The Primal Hunter

They did not get along.

Well, more accurately, Sylphie seemed to not get along with Sandy in the slightest. She zoomed around the giant worm, making angry noises as her blades of wind tried to harm the giant worm while Sandy, in turn, just laughed.

“He he, the little bird tickles!”

Jake just shook his head and smiled. Sylphie probably could do some real damage if she wanted, but she at least had enough awareness to hold back. Then again, Sandy could also just leave in a heartbeat if Sylphie got a bit too much.

Hawkie and Mystie just stared at the giant worm that wriggled in the air from the constant assault of the peak D-grade hawk. An assault that would tear most D-grades to shreds in seconds, even if it was just Sylphie playing.

“Hi hi,” Sandy still laughed as they asked. “So… so you said I can now go anywhere? I did feel something when you focused real hard before.”

“That is how things should be,” Jake answered. “Give it a go?”

“Sure!”

In the next moment, Sandy disappeared, leaving an even angrier Sylphie behind to miss her blows. Jake frowned as he felt the ripples of space from where the giant worm had just been. A moment later, Sandy popped their head out of the clouds below. “It works!”

Jake opened his mouth to speak but ended up just shaking his head again. “Let’s visit Haven then. There is someone else I want you both to meet.”

He spoke telepathically out loud so both the hawks and Sandy could hear it, even if he knew Sandy could also hear him if he spoke normally. Sylphie, hearing this, looked at Sandy with a challenging gaze before flying towards Jake with great speed, right into his arms. Jake reacted on instinct and caught her as she nuzzled up to his chest and got herself comfortable, still throwing looks at Sandy.

“I think your bird is jealous,” Sandy joked with him. “Ah, but I get it! Wind magic is kind of just worse space magic, isn’t it? Must feel inferior. Poor thing.”

Sylphie took great offense to this as she screeched. “Ree! Ree!”

“Oh, you got super wind? Well, I got super cosmic space! No! Genesis cosmic space!”

Sylphie momentarily looked taken aback but soon retaliated. “Ree!”

This time Sandy seemed to have taken a hit as Sylphie brilliantly argued that space was just boring wind, and as her wind was kind of green, it was superior to space magic in all ways as space didn’t have a color. An argument Jake had no idea even made sense. Especially as Sandy then began to argue that colors actually made things worse…

Which just made even less sense as Sandy had no eyes and couldn’t see colors.

I may have made a mistake,Jake realized as he led the two arguing beasts down toward his lodge. He did notice one issue there, though. Sandy was a bit… big. Could probably find a place to lay in the valley, but it would be problematic to bring them around anywhere.

Jake voiced his concern, which Sylphie just took as ammunition to argue she was superior. However, this time around, she had to admit defeat.

“Oh yeah! Well, space magic is so cool it can do stuff like this!”

In an instant, Sandy’s body began to shrink. Jake felt the intense movements of space mana doing the work, and Jake knew that Sandy technically wasn’t getting smaller; they just compressed the space around themselves and created a pocket of sorts. Jake knew that a good wave of destructive mana would destroy this technique, and it probably also took quite the upkeep, but he nevertheless gave Sandy a thumbs up.

Sylphie tried to show off as she tried to puff herself up by breathing in as much as she could, trying to make herself look bigger to prove she could also grow in size, ultimately just making her look silly. Sandy laughed in triumph as a worm, now about the size of a large horse, flew down next to him. Quite a bit slower than before, mind you. This only hammered home that the impromptu shrinking technique had little to no practical application outside of fitting into spaces Sandy couldn’t before.

see her anywhere within the house. Jake wondered if she had gone to explore the laboratory below the lodge. Rather than wondering, Jake

went down to the

worm to follow. On the way, Sylphie managed to zoom

commented felt very nice and familiar. Once a sandworm, always a sandworm, it seemed. Jake felt Scarlett ahead, and upon entering the

Jake asked

around and bowed, with Rick also turning and doing a

Sir Rick,” Scarlett said. “He attends the garden of the Chosen, does he

job, too,” Jake said with a smile and gave Rick a big thumbs-up. Rick

the biodome. Did he actually use the garden down there? No, not really. In fact, he had kind of forgotten about it and all of his plans for it, including the artificial sun he wanted to install and all

underground garden much, it didn’t make it useless. He could always use what grew there to sell or maybe to help train new alchemists

Not that Scarlett hadn’t noticed the entourage, which consisted of three hawks and a large floating worm. Sylphie seemed to have found

Sylphie? He looked down

Hawkie, Mystie, and Sandy. “Hawk of lighting, of

Sandy answered. “Nice to meet

Scarlett with apprehension as they felt her power. As a mid-tier C-grade, she was by far the strongest among them, and they all knew it. If she was an enemy, they would

guess I

did the polite thing and had all his beast friends get to know each other. Rick also joined in, very interested in having guests. He even brought over some interesting-looking fruits Jake did not

also happened to be the Chosen of Snappy, or the Boundless Hydra, as fancy people called him. Not doing so was probably a good idea as Jake was entirely uncertain how Scarlett

arguing which race was best. Scarlett argued snakes were just better worms, Sandy vehemently disagreed and came up with weird arguments for worms being the best, and Sylphie kept screeching how hawks were the

hunted both worms and snakes before the system. Scarlett, however, also had memories of before the system and talked about how snakes ate the

it was only after Jake gathered all these beasts together he finally

for Sandy and allow the worm to

wanted to, at the very least, give the beasts the freedom to go whereever they wanted. It was funny how his mind had instantly made granting them more freedom of movement a priority

he had to admit seeing them all like this was amusing. Sylphie had long left his arms to fly around and argue louder while chasing Sandy. Scarlett, in turn, tried really hard to look dignified while

could finally get to the important part after they at

headed to the Order of the Malefic Viper, and while we are going, I would at least like to offer you all the opportunity to go

to eat,” Sandy instantly shut it down. “And the many-headed guy says that

understanding the sentiment but seemingly happy where he was. Hawkie and

explained, expertly outlining why

us going then, Scarlett,” Jake smiled

more thank the Chosen for

that, we must work on

on what?” Scarlett asked,

so you need to not publicly recognize me as such. To not slip up by accident, it would be best if you got used to

Scarlett tried, though it looked to hurt her to use such an

any sense. We both got a Blessing, and the one I am hiding my True Blessing to look like is not that high, so you speaking to me like an authority makes little sense,” Jake said, scratching the back

for words, just staring

you could just

poor snake girl’s head turn red, and her eyes went wide as she looked just about