The Primal Hunter

Jake’s eyes slowly adjusted as he sent out a Pulse of Perception, trying to get a read on what exactly Minaga had done when he exploded the giant orb. What met him was a mental image he had not seen coming.

The entire room outside of the now mostly bare floor was gone – even the tiles having disintegrated from the odd shockwave. The walls and ceiling had been blasted apart, leaving large floating platforms all around them, just there in empty space.

Because that is all Jake saw outside of the central platform and the many floating pieces of debris: empty space. The environmental mana also changed significantly and appeared far more empty. Hollow. Nearly all of the affinities were gone, leaving them only with pure mana.

His eyes slowly adjusted as he noticed how much darker it had gotten. As they finished adjusting, he finally got a good understanding of what had happened.

Stars all around them provided little light as Jake and company found themselves floating on a large stone platform in the middle of space. The only other physical objects besides the large stone platform they were planting on were the broken parts of the walls and ceiling that had survived the giant orb’s explosion, now floating all around them, suspended in space as gravity had also shifted.

The orb had been entirely made to blow up the room and had done nothing to Jake and the others. It was just a fancy way to introduce this arena where the final phase would take place.

As for Minaga himself, he was floating on a small platform right in front of them, both staves ready.

”Let us have this final fight amongst the stars! Come, challengers, and face me in my most powerful state! Okay, my most powerful state within the C-grade portion of Nevermore, anyway. Wait, also outside of that special lesson with the old swordsman. Ignore those. This is my most powerful state nevertheless!”

They stared up at the Unique Lifeform as Jake had a premonition.

”He is going to use more… complicated forms of magic now. At least space magic, probably also other kinds,” Jake sent through the Golden Mark, warning the others.

None of them seemed surprised, as there had to be something different about this final phase. Jake experienced an odd mix of emotions as he wanted to see what Minaga was now capable of, but on the other hand, he also wanted to win.

Jake smiled as he looked tauntingly at Minaga, getting a grin in response.

”Now, let us begin!”

Minaga’s words became the starting shot as his body began to glow with power. Jake felt his aura heighten, and he instantly understood there was more to this phase than just more complicated magic.

The Unique Lifeform had finally used his own boosting skill.

Jake instantly retreated, as the Sword Saint and Dina did the same while she kept healing him. The Fallen King, despite being damaged, dove forward. Considering his boosting skill was fully active from the get-go, he seemed keen to get into the action. Sylphie followed suit as she circled around their foe, waiting for an opening.

Smiling, Minaga stomped his foot. The platform below him cracked as he kicked off it, all of the stone catching fire and shooting towards the Fallen King. He blocked it with a barrier in front of him, but Minaga had already released another attack before the King had time to react. This one struck from above, completely avoiding the summoned barrier as dozens of ice shards fell upon the Unique Lifeform.

Minaga was about to do more when an Arcane Powershot struck him, forcing him to retreat slightly. Jake did not let up as he kept shooting, fully making use of the wide-open space. He had already found his way to some of the debris, using it as a foothold while shooting.

“You really are the biggest threat. Or maybe just the most annoying,” Minaga praised Jake. At least he saw it as praise. The Unique Lifeform spread out his arms, and suddenly, Jake felt like the stars above shone slightly brighter than a moment prior. He jumped as he felt a sense of danger, and just in time as a beam descended from above, obliterating where he had just been standing.

Using a hand motion, Minaga made the stars above shift. Jake was still staring as what looked like a bull was formed as lines were drawn, and the entire figure began to glow. Sylphie tried to stop Minaga, but he teleported – meaning space magic was now also on the table – and appeared too far away for any of them to interfere.

Up above, the constellation flashed one final time as it began moving. For a brief moment, Jake felt like the constellation connected to a higher concept, one far beyond anything in a C-grade dungeon. It was gone as fast as it came, but Jake had used Identity on the constellation on instinct… and he was not sure if he regretted that decision.

[Eldenstar Bull Monarch – lvl ????]

He saw this Identify result only for a brief second as it suddenly changed – even his system log was no longer the same.

