The Primal Hunter

Jake smiled as the Viper probed him. He felt the Blessing strengthen as he knew he had just entrenched himself even further with the Viper, and clearly, so did the snake god.

“Just upgraded my profession. A straight upgrade, the same name, too, meaning I am still a Heretic-Chosen Alchemist. So nothing overly exciting,” Jake answered his divine buddy.

“A straight upgrade that dragged even more out of me,” the Viper said. “To a level where it is beginning to limit the maximum number of other Blessings I can give out.”

“… Is that bad?” Jake asked with a bit of worry.

“No, I am not even close to reaching that maximum and probably won’t be unless I one day wake up and decide to give high-level Blessings to an entire planet. What actually happened isn’t the problem; it is the principle in the thing,” Villy answered, clearly not a trace of actual worry in his voice.

“My apologies, then,”Jake said with a grin.

“Did you at least get something out of it?”

“Let me check,” Jake answered, already knowing the answer as he checked the first of many notifications.

Your bond with the Malefic Viper is further strengthened as you now share not only a karmic and bodily connection but a bond of history and Records, sharing memories known to no one but the two of you. You will no longer be able to receive a new Blessing even if the Malefic One perishes unless you purge yourself of all his Records.

He had not expected that to happen. No longer being able to receive a Blessing would probably seem like a very bad thing to anyone else as that meant if the god started to dislike you for some reason, you would be screwed. Luckily for Jake, Villy could not take it back, so the snake god was fucked in that regard and would have to talk things out with Jake if they had problems. Or kill him. As for the Viper dying… yeah, Jake saw the chances of that happening as really fucking low, especially before Jake himself either died or reached godhood.

Jake checked his Blessing and saw that it indeed had changed slightly from this upgrade.

[True Blessing of the Malefic Viper (Blessing - True)] – An Alchemist recognized by the Malefic Viper himself that has now seized parts of the Blessing in an act of defiance. Few throughout the ages have found themselves blessed by the Primordial, despite their desire to be so. You are his Chosen. Now even the true blood of the Malefic Viper himself is found within your very being, only strengthening your bond further. Your Records are more and more intertwined with that of your Patron, and through a powerful direct karmic and bodily connection, the Wisdom, Willpower, Vitality, Intelligence, and Toughness of the Malefic Viper empower you. +10% Willpower, +10% Wisdom, +10% Vitality, +10% Intelligence, + 10% Toughness. Grants access to many new paths. Only one Blessing can be held at a time. Cannot be denounced or retracted.

“Villy, not to sound like an ass, but why do the stats tied to your Legacy suck so much?” Jake asked after seeing the Blessing had been empowered to also give an extra 10% Toughness. Why did it have to be Toughness? Jake didn’t want Toughness.

“Wow, you come in here, steal some of my Records related to Blessings to empower yourself, and then complain about it not giving the stat you want?” Villy asked with a faux tone of outrage. “Very heretical of you, that’s for sure.”

“Just following my Path. I firmly expect it to increase Perception next time,” Jake said with a smile. “Anyway, I still got all the skill changes and upgrades, so talk to you later?”

posted on that Path of the Heretic-Chosen skill,” Villy said, finishing off the conversation so Jake

experienced changes and one new. He began

the ability to craft a poison with a rarity above that of your Concoct Poison skill if certain conditions are met. The poison may at most be upgraded to the rarity of the Malefic Viper’s Poison skill (Rare --> Epic). Allows

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and needs only to strike once as venom devours its prey. Increases the potency of all created poisons. Grants the ability to craft a poison with a rarity above that of your Concoct Poison skill if certain conditions are met. The poison may at most be upgraded to the rarity of the Malefic Viper’s Poison skill (Rare --> Ancient). Allows poison not to lose efficiency for a long period of time after being applied

skill was one of his unsung heroes. It was simple, and while Jake had barely activated that special ability part of it to upgrade a crafted poison, it was still nice

It made all poison Jake crafted better and made it last longer

changes from the evolution were nearly forgettable, except for one important change. The word “crafted” had become “created,” signifying that it now also included stuff like Fang and his Blood. Besides that, It just improved every part of it by a little, and that was

to see it upgrade, but otherwise, nothing

skill Jake had expected to

will allow you to peer into its true Records as you journey through time, space, and reality, to experience history firsthand. Be warned that gains are not guaranteed, and while the journey cannot harm you directly, the journey may cause harm or have lasting effects – a risk you must take as a Heretic. May you walk with confidence as you tread a path never walked before. Gains 1

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of the Heretic-Chosen (Unique)] – A unique path between the Primordial known as the Malefic Viper and his Chosen, Jake Thayne. Allows you to experience the Legacy of the Malefic Viper on a far more direct level by relying on your direct connection as a Chosen and the mentality of a heretic. Focusing on any core skill, event, or entity related to the Malefic Viper’s Legacy will allow you to peer into the True Records of the past as you journey through time, space, and reality to experience history firsthand. Limitations on Record Fragment selection may apply. Be warned that gains are not guaranteed, and while the journey cannot harm you directly, the journey may cause harm or have lasting effects – a

it. The old version required Jake to focus on a skill, while this version required

even be able to focus on the guy directly and hopefully learn some spicy secrets. The skill was still a bit fast and loose with the actual requirements to trigger the skill, but hopefully, it would work. If not, then the limitation of only being able to focus on a skill once was also gone, so maybe

between ancient and legendary rarity was big, but it was nothing compared to the gulf that separated legendary and mythical. The complexity of Eternal Shadow should be proof of that. This would only be doubly true in this instance, seeing that none of the Legacy skills had downgraded in rarity.

A project for later.

happening every twenty levels and C-grade being from 200-350, Jake would get a total

to using more than ever. There was so much to see and so many juicy and embarrassing secrets of Villy for Jake

still one more skill gained. In D-grade, every alchemist had gotten Craft Elixir,

to walk in your footsteps. Allows the Heretic-Chosen to craft a Grimoire related to his Path, allowing another of the enlightened races to consume it, granting them either a class or profession. The nature of the Grimoire depends on a multitude of factors, including crafting ingredients, the will of the creator, and several unknowns. Requirements to use the

was not at all the kind of skill Jake had predicted to get, even if he begrudgingly had to admit it fit his entire Path of the Heretic Chosen thing. This skill would allow

them was hard as fuck, but a dedicated skill would definitely help. Jake was also pretty darn confident it wasn’t something he could do entirely alone. A high-level scribe would be needed to assist him in

telling him that it would lend a hand and make them better than normal. The boost also seemed significant, with it adding free Records

would Jake actually make use of this skill? Jake had come across a total of three Grimoires in his life. The first one had given him the profession he had today, the second he had gotten from the Great White Stag and given to Lillian, and the third had been

best usage case of a Grimoire was someone with a bad class or profession using it at the beginning of a grade to get a better one than what was offered. The second best option was using it right before evolution to hopefully get a variant of it in your next grade. Jake could already see some possibilities if he ever

the entire heretic-chosen thing. Who could he actually make a Grimoire for? Especially if it was alchemy-related? The only one

bummer or not. Others would