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.

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:

itself. For Jake, it had just been an annoying responsibility he chose to take on, and in all truthfulness, the quality of this upgrade reflected that. It was a pretty bad version of World Leader and didn’t even include any of his Chosen or heretic stuff in there. It was a barebones one that sounded a lot like what Arthur had feared Jake planned on

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

was shown in the race evolution, the stats tripled once more in C-grade, bringing the maximum a profession could give from 80 to 240. 160 put the 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 before. Also, losing

Miranda would get offered skills related to being Ministers and on the council, with even the Sword Saint perhaps getting an annoying option to skip. Which was, of course, exactly what Jake did as he moved on. And the Heretic-Chosen stuff came early,

Viper – Your Path is long, lonely, but potent. It would be a shame to walk it alone. Bring others into the fold, allowing them to see your reality and no longer merely serve the gods as their tools but as their equals. A foolhardy vision, perhaps, but it is your vision nevertheless. As his Chosen - his prophet - you still keep expanding the Order while not shying away from the heretical, creating a Path few would willingly follow. Your skills in Alchemy remain, but you create not for yourself or the love of the craft but to respect your Patron and remain close to him. Grants skills related to alchemy, persuasion, manipulation, and religious practices. As a heretic, the Legacy of the Malefic Viper is no longer contingent on retaining any blessing from the Malefic Viper. Be you

know better, he would think the system was trolling him with options like this. In what world had the system observed Jake and everything he did during his entire journey and reached

Malefic Viper but was also about leading others onto the Path of a Heretic. Just an

versions of this, and a bit like

Moving on.

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,

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

definitely the

them. He also liked his alchemy, and this profession would cut that away entirely, it seemed, with him potentially losing skills just

more professions to go, Jake was pleasantly

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 to be discovered. This rare type of alchemist specializes in the production of poisons, contrary to the craft of

there, especially the part about also learning about his mortality.

straight upgrade, it would only have given 222. 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 this a reward for surviving his Path, or perhaps

amount of stats a profession could offer in C-grade, putting him only 10 stats per level

damn good… but that only made him wonder. There was one more evolution option available. What exactly could that offer which was

have an Origin; all 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

did know was that it was powerful. More powerful than any profession Jake had ever seen or read about – partly because the truly powerful ones were always kept secret. It practically oozed

240.

theoretical maximum. Which meant it came with drawbacks. Severe ones, from the looks of it, as