Bull –

out of the stars above as it descended upon them. Its body was made up entirely of stars, making it take on an ethereal appearance. The power it radiated was also not to be underestimated, especially

straight down for Sylphie as space seemed to warp around it. Minaga also quickly began moving again as he pointed his staff towards Jake. Stepping down, Jake teleported away just

at him. High above the platform, Sylphie had engaged this Sign of the Bull monster. The beast used some kind of astral magic as space warped and small stars appeared, exploding to dispel Sylphie’s wind. Sylphie did not want to see herself outdone, though, as she began to tear into the creature of stars. It

effective, Jake didn’t know… but then again, Sylphie’s

King had shrugged off the ice shards and engaged again. Golden blasts lit up the darkness of space, blocking out the lights

began shining as reality warped around it, the staff itself warping in turn as it took on the appearance of a spear, and lighting

one is heavily

was ready. So was the Fallen King. Problem was… there was no sense of danger. His intuition screamed, and Jake

“Dina, watch out!”

his body mid-throw, the spear of lightning flying past Jake and the King – straight for Dina, who had retreated with the Sword Saint

warning allowed her to respond just in time, and she acted without hesitation. Her entire form exploded in green light as a projection of a grand tree appeared above her, Dina

from that old tree!” Minaga grinned. Dina’s body had also changed just as she cast this spell, her small antlers growing, and her clothes changed. She

way better shape now than when they first entered the room, that blast of

her staff at Minaga’s staff, which was stuck in the bark of the projected tree. Roots shot

flew to

it back and allowing Sylphie to land a solid blow of her own. Minaga saw this and cursed to himself a bit. He began flying upwards to help the beast, but Jake and the

through the air and deflected a few arrows with his staff. Exactly three seconds after he had thrown the lightning spear, he teleported away when Jake and

the

on the offensive. The Fallen King and Jake found themselves heavily pressured as Sylphie was slowly winning above, and the Sword Saint and Dina prepared themselves to rejoin

the case, too, as he went hard for the Fallen King. The Unique Lifeform had already been damaged after the second phase, and now he was even worse off. Dina’s quick healing simply wasn’t enough, and with how much stronger Minaga was now, Jake could

ray of condensed light to descend from above, burning into his shoulder.

stone around him warped, creating a small

energy began to gather. Jake instantly recognized the signs of a big spell being cast, and he tried to help with Gaze and a Powershot, but it only delayed Minaga slightly as he simply tanked the arrow, accepting the wound

felt the Fallen King’s intention to try and land his final trump card through the

the light

a moment as he appeared right in

“Glimpse of Spring: Stormcut.”

crescent wave spanned the horizon as blood spewed into the air, and the aura

back, a massive wound across his chest from shoulder to hip – the kind that would have had guts spilling out if the Unique Lifeform

as he teleported away from Jake’s attempt to follow up. Something Jake was totally fine with, as he knew one of the Sword Saint’s weaknesses with the Glimpse

“Does make me wonder… why is it only a

Sword Saint still looked tired, even if he was healed,

excited here,”the Unique Lifeform

rooted – pun intended – expired, and she rushed over to the Fallen King, who had managed to break out of his tomb of stone. She had instantly gone to work with

her Sylphian Winds seemingly countering the constellation beast quite nicely. Once she was done, she would

negative was that time wasn’t on their side. Everyone besides Jake and Sylphie had their boosting skills going at full power now, and while Minaga also had one active, Jake suspected he would outlast them. It was also only a matter of time before Jake and

while they could. With just the four of them, they pressured the Unique Lifeform, and Jake had to admit the old

but in most cases, he could only use his sword or weak water barriers to block attacks. That was still

off turbulent waves of unstable space, making reality crack in its wake, but the Sword Saint some-fucking-how managed to slice through it, the magic dispersing. He even cut a blast of wind apart, making it scatter harmlessly around him. Whatever the hell had happened during that “lesson” of his had made the old man come out… sharper? Like the power of every cut had become stronger in some odd

liberally teleported around and used spatial barriers, but he was still just only one being