The Primal Hunter

Sleeping was truly an overpowered passive ability. It was like using the Meditation skill on steroids and helped regenerate the body at a quite frankly insane pace compared to any other non-magical means. However, even if this was the case, Jake still woke up feeling like shit.

Looking at the window in the small Gladiator townhouse, he saw that it was still pitch-black outside, indicating it was still in the middle of the night. That was not overly surprising, considering he had gone to bed around noon the day before, meaning he had likely still slept well over twelve hours.

With a groan, he pushed himself to sit upright on the bed. He still had a bruise on his chest where he had been punched, and he still felt sore all over, but otherwise, he did seem to be in a pretty good condition compared to the day before. It was a good idea he had gone straight home with the help of Owen after leaving the Colosseum and, after getting inside, flopped down on the bed.

Gotta change the bedsheets tonight, Jake sighed as he looked at the messy linen. He hadn’t felt like cleaning himself the day before, which could definitely be seen on the bedsheets that had been white once upon a time.

Forcing himself to stand, Jake knew lying in bed wouldn’t help much anymore. The soreness would go away with time, and actually moving about should help get some of the stiffness out. Still feeling pretty dirty from the day before, he headed straight into the bathroom with a big basin of water to clean himself. Jake would have preferred a proper shower, but sometimes you just had to take what you could get.

Before putting on some of the new clothes that Polly had helped get him, he began doing some stretches in the living room to get some of his mobility back. After that, he sat down and meditated, focusing on healing but also trying to grasp the opportunity to feel the effects of the odd recovery potion he had consumed. This was his first time drinking one of those, and not taking every opportunity would be a waste of time.

Besides, what better things could he do? It was the middle of the night, and the Colosseum had yet to open. Plus, he had agreed that Owen would stop by the next morning before he headed to the Colosseum to check if Jake had died in his sleep. At least that was how the spearman-that-totally-wasn’t-some-lightning mage-prodigy phrased it.

Hours passed, and soon enough, there was a knock at his door. After putting on some pants, Jake opened the door to see both Owen and Polly standing there. Polly stared for a moment before turning her head away while Owen sighed.

”Could you put on a shirt?”

”You guys watched me fight shirtless yesterday and even carried my shirtless ass back here afterward,” Jake very accurately pointed out.

”Yeah, but this is different, so put one on,” Owen shook his head.

Jake didn’t get it but went and put on a shirt. Pulling it over his head did kind of hurt, but it wasn’t as bad as it was even when he woke up. He still hoped to do a match that day, as he could do his very first Veteran Gladiator match right off the bat. Chances are that would be fine, though he would have to wait until later in the day before signing up.

Which was fine as his first plans of the day weren’t to get into any fights.

Because it was shopping time.

After breakfast, of course. A healthy meal was a vital part of the healing process, after all.

Walking to the Colosseum after eating, Owen really couldn’t hold himself back as he teased Jake.

”So, you’re actually determined to get some proper equipment this time around?” Owen asked with a bit of a cheeky smile. ”I guess it just took some old monk giving you a few good punches to knock some sense into you. And before you say anything, Polly, I can make fun of Jake now because he can at least walk straight now, while I would have felt bad if I did it yesterday.”

”Still a bit mean…” Polly muttered.

”Yeah, Owen. Stop being such a bully,” Jake agreed wholeheartedly.

”Apologies, I didn’t realize I hurt your fragile feelings,” Owen kept teasing.

”It’s fine. I guess I was just a little shocked that you, of all people, would do that. It came like a lightning bolt from a clear sky, but I guess the experience was just too electrifying to pass for you,” Jake said in a tone that may or may not be interpreted as threatening based on who heard it.

Owen threw him a glance as he slowed down walking, Jake feeling pretty pleased with himself. He still didn’t know why the guy was being so secretive about it all. Polly was also confused, as she didn’t seem to get it… until it looked like she did.

”Why did you say it like that?” Polly questioned. ”Does Owen or someone he knows have the lightning affinity or something?”

Jake froze momentarily, Owen now glaring daggers.

”Eh, it’s just a very common saying where I come from; it has nothing to do with Owen,” Jake tried to explain it away.

