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

up entirely of stars, making it take on an ethereal

pointed his staff towards Jake. Stepping down, Jake teleported away just in

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 seemed very effective, too, as

so effective, Jake didn’t know… but

and engaged again. Golden blasts lit up the darkness of space, blocking out the lights of the

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 the platform as he grasped

one

Fallen King. Problem was… there was no sense of danger.

“Dina, watch out!”

spear of lightning flying past Jake and the King – straight for Dina,

time, and she acted without hesitation. Her entire form exploded in green light as a projection of a grand tree appeared above her, Dina herself standing within its trunk. It shielded both

have learned a bit 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 had entered her most powerful form, putting them

in way better shape now than when they first entered the room, that blast of intense life energy no doubt also doing him

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

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

attacks, as they flew straight past him and hit the Sign of the Bull that Sylphie was fighting, blasting it back and allowing Sylphie to land a solid blow of her own. Minaga

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

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

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 fight. The projected tree was still there, and Dina had briefly

move? Very 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 the second phase, and now he was even worse off.

shards cut into the Fallen King as he retreated and summoned a barrier, only for a burning ray of condensed light to descend from above, burning into his shoulder. A third follow-up attack sent a plane of pure space magic barreling into him, blasting him

King could get up, the stone around him warped, creating

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 in trade

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

Minaga. Jake saw the light gather far

a moment as he appeared right in front of

“Glimpse of Spring: Stormcut.”

like butter. A large crescent wave spanned the horizon as blood spewed

chest from shoulder to hip – 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 chest, cauterizing the

you a lesson again?”Minaga asked rhetorically 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

make me wonder… why is it

looked tired, even if he was healed, as

all excited here,”the Unique Lifeform laughed in between

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

Winds seemingly countering the constellation beast quite nicely. Once she was done, she would rejoin the fight against Minaga, and with the Fallen King and Dina also there, Jake saw their chances

only 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

thus why they moved in unison to strike at Minaga while they could. With just the

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 sword or weak water barriers to

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

the assault. Minaga did prove a lot better defensively in this final phase, as he liberally teleported around and used spatial barriers, but he was still just only