The Primal Hunter

After Jake had killed the Warden, the demons more or less fell apart, and it was just a cleanup from there. A few of them had tried to get to the prisoners during the attack, but Dina’s bark-covered roots had completely stopped all their attempts.

Jake joined the others in killing, and in the end, they finished off every single demon, with not a single prisoner dying. To make things even better, Jake got an unexpected level upon killing one of the last Torturers still left alive.

*’DING!’ Class: [Arcane Hunter of Horizon’s Edge] has reached level 211 - Stat points allocated, +50 Free Points*

As for the progress of saved prisoners, it turned out that despite saving everyone, they had not yet completed the bonus objective of saving at least 25% of the prisoners.

Current progress: Prisoners freed (20%).

This was honestly expected as Jake saw far more rooms ahead of them in this linear part of the labyrinth. In fact, he had a strong feeling there was more than five total, which he sure wouldn’t complain about. Nevermore had so far not really been that interesting in the combat department, outside of maybe the bout with the Demon Lord, but the Warden had been decent in Jake’s mind, and even the average demon enemy on this floor could pose a danger if he let his guard down. It was a great change of pace from walking through hallways with no real danger – outside of the traps that Jake easily led them around.

Of course, some parts of Minaga’s Labyrinth remained the same. Such as their host’s commentary and the utterly outrageous “people” they could meet and talk to. The leader of the saved prisoners in this room was a prime example.

“Thank you, heroes, for saving us from the demons. After we heard of the return of the evil Demon Lord Gubrothas, we feared all was lost and had resigned ourselves to our fates. Now that you have shown up, we have hope once more,” the old man that looked a bit too much like the Old Royal Mage said as he bowed to them. “Please do your utmost to bring justice to us all and continue on your honorous quest. We shall stay here and rebuild that which was lost.”

Jake and company had gathered all the prisoners they had saved after Dina led down her vines, and one of the only C-grades among them seemed to suddenly come alive and told them this. To the cheers of exactly two-hundred prisoners, they moved towards the next room.

Before they even entered it, Minaga spoke, clearly not caring that much about his earlier ruse of never talking while they were inside rooms.

“Managing to free all the prisoners so easily while not truly facing any difficulties dealing with your foes… impressive indeed! Now, the difficulty will increase slightly with each coming room, so do not be so sure you will be able to use the same strategy twice in a row!”

Upon entering the second room and scouting it, Jake turned to Dina. “We are using the exact same strategy two times in a row.”

The room was nearly identical to the first one except for a change in layout, a few higher-leveled demons around, and a Warden one level higher than the last one. They did an exact repeat of the strategy from the last room, and it went off just like before. Almost a bit too much like before, considering the words of the second old man representing the saved prisoners.

“Thank you, brave heroes, for saving us from the demons. After the return of the evil Demon Lord Gubrothas, we all feared that we were doomed and had resigned ourselves to our fates. Now that you have shown up, we can hope for a better future once more. Please do your utmost to restore justice and continue on your valiant quest. We shall stay here and rebuild.”

Bonus Objective Completed: Save at least 25% of the prisoners. 200 Nevermore Points earned.

Current progress: Prisoners freed (40%).

the next hallway, Jake failed

me you outsourced whatever

one who decides what they say! It is entirely caused

called

I made them, but that doesn’t mean I just decided what they say. Now, this may get a bit philosophical, but hear me out. Normal creatures in the multiverse are born without purpose, even those we usually say have one. Many would argue something like a True Royal is born with the purpose of ruling their Lineage, but that is strictly incorrect. It is just the most obvious Path to them. If they so wished, they could choose to break that Path entirely and actively go against it. Their Records allow it, and they have the ability to do whatever they want. In the eyes of the system, their purpose is

understanding what Minaga was talking about. The system cared a lot about freedom and allowing

to break it. As I am sure you all know, then in natural dungeons, it is possible to actually bring out the creatures, though only one version can exist in the real world. However, that isn’t true for many dungeons created by dungeon engineers, as the dungeon is inherently tied to them. Unless the creature in question was brought from the outside and into the dungeon, that is, but in most cases, only an Image of the creature is made while doing this, with the true version persisting in the world outside. Ah, by the way, funny fact, if you take the Image of a creature that is already dead in the real world outside of a dungeon, it will instantly die. Actually, not that funny of a fact on second thought… anyway, my point is that nearly all the creatures you encounter within

and the others stopped before the hallway leading into the third

onwards after the thirty-fifth floor. However, if they are under the illusion of free will till then, they would be quite handy

see,” Jake nodded, trying not to think too much about it as they entered the third room, where they

couldn’t help but think about certain someone

his seemingly near-omnipotent ability to affect the dungeon as he desired, could Ell’Hakan convince Minaga to help? Could he make Minaga tell him everything there was to know while assisting them

how powerful Minaga was, Ell’Hakan had a Bloodline, so his ability would still work. Seeing as Minaga seemed aware of what was happening even in other

possible for someone with a Bloodline to influence

ruining all exploration aspects of my labyrinth, then I would say the answer is yes,” the

and followed up. “I think what Jake is asking is if someone with a Bloodline focused on manipulating others would be able to influence you. Especially considering the fact you show up in front of us at the

would ask. If you are worried about what I think

to create dungeons while constantly complaining to the people actually doing said dungeons?” Jake asked

“You’re goddamn right.”

expected the Chosen of the Malefic Viper to get a good party considering the relative uncertainty around him. Most factions would hesitate to send their top talent with him, so it was regrettable to see

was someone Ell’Hakan had tried and failed to make a permanent ally, but the innate pride of a Unique Lifeform was not something even his Bloodline could overcome. He had managed to convince it to work

at hand. Shortly after entering the floor, the usual prompt

floor of

objective: Reach the

Bonus objectives: N/A

progress: End

hidden events, achievements, or objectives

Current Nevermore Points: 14930