The Primal Hunter

Jake kept Minaga at a distance as he continuously retreated and took potshots at the Unique Lifeform, who had no way of fighting at long range without his magic. At the same time, Jake heard from the Fallen King that the entire labyrinth Minaga had summoned seemed spatially expanded, making it a nightmare to get through. He did try to blast walls apart, and while he did have some success, it appeared slower than simply rushing through as fast as possible. Jake did want to simply summon him again, but doing so was a huge strain on the Fallen King. Doing it once was fine, but more than that could have less-than-desirable consequences. So he fought alone.

Minaga handled Jake’s barrage of arrows extremely well, but he still couldn’t block everything. Jake had gotten good at shooting tricky arrows that curved to hit where the Unique Lifeform moved to dodge or curve around the staff raised to block it. His opponent was obviously also aware of this as he stopped chasing and stood still while looking at Jake with raised eyebrows.

“Heh, while I can’t do normal magic right now… you do realize you are standing on the magic circle, right?” Minaga grinned as the ground below him began to glow, and the entire formation slightly shifted.

Just as Jake stepped down, he felt like the entire world had become heavier. At least when it came to using One Step, as he realized space had been constricted. What’s more, Minaga seemed to slightly shrink the arena, giving Jake less and less space to work with.

Minaga once more gave chase, Jake no longer able to teleport, making it significantly harder to get proper distance. Three times, Jake barely avoided getting caught until the fourth one forced him to switch away from his bow. Both katars appeared as the nature of the battle changed. Jake accepted this as he dove into melee, dodging under a staff sweep to go for a stab. Minaga was quick and stepped back as he countered, Jake countering the counter as the staff slammed into the ground.

He managed to land a quick stab on the Unique Lifeform’s arm but was hit with an elbow strike in return, making him stumble back. Gritting his teeth, Jake re-engaged again, pushing the Unique Lifeform even more aggressively than before. His strikes were vicious, and Minaga found himself getting slowly pushed back by Jake’s ferocity.

Several minor wounds were exchanged, but neither side could land any meaningful hits. Jake kept pressing, picking up speed as his katars struck dozens of times a second, putting Minaga more and more on the defensive.

“I do find it odd you are so focused on the bow… not gonna lie, you strike me as more talented as a melee fighter,” Minaga said, as he tried and failed to hit Jake with his staff. With his second staff, he did manage to force Jake to disengage for a brief moment as both of them jumped back, giving Minaga more space to talk.

“It’s like you’ve spent far more time training your melee capabilities than your skill with a bow. Don’t get me wrong, you are mean with a bow too, but you don’t exude the same kind of pressure as you do right now. This is like having a wild beast going crazy at you, yet without the usual downsides of such a bestial fighting strategy due to your ridiculous reaction times and pure instinct,” Minaga kept talking as he landed on the platform more than fifty meters away, Jake already charging over.

“I could see you walk the Path without having ever encountered the bow… perhaps for the better. Or not. Who is to tell?” Minaga kept pondering as he prepared for Jake’s attack.

Jake didn’t comment on anything Minaga said but kept sprinting. He knew there was some truth to Minaga’s words, but he didn’t have the time nor the desire to think about things like that in the middle of a fight like this.

“Also… you seem to be misunderstanding one thing. While it is true that I cannot use any magic right now,”Minaga began as he lifted his staff above his head. It began glowing with power as his aura spiked for a moment before he finished. “This isn’t classified as magic.”

Reacting to his danger sense, Jake leaped to the side just in time as Minaga smashed the staff down, the entire area he had just been in exploding from the sheer force of the Unique Lifeform’s swing. His eyes landed on Minaga just as the glow from his boosting skill seemed to change. Minaga smiled as he leaned forward and stepped down.

The ground erupted from his step, sending Minaga flying straight for Jake. Without hesitation, Jake bent his back as a staff swept over where his head had just been, a shockwave of pure force released from the swing. The other staff descended from above right after, Jake barely managing to slip by it.

air for a moment as he took out his

to not land on the ground again, as Minaga had already charged towards his estimated landing location. He changed course for Jake mid-charge, resulting in the two of them clashing once

surrender or even try to disengage. He welcomed the pressure as he pushed himself further than before. He practically felt his own veins burn from Arcane Awakening

the flow of the fight as he also felt the power surge through his own body. Jake knew he needed to do something. Wrest back some level of control. Land a big hit. But he didn’t have the tools to do so. He knew he lacked a skill for a situation like this, and Descending Dark Arcane Fang just wouldn’t cut it. The skill was difficult to use as he had to actively

make it into one that could. The current Descending Dark Arcane Fang was fundamentally flawed. It relied on dark mana, an affinity he didn’t really use for anything anymore

took inspiration from other skills and what changes he had already made to the skill after he began using katars. There was nothing truly

his curse energy. From his fight with sim-Jake. From the power of the Blackpoint Blade. His own arcane mana. From everything he had done to better his

arcane energy covered it just as it appeared. Meanwhile, Jake only dodged and used the Blackpoint Blade as he prepared. Minaga didn’t seem to have noticed anything, or at least he acted like he hadn’t. The fight continued for

interrupted him for a fraction of a second. Long enough for him to dodge a blow

beneath him crack as he thrust Eternal Hunger forward. Minaga had not been ready as the katar hit him in the side, Eternal Hunger glowing with a deep purple aura as the cursed arcane energy stabbed into

a downward strike, significantly increasing damage done and penetrative power. Dark mana makes the wound harder to heal and drains energy until dispelled. Arcane mana creates a powerful coating and extends the edge while increasing all its basic capabilities. Damage improved further if the weapon is benefitting from Fang of Man. Adds a bonus to the effect of Agility, Strength, and

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will linger in any created wounds, the effect dependent on the nature of the curse

away, a nasty wound glowing with an eerie light in

brief chance to chug down a stamina potion as he was down below 15%, and it would soon become a major problem. Keeping up with the Unique Lifeform was not

took a solid second to address the wound as Jake felt him flood it with vital energy, rapidly eliminating the curse energy. Jake also

like a mess by now. His entire body was covered in wounds, dozens of holes left by arrows lined his form, and this wasn’t even mentioning the deep claw mark all across his back or the frightening cauterized wound across his chest. This wasn’t even mentioning the fact that poison had repeatedly built up within the Unique Lifeform. His soul was also partly damaged from the

that Minaga did not have that long

a melee fighter,” Minaga spoke as he didn’t look to be

close behind, with Dina and the Sword Saint quickly making their way through the labyrinth, their estimated arrival within the next half a minute. Minaga seemed to realize fighting the King and Jake without his magic wasn’t

I am now down to only 10% health,” Minaga’s voice echoed throughout the entire space as he lifted his hand, and a barrier appeared around

on the platform stopped glowing as the entire labyrinth disappeared in an instant. Dina, the Sword Saint, and Sylphie appeared in the middle of nothing as they quickly got their bearings, and their party began regrouping. Dina went straight for Jake as he was hit by a green bolt of lightning, sending a wave of pure life energy through him. It was probably needed… his health pool was not looking good. Fighting Minaga alone for so long was not healthy, not to mention the constant drain on his

Minaga smiled. “Remember when I called the third phase the final one? Yeah, well, what good boss doesn’t have

there is one, Jake thought just as he

were never to summon more beasts… that