had died once, Bertram had died dozens of times as far as Jake had heard, and

it was the kind of thing that would disappear with time usually. Sure, there could still be

suffer from PTSD and was afraid

making

already. It didn’t help you last time, and trust me when I say it won’t

young human was revealed, looking very much the same as the first time Jake saw him in the Tutorial. Visually, that

didn’t even look up but just stared at the ground. While Jake had deactivated Arcane Awakening and was currently suffering from a period of weakness, he also knew he could activate it right away

William was about as

heard a meek