The Primal Hunter

Jake had been so damn distracted by everything else going on that he hadn’t even noticed Eversmile before he was right there. Sure, he had seen the figure approach, but his aura had been entirely hidden, and with so many other notable presences filling the hall, he had managed to blend in long enough to surprise Jake.

Yeah, this type of setting really wasn’t for Jake, throwing him off this game that much. And now this…

To say Jake was taken aback by the question would be an understatement. Especially when one considered who it came from. Eversmile wasn’t some insignificant figure, and Jake’s mind began to work at high speeds as he tried to give a non-commital answer. One that could hopefully give him at least some information to go off.

”Why are you asking?”

”Karma,” Eversmile simply answered. ”Now answer me.”

Jake really wanted to tell the guy – or girl, at this point, Jake had no idea what the fuck Eversmile was - to just fuck off, but felt like that wouldn’t be a good idea. Eversmile was just too eccentric and unpredictable. Plus, the true answer shouldn’t be that suspicious.

”From the Challenge Dungeon made by the Viper,” Jake answered honestly.

”Hm? That could explain some of it, I presume,” Eversmile said, seemingly deep in thought. ”But not all of it. If these boots are indeed connected to Vilastromoz, then it appears I will need to have a conversation with him.”

By now, Jake was getting really curious himself also as he took a chance. ”Why the curiosity? Is it that odd to see boots given to a Chosen with powerful connections to their Patron?”

”You are fully aware there is something with those boots far more complicated than merely a connection to your Patron,” the Primordial didn’t even try to entertain what Jake said. ”However, seeing as you have been cooperative and the fact the Malefic Viper would likely gladly share the details of our future conversation with you, I shall give you an explanation.”

Jake felt the sound of fingers snapping… as the entire world around him seemed to twist and turn. He felt like the ground beneath him fell away, as everything was replaced with an empty space that made Jake feel as if he was deep under water.

The only two things that remained were Eversmile and Jake himself. Then, the strings appeared. Multi-colored threads spread out from Jake and Eversmile, countless of them, but soon they nearly all faded. However, a few strings still existed, and Jake saw them all connected to the boots on his feet. One of these threads led to Eversmile himself, while all the others simply disappeared into the vast emptiness of the space he was in.

”As you can see, there appears to be a powerful karmic connection between these boots and myself,” Eversmile said, motioning toward the thread connecting them. ”Despite that being the case, I cannot see any reason for why this would be… much less the cause of all these other threads.”

Jake, floating in the odd space, took a moment to really get his bearings. Things were seriously freaky, especially as he also felt the conference room all around him through his sphere, making it certain he hadn’t actually been transported anywhere. In the real world, he was just standing and staring into empty space while his mind and potential soul were taken somewhere entirely different. What made everything even worse was the distortion between these two things, as time seemed slowed in the real world while at the same time overly fast within this special state.

”What are these other karmic threads?” Jake asked, confused.

”This is the second conundrum,” the god pointed out as he reached out and touched one of the threads. ”I do not know. They are obscured… no, they make no sense in the first place. As if they are misplaced within both space and time, leading to something that once was or never came to be. Some of the threads I do recognize, though.”

Eversmile began walking through the odd space as he tapped a karmic thread. ”This one leads to the Malefic Viper. Unsurprising, based on what you said.”

Jake slowly nodded. Yeah, that made sense.

Tapping a second thread, Eversmile spoke again. ”And this… this is Valdemar.”

That… was weird?

third thread

Okay, definitely weird.

fourth. ”Holy

spoke as he just continued while walking a

”Wyrmgod.”

”Starseizing Titan.”

”Rigoria.”

”Yggdrasil.”

”Stormild.”

”Aeon.”

reached

are not weak connections. They are firm, old, and seemingly without any good reason to exist,

tried to search his brain for an explanation as he

he used them while he was a mortal…”

said as he thought deeply. ”The connection to the Malefic

to help Jake. He had done it to try and make Jake

Sage. That part he was not going to volunteer. Not just because that was private history between the Viper and his first master, but because Jake wasn’t sure what to do with the implications of it all if the First Sage was somehow the cause. Hopefully, he would get some answers when they would

information is lacking, and the best course of action would be to simply question Vilastromoz,”

on Amazon without

theory?” Jake ended up

process of becoming an item in one of the Challenge Dungeons created so many eras ago, leading to some sort of mutation caused directly by the system simply because of how much time passed before they were claimed. Some form of mutation that linked the boots

he threw Jake a final glance. ”You have been of some assistance. Take this experience as a reward for your help. Oh, and I say this genuinely: congratulations on beating Yip of Yore on the All-Time Leaderboards. It’s both an achievement worth recognition and

Jake found himself back in the hall entirely,

as Jake

was-” Jake began as he stopped himself. ”Eh, the woman that

asked, even

at the hawk with confusion before shaking his head. ”Never mind, I blame the alcohol.

Sylphie definitely agreed, having already

he considered what Sylphie had said. According to her, Jake had just been greeted by some woman who said congratulations before walking off into the crowd, with Sylphie seemingly finding

was really odd, considering they had both just seen Eversmile’s transformed form, and as C-grades, they both had near-perfect memories… yet when Jake also tried to recall the transformed Eversmile, he just saw the

want that dude as a straight-up enemy. That would be fucking terrifying, Jake thought. A shapeshifter with such skills could cause so much chaos without

in thought, he

did he snap out of it and notice it was the princess from the Regalflight and the Disciple of the Heartsoul Daolord. Quite a few people noticed the two approaching Jake as if several expected something interesting to potentially happen. The Demon Prince even threw Jake a smile from across

the front, and Jake felt her aura easily from this close. He could definitely see how she had gotten such a high placement on the Leaderboards. She was powerful, and she had also gained a lot of

Chosen of the Malefic One. I congratulate you on your exemplary performance within Nevermore and can only begin to imagine the wonders you will show us

a nod of his own. ”Pleasure to meet you both, and

the Dragon of Gold and Princess of the First Golden Palace. However, you are more than welcome to simply refer to

dragonflights but also the fewest in number. Oh, and the eighth-place finisher on the All-Time Leaderboards, above even Ell’Hakan. To learn she was his daughter meant her father was an extremely powerful god, and from the