The Primal Hunter

Okay, Jake had perhaps been a bit too excited about his evolution when he had gone to visit Arnold, and it was probably also not a good idea to annoy the guy you wanted to make stuff for you. Even if Jake didn’t want favors from him – which he did - pissing off a mad scientist with an army of drones also seemed unwise.

To make things worse, Jake planned on going to visit him to ask about the Nanoblade after all his evolutions were done, but now he had just turned things awkward. He could go and apologize then and there, but wouldn’t that just make things worse? He had no idea, and he failed to resist using his Sphere Pulse – the official new name - once more. He took a new snapshot only to see Arnold back at work, his neutral facial expression the same as ever.

At least he didn’t seem bothered, so Jake would just let it rest for now. He had evolutions to do, didn’t he?

He could evolve either his class or profession first, and while the order didn’t matter whatsoever, Jake did recall evolving his class first at D-grade. As a supporter of equality, Jake found it only fair to go with his profession first this time around.

Without further ado, Jake got started as he willed the message to appear, and his profession evolution could officially begin.

*Profession Evolution Requirements Met*

Living paradoxes tend to be transient beings, unstable amalgamations of circumstance that cease to be once the feeble balance is broken and one side has to give in. Yet you remain a heretic and a Chosen. The two sides are perhaps not equally represented in your Path, but a balance has still been struck that allows both to persist in harmony, amplifying one another. Your heretical actions instead seemingly bring you closer to your Patron, as you have gladly embraced the Legacy of the Malefic Viper. Not that you shy away from less-used means, willingly deploying curses to further your goal. Your alchemy has also only grown, your poisons ever more potent, yet something else has appeared too. Something that causes Origins, Records, and Paths to warp in your wake. To what extremes will you go?

Begin evolution now?

Y/N

WARNING: Postponing evolution for too long may have adverse effects, and no further profession-experience can be earned before the evolution is complete.

The system just kept being so nice in all these long messages describing his Path and whatnot. The message itself was as expected, primarily about Jake being a heretic and a Chosen, at least until the last few sentences. It mentioned Jake’s curses, his alchemy getting better, and then that ominous final part about warping Origins and Paths and whatnot. Definitely related to all the things Jake had done that created things like Eternal Hunger – both versions – and of course, Sandy. A bit of Sylphie, too, for sure.

He already had a good idea of what kind of profession upgrades he would get and stopped delaying as he jumped right into it.

The first option was indeed one he had expected.

managing and guiding a planet to glory. Grants skills related to management, economics, leadership, and control, as well as methods to protect your new dominion. However, be warned that should the planet be destroyed, you will not escape unscathed. Stat bonuses per level: +35 Vitality, +35 Wisdom, +30 Willpower, +60 Free Points. WARNING: Skills

It was a pretty bad version of

people in the Order of the Malefic Viper possess. If the Order had a lot of planets under their control, that is.

profession above average but still pretty bad in Jake’s eyes. It was the same as a profession giving 60 total stats in D-grade, so way worse than what he had

and on the council, with even the Sword Saint perhaps getting an annoying option to skip. Which was, of course, exactly what Jake

a Path few would willingly follow. Your skills in Alchemy remain, but you create not for yourself or the love of the craft

Jake and everything he did during his entire journey and

not only include stuff related to the Malefic

level. It would still be a quality downgrade compared to his D-grade profession, but not horribly so. He did have a suspicion that there existed way better versions of this, and a bit like with the World Leader

Moving on.

at the core of the Malefic Viper’s Path, but can it be taken too far? It is your aim to find out. You have begun to deviate from the Malefic One, implementing the power of curses into your Path – something even your Patron rarely did due to the innate volatility of curses. Your skills as an alchemist wane as you specialize in only the act of transformation and transmutation through the art of corrupting anything and anyone. As a heretic, the Legacy of the Malefic Viper is no longer contingent on retaining any blessing from the Malefic Viper. May your touch be as feared as that of the Malefic One, and your mind stay true to your Path, lest the curses consume you. Stat bonuses per level: +70 Willpower, +40 Vitality, +40 Wisdom, +20 Perception, +15 Int, +30 Free Points. WARNING: Skills pertaining to Heretic-Chosen Alchemist of the Malefic Viper may be lost or changed

at least one option talking about curses, and this sure fit the bill. Looking at it more closely, Jake was a bit surprised at how different it still was compared to his expectations. It wasn’t even an alchemy profession anymore but was all about corrupting things. It was some extreme version of transmutation from the looks of it. The stats were good, at 215 per level, which was only 25 short of the theoretical maximum. This did mean it firmly fell within the realm of having some drawbacks besides the whole heretic-chosen dichotomy. Probably had something to

definitely the curse

also liked his alchemy, and this profession would cut that away entirely, it seemed, with him potentially losing skills just from selecting it. It was definitely a no from him just based on that. He did consider maybe using curse stuff a bit more, but he could do that as

to go, Jake

would wish forgotten lay bare before you as you gaze upon Records only known by the Malefic One. Allows one to combine the natural treasures of the world, and make potions, pills, transmute one material to another, with a slew of other mystical means

Malefic Viper. The description was very similar but had sprinkled some more stuff in there, especially the part about also learning about his mortality. Clearly, the skill referred to Path of the Heretic-Chosen with many of these references, making him already sure it would be one of the skills upgraded or affected

Probably 225, as the system seemed to like sticking to numbers ending either in 5 or 0 during this evolution, but even so, this was better for sure. Was

stats a profession could offer in C-grade, putting him only 10 stats per level away from it. Pretty damn fucking good if he

made him wonder. There was one more evolution option available. What exactly could that offer

have a Path to the peak. You shall be the Harbinger bringing forth that Origin. Allows you to awaken the Origin of other creatures and objects as you awaken primeval concepts within, resulting in the birth of things never seen before or long forgotten. As you embrace this Path, so will you affect the Origin within yourself, embracing it fully as you shun all else but what lies within. With it shall come power, and all those around you will bathe in a presence

seen or read about – partly because the truly powerful ones were

240.

drawbacks. Severe ones, from the looks of it,