The Primal Hunter

Considering there was only a handful of S-grades in the entire world, it didn’t take long for the people present to realize who the man Jake had arrived with was. His overwhelming aura suppressed every single one of them, his power simply at a whole other level, even compared to the peak A-grade Lord Protector.

”Ge… General…” the Lord Protector stuttered as the Founder’s form also changed. Jake already knew he had transformed his body, so it didn’t really come as a surprise when he turned into a slightly older-looking human man. It did surprise everyone else, though.

Also, Jake learned that, apparently, the Founder had been a general back in the day.

”I must admit I find myself disappointed,” the Founder spoke as no one else dared open their mouths. ”I truly, for a brief moment, believed this could be resolved without my involvement. Alas, I was proven wrong. Despite all the evidence and the testimony of a high-ranking courier with a borderline-perfect track record, your response is to do… nothing.”

”We… we will conduct a thorough investi-” the Duke of Blades tried to say but was silenced with a single glance.

”Do you think me a child? That I could not see through such an obvious attempt to suppress the truth by all parties involved?” the Founder shook his head as he looked at the Lord Protector. ”Are you also going to tell me I’m an idiot, Colonel?”

”No… no, Sir,” the formerly awe-inspiring Lord Protector said as he bowed. ”It is just as the General observed.”

”At least someone besides this Courier is capable of telling the truth,” the Founder scoffed as he turned his attention back to the king. ”You, too, lived during the war. Many of those here today did… yet you all seem to have forgotten what happened then and the aftermath. Why I made the Guild in the first place. Do I need to remind you, little king? Remind you of the oath your kingdom swore? The promise you made!?”

The king looked down, almost ashamed. By now, the tides had truly turned, and things were not looking good for the Dukes. The Duke of Flames, who had wiped the blood off his lips, clearly also noticed this as he tried to not be fully suppressed.

”Lord Founder…” the Duke of Flames began as he tried to get his bearings. ”I truly apologize for how things turned out… but… is the Guild not also breaking protocol by getting directly involved in an internal conflict of the Human Kingdom? While it is true we were partly to blame, we were also fooled by this Courier as he plotted against us all, and he was the one who initiated today’s conflict with his widespread accusations. I can admit I hired him through the Guild to use against my political foes and to get rid of the terrorist organization harassing me… but is that truly so wrong? Is that truly a crime deserving of the Guild Founder’s wrath?”

The Founder let out a loud sigh as he looked directly at the Duke of Flames.

”You just admitted to your biggest crime… how you used the Guild. In truth, I do not care for the internal conflicts of the Human Kingdom. The internal disputes of any country, for that matter. But this entire thing has been made possible by exploiting the nature and good reputation of the Guild. For years, the Dukedom of Flames has pressured the Guild into accepting Courier Jobs to hide its dirty dealings, and the other dukedoms are no different. You have viewed the Guild as nothing more than a tool for you to abuse without ever considering the consequences or when things would reach a breaking point… so let me just make it clear. That breaking point was well and truly reached today when you tried to make such an exemplary Courier into your accomplice,” the Founder said in a loud voice with an undertone of anger. Jake even saw a few of the people present shiver as a bit of bloodlust emanated from the S-grade.

Jake had to do his utmost to hold himself back from grinning. The people who had been calling him a fucking moron only minutes ago were now shivering because the Founder had shown up. He alone was strong enough to utterly suppress every single person in the room, and in truth, his actual words barely mattered. His arguments were meaningless in the grand scheme of things.

It was the same as when Jake had spoken up. It didn’t matter if everything Jake said was the truth. Before a bunch of A-grades, his words simply didn’t matter as he was only some C-grade whelp in their eyes. Perhaps this wasn’t the lesson one was meant to learn from this Challenge Dungeon, or maybe it was… but it reaffirmed something Jake already knew but had foolishly disregarded during this dungeon. Power still came first and foremost before everything else.

As the Viper had said a long time ago, if you were strong enough, your word became truth. Your interpretation of a situation became the correct one. As a Chosen, Jake was usually capable of always borrowing the influence of the Malefic Viper, and in many cases, people even believed his opinion mirrored that of the Viper, making them take him more seriously. In cases where he interacted with his peers who didn’t necessarily care about his status or had an equally high status, Jake was still considered one of the stronger people, so he could still be part of the conversation as an equal.

In this Challenge Dungeon, Jake was no equal to the Dukes he had tried to call out, and it was shown when everyone sided with the A-grades to just sweep everything under the rug. Power meant everything, which was once again shown when suddenly everything Jake had said was given a new level of legitimacy and taken far more seriously because the Founder popped up to tell them to take Jake seriously.

”I…” the Duke of Flames began, as he looked like he tried to come up with a counter-argument, only to have the Lord Protector stop him.

stupidity,” the old man scoffed as he looked at the Founder and kneeled. ”I am

to do their bidding and used the Guild Founder’s institution as if they owned it. I reneged on my responsibilities and can only be ashamed of my own incompetence and failure to do what I must. For this, I

any excuses but just took responsibility while admitting things that had

how will you take responsibility?” the

the Duke of Flames and the Duke of Blades along

Duke of Flames began to argue before the king threw him a sharp gaze and spoke even louder than

force is permitted should they

going to fight it out, but he ultimately didn’t. Jake had a feeling that should the Founder not be present, the power-hungry Duke would have escaped, leaving behind everything to save his own hide. Even if the Lord Protector was stronger than him, the Duke of

misappropriated; report

had been lifted from the king and Lord

with a bunch of other nobles. All of them already had pretty bleak facial expressions, and when the Founder proclaimed he would stay in the kingdom for

was pretty much the only person present who hadn’t bowed or full-on kneeled at some point, nor carried an unmistakable sense of reverence for one of only five known S-grades. Jake hadn’t needed to

Perhaps it was possible, especially seeing as the Lord Protector wasn’t happy with the status quo… but Jake sure as hell had no idea how to make it happen. Alas, it didn’t matter because Jake had managed to make a good impression on

as everyone looked at them. ”Without you, this would have been much more difficult, and your actions helped uncover the depths of this corruption. You truly

for trusting me with this job,” Jake bowed as he kept up his persona

laughed as he patted Jake

the story. He had met the Guild Founder himself and worked with him, upended the political landscape in one of the countries, and even had an A-grade killed and several imprisoned. However… for some reason, Jake didn’t feel like this was the end, and a feeling of dread began to worm its way

Courier Job flawlessly, and I must thank you once more, but I also know you must be eager to continue following your calling. I am certain many others out there need such an exemplary Courier… and who

be

Courier Job

Jobs available, even for someone of your skill, and as I work to restore order and remove corruption, I may even need the help of a

he smiled. ”As long as there is a Courier Job worth doing,

a bit longer, but you are free to do whatever you wish,” the

straight to the Guild then… work awaits,” Jake said respectfully as he gave the Founder a small bow and left the royal palace. On the surface, he was smiling, while on the inside, he was cursing loudly. He just thought, for the briefest of moments, he had ”beaten” the Challenge Dungeon in less than a year, but it turns out he had just finished one of the

it, and at some point, you’ll run out

out somehow… or maybe it’s that weird instinct or intuition or whatever that helped him along. Who knows? For my own sanity, I will just call it

saying much, actually spoke for once. ”Luck

tongue. He didn’t deny luck was a thing, but to call it a skill

is just when preparation meets opportunity,” the Blightfather chimed in. ”Many of those who dare claim others

Holy Mother also decided to get involved… likely just to take a