The Primal Hunter

Jake definitely felt like he had unlocked some secret quest chain or something. Delivering to a B-grade through a Special Courier Job this early on was already a pretty big achievement, but now even an A-grade had appeared before him. Plus, because Jake did know a bit about the world he found himself in, he understood how important someone like a Duke was.

The specific country Jake found himself in had only three total dukes and one king. All the dukes and the king were A-grade, with the strongest fighting force of the entire kingdom being part of the duke factions or directly under the king. This is to say, someone with the Duke title was pretty much at the top of the Challenge Dungeon world both in power and influence.

There were also some S-grades out there, but they were few and far between. Some were hidden Lord Protectors, some were like the Founder of the Guild and did their own stuff, while others were in isolation or had left the world for the stars, with no one knowing where they were.

However, despite all this, there was still one tiny problem with the Duke showing up.

”It is a pleasure to meet you,” Jake said with a nod. ”But I still have to make my delivery first… and despite you being his father and the true client, my job doesn’t specify any of that. Would it be possible for you to give us a moment alone? I am certain we can discuss after.”

The Duke seemed taken aback as he looked Jake up and down for a few moments. The Baron also stared daggers at Jake, and looked like he wanted to blow up the magic circle beneath Jake any second. There was definitely tension rising until the Duke let out a slight chuckle that turned into a full-on laugh.

”Good! Even before me, you refuse to compromise in the slightest! Very good! I shall do as asked and give you a moment. My son here will signal me when we can return to the true discussion at hand,” the Duke said as the flaming figure faded away, and a second later, Jake confirmed he was no longer peeking, actually sticking to his word.

”You are lucky you weren’t reduced to a mere pile of ash,” the Baron said with a scoff. ”To dare show such disrespect toward the Duke…”

”I showed no disrespect, merely the professionalism I was hired to display,” Jake said in an as professional voice as he could. ”Now that it is just the two of us, let us confirm the delivery.”

Waving his hand, Jake took out Eternal Hunger. ”Let me just retrieve it right quick.”

Considering Jake had eaten the item, he also needed a way to get it out again. While forcing himself to throw it up was certainly one possibility, he felt like it was a bit too nasty to show in front of a client. Stabbing himself in the stomach and pulling out the Sealed Elemental direct was definitely more polite, right?

The Infernal Baron looked on as Jake gutted himself, frowning a bit when Jake pulled out the orb. Jake assumed he was just nervous that the item had been ruined, which was almost offensive. He was no amateur Courier who would ruin the delivery in such a reckless manner. Shit, Jake even made sure not to spill a single drop of blood on the Baron’s floor but kept it all inside, and what little did drop out was burned away with destructive arcane mana before it ever reached the ground.

With the item successfully extracted, Jake quickly removed the stable layer of arcane mana around the Sealed Elemental and used Identify on it just for good measure… because the result definitely took him by surprise.

[Sealed Elemental (Unique)] – A sealed elemental of the fire affinity can be found within. Due to the shoddy work of the ones who sealed it, this item is slowly deteriorating and will reach critical failure in less than a week (6 days). Any attempt to interfere with this item may result in the seal breaking prematurely.

seven days in total. However, despite around three and a half days passing, it said the seal would still last another six days. Jake suppressed

back in the Order? he considered after a bit, and the more he thought

passed, just turning into inert objects worth less than the raw materials it was made up of. It would take a long time, with equipment pretty much always outlasting the lifespan of whoever originally wore it, but it was inevitable. With maintenance, an item could be kept active for an even longer period, if not nearly indefinitely, by effectively replacing the enchantments with new identical ones, using the same framework set by the original creator. If

or complicated to maintain. In the case of the Nalkar vampires, they didn’t want to re-enchant anything, as that would effectively destroy the original items as it was, while other items simply couldn’t be maintained. This mainly happens with items of legendary rarity or above. Finding someone capable of re-enchanting these items was often borderline-impossible due to the Records in the item and the difficulty of finding a crafter with a similar enough Path. Luckily, they would last a

possible, each creating a beneficial environment for every individual item, but for some, all they could do was isolate it from all outside influences… which was

breaking down primarily due to system-fuckery, but seeing it work was a pleasant surprise nonetheless. He knew that even

hand, and the ping-pong ball-sized item flew toward the B-grade. Once he had the item in his hand, he made a small hand motion as sparks flew, and a big smile appeared

said, looking incredibly pleased. “And now that I have the item, I presume you have no more complaints if

job here is

his fingers, a faint pulse of mana was released, and less than a second later, the flaming figure

this story is not meant to be

said as he held up

as he turned his attention back to Jake. “Now for you, Courier. I remember you

the Duke of Flames had said about Jake being what they had been looking for, he was pretty damn sure this was the start of a major quest chain, and withholding information could

Silent scalekin mage, and the subsequent appearance of the shadowy figure that used – or had someone use – karmic magic to kill

Duke of Flames said after Jake was done talking. With a serious gaze, he looked directly at Jake. “Let me ask you first, Courier… are you willing to

and quickly nodded. “If the job is worthwhile doing, I see no reason to reject it. Of course, I will need to know

Jake again, clearly not happy he would even insinuate he wouldn’t downright agree with anything his father wanted. The man in question, on

a smile. “Do not worry. Everything I will ever ask you

case, I will temporarily agree,” Jake

felt a big lore dump and quest description incoming. “The elemental you have just brought us is not for me or my son, but my daughter. Our Legacy revolves around consuming elementals to progress and refine the powers of our flames, and the more powerful and higher-tiered the variant of the elemental, the better. Many do not agree with this Path, some of which you encountered on your way

along. He did know such things existed, and there were even quite a few alchemists who consumed numerous Soulflames. Actually, wasn’t Jake a bit

just a minor nuisance, creating some ultimately inconsequential challenges, but in the recent decade, they have grown in power at a frightening speed. Especially the last year has resulted in more trouble than ever before. I believe powerful forces have gotten involved, but I cannot prove anything or have uncovered any evidence… I need someone like you to help me with just that,” the Duke of Flames explained,

would need a C-grade Courier that badly. Are there not more powerful and skilled people available already working under you?”

of inability to assist, as does all those officially part of the dukedom. While I do have some hidden cards, their affiliation with this kingdom is impossible to hide. You, however, I have looked into. You are related to no one and nowhere. A clean slate that even my best spymaster