The Primal Hunter

Jake was smart enough to know when he was outmatched, and despite all his boosts and the many injuries he had inflicted on Valdemar, he was still at a major disadvantage. The only reason he even had a shot was because of Valdemar’s fighting style being so damn straightforward and Jake having had nine whole lives to learn how to fight him. He could take Valdemar by surprise, a luxury Valdemar did not have.

Not to say there was much to learn about Valdemar’s defensive style. Shit, the man only ever blocked and deflected attacks. Never once did he try to dodge or tactically retreat. He was an unstoppable force that just kept barreling at you until you crumbled, and he would rather take a stab in the stomach and hit you in the face than sidestep an attack. He truly was a ridiculous opponent.

Yet, despite being fully aware of this uphill battle, Jake refused to back down as he charged at the Primordial, who was still recovering from the two arcane spikes pinning him down. He had already ripped out the one in his thigh and had just ripped out the one in his stomach when Jake got close enough to use his katars.

He had wanted to explode the arcane mana spikes, but Valdemar’s fighting energy had messed with his ability to do so, but at least they seemed to have done some serious damage to the man. In fact, Jake was pretty sure that Valdemar would be dead by now if not for his superhuman physique and fighting aura… but then again, without Jake’s superhuman traits, he would also have long died to his injuries.

Jake’s first attack on Valdemar was a straightforward stab toward his heart, one his opponent naturally easily blocked. From there, Jake unleashed a flurry of stabs and cuts as Valdemar stood his ground, seemingly recovering slightly with every passing second. Jake could only hope that wasn’t truly the case as he didn’t let up his assault, landing wound after wound on the man’s body.

Sadly for him, even if Valdemar wasn’t technically recovering, he did grow stronger, and his wounds did begin to bother him less and less. The thigh that couldn’t turn became more flexible, and the large bleeding hole straight through his guts didn’t even bleed anymore but instead looked like a glowing golden sun in the pit of his stomach.

With every second, Valdemar slowly regained the advantage and began to push Jake back. Growing more and more reckless, Jake desperately tried to land something – anything – that could turn the tides, but during this period, Valdemar had been nearly entirely defensive, never allowing Jake to land any potentially lethal hits. To make matters worse, his time was rapidly running out.

Eventually, Jake decided to allow himself to be forced away as he was pushed back. He flew through the air a bit before landing close to where his quiver had dropped before. Picking up an arrow, Jake took out his bow and quickly shot one, only to see it be reflected easily.

He considered picking up another arrow, but he knew it wouldn’t work as he looked at the Primordial slowly walking toward him, the thigh at least still bothering him. Wracking his brain, Jake tried to find some way to fight back, but he was out of tricks.

No… there is that…

Jake was speaking of an ability he had already written off as useless before but was now willing to reconsider. It was the one truly “new” thing Jake had learned in the Challenge Dungeon: his Fear Gaze. Instinctively, Jake knew that against Valdemar, it would likely have no positive effect. Fear Gaze was effectively a clash of souls, and with Valdemar being Valdemar, there was a high chance that Jake would take far more damage than the Primordial would receive. Especially considering Valdemar still had all his memories, making it an even more perilous strategy.

But, in this final life, Jake wanted to try everything. No, he had to try everything. He was out of cards and was now willing to foolishly gamble on such a high-risk attack. But… hey, what did he have to lose? Worst case scenario, he would die, and based on how Challenge Dungeons worked, the system would heal him right up in the process of tossing him out. At least he hoped it would also fix mental and soul damage.

With determination, Jake rose once more. He was wobbly on his feet, the muscles throughout his body entirely shredded already by his own arcane energy. He was purely sustained on energy by now, like a terminal patient on life support. The moment he ran out of energy, he would die, and even if he somehow gained infinite energy, his body had an expiration date that was rapidly approaching.

One last shot.

hint of tiredness in his own gaze, but compared to Jake, who was dealing with intense exhaustion, there was no comparison.

Primordial. He wasn’t

did something supremely risky. To make up for the height difference, Jake jumped as he yelled loudly, seemingly aiming

two from shoulder to groin before he would accomplish anything. The longer weapon

man quickly reacted as he moved his free left hand to simply catch the spear-like tip of the bow. Jake’s odd move had clearly confused the Primordial due to its

fear or hesitation as Jake lay his soul bare and used Fear Gaze. Every shred of desperation, hope, and pure determination was poured into it as a clash of souls occurred. On one end, an indomitable hunter,

moving, and even his golden aura temporarily stopped its ever-flowing movement. It was so brief that only a few of

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of hitting something, a wave of golden energy exploded out of Valdemar as the axe swinging for Jake also let out

to jump back as he had instinctively released this golden wave but stumbled as he leaned back too fast, ending up falling on the sand. As he tumbled awkwardly, drops of blood flew into the air before the

he saw the now one-eyed Valdemar staring back at him with astonishment as he only now seemed to realize what had just happened. This had been Jake’s final gamble, and despite having failed… well, at least this felt like a bit

said it would be his last attack, and based on how he felt

for a few seconds before he smiled and stood up. “Ya

him in standing. He simply wasn’t able to

it fear, but it was pretty damn close. Close enough

favoritism here even if you are a fellow human!” Valdemar said with a bit of a belly laugh as he spread out his hands. “So there you have it. You’ve earned my recognition and

as he faintly heard the sound of a notification…

Valdemar that only a second had looked a single step away from death, suddenly acting like he was barely injured. And it wasn’t just an illusion either, as the golden luster surrounding his body only grew

even more than before as he was practically burning with power as he stood there, but in contrast to Jake’s destructive arcane energy, Valdemar’s fighting aura didn’t have any negative

so let me give you a final honorable moment with a proper sendoff. A proper final attack to end our duel!” Valdemar smiled as he lifted his axe and gripped it with both hands. A storm of golden fighting aura hit the

back at him. Every single wound was like a broken vase fixed with gold, once broken, now made whole again. With time… likely only a day or something,

warrior! So farewell, and may we meet again!” Valdemar said, with a tone

long descended toward him. Jake had to admit that Valdemar was simply a monster, and his Transcending skill was just straight-up cheating. Even

broken body and empty resource pools, Jake simply looked up at the giant axe descending