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.

nothing of the sort was mentioned yet. Nevertheless, Jake saw no reason to dally as he walked toward one of the many

as he went over.

it, he treated the attendant as if they

some kind of dragonkin, quickly turned toward him and smiled. “Of course. What can I help you

could answer some clarifying questions regarding this place. Mostly on how the Architect will evaluate my creations,”

nodded. “What do you wish

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

matters isn’t only the final Creation but the method by which it was created. Every Creation is a journey that is documented by the building, and

see,” Jake nodded. “What if I make alterations to a

the full Creation,” the attendant clarified. “The Architect cares much for the journey, and having missed part of it will

content has been appropriated; report any instances

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

are penalized, what exactly does it mean?” Jake question. “Let’s say I submit two bottles, where one is a mana potion, and the other is a poison that destroys mana. Will

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 still imperative to the

to at least stick with things he was familiar with for the most part. Deciding that now was a great time to become a super plant cultivator was definitely not the play. But he still had some questions about the diversity

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

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 for with a wonderfully executed transmutation, and considering a better-crafted product by another will lead to a better final

and once more, the answer was quite informative. It was definitely a breath of fresh air to have a Challenge Dungeon that didn’t purposefully try to obscure information. Jake did have some more questions, but

question. Will I get to keep any Creations I make when I leave

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

a non-answer. 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

get experience in the Challenge Dungeon, he

here?” Jake asked as he grabbed back the

answered. Jake got

can

process and abilities as a

living hell did these Challenge Dungeons not give any experience? He also hadn’t gained a single level in Minaga’s Labyrinth, even if he did kill a few gatekeepers. Not that many, mind

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 based on his instincts this time around, but he had to actually use

The first of which was naturally the requirement for there to be diversity. The second one was the complexity and difficulty of

Jake sat down and decided to write out a list of ten things he could make. However, he quickly ran into some problems as he tried to keep things relatively diverse, ending

paper, he sighed as he read over the options

and plenty of