The Primal Hunter

Back when Jake was in elementary school, the school thought it would be a great idea to make his entire class perform a play for their parents. Why this was a thing anyone ever thought forcing kids to do was acceptable, Jake didn’t know. He had tried all he could to just be a tree or some shit during the play, but no, he had been forced to have an actual role. He even had to speak four entire lines.

He had only fucked up two of them and hated every moment.

That entire play had imprinted itself in Jake’s mind to the point where he still had nightmares about standing on stage and not remembering his lines decades later. To call it trauma would probably be a bit too much, but Jake sure as hell didn’t like standing on a stage in front of a bunch of people. Standing in front of fifty or so parents and teachers had already been far too much, so Jake asked himself…

Why in the everliving fuck had he agreed to this?

Jake stood on the magic circle, trying to focus on nothing else but blaring out his presence and amplifying his Bloodline as much as he could. The formation projected it across the entire hall, and he saw people be slightly affected all around. Even Viridia looked like the presence hit her, and as she was closest, it hit her the hardest.

Her eyes opened wide for a moment before she gave him an approving smile. Jake tried to focus on only her and Sandy and to ignore the crowd of trillions all scrutinizing him. The fact he felt billions of Identifies being used on him didn’t help either. Every single one of them was blocked… until he felt one that wasn’t.

His eyes focused on a certain person within the crowd. He momentarily saw a woman with a smile before she raised an eyebrow and disappeared.

Familiar…Eversmile?

A few more Identifies hit him that weren’t fully blocked. His eyes darted around as he located several gods in the crowd. He also spotted Caleb and the others pretty close to the stage, all of them sitting there and flaring their own presences.

Jake soon relaxed the Bloodline-empowered portion of his presence. He did this for two reasons. Firstly it was to potentially hint his Bloodline only allowed him to empower if momentarily. The truth was that Jake hadn’t really done anything… in fact, he had just stopped suppressing it.

The second reason he relaxed was the many people he saw sweating and shivering. Most were protected by seniors who were able to shield them with their own presence, but not everyone could handle it. Even those seniors were also affected on their own. Despite Jake’s presence being a lot weaker than theirs in pure power, the qualitative difference still exerted an instinctive response.

Viridia once more threw him an approving look, and after he had barely been standing on the platform for five seconds, she spoke again.

”Human. Chosen, Bloodline Patriarch. I see the confusion, and I shared the sentiment for a while. However, you should all have felt it. Even if doubt still remains, I believe no words I speak will convince you. So, rather than try to explain the thought process of the Malefic One-”

”I shall do so myself.”

A blanket of pressure fell over the entire hall. The air itself seemed to almost vibrate as it hit Jake along with everyone else present. Jake’s presence was powerful, yes, there was no denying that… but he was ultimately just a C-grade. Even if he had quality on his side, it was the difference between a potent drop of water and a world-consuming flood.

Overwhelming power was the only description Jake thought fitting. Like it was a practiced act, everyone in the hall fell to their knees. Even Caleb and the others kneeled, though Jake clearly saw they could have resisted far more easily if they so wanted. However, chances are that even if they did want to resist, they would eventually be forced down. Viridia was also on her knees, and the only people not kneeling were a few hidden gods observing from afar. As if Sandy kneeled… Jake had no way to tell.

beside him as space itself shattered in his wake. He softly landed on the stage, the magic circle beneath their feet instantly exploding into

internally as Villy stood beside him

presence drilling into his very soul. Despite the man being so much weaker than himself, he still felt pressured by it. Coupled

even that long ago. Every interaction he had ever had with the Chosen flashed in his mind, and cold

but stuck to subtle research into who it could be. This research had turned up with nothing of value, which in retrospect made a lot of sense considering who exactly it was they were trying to

tell, but he hoped to somehow still leverage the fact he and Helen had some level of rapport with the Chosen of the Malefic Viper. Plus, the Malefic Dragonkin had been meeting with Helen a few times since his visit, and if the friendship between Draskil

in thought, only using part of his focus to prevent Helen from being too shaken by the aura of the Chosen, the Hall Master spoke. Albaromoz listened to her words, and his eyes

Then, the pressure hit.

do so

his body. The natural reverence towards a god all mortals felt. The instinct to kneel and recognize a superior being with both your heart and soul. No mortal could – or would dare –stand in the presence

gaze as the visage of the Malefic One entered his

But as an A-grade, and knowing it originated from a Bloodline and his identity as a Chosen, he could rationalize it. Yet no matter

felt upon seeing a mere C-grade mortal stand tall and stoic in the presence of a Primordial was an

out over the hall as he appeared dramatically. He saw several old acquaintances present, hidden so as to not disturb the mortals. Seeing their reaction to Jake had been more than amusing, and as the Viper, would it not only be proper to

of a god. Well, alright, his assessment that all mortals had

to stand next to his Chosen, Vilastromoz smiled

spoke jokingly, referring to the time he appeared in the Order and killed that demigod. “I guess one could argue there is a difference, as guests were allowed during this one, but I digress. Rather than needlessly

Jake’s shoulder,

make it clear… I just needed that little push. He had good timing, and it gave me an excuse. Not being known as someone who only takes half-measures, I believe it only proper I reclaim what has been lost over the eras while also expanding to take back our rightful place in the

to all the

choice of Jake here as my Chosen,” Vilastromoz said. “Rather than doing so with an explanation,

he looked out over the masses, with his true

fuck are you

do you have to be so damn intense… it’s embarrassing, Jake muttered internally at the Viper, loudly telling everyone to fuck off and not question him. Couldn’t he have just

know? The Viper had been a god since gods were a thing, so if anyone knew how to tell off

out of the way, let’s get to something else I am sure many of you have been looking forward to. The announcement already mentioned it, but we have one more individual to present today. I

humanoids, but a lot of them looked to have metallic parts. Others just looked

insect parts still remained, such as feelers

armies than some diplomatic mission. Jake was also certain that several gods were hidden

is the sole source of her creations, with my input nothing more than that of a passive observer that helped with general advice. That also means I will make no choices for him. Only support those he makes,”