The Primal Hunter

”So, you’re not angry I had one of your employees act like a test dummy for several weeks? Imagine how many perfectly pristine statues he could have looked like he was cleaning during that time!” Jake joked as he stood in front of the Bound God after having presented his second Creation.

“Calling them my employees is not entirely accurate, now is it? They are merely summoned creatures, created to serve a simple function and give ambiance to the House of the Architect,” the Architect answered as she was already done putting away Jake’s poison.

“Can I, you know, get a little hint of how good this Creation was? I know it isn’t as unique as the first one, but just a tiny bit of direction would be great,” Jake said with a smile.

“No,” the Architect outright denied him. “Now, be on your way before you try to glean any more information than you should.”

“No thoughts on any of my current projects? Anything to say regarding my little student? He’s an interesting lad, don’t you thi-“

Jake still had his mouth open when he appeared standing in front of the entrance to the Architect’s room, the door shut. He stood there for a moment before shaking his head. The Bound God was really stingy when it came to giving out tips or even allowing Jake to be in her presence. It sucked a bit, as Jake would have loved to have “gleaned some things he shouldn’t,” as she said.

Returning back to the alchemy lab, Jake wondered what his next project should be. He had worked on poisons for a good while now and considered if he should go in an entirely different direction. Referring back to his list, Jake put on his thinking cap.

He considered looking into making an elixir or perhaps a ritual. He also had the skill improvements to think about… so much to do and so much time if he was fine fucking over his party members by spending several years within this Challenge Dungeon. Something Jake obviously wouldn’t do, which was part of the reason he had submitted a rare poison and not tried to make something more impressive.

Considering Temlat should also soon be back – assuming he survived – Jake went with just reading some books on something he knew he would want to craft no matter what. So, walking to the stacks of books he had left so Temlat could take what he wanted, he began to go through them. He had noticed how Temlat had brought a few books with him, but Jake didn’t really care. Jake would get them back at some point anyway, and even if his student died, he could just go retrieve them himself.

After looking through the stacks a bit, Jake finally found one that looked promising as a starter: Grimoire Creation: To Forge a Legacy.

It was a bloody huge tome that Jake picked up and began to slowly go through. Even if he had a skill that gave him some instinctive knowledge, it never hurt to also study a bit on the subject. He also saw a few more books on the subject when he picked this one up, so he definitely had plenty of reading material for a good while.

Five or so days went by before an attendant walked into the alchemy room, giving Jake a big smile on his lips. Putting the book away and getting up from the bed he had been lying in, Jake walked out of the lab and toward the portal room, where he knew a certain someone had just arrived. He had asked the attendants to inform him when someone arrived through one of the portals, and it appeared someone just had.

Entering the portal room, Jake saw a young man lying on the ground, breathing heavily. Blood colored the otherwise pristine white floor as it dropped from several wounds, both new and old. Temlat was looking bloody exhausted, and a dense air hung around him, infused with his cursed energy, and without even having to check, Jake knew the young half-elf had made quite some progress.

[Half-elf – lvl 194]

class. Ten or so class levels, it appeared, all in the span of two

beneath his mask as he walked

sat up and looked at Jake. “I

a level of defiance and indignation Jake found endearing. What’s more, Jake detected a minor hint of hatred that stemmed not just from the fact he was surrounded by the curse energy but a small grudge against Jake for having put

stood over the sitting Telmat. “Do you think this method was too harsh? Too risky? Do you despise me because you nearly died more than

enough of a response. “Articulate why you

for a while before he finally answered. “You just

am perfectly aware of that,” Jake said without arguing. “But so

left me there to die… what did you even do? How are you even teaching me? I… if I died, everything up till now would have been for nothing!” Temlat practically yelled as he gritted his teeth, clearly

Do you think anyone truly powerful hasn’t risked their life innumerable times throughout their Path? What exactly did you expect when you accepted my offer? That we would sit in a lab for a few years, and you would emerge an expert capable of fulfilling all your desires without ever having to risk your life?” Jake said in an admonishing

I died,

dead is a preferential alternative to being weak,” Jake cut him off. “You always have the choice of going back to your old life. Your former owner didn’t look like she would ever risk your life if you could even call what you had back then a life. Besides,

you spot this story on Amazon, report the

at Jake with a mixed expression on his face. Jake got the feeling he wasn’t sure what to say, taking the lead instead. He was meant to be the grown-up in this relationship, after

whatever you can to do just that. I am not interested in seeing you die, but I will expect you to take risks that could result in your death if you mess up. The key part of this being that you would need to mess up. As long as you do your best and don’t get incredibly unlucky,

are back in peak condition and feel

half-elf said as he stood up and began walking slowly back toward the alchemy lab. The hatred in his eyes had lessened, and his anger was replaced with introspection. He

be an asshole either but relied on the only person whose teaching style he did know, and the half-elf being in some pain wouldn’t hurt him in the

as progressing his curse energy. He would do this while instilling the mentality of the law of the jungle that both Jake and the Viper subscribed to, making Temlat understand that he shouldn’t just feel like he wanted to get stronger. He should feel like he had to get stronger and like it was the most important goal in life. Because without power, he would never be able to do what he wanted, and to stagnate and stop progressing was no different from lying down and

approach, but it seemed to be working out so far. Besides, if he taught like the Viper would, he would play his role as the

entered to take a look at the carnage Temlat had left behind. Appearing on the other side, Jake’s Sphere of Perception instantly spread out, making Jake frown and turn around as a figure was

single arrow sticking out of its side, wielding a halberd filled with blood. A faint curse energy could be felt from the centaur himself, but way more came from his weapon. Using Identify, Jake checked

Warlord –

the risen stone platform they were standing on, a sprawling centaur village had once been. Now, it was filled with corpses and had a dark aura hanging all over it, while the survivors mourned or were filled with hateful looks. What’s more, nearly all of the centaurs looked like they hadn’t been killed by Temlat but by each other. From the many who were cleaved cleanly in two, the Centaurian Warlord in front of him had

are you?” the centaur said in an angry voice. “Where did