The Primal Hunter

Time passed swiftly within Nevermore as the final sprint to complete as many floors as possible to rake up all the points possible continued. The gods naturally got more active as they monitored all the important groups as the end gradually approached. As of the final ten years, there had been approximately a few hundred individuals who were fighting for the top spots of the Leaderboards, with this number only decreasing as the months went by.

The gods chilling in the streaming room couldn’t hold themselves back from commenting on all the developments, especially when they viewed the ones associated with their own factions. Yet, one person kept being brought up, not just because of himself, but the party he had. It was rare to see a single group with close relations to four Primordials after all, and with Valdemar getting quite invested, too, the demand for Jake clips was through the roof.

“You still aren’t sad Jake didn’t want a skill based on your Records?” Minaga asked as they had just gotten done watching a highlight from a fight Jake and his party had. “I think he and that Runemaiden of yours could make a good team if you brought him to your side. One wielding a bow with devastating arrows in the back while the other keeps the foe at bay while being nearly impervious to damage…”

They all knew Jake had rejected a skill related to Valdemar. Not because they knew what kind of skill had been offered but because they knew he had to have been offered one. The Primordials were the gods that had been around the longest and knew the most about the system, so for them to deduce Jake would have to be offered some skill because of his clash with Valdemar was only to be expected.

“Heh, if it didn’t suit his Path, it didn’t suit his Path,” Valdemar shrugged. “Isn’t it only more exciting that he rejected me? Actually, isn’t it better? For someone powerful like him to join Valhal while not really having any skills from Valhal will only expand our Legacies! Gudrun is gonna be more than on board to recruit him.”

“Openly talking about stealing someone’s Chosen isn’t proper etiquette, now is it?” the Holy Mother chimed in, in a more playful than scolding tone.

“Bah, Jake is his own person; he can do whatever he wants,” Valdemar waved her off. “I’ll just make sure we give him the best offer to join us. I might even throw in a case of my personal brew to really convince him.”

“That one’s gonna be tough,” Minaga said, shaking his head. “The Endless Empire is already willing to- no, wait, never mind. That was confidential. Ignore that I said anything; the source is unreliable anyway, and I’ve never even met the guy in person. What I am saying is, if Jake ever shows himself open to recruitment, there’s gonna be competition.”

Vilastromoz had remained quiet as he finally joined the conversation. “You talk as if you stand a chance… don’t you think his current Patron may have something to say?”

“Sure he might,” Valdemar grinned as he leaned forward. “But if he can hold onto my fellow human is entirely dependent on if he’s powerful enough to, now isn’t it?”

Valdemar and Vilastromoz both spiked their auras for a moment as the Wyrmgod interfered instantly. His own presence washed over theirs before they could cause too much of a ruckus. It pushed both of theirs back, suppressing them slightly with a clearly superior aura.

“Behave when you are in my domain,” the Wyrmgod said with a sigh.

Vilastromoz and Valdemar both did as told while the human Primordial muttered, dissatisfied. No matter how powerful they were, they were still within the domain of the Wyrmgod. In Nevermore, he was the most powerful being beside the Bound God of the World Wonder itself. Considering the limitations of Nevermore and the contract that the Primordial and she had made, the Wyrmgod was definitely the one most able to use his powers of the two.

the reason no one had shown up with their real bodies. Now, chances are they would be able to escape Nevermore if they were truly there and got into a conflict with the Wyrmgod, but it certainly wouldn’t come cheap, not even for

but an unexpected savior

been paying much attention to the bickering. “The hunter’s Path, that is. There are certainly many complicated concepts infused into his blows, but all the applications are so minimalistic in execution. Complexities are sheared away for

the Holy

said I wanted to recruit him. One can admire something impressive without coveting it, a concept I understand you find difficult to comprehend,” the Blightfather shook his head. “Besides, even if I did want him to join the Risen, I am uncertain how well his Path would mix with changing his race, especially as I sense his soul is altered, likely by a skill of some kind. His Bloodline certainly also complicates things. No, I wouldn’t want him to be one of the Risen, but I would certainly welcome him to come for a visit. Perhaps to see an old friend

where his Truesoul had slightly changed when he got the Anomalous Soul skill. The Viper had few he would say could match him when it came to the study of

how is that cursed trapper Jake knows doing?” Vilastromoz

shouldn’t be that surprising considering his talent in dungeon engineering. The knowledge he had before the initiation has led to some interesting insights those who were born into the system simply cannot possess due to the fundamental change in natural

I will hear

that

he glanced at the Wyrmgod. “Now, how are those Void God fanatics doing? Are they a threat to the

shook his head. “But if you are asking if I expect to see any beings with close connections to the Void Gods on top

bit disappointing,” the Viper added with a sigh. “I thought

related to the void is simply too limiting

every other trace of energy within the body. This meant there were many things one couldn’t do that could make some floors or Challenge Dungeons harder than usual, much like the Unique Lifeforms,

focused on making sure Artemis wasn’t overwhelmed while being forced to be in the presence of the five Primordials, who sometimes got into arguments and flared their auras. Most

clearly based on his Bloodline, making it almost transcendent in nature. The

someone using life magic, it only made sense the Pantheon of Life was interested in what he did, even if the Viper knew Nature’s Attendant wasn’t a big fan of the C-grade. Because what he did was far from something that

Leaderboards, a party member of his is,” the Wyrmgod answered. “She is the disciple of the

Dungeon period and truly grown into their power over the last decade. The multiverse was a big place with no lack of talent. Some young, promising geniuses from the United Tribes proved themselves, others from the demon factions showed their skills, as well as people from many different powerful factions. Not to mention those who were just personal disciples of powerful beings in the multiverse or standalone talents, many of whom none of them knew of before Nevermore, despite every Primordial faction’s

expectations. Others were just somewhere in the middle where the gods could look at them, nod in unison, agreeing they were talented and had a good chance to reach a high grade, and then move on without thinking about that person again. People like Draskil fell into this camp, as well as, quite frankly, ninety-nine point nine percent of the geniuses of the many factions. Because here, towards the end, they only focused on those at the very top who truly stood a chance to grab a top spot on

proved their worth, two names were always mentioned. Two geniuses from the new universe who had

agreement would more likely than not claim first and second… the only question is who would take the number one slot… and how their presence would