The Primal Hunter

Flexing status was always a great way to get a message across, but it only ever worked when the other party knew who you were. In all honesty, Jake had been surprised the wyvern didn’t recognize him even after being blessed. It wasn’t that he expected every single god to tell those they blessed about him… but wouldn’t it make sense to at least mention the Malefic Viper if you bless a wyvern living not even a day’s flight from the home base of his Chosen?

Well, it definitely would; there had just been one problem:

The wyvern was a hermit.

As in, it knew literally nobody. It didn’t know anything about the planet it was on or what was going on whatsoever, either. It had lived in its own little bubble, killing anything that dared try and approach it. It didn’t even know about Nevermore. As Jake listened, he also realized that the damn dragon god that blessed the wyvern was partly to blame.

That asshole dragon had told the wyvern to just dominate its own domain and keep absorbing energy there. They only ever had one meeting, where all the talks were about making optimal use of the unique mountaintop.

However, now the beast definitely seemed to realize who he was as Jake saw the wyvern get what he assumed was a less funny Villy-style round of exposition. The beast kept its head low throughout, seemingly wanting to bury it in the snowy floor of the cavern every time the wyvern spoke its apologies, trying to excuse its own ignorance while groveling to Jake with promises.

“I had a severe lapse of judgment and can only wish to beg for forgiveness and make up for my transgressions through any form of assistance I can possibly provide,” the wyvern said, definitely reading from a provided script.

Jake just stood back as he let the poor wyvern get a talking-to. When he thought about it more, Jake kind of understood why the wyvern had acted like it did. Earth was a pretty fucked up planet for it to be born on, and he was sure that in many other places, the wyvern would have been fine acting as it did. It would be the kind of creature the enlightened on the planet called a Beast King or something, and the mountain deemed a forbidden zone.

The problem for the wyvern was that Jake knew at least a dozen people who could kill the wyvern if they so desired, and when more people returned from Nevermore, it would be even more. Shit, based on the people he saw in Haven, he was confident a forty-man raid party could be gathered there capable of taking down the wyvern, not even to mention if Skyggen got involved and sent a group of high-level assassins recently returned from Nevermore. Jake’s brother alone could quickly kill the wyvern.

So… while the wyvern had indeed been a dick, it had acted pretty natural if this had been a normal planet, and as long as it was willing to correct its ways, Jake wasn’t going to unilaterally kill it. Besides, with its level, it wouldn’t even give him any experience.

Before the wyvern could begin to practically beg again, Jake decided to let it escape from limbo as he spoke.

“Stop. You now seem to realize where your little mountain is located and why your actions up till now have been rather unwise?”

“Yes, Lord Chosen,” the wyvern nodded enthusiastically. “My own foolishness and ignorance-“

“It’s fine, as long as you know and will change your ways,” Jake interrupted. “I can’t have a wyvern living here causing trouble for people wanting to just pass by.”

“I swear that I shall never attack another of the enlightened races again,” the wyvern readily agreed.

“No need to go that far,” Jake waved it off. “Just don’t kill people randomly. If they attack you, go for it, but if they are just passing by or want to speak, don’t automatically attack.”

Looking over at the frozen vampires and the burrowed dead vulture, he continued. “When it comes to feeding this mountain, I would advise you to stick with beasts, especially those around your own level of power. You will dilute the quality if you aim for quantity. Needless to say, those vampires also aren’t going to stay here.”

“Na- naturally,” the wyvern said as its eyes glowed for a moment. Instantly, the ice started to melt, releasing them from their icy imprisonment. As they quickly thawed, one thing also became pretty clear.

They heard everything… which means they were fully awake and aware despite being frozen. Pretty fucking scary way to die if I say so myself, Jake thought as he saw the clarity in all their eyes, with a few of them even looking with reverence and gratitude toward him.

Jake waited patiently as he even saw the wyvern remove some of the cold energy from around the vampires, allowing them to unfreeze faster while not letting the cold bother them as much. It didn’t take long before the first one was fully free, and he didn’t wait to bow, despite it looking pretty damn painful as his clothes and even skin cracked in places.

of the Malefic One for his assistance,” the vampire said, with the others

would have been mad at me if I just left you all here. Now get out of here; I’ll handle the rest,” Jake smiled as he saw the look of confusion on their faces before they realized who the old man Jake was talking about was. At least they weren’t offended, as they just thanked him once more before they left, supporting each other on the way. They didn’t even address anything with the wyvern, seemingly trusting Jake to handle this

do about the big lizard. He could literally see it shaking, and

the entire conversation they just had, it definitely assumed he still wanted some

reluctance was because he was dealing with a wyvern. No, not just a wyvern, the first wyvern he had

the wyvern asked, though it was clear it was also this

will demand as compensation,” Jake

“Anything,” the wyvern insisted.

you evolve from? I do not believe you

was genuinely curious about. Mainly knowing if this wyvern had also once been a snake,

creature I was born as?” the wyvern asked with

curiosity,” Jake said. “Tell me how you became what you are today. The story of your life,

in the harsh environment. Back then, this was no snow-covered peak, even if it was cold at times. Then, the initiation of the system arrived and everything changed. Day after day, the mountain grew taller as the world expanded beneath me. We all turned feral, killing each other and fighting for this

integration compared to humans. The entire thing was definitely a

in size, fighting off all others at this peak. Some were also forced out when the temperature dropped too much, seeking further down the mountain. Yet I stayed until one day, we were all drawn to this cavern. We fought, and I killed all of my kin before I finally consumed that which had brought me here. It was an odd plant, and after consuming it, the cold began to be a source of

and it did feel like the wyvern was almost talking about someone else. Which it kind of did, considering the final sentence. The wyvern didn’t have any true sapience before it became a wyvern but had acted

the budding dragon’s heart?” Jake

my heart into what it is today. I am also fully aware that I need to upgrade it once more to have any

upgraded, it could become a quasi-dragon only in B-grade. Having heard the story, Jake looked toward the cavern exit. “This has been enlightening. I shall not bother you anymore than this, and thank you for sharing your life story. I hope this experience has allowed you to wise up, and I look forward to seeing if Earth will one day

wyvern bowed its head. “I shall ensure to not cause you

off as he walked out of the cavern before he felt a minor shift that made him glance back and use one final Identify,

271 – Divine Blessing of the Everfrost

lizard and ended up getting it a free Blessing upgrade instead, Jake admonished himself jokingly as he made his way out of the

horizon, he looked toward Skyggen as he decided to continue his journey back to his

killing anything they hit. These bolts carried the

with scorch marks and corpses, yet in the midst of everything, two figures were fighting, as the rocky terrain that had been molded and empowered by the onslaught of lightning for millions of years was torn

more muscles than the warrior. She fought using her bare fists, deflecting the weapon of her opponent as blue lightning enveloped both

several minutes until the man suddenly appeared distracted. A fist struck him in the face, blowing off his entire head as he stumbled back before it

shot,” the man said with a scowl as he used his horns

she looked toward the newcomer who had been the cause of the distraction. A suit-wearing

apologize for interrupting your past time, but his majesty requires your presence at the castle,” the man

heading to war with the Fifth Hell again?” the duchess

related to Nevermore, isn’t it?” the

it is so,” the suit-wearing devil

princeling returned?” the duke asked with a

the top spot?” the duchess asked. “If not, I don’t see why we should

Chosen of Yip of Yore and the Chosen of the Malefic Viper, who took second and first, respectively,” the suited devil answered. “The Chosen of the Malefic Viper

still fail to