The Primal Hunter

He had hoped it would end… but no. The World Congress was a cruel mistress and allowed them to stay within the system event for the remainder of the allotted time. Jake wanted to leave, but a sharp look from Miranda made him know that he better stay. Alas, it was probably for the best, as seeing the newly-elected World Leader run away prematurely probably didn’t inspire confidence.

However, even if he was forced to stay physically, no one had told him to not go on a mental journey to somewhere better. Even if he did try to stay engaged and at least feign interest. Hey, he had tried, okay?

Jake would firmly classify the rest of the World Congress as a waste of time. Miranda would probably disagree and call it a ”valuable opportunity to calm the doubters and display unity to the many City Lords of Earth, thus inspiring confidence in the council.”

In fact, those had been the exact words she had used.

Anyway, Jake had nearly eight hours to listen to mundane chatter, and by the time the subject of tax codes was brought up, Jake completely zoned out and went into his Soulspace to talk to a way better conversation partner: himself.

Within his Soulspace, sim-Jake and the cursed chimera both sat calmly as sim-Jake had a hand on the huge monster. It did not react but let him stay there, and Jake knew what he was doing. Some kind of attunement. The details were still a bit fuzzy, but Jake knew that the curse energy and Eternal Hunger were instrumental to the mythical rarity skill he and sim-Jake hoped to make.

After waiting a while, sim-Jake was done, and the moment he released his hand, the huge beast of pure curse energy attacked, forcing sim-Jake to seal it again. Once that was done, his other self turned around and regarded the real Jake.

”This entire deal with World Leader is a waste of time. Why bother? Just evacuate everyone to the Order of the Malefic Viper and leave this stupid rock behind,” sim-Jake said, commenting on recent events. ”All you are doing is creating distractions for us.”

”Maybe, maybe not,” Jake shrugged. ”In either case, I don’t plan on making it into a distraction but an opportunity. We don’t know what benefits being World Leader may offer in the future, but I am willing to risk it leading to nothing for the chance to gain something unique.”

”And if it doesn’t?”

”Then I will have wasted a bit of time. How much lifespan do we have by now? Do you even know? I reckon at least a thousand years or something, and probably ten times that at C-grade. So what is a few years chasing a bad lead?” Jake argued.

”Ultimately, the choice is yours,” sim-Jake shrugged. ”You are the one who will have to deal with all of the annoyances. I just don’t want you to dilly-dally and end up stuck at S-grade because you decided to fuck around and not focus on what truly matters.”

”If I get stuck at S-grade, I will just have to hunt a few gods or something,” Jake grinned, unafraid. ”Or die trying. Both are acceptable.”

Sim-Jake just shook his head. ”Anyway, we will need a lot of time to prepare, and especially with this Prima Guardian arriving… do we have time? Can you figure something out with the Viper?”

Jake nodded. ”Should definitely be able to. Once we go to the Order, we can look into it. But you are certain that this Path you have chosen to walk down will work?”

His other self just smiled. ”I am betting my entire existence on it.”

Everything was wrong… at least it had been. Suddenly everything looked so clear; the muddiness of reality washed away as the many strings that held him down were forcefully severed by the system itself.

He had spent the last month just wandering around, unsure of where to go and what to do. Ms. Kim had told him that maybe being lost and working on finding himself for a while wasn’t the worst,

feel like he was walking through

he joined the World Congress. In an instant, the threads disappeared. The net was gone, clarity washed through his mind, and he even felt like his body underwent

Congress, nothing could influence him… and all ongoing influence was dispelled. While William could not be sure, he had a fear that Eversmile had placed several karmic magics

became more evident how truly lost he was. William was still afraid of the Chosen, yes, but it wasn’t the same kind of fear… in fact, standing there in the World Congress, he had no particularly negative feelings. It made William wonder if the intense fear had ever been his own or just

test, and for the first time since the Tutorial, he didn’t have a nightmare. That at least somewhat confirmed that the cause of his nightmares – all of which just amplified his fear of the Chosen – were not natural in any

the speech of the Chosen also made William realize one thing. The Chosen truly didn’t care about a lot of things, and he probably didn’t care about William at all either, unless he made direct trouble for him. It was comforting

the Malefic Viper. At most, he was a curiosity to the man. Their disparity in power was large, and seeing the other people around him, like the Sword Saint and the King, only made it

so long. The Chosen was one. The Sword Saint. The Fallen King. But William? William was just a karmic mage who could hopefully one day be helpful to

a huge weight lift from his shoulders as he was finally free of the endless net of toxic karma and pressure. He wasn’t really anyone special… and he didn’t need to be. He just had to be who he wanted

Race Evolution Quest

be. Yet you have not found it. Without determination and vision, there is no Path. Without desire, there is no progress. Without willingness,

your

*Race Evolution Requirements Met*

during ongoing

system message as the quest completed, and he

engaging political discussions that sometimes disturbed Jake and Sim-Jake’s far more interesting conversation. Sadly, he went straight from the pan and into the fire as he had another damn meeting at the main office of Haven just after the World Congress. The Sword Saint, King, and Miranda had been teleported back to where they had entered from, so at least they were all gathered again right

More talking. Luckily, Jake quickly managed to find an excuse to sneak off, but just before he did so, the old man at the table asked

around them. Jake

Ell’Hakan. From what I gathered, I believe others here have a misunderstanding. Jake, when

threat in direct combat. He mainly used his goons against me and took more of a supportive role as a caster. Don’t get me wrong, he is strong for his

old man nodded. ”Did you think he faced

few seconds, Jake shook his head. ”No, definitely not. His plan was always to throw me to the

as time passed, he did have a genuine desire to kill me. We fought for longer and more seriously than you did.

nodded. ”True. What are

from fighting them. My understanding of this Ell’Hakan from all the explanations before I encountered him was that we were dealing with a politician born with a golden spoon. Yet when I fought him, I met something

than I initially thought?

Do not underestimate Ell’Hakan in battle, even if you manage to isolate and fight him alone. While our battle did appear to end with my victory, I had far from won. He still had far more to show me, and he was far too calm. I truly believe now that without inviting springtime fully, I would have died if we had kept fighting. So do not mistake his schemes as a sign of weakness, as I fear that when he is backed into a corner without any schemes, is

probably brushed them off or maybe even considered that Ell’Hakan had messed with their heads. However, this was the Sword Saint, probably the human Jake respected the most as an equal. If

would keep thinking

continue your journey. I shall remain here a bit