The Primal Hunter

Jake felt like perhaps this would be the first ”real” job. It gave him a different feeling compared to all the ones he had done prior, and after accepting it, he was more sure than ever these Special Courier Jobs were a bit like those special fights in the Colosseum. In more ways than one.

Based on the words of the Guild attendant, Jake suspected that all of these Special Courier Jobs were linked. A part of a longer quest chain of sorts. He believed he had only been offered this job because he had made the run with that Space Locator, and it was even probable his speed at having done so factored in. In fact, Jake wouldn’t be surprised at all if these jobs changed based on how a person performed beforehand, and Jake would have gotten an entirely different – or maybe just slightly easier – job if he hadn’t been as fast as he was.

If all of this was true, it made sense the difficulty had a big spike with this job where he even had to potentially interact with a B-grade. Of course, Jake didn’t believe for a single second he would have to fight one, as that would just be insanity, but he could see himself being thrown into a situation where he had to not make the wrong dialogue choice.

Returning to the job at hand, Jake found himself standing outside the Guild, four sets of eyes on him. That in itself wasn’t out of the ordinary, but the fact two of them followed him even after he walked away from the Guild proved they weren’t just the usual observers who kept track of all the adventurers and Couriers coming and going.

Not wanting to have a few tails, Jake sped up and quickly weaved in between the many buildings and streets. Within only a few minutes, he felt that no one was keeping track of him anymore, making him duck into the upper floor of a house with an open window no one was currently in. Yes, this was most definitely trespassing, but if someone broke into your house and trespassed, but you never noticed anyone had ever been there, did it really happen?

Inside the house, Jake started out by making his mask visible, hiding his face. So far, he hadn’t worn it a single time throughout the entire Challenge Dungeon. It tended to have a negative effect when making conversation, so he had purposefully gone without. However, things were a bit different now, and he was totally fine with coming off as intimidating as he doubted anyone who would want to talk to him during this trip did so with kind intentions.

Next up, he changed it so Shroud of the Primordial once more hid his level and didn’t just tell everyone he was 211. As a final touch, he infused a bit of mana into his cloak, making the shadowy thing almost seem alive as it began to ripple a bit, like a flickering shadow. He also considered using his stealth skill but decided against it. It may sound weird, but he wanted people to know he was leaving.

With all his preparations done, Jake checked himself over and confirmed everything was as it should be.

Definitely looking a lot less approachable now, he thought happily as he exited the house he had trespassed into once more, making sure to remove any traces he had ever been there.

Checking the compass on the Medallion, Jake saw the direction to the mid-sized city and got going. He wasn’t going to relax at all with this job as he, quite frankly, didn’t have the leeway to do so. When he was checking out the library, he also studied the local geography and memorized a few maps, which made him know the distance to the mid-sized city was a bit over twice what he traveled to the small-sized one. With the first trip taking him one and a half days, this one would take at least three.

This was another reason Jake felt confident this Special Courier Job was the first mission with some real difficulty because he seriously doubted someone like the Fallen King could even make the trip within the required seven days. He simply wasn’t fast enough. The Sword Saint would also struggle, but Jake believed he would be able to make it quite comfortable if he wasn’t disturbed too much on the way, while whether Dina could do it or not was a total toss-up. Sylphie would naturally be able to easily, being the fast little bird she was… assuming she didn’t get scammed by someone.

Flying through the air, Jake quickly exited the city limits, feeling a few new curious eyes on him during the flight. Those who were just curious about the hooded figure flying around weren’t what bothered him, as gawking was a pretty normal reacting, but a few lingered for a bit too long. He even felt that two skills reminiscent of his own Hunter’s Mark were attempted to be placed on him, but Jake rebuffed both. One of them tried again, but Jake once more defended as he sped up and seemingly got out of range.

job thus far. Far behind him, using his Pulse, he even saw the two who had tried to mark

confirms it… this flight is gonna have

it, Jake confirmed what the Guild attendant had said. He had no way to extend the duration of the seal. In fact, the entire structure of it was almost as if it was made to collapse. If it was on purpose or not, Jake didn’t know, but he wouldn’t rule it out… though the ones he suspected of being behind this

of accidentally getting hit. Using his arcane mana, he covered it on a thin

affinity energy he had gotten as a present from the Risen during his Chosen Ceremony. It had been in there ever since the stomach healed from the whole Dark Witch debacle and had been a great help when making all his necrotic poison. He still didn’t feel confident working with the root, but there was definitely much

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magic capable of specifically searching for it, and if someone was nearby, they would always have a way harder time sensing it. There was also just that it made

Elemental in his stomach, Jake continued his journey as he summoned his wings and used One Step in between wing flaps. This was his fastest method of movement and allowed him to truly build up momentum as he

stop there as he doubted its placement right in the path to the mid-sized city was an accident but decided against it. Besides, as he got closer, he got the feeling he

them. He wasn’t sure what they had

large beard wearing full, heavy armor flew slightly forward to greet him. Using Identify, he saw the man wasn’t

[Human – lvl 249]

hundred meters distance between them. ”Real sorry to bother you, but we have had reports that smugglers carrying illegal substances have recently been through this area and have been tasked with putting a stop to it. Due to the crackdown, they have even begun to use Couriers… you wouldn’t happen to be a Courier recently out of Hillspring

Damn, that sucks. Luckily for me, I am not carrying any drugs, so no reason to bother me,” Jake said with a smile as he felt the use of a skill on him. It didn’t work, but Jake recognized it as similar to the one Silas from Neil’s party had that was capable of

have missed me asking… but I need to confirm if you are a Courier or not,” the

a crucial moment where one could attempt trickery… but Jake didn’t feel the need to. ”Yep, Courier

likely expected some kind of information from the person detecting lies, but even if he didn’t get told anything, he didn’t miss a beat. ”Is that so? I am really sorry to bother you, but were you tasked by the Guild to deliver an item to the Infernal Baron? That is the cover currently used by the smugglers to trick Couriers, and the Baron himself isn’t involved at all. They are even sophisticated enough to change item descriptions and make the delivery

”Shit, really? I am transporting something to

with your delivery! The Baron would have had your head, even if you are a Courier! Tell you what, I do know this seems fishy, but let me share

exactly what I was asked

as the Special Courier Job required the cargo to not be discovered… but Jake felt very confident discovery wasn’t just them knowing he had cargo for the Baron or even what it was. They clearly already knew. No, it was to ensure no one could Identify exactly what he was transporting. Shit, he even felt confident that should someone discover it and die before they could report it to anyone, he still wouldn’t fail the job. In conclusion… it was probably only these ”enemies” of