The Primal Hunter

Jake reluctantly exited his Soulspace and addressed the projection first. He was inside a dungeon and wanted to avoid things turning awkward by suddenly getting teleported out or something. Opening his eyes, the projection that had been silent for a few seconds after noticing he was meditating spoke again.

“Honored Chosen, I want to congratulate you on your victory over the Lord Protector’s image. It was a marvelous display,” it praised in what Jake could only describe as an ass-licking tone.

He simply nodded at it as he looked at the corpse of the hydra. “It was a good fight.”

“It pleases me to hear the Chosen enjoyed himself. May I know if the Chosen intends to battle any of the other projections stored here?”

Jake shook his head. “No, I already know this one was the strongest. Defeating it should count as a win, right?”

“Indeed, however, defeating all projections will result in the opportunity to get even better rewards, especially if you face the five strongest,” the projection offered.

“Not interested,” Jake dismissed. He really didn’t care. It was still a D-grade dungeon, which meant the most it could offer was D-grade equipment or crafting material. Jake was at the crux of C-grade and didn’t need any of it.

“Very well. May your Path lead to the pinnacle, all by the glory of the Malefic One.”

He just nodded, not wanting to make a snark comment but just get a move on. He was teleported once more and appeared at the same entrance hall as before, a treasure chest in the center with the exit right behind him.

Congratulations! You have cleared Dungeon: Order of the Malefic Viper: D-grade Legends of Old.

Dungeon shutting down in: 00:59:23

It was the fastest dungeon Jake had ever done, mainly by just skipping to the last boss right away through cheating with his status. But, hey, at least it also gave a title upgrade, so that was 1 more to all stats…

[Dungeoneer IX] – Successfully clear a Dungeon suitable for your level. +17 all stats.

Jake looked at the treasure chest but decided to wait a bit and check everything else out first since he had an hour before he had to be out. The first thing he wanted to look at was Eternal Hunger.

[Eternal Hunger (Mythical)] – A weapon born of eternal hunger - a living sin of consumption, forever starving, forever seeking sustenance. Given form by the [Redacted] Hunter, this new myth still holds properties of its Origin as a weapon created by vampires from the core of a Chimera, allowing it to change shape and adapt to the will of its master. Origin has been further altered by [Redacted], giving birth to the Eternal Shadow of the [Redacted] Hunter. This weapon is eternally Soulbound to its creator; their souls are one and the same, making Eternal Hunger indestructible as long as the Hunter persists. Any attack made with this weapon will absorb energy from the target. Foes slain by the owner of this weapon will have their souls absorbed. Can consume absorbed souls. Take pride as you wield hunger incarnate. Enchantments: Curse of Eternal Hunger. Souldrinker. Soul Consumption. Eternal Shadow

Requirements: Soulbound

No change in name, it seemed, which kind of made sense. The description had just gotten longer, with a few more [Redacted] added in there for good measure. It also specifically mentioned the Eternal Shadow enchantment… even if it was damn weird to call it an enchantment. It also became clear that Eternal Hunger was no longer just a mere weapon. It was now tied to Jake through-and-through, even if the requirement still just called it Soulbound. Then again, Soulbound was eternal by design, so it made sense there was no reason to change it.

What had changed was the part saying it was now indestructible. Jake reckoned this did not mean unbreakable but that it could not be utterly destroyed like it could before. Destroying Soulbound weapons was damn hard, but methods did exist in the multiverse. As an example, then Jake could probably have some craftsman dismantle and “break” his cauldron if he wanted, and one also had to remember that when he had that vampire crafter improve his necklace, she was able to modify it. She could even potentially have destroyed it if she had wanted to.

Jake could also have – in theory – destroyed Eternal Hunger using his Alchemical Flame before. That would – not in theory – have released the massive amount of curse energy in a completely uncontrolled state and probably ruined the solar system or something, but now that wasn’t even an option.

He didn’t know why he felt a bit sad about that. Oh well.

Next up was something Jake kind of already knew about. He had felt it a bit during the battle, but now that he had winded down, he truly experienced the change. His stats had all grown… and the source was obvious. Jake checked the notification and was a bit surprised to see that while he hadn’t gotten a new title, one had upgraded.

[Legendary Prodigy] – A true talent standing at the pinnacle of his generation. Young yet showing promise above even the elders of yore. Due to your immense accomplishment of creating a legendary skill while still below D-grade, you have proven yourself a true legendary prodigy. +10 all stats +10% all stats.

