The Primal Hunter

Chapter 972: Doctor's Orders Chapter 972: Doctor's Orders

Jake stumbled back to his lodge in Haven alongside Eron, who decided to go with him as they kept talking. The healer was also doing what he could to speed up Jake’s recovery time, though he could only do so much.

While Jake’s resource pools turning to shit was definitely his biggest immediate problem, that didn’t mean it was the only one he was actively dealing with. Jake felt like he had just overused his boosting skill way above any extremes prior, as he had severely strained himself. Eron informed Jake that having his body repeatedly emptied of energy and then healed again hadn’t exactly been healthy either.

On the way back, Jake had explained some basic things to Eron about what had happened. Mainly because the guy had already figured out most things himself, including even guessing Jake had failed to upgrade a skill using the same kind of unique energy he used to help create Vesperia. Sometimes, Jake forgot the healer could be wicked smart.

There were still a lot of things he naturally didn’t know, and he hadn’t detected the use of Villy’s Transcendence either, something Jake, of course, didn’t share. He did seem to have an almost morbid curiosity examining Jake’s body, though. Which, according to him, was because seeing this kind of soul damage was a rare encounter, especially when it was the soul of someone as powerful for their level as Jake. Eron also told Jake that despite his soul clearly being weakened, it still burned brighter than the vast majority of people his level, so that was a kind of nice compliment.

“So, doc… what’s the prescription?” Jake asked in a joking tone once he was home and resting in a chair on his porch.

“Rest, meditation, and to stay active, at least mentally, to stimulate recovery,” Eron answered in his usual serious tone. “I estimate this extreme weakness you are experiencing should last at most two weeks more, while fully healing your soul will take a lot longer. Naturally, avoid facing anything with soul attacks as you are very susceptible to those, and before fully recovering, I would be careful about overusing your boosting skill and any kind of time dilation has to be avoided no matter what, as it can hamper your natural recovery. If you wish for a more pleasant recovery, using soul-soothing natural treasures or alchemical creations might be an option, but they will not assist in your recovery, and I would advise you against trying to speed it up using any kind of external support. The most complete recovery is the one your body will naturally have.”

Jake nodded and, after a bit of hesitation, asked: “Any insight on the damaged skill in question?”

Eron chuckled in response. “It’s good to see you can remain humorous despite your circumstances.”

… so that was definitely a no.

“Gotta stay positive,” Jake just laughed along before sighing. “I sure did mess up badly this time around.”

“Yes, you did,” Eron agreed. “You’re almost as bad as the morons who rode motorcycles before the arrival of the system. Did you know those death machines were dozens of times more prone to accidents than cars, not to mention the death rate should you get into an accident? Like you, those idiots also tended to significantly overestimate their own abilities, all the way up till they landed on my table.”

“Not sure how good of a comparison that is, and I get the faint feeling you weren’t a fan of motorbikes,” Jake smiled.

“I despise death, and I abhor people who put their lives in danger for no good reason,” Eron scoffed. “At least you have the excuse that should you succeed, you would achieve significant gains in your Path. All a damn biker would earn was slightly better fuel economy, assuming they were driving alone.”

“You know, my dad wanted a bike at one point, but my mom forbid it,” Jake commented.

“A wise woman,” Eron nodded in approval.

“Yeah, she thought the insurance was way too expensive,” Jake smirked, earning a disapproving look from Eron.

“I don’t think you understand the damage not addressing such a dangerous method of transportation caused to-“

For the next twenty minutes, Jake repaid Eron for his help by allowing him to rant about motorcycles, just nodding along during it all. He definitely had a lot of thoughts on the subject, and Jake couldn’t remember a time the guy had talked so much while remaining so normal.

Luckily, Eron was able to stop himself after a while, at which point he seemed to realize he had other things to do.

their continued legality all the way up the integration. “I wish you luck

a grateful tone. “And I promise to never ride a motorbike for

healer left the valley and Jake alone. With him gone, Jake sighed and slumped back on the chair while grimacing.

maybe taking something soul-soothing, as Eron had mentioned. That was perhaps worth considering, but for now, he annoyingly did

Fallen King that felt odd. Jake was confident that the Unique Lifeform had been affected by what Jake did; he just wasn’t sure how. So, talking to him once the King was back was definitely something

the space was utterly sealed off. The only trace it was even there was the incredibly slight feeling

current state, Jake couldn’t be able to get any upgrades no matter how much insight he got about the skill. It was locked at legendary rarity, which wasn’t the worst, but he would

the genuine version on the

the only thing Jake could hope for was that Villy would find a solution while Jake finished up this damn system event. That… or the meeting he would have when he reached level 300 in his profession, could end up

tell. For now, he had to

went into the lodge and used the magic landline phone to contact the local witch. Just infusing the item with mana to make the call felt painful, but he soldiered through long enough. She quickly picked

to

really not liking the sensation of using his mana to speak right now. It was

shortly once I finish up here,” she said, Jake shutting off the connection after that as he saw no reason to continue straining himself by keeping it

went to relax as he waited for her to arrive, lying down and resting. He felt like shit, and he couldn’t help but admonish himself for the shitty timing of doing this during a system event with a limited duration. Especially not one that

teleporter somewhat functional, allowing them to assist the planets outside the alliance. This should be a prime time to go around killing Prima Guardians and gathering potential allies – or at

a possibility. Even if he recovered somewhat, it was incredibly risky to travel around. Before, Jake didn’t care about being caught in some silly trap, as he was confident in escaping or fighting

just not the consequences of doing so. He ultimately still had his Jake Juice and could use it on himself to put up a good fight, and he did believe doing so would remove all that currently ailed him… at least for a while. But after, shit was bound to be even worse than they were now. Exactly how bad things would be, Jake didn’t plan

effectively be useless for a good while. Perhaps he could help out once he’d recovered a bit, but even so, he wasn’t sure if he should. If Ell’Hakan noticed Jake had severe soul damage, he would definitely try and take advantage. No, it was better to hide away and just act uninterested. No one should really know what had happened outside of Eron,

learn he suffered from soul damage, Jake doubted Ell’Hakan would believe it without any proof. It could just as easily be a ploy to bait in the other Chosen, after all. So, staying back and not providing any definite proof Jake was feeling under the weather felt like the right way

Miranda arrived at the lodge. Jake saw her coming through his sphere, which he had also felt forced to reduce in

into the lodge and saw Jake lying on an old sofa. She looked him

I guess,” Jake said with

did you encounter

what I encountered on the planet but what I tried to do there…” Jake said as he gave a brief explanation of what had gone down, of course leaving out some of the details he probably shouldn’t share. He did share just enough for her

some point, you know

told me the same thing,” Jake could

Miranda asked in a serious tone. “People will notice your absence. Especially Ell’Hakan’s goons, who seem to have been tracking you and where you went. We can, of course, do nothing, but that may only lead to speculation… and it isn’t like the actual truth will do

about how this will impact the system event,” Jake shook his head. “We were competing pretty well with Ell’Hakan and the expansion

important to get you back in good condition. Did Eron have any suggestions for a quicker recovery? Does Haven have any

it. “At least for the first couple of weeks. After that, I

solemn tone. “You are definitely to stay on Earth. I will have a meeting with everyone else relevant and figure out how we’ll deal with this. Once Sylphie,

he found the notion of having a protector insulting… but did he really have the right to complain when all this