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.

of the Bull

making it take on an

as he pointed his staff towards Jake. Stepping down, Jake teleported away

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

so effective, Jake didn’t

engaged again. Golden blasts lit up the darkness of space, blocking out the lights of the stars as Minaga summoned a dense barrier to block. The golden waves rolled over

staff itself warping in turn as it took on the appearance of a spear, and lighting bolts flew from its form. A golden hammer soon descended, but Minaga had already teleported once more, appearing floating above the middle of

one

straight at Jake, but he was ready. So was the Fallen King. Problem was… there

“Dina, watch out!”

of lightning flying past Jake and the King – straight for

of a grand tree appeared above her, Dina herself standing within its trunk. It shielded both herself and the Sword Saint as the spear hit the translucent projection of the tree, only slightly embedding itself

also changed just as she cast this spell, her small antlers growing, and her clothes changed. She had entered her

than when they first entered

happy with being forced to activate her form change and pointed her staff at Minaga’s staff, which was stuck in the bark of the projected tree. Roots shot up

petty,”Minaga shook his head just as he flew to the side to avoid a

fighting, blasting 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 Fallen King had

the attacks by flying 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 Fallen King had managed

shared his thoughts with the group. “Or it may be a trick… either way, it could be an

winning above, and the Sword Saint and Dina prepared themselves to

thematic. From the looks of it, Minaga knew this was the case, too, as he went hard for the Fallen King. The Unique Lifeform had already been damaged after

condensed light to descend from above, burning into his

Fallen King could get up, the stone around him

with Gaze and a Powershot, but it only delayed Minaga slightly as he simply tanked the arrow, accepting the wound in trade for potentially

try and land his final trump card through the Golden Mark. Yet just as he was about to, another figure rejoined the

and surrounded by dense life magic, the Sword Saint flew straight for Minaga. Jake saw the light gather far up in the sky as the

he appeared right in front of the Unique Lifeform and

“Glimpse of Spring: Stormcut.”

Minaga was cut through like butter. A large crescent wave spanned the horizon as blood spewed into the air, and the aura of

– the kind that would have had guts spilling out if the Unique Lifeform had any. He swiftly responded as his hand began to burn, and he dragged it across his own

from Jake’s attempt to follow up. Something Jake was totally fine with, as he knew one of

still grinned. “Does make me wonder… why

he was healed, as the old man smiled. “Perhaps you

here,”the Unique Lifeform laughed in between

her 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 healing, and the Unique Lifeform had taken out one of his golden soul pellet-things that he used as better-working

nicely. Once she was done, she would rejoin the fight against Minaga, and with the Fallen King and Dina also there, Jake saw

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

to strike at Minaga while they could. With just the four of them, they

to say the Sword Saint had one major weakness, it was his defensive profile. He did use that weird painting once, but in most cases, he could only use his

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

barriers, but he was still just only one being against five. When it was just two or even three of them, Minaga had the upper hand, but by now,