The Primal Hunter

Vilastromoz just leaned back and smiled, still within the streaming room that was now just showing the Nevermore City square and all of Minaga’s antics. Well, one of Minaga’s clones anyway, as the god was also still in the room with a god clone.

”Man, ain’t that host the most handsome Unique Lifeform you’ve ever seen? His presentation skills are also just through the roof!” Minaga praised himself loudly. They were all waiting for the grand reveal… and soon it did when his clone announced the dramatic twist of one more person appearing.

To many of the mortals in the square, it was perhaps a surprise… but to the gods in the living room, they had just waited for this to happen. They had watched Jake and his party for the last many years, and they knew how well he had done. For him to not even have been on the top 10 made it clear to everyone that he would appear at some point for a grand announcement.

Something he did… making Vilastromoz grin even more. The Wyrmgod and Minaga’s clone both looked at him as Jake appeared and his performance was revealed.

”Congratulations,” the Wyrmgod said with a slow nod. ”A joyous occasion.”

”Found a good one, huh?” the Blightfather said, acknowledging Jake’s achievement.

”A fortunate and earned victory,” the Holy Mother said, also showing her respects.

”Glad to see he did well,” the Nature’s Attendant added happily. ”For little Dina to have been in the same party as the new champion of the All-time Leaderboards… it was a good decision to have her join him. Thank you, Vilas.”

The Viper just smiled back at the second-in-command of the Pantheon of Life. ”She pulled her weight; you have nothing to thank me for.”

”But I do,” his father-in-law insisted. ”I expected him to do well, but this still exceeds it. The impact on her future will be felt for certain, and she has been granted a great boon. She was even on the top 100 of the Era’s Leaderboards, doing far better than I thought possible.”

”Well, in either case, you shouldn’t be thanking me, but Jake,” the Viper shook his head.

”I will make sure to,” the god nodded as he turned to Artemis. ”What say you, shouldn’t we have him visit the Pantheon of Life once he is available? I am certain Ygg will also want to see him. We should probably wait a little, though… let things calm down a bit.”

”My image already effectively extended an invitation within the Colosseum of Mortals, and I’m sure the Malefic One’s Chosen is more than aware he has an open invitation standing,” the archer god responded, sounding a bit more confident than before, having gotten quite used to being in the presence of so many far more powerful gods over the last nearly two decades.

”Well, he strikes me as the sort to easily forget things, so perhaps we should remind him,” Nature’s Attendant commented.

”I’ll do it for you, no problem,” Vilastromoz waved it off as he looked at Artemis and smiled. ”I have a feeling he wants to visit anyway. I heard something about archery lessons.”

Artemis averted her gaze as the Viper just grinned. This was fun, and he was feeling pretty damn good right now about how everything was going.

his hand. ”And if it ain’t

toward

a direct invitation from a Primordial was not something any of the many observing gods would ever refuse. Quite the opposite, as they reveled in the opportunity. Many gods went by and offered their congratulations to the Viper for how well his Chosen had done, which Vilastromoz

after another, and the Viper saw no reason not to accept as he joined in on the festivities and grabbed a mug. Raising up a mug of his own, Valdemar spoke loudly as he infused his voice with energy. ”To Jake

later stumbling back as the alcohol brewed to be strong enough for a Primordial to get drunk entered their system. Vilastromoz also had a taste, and he found the taste quite pleasant, even if it

was cause for celebration, after all. Jake and the Viper both had things to celebrate… while a certain other pair of Chosen and Patron were probably feeling quite

their margin of error for the story the two were trying to spin. Either they would spin one story where Ell’Hakan beat Jake and would thus begin his comeback to

in which case Ell’Hakan would remain the underdog… the problem was that Jake hadn’t just beaten Ell’Hakan. He had beaten both of them. The announcement Jake had also beaten Yip of Yore was a brilliant strategic move by Jake – certainly

at least among the gods, that Yip held the top spot before. That he was the greatest genius of the multiverse, and for the top genius, what were truly his limits? As an unrivaled genius, it was only natural he would keep improving, perhaps to one day even become strong enough to slay the

no longer the top genius. Jake had stolen that throne – that legend. Ell’Hakan was also troubled now, for he was no longer just the underdog fighting another Chosen genius; he was fighting the top genius. Was he even qualified anymore to challenge Jake? So much doubt had been sown with

the legend they tried to

well, and Vilastromoz definitely owed him a beer. Not just in regards to the stuff with Yip… the Viper also had to thank him for the personal rewards he got from having his Chosen be the new

this story is not meant

held a stoic expression as the Unique Lifeform known as Minaga announced the arrival of the Viper’s Chosen. This was not an unexpected

beating the other Chosen in regard to how many floors he had completed. What was perhaps even more infuriating was that

none had surpassed, only tied him. This gave him the false belief there was a good chance the Viper’s Chosen hadn’t surpassed him either. If he had, why wouldn’t he have revealed it? Getting a 100% multiplier would have led to much prestige in its

meant the next years after the Challenge Dungeons would be crucial. In order to get a leg up, he had even prepared a welcome party on the city floor after floor seventy-five to receive the Viper’s Chosen and have him

his own party. Sure, they ended up losing a member, but the one who died could only blame himself, and Ell’Hakan’s Patron would handle any blowback from the

foresight to make sure he would finish before the Viper’s Chosen. There were only upsides to this; if he did ultimately win, finishing first would block the Chosen of the Malefic Viper. Meanwhile, if he lost, he would at least still get the title. A title that was most certainly

the Era Nevermore Leaderboards, proving yourself an Era’s Conqueror of Nevermore. Only one Nevermore Performance title can be held at a time. As an Era’s Conquerer of Nevermore, you are a near-unrivaled expert

more than pleased to have achieved. He was fully aware that if the Viper’s Chosen and he did not share a generation, Ell'Hakan would truly have no equal… but then again, perhaps he was only as powerful as he was

All in due time.

he had won, Ell’Hakan saw the shift on the Leaderboards as his own

I failed to clarify what I meant by top dog… because I’m not just talking about this era. It’s with pleasure

of the Malefic Viper in the distance, and for a moment, he met the eyes of the other Chosen before

Ell’Hakan cursed internally as he knew they would have to shift and adapt the narrative even more… potentially toward a direction Ell’Hakan was truly

was supposed to do or say. When he had done the Chosen Ceremony,

to actually fucking clap, as Viridia stood right behind him with her head slightly bowed and an incredibly happy grin on her face. Jake also saw Farleigh, the vampire patriarch, making him want to say hi, but the situation didn’t seem to allow it. The Fallen King