-->

[Mythical Prodigy] – A genius ahead of the curve, not even the mythical eluding him. It feels as if your Path has barely begun, yet you refuse to be confined to the expectations of your station. Creating a mythical skill while below C-grade is no easy feat and the achievement of a true myth in the making. Be proud, affirmed in your Path. +100 all stats +20% all stats.

Jake read it over and smiled. In reality, it didn’t matter much if it was a new title or an upgrade to his existing one: the bonus was massive, nevertheless. 90 flat points and 10% more to all stats. Actually, on second thought, not getting a second title was nice, as that meant this was now his best title, even beating out the Progenitor one, making it feel like an even bigger accomplishment.

how much a title like this mattered. There was some diminishing return as these percentage titles were all additive, but it

do it in C-grade. Shit, he didn’t even know what the next rarity was yet. Either way, that

But they could. But

good look at this full status

Status

Name: Jake Thayne

[Human (D) – lvl

Hunter

[Heretic-Chosen Alchemist of the Malefic

Health Points (HP): 65841/68240

Mana Points (MP): 85010/130218

Stamina: 16859/58990

Stats

Strength: 5456

Agility: 8744

Endurance: 5899

Vitality: 6824

Toughness: 4929

Wisdom: 8334

Intelligence: 6913

Perception: 15247

Willpower: 6904

Free points: 0

[Bloodline Patriarch], [Holder of a Primordial’s True Blessing], [Dungeoneer IX], [Dungeon Pioneer VI], [Prodigious Slayer of the Mighty], [Kingslayer], [Nobility:

the Avaricious Arcane Hunter (Ancient)], [Avaricious Arcane Hunter’s Arrows

[Alchemical Flame (Uncommon)], [Craft Elixir (Uncommon)], [Cultivate Toxin (Uncommon)], [Concoct Poison (Rare)], [Malefic Viper’s Poison (Epic)], [Soul Ritualism of the Heretic-Chosen Alchemist (Ancient)], [Advanced Core Manipulation (Ancient)],[Blood of the Malefic Viper (Legendary)], [Sagacity of the Malefic Viper (Legendary)], [Sense of the Malefic Viper (Legendary)], [Wings of the Malefic Viper (Legendary)], [Touch of the Malefic

of the Malefic

(Unique)], [Legacy of Man (Unique)], [Identify (Rare)], [Serene Soul

Primal Hunter (Bloodline

across the board, especially in Wisdom and Perception, partly for the same reason and partly for different ones. They shared that he had upgraded skills related to the Malefic Viper giving him stats in both, but the primary reason for the growth in Wisdom was

Jake had thrown Free Points into it without any regard and consumed as many damn elixirs as he could to push the stat further. Seeing he had over 15000 total now, it was totally worth it. It was a

were still a bit lacking, but all good things in due time. Tracking, Arcane Stealth, and Stealth Attack were his

to Jake’s Path. Maybe some would argue that things like tracking and stealth were core to the “hunter” archetype, but Jake was not the type of hunter to track a target for a long time and then kill it. That was just

analyzing his status and closed all the system windows, finally turning his attention to the final thing in the room. The treasure chest. It was quite ornate and impressive, making him raise an eyebrow. Without waiting further, he went over and

of Perennial Consumption. These scales retained their durability even after the death of the beast and have even been improved slightly by the Records of their former owner. These scales are incredibly durable, and if they

true. Maybe a really skilled crafter could make these scales into C-grade equipment, but if that person was skilled enough to do that, then having them

had some armor made right away. As it was now, they were just something to sell or give to someone he knew who may want them

his sphere, the projection appeared once more. Jake

for such a reward, but it is not I who decide

off. “Sorry for my earlier attitude; I was in a rush. Wanted to make a mythical

surprise the projection, but it simply nodded. “As expected of the Malefic’s Chosen. Let me congratulate you on your evolution, and

Jake nodded. “I will be

just bowed as Jake went out of the dungeon and appeared in… yeah, he had no idea where the fuck he was. Villy had swept him up and brought him away at his own request, and he now found himself in a hall. The hall was empty, but through his sphere, he saw a lot of

the gate. “I took the liberty to seal off the dungeon a bit

Jake muttered to the snake

waved him off. “Who cares about them. Anyway, let’s get out