The Primal Hunter

Chapter 784

Hope was such a powerful feeling, but it was very much a double-edged sword… because the disappointment and sadness when hope was squashed truly sucked.

And for Jake, things very much sucked right now. He had still held onto hope that he would be healed after leaving the Challenge Dungeon, but that had turned out not to be the case. In fact, it was nearly the opposite. Getting his C-grade status back had instead resulted in Jake feeling far fucking worse than before.

At least he had his equipment back now, so he could cover his face and head with his cloak as he stumbled through the city floor while trying to go somewhere he could sit down and relax. When he appeared outside the Challenge Dungeon, he found himself surrounded by people, and he instantly felt an assault of murky auras, while every sound reminded him of nails on a chalkboard. Not to mention the lights. The lights were the damn worst, as they all appeared either blinding or far too dark.

After stumbling into an abandoned residence in the city, Jake went inside and headed straight for the basement. If in the arena, his senses had been far too muted, now they just seemed inconsistent. Some sounds were deafening, while others were entirely silent as if the spectrum of sound he could pick up was entirely out of whack.

However… the worst of all was the smell. People stank, period. Jake himself stank, too. Everything was just horrible. So, with all that in mind, Jake decided that the best course of action would be to find a quiet little cellar to relax in as he tried to get a full understanding of what had happened.

Well, okay, he knew what had happened. Jake was currently experiencing backlash from unleashing far more power than he was capable of. He had more or less used an aspect of his Bloodline he wasn’t capable of handling, which had left damage on his soul and body alike. Damage that the system didn’t heal.

What he had to figure out was the extent of the backlash. He knew his usual senses were all off, but nothing seemed entirely gone. Even the sphere was there, and in an act of recklessness, he even released a Pulse of Perception. Let’s just say that the average Van Gogh painting was way more discernible than the utter mess Jake got back.

But it worked. Next, Jake checked something else he really hoped wasn’t messed with. Something he had a feeling still worked as it should, which was a good start. Reaching into his spatial storage, he pulled out a small metal coin and tried to flip it.

Heads.

Catching it, he saw it landed on heads. Of course, one result didn’t really say anything as he tried again.

Heads. Heads.

He continued this and did about ten more throws, predicting all of them right. He then even tried to do it with three at once and predicted all three accurately, too.

Okay, so my intuition seems fine, Jake thought with relief. If that had also been screwed, Jake wouldn’t even have been able to trust his own gut, which would be a serious problem. That it worked also meant that Jake’s feeling this backlash wasn’t permanent and would heal with time was likely true. Then again, even without his Bloodline-empowered intuition, he would likely have been able to know it. The Sword Saint at least said that he had an uncanny understanding of the backlash he suffered upon using his Transcendent skill. So, there was a good chance that even if the system didn’t help heal these kinds of injuries, it did at least allow the one suffering to understand their situation.

As for how long it would take to fully recover, Jake quite frankly had no idea. What he did know was that it wouldn’t just be a day or two. However, even just sitting there in the cellar for a bit, Jake began to slowly adapt to his messed up senses, making everything slightly less overwhelming. Fighting was still not on the table, but at least he should be able to function within a reasonable timeframe.

While sitting there and just relaxing his head, Jake felt a mental nudge. One he hadn’t felt in quite a while as he faintly smiled and allowed it.

after he accepted the divine message. “So, who’s next on your list? Eversmile? Oh, maybe Stormild! Or wait… is it me? Sorry, you

am already in Nevermore, I guess taking down the Wyrmgod would be the easiest,” Jake responded jokingly, relieved that at least telepathic messages seemed fine. Also… it felt damn good to communicate with a real person who would actually retain their memories. The Colosseum of Mortals just hadn’t been the same, even if Jake did treat all the people there as real. “Speaking of the Wyrmgod, did he allow you to cheat by

he wants me to get some clues as to what you did there in the arena, including any backlash you

sent telepathically with a

me, no worries,”the Viper assured him. “No way I would give them a free sneak peek into our conversations. You are way

enough,” Jake surrendered as a thought

they are all currently taking part in Challenge Dungeons,” Villy cut

mutter. That sucked. He kinda hoped to catch up with them or at least hear what they had been up to. That would at least have helped him burn some time while recovering. “Are they also all done

Maybe. I guess you’ll find out at some point, but for

have you tell me how any of them are doing while also giving me a scoop on the performance of some of the people I know also participating in Nevermore

you, besides just catching up with my favorite Chosen. The Wyrmgod has an offer. Answer just three relatively non-intrusive questions from him, and he will give you a tip on what Challenge Dungeon should do next, including a tip for performing well there, probably packaged as advice that somehow doesn’t directly count as cheating,” Villy proposed. “I will,

for a moment before ultimately accepting. However, he did have one concern. “Not sure how good my answers will

this story on Amazon, it's taken without

answer these questions. The Wyrmgod will know if you are lying, but if the genuine truth is that

head against the wall of

into it. First question. What you did was reliant on your Bloodline and

skills were involved, no,” Jake answered. He couldn’t exactly say it was all Bloodline, as it also used his arcane affinity as

you are currently experiencing from doing what you did in the arena includes any permanent negative

specific with its phrasing. For the Wyrmgod to ask how he judged the backlash was a good idea, as Jake could have easily answered: “I don’t know, too early

I am also unsure as to how long it will take to

onto the third and last question. Is what you did

“Yes.”

absolutely certain he could if he was once more put in a life-and-death situation where he had no other way to

minute of silence followed before

Architect, and Minaga’s Endless Labyrinth all require you to be at your best, leaving only the Test of Character one. Luckily

of Character

predictably a little vague: As individuals differ, all judgment

if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna force myself to meditate and distract

you just stay true to yourself. Now, considering I have a Primordial staring daggers at me,

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