It clearly didn’t work… but Polly seemed to understand it was a touchy subject and didn’t ask more. Luckily, things didn’t have more time to get awkward, as they soon reached the Colosseum that had just opened for the day. As always, it was buzzing with activity, though the number of people that came and went seriously didn’t correspond to the number of people in the audience. Not even close.

Making it to the shopping district, Jake didn’t hesitate as he went straight to where one could spend their points.

During the morning, Jake had considered a lot about what he wanted to buy, and in the end, he had settled on… everything.

minute, all that would mean was that he had more time to practice, and if he did happen to

spending more than an hour putting together a list of purchases while sticking to his budget, all with the help of Polly. When they were done, Jake nodded with satisfaction as he began the shopping spree.

This katar is made of a metal called Aersteel, making it incredibly light yet equally durable. The design of the weapon is simple and, due to the

Veteran Gladiator Colosseum

Cost: 5000 Colosseum Points.

use these weapons for a long time, and they truly fit what he wanted. Plus, he had more ideas for them later on… and if those ideas didn’t pan out, he

was a pair

gloves created to allow the user to block some blows directly with their hands. If one infuses mana into these gloves, they

Cost: 1000 Colosseum Points.

really exciting here; they just reminded him a bit of the gloves he used in C-grade. Jake liked the ability to make his gloves far more durable when

items that gave stats. Potentially the most important part of this whole gear acquisition

stats from equipment was that you could only get a 20% increase in any individual stat, with the total combined bonus from all items

one could only gain 20% to each individual stat and the fact that the system didn’t do

Stats

Strength: 16

Agility: 18

Endurance: 16

Vitality: 17

Toughness: 16

Wisdom: 17

Intelligence: 16

Perception: 20

Willpower: 16

outlier being his Perception, where he could get 4. That added up to a total of 28 potential stats Jake could get from equipment. With only 22 to actually

All of those were essential, too,

Jake had made the very controversial decision he would only get +2 to Perception and only +1 for Toughness and Vitality. He had considered just not getting anything in Toughness and

it would still be his highest even if he didn’t get equipment for it… but he also recognized that he didn’t have most of the things that made the stat so good. He didn’t get the scaling

sense energy and such, and the better you

40,000 Perception despite being nerfed to only 20. This was probably the system’s way of not instantly killing people with Bloodlines like him, as if the system hadn’t done this, Jake could have potentially appeared in the Challenge Dungeon with his sphere several hundred meters in diameter, resulting

logical one in the moment. Ah, but if there had been elixirs giving Perception, Jake may have totally taken them, as he could at least have justified that by saying he had the biggest percentage bonus to Perception out of all his stats. Alas, elixirs were not a thing in

for stats from equipment… and an excellent foundation to get him to the stat cap was quite an interesting

- A ring rumored to be of elven origin. Enchantments:

Veteran Gladiator Colosseum

Cost: 8000 Colosseum Points.

did also wonder why it even needed to be insured. The ring would merge with his body when he put it on, and even if it didn’t, it looked pretty damn durable, to

having this ring gave 9 stats total, and with his boots, he only needed 12 more overall. Something his next two pieces of equipment helped

leather vestment made by a skilled craftsman. This armor is very durable and especially resistant to slashing attacks. Due to the

Soulbound. Gladiator

Cost: 2000 Colosseum Points.

resistant to slashing attacks.

Gladiator

Cost: 2000 Colosseum Points.

real equipment. The designs of the two pieces of armor were simple and straightforward, with no decorations or

go, 2 of which came from the next thing he had

– Durable leather bracers created to better allow the wearer to deflect attacks and counter. Enhances the user’s Perception to allow them to better see the incoming attacks and the power of their physical counterattacks. Enchantments: Insured. +1 Strength,

Soulbound. Gladiator Colosseum

Cost: 1000 Colosseum Points.

overly much to do with the fact that they gave Perception and Strength. Then again, it could also be because of the design, as both bracers were created to deflect blades rather than block them.

Jake had wanted to go all-out with what he bought, which didn’t really seem to match him buying so many rare pieces of equipment. The reason he hadn’t bought better was pretty simple… he couldn’t afford to due to the next

enlightenment. The material of the necklace itself is unknown. Grants inspiration from the monk’s attempt at receiving enlightenment to the user, allowing them to better analyze the movements of their