The Primal Hunter

Jake closely read the system message regarding the Challenge Dungeon, and outside of the thought that he really hoped he could level up in there, he had a few more opinions. However, overall, it wasn’t that bad.

Firstly, it was actually pretty straightforward, if still incredibly broad. Sure, there was some confusion about how exactly these evaluations would work, but compared to that horrible hellhole of confusion known as the Test of Character Challenge Dungeon, you had something truly unique in this one:

People you could actually ask about stuff. From the vibe Jake got, it was even possible these attendants would be helpful and not just be like Minaga, who commented on stuff happening while providing nothing of substance more often than not.

Anyway, even without Jake asking anyone, it was obvious you were meant to make stuff in this dungeon. He would have to ask about more details, but he got the gist of it.

In some ways, the Challenge Dungeon reminded him a bit of Minaga’s City Floor. There, one also had to do things to earn points, though here, you would use these Merit Points to buy stuff you needed in your creative endeavors.

Jake also knew that the system had limited his access to his inventory, but when he tried to open the spatial storage, he was fully able to. What’s more, he would even take out things like his weapons and other tools, such as his cauldrons. However, when he tried to take out some of the stored ingredients, he found himself unable to do so.

Alright, so you have to buy the raw materials, Jake quickly understood. It was probably for the best, though. It was the same thought as Minaga’s City Floor again, where if rules were not in place, someone could just bring in expensive shit from the outside and breeze through.

However, like Minaga’s City Floor, Jake also instantly got worried about one thing.

Ell’Hakan is going to get a free ride in this dungeon, Jake quickly concluded. Of course, he couldn’t be entirely certain yet, as he had literally just arrived and was still unclear about many things, but he could totally see this being the case.

Not that Jake would let that bring him down. He was pretty skilled at creating stuff himself. Especially unique stuff, which the Architect valued higher than regular goods.

Concluding his initial thoughts, Jake turned his attention toward the actual building he found himself in. As mentioned before, it was a huge atrium-like construction with a sunroof far above. Hundreds of stories ascended upwards from the floor, with the middle of the hall filled with different exhibits. Glass boxes with odd items inside, entire skeletons of weird creatures, and even a few things straight out of some sci-fi could be found if one looked around. Floating up throughout the atrium were also several skeletons of flying creatures and even a spaceship-looking thing.

Through his sphere, he also saw how paintings hung on most walls, and looking to the side, he saw one of them depicting a landscape that seemed to be in constant flux. The painting itself warped with every second, going from filled with light to entirely dark in the very next moment. He also saw that the first to the seventh floor of the atrium was a large circular library that went the entire way around the round building.

Below him was a cellar that also seemed to extend downward for many kilometers. Down there, Jake wasn’t quite sure what he saw. Several rooms were filled with what looked like prisoners of all kinds of races, cages with beasts, and even areas filled with water or elements that housed creatures or just plants and other odd baubles. Jake was a bit confused, considering that beings with True Souls could not be submitted as Creations, but it was entirely possible that not all these things were collectibles. It was also entirely possible some of them were for the creators to “make use of” when they worked on their Creations.

All in all, it looked like the home of some mad collector who just liked shiny, weird, and sometimes highly disturbing things. The building was also utterly massive, and that was without taking into account the fact that many of the rooms and floors were spatially expanded based on how things warped when Jake observed with his sphere.

When it came to other living beings who weren’t trapped in cages, Jake saw quite a few mull around. However, they all stayed off to the sides, all wearing the same white robes with an insignia on the chest. It wasn’t hard to figure out these were the attendants mentioned in the system message.

Jake decided that he would go ask one of the attendants first thing to clarify some things so as to not waste too much time… which was also when he noticed something else about this Challenge Dungeon.

No time limit.

deadlines to submit anything. At least nothing of the sort was mentioned yet. Nevertheless, Jake saw no reason to dally as he walked toward one of the many attendants who stood off to the side of the atrium, currently working on polishing a statue

asked as he went over. “Are

he treated the attendant as if they were the

some kind of dragonkin, quickly turned toward him and

clarifying questions regarding this place. Mostly on how the

nodded. “What do you wish

with the first question on his mind. “Am I able to submit items I created outside of here for evaluation? Say, if

attendant said as she shook her house. “As the Architect often says, what truly matters isn’t only the final Creation but the method by which it was created.

I make alterations to a current Creations and submit that? Would that

Architect cares much for the journey, and having missed part

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if Jake had to be honest. He would have loved to show off Eternal Hunger and even Eternal Shadow of the Primal Hunter, as you could submit even skills as creations. Oh, and also Moment of the Primal Hunter… but maybe that was

it mean?” Jake question. “Let’s say I submit two bottles, where one is a

comes in two forms. One is the Creation itself, and the other is the method by which it was created. To truly achieve great diversity in Creations provided, there should be a difference in both of these aspects, but either will count and be looked favorably upon. In your example, both the poison and potion have many similarities in their crafting process, but the Creations themselves do vary somewhat. Overall, I believe the Architect would view there to be acceptable, if still a bit low, diversity between such two Creations. I also have to point out that the Architect appreciates improvements as part of the journey, so simply making Creations you are fully familiar with will not gain bonus points for improvement to your crafting process during the final evaluation, but do not let it push you too far away from making what you are comfortable with. The quality of the final Creation and the complexity and skill required for the crafting process is

and while making entirely new stuff he wasn’t familiar with would give him some bonus points for improving, he ultimately decided it was best to at least stick with things he was familiar with for the most part. Deciding that now was a

a powerful poison? Both use alchemy, but different schools of alchemy?” Jake tried to probe

than concocting poisons and brewing potions. However, I cannot comment on a specific case without knowing all the details. Also, I would warn that the nature of what is transmuted shall matter much. If you transmute something crafted by others, their Records will also be part of the final Creation, worsening your evaluation. Of course, this can be made up

fresh air to have a Challenge Dungeon that didn’t purposefully try to obscure information. Jake did have some more questions, but for now, he decided to ask

keep any Creations I

is not for me to answer. Only the Architect can decide such things,” the attendant shook her head. “But the intangible Creations can never be taken away from you. No skill can be taken, no enlightenment can be

Jake was already pretty damn sure the system would not outright take a skill from him, much less wipe his memory of the Challenge Dungeon and what he

get experience in the Challenge Dungeon, he would be golden. He

experience points here?” Jake asked as he grabbed back the attention of the attendant, who was turning away

attendant answered.

I can level

level up your creative process

Minaga’s Labyrinth, even if he did kill a few gatekeepers. Not that many, mind you, but it never said he got any experience when they died. Sure, that could have been because they were just summons bound to the barriers and that this

decided to do something he rarely did as he sat down and began to formulate a plan for the Challenge Dungeon. He couldn’t just rush through this and do everything purely

The first of which was naturally the requirement for there to be diversity. The second one was the complexity and difficulty of the crafting process. Finally was the quality – likely expressed through rarity – of the

of a lot, especially if you shouldn’t submit similar things. Unsure exactly what he planned to do, Jake sat down and decided to write out a list of ten things he could

paper, he sighed as he read over the options he had impromptu

poison, mixed with soul-based poison and plenty of