The Primal Hunter

Chapter 1016: The Wall Minaga was working on some ideas for the labyrinth in the next era, trying to find a balance between familiar challenges and adding just enough of a difference that it wouldn’t be too similar. He definitely had a few new great inventions to test and a lot of additional safety measures he had to work on implementing after a certain someone had dominated the floors and Challenge Dungeon both.

However, recently, even someone like him who had quite a heads available to take his mind off things found himself distracted. Seeing as wasting a few months wasn’t a big deal. He’d paused most things as he watched with interest the happenings in the first universe, spending a lot of time with the Wyrmgod, who, while interested, clearly wasn’t as into it as Minaga.

Which, let’s be honest, was really weird as the Viper was his fellow Primordial, and they were clearly on friendly terms based on what happened when Jake did Nevermore. Alas, perhaps the Wyrmgod was just trying to play it cool... at least Minaga thought this until the Wyrmgod barely blinked when Yip of Yore unleashed the Void Sphere and sealed the two within their own separate Void Dimension for the final showdown.

Before that, all the other stuff with Jake that had gone down seemed to have interested the Wyrmgod far more, but now that the finale was there, he began to turn his gaze to other matters... at which point Minaga couldn’t help but question his long-term colleague and friend.

“Hey... shouldn’t you, you know, care a little?” Minaga asked. “Your old pal is fighting the top rising star to ever reach godhood, and stuff really isn’t looking good for the Malefic Viper right now... he’s strong, yes, but...”

The Wyrmgod seemed almost surprised at the question as he thought for a moment. “How well do you know Vilas?”

“Admittedly, not very well,” Minaga shrugged. “Tended to stay out of his way most of the time. Still, neither of us really knows Yip of Yore either. In fact, what we do know makes him a lot more dangerous than others believe he is. We saw Altius beat him back then until one day, they switched places on the Leaderboards with no one finding it weird or questioning it at all... that level of reality and perception manipulation is of a Transcendent nature, yet he doesn’t have the aura of a Transcendent. He has a lot of hidden cards is what I’m saying.”

“I acknowledge Yip of Yore’s powers and prowess,” the Wyrmgod nodded. “But I also know Vilas.”

Minaga remained skeptical as he sighed. “I’m just saying that things don’t always go according to plan, not even for the Viper.”

The Wyrmgod seemed in thought for a moment before he asked. “Do you believe you could beat Yip of Yore?”

“Me as in me, or me as in many mes?” Minaga asked.

“You, as in all of you,” the Wyrmgod clarified.

“Probably? It wouldn’t be easy to kill him, and if he is the one coming after me, it will definitely be annoying, but I also don’t see any realistic scenario where he is capable of defeating me. Well, alright, he can defeat me a lot of times, but not enough times for it to matter if you get my drift,” Minaga shrugged with a cheeky smile.

“Vilas is the same,” the Wyrmgod said in a tone of certainty. “I also see no realistic scenario where Yip of Yore defeats him, for no matter how long passes, he is still the Malefic Viper.”

Sylphie looked at Jake sitting within his big magic circle, clearly super nervous. Sylphie knew why he was nervous, as Big Snake Man was fighting a bad guy, and because Uncle was nervous, she felt nervous.

Suddenly, Sylphie got a super smart idea, as she closed her eyes on focused mega hard. Valhal – the Brawny Warrior Club – had done so they knew if anyone contacted gods in other places, but they didn’t outright block it, so Sylphie thought it was fine to reach out to Big Bird and ask stuff.

It was a little bit harder than usual, but soon enough, Big Bird responded. Sylphie was only really good enough at talking to Big Bird to ask a few small things, so with that in mind, she asked the most important part first:

“Ree?” she asked ifBig Snake Man would be okay or if Uncle would be sad

“Why you asking?”

and Primordial – so she knew Big Snake Man – Stormild answered in a

Stormild without

yep, they’re inside the Void Sphere now, so no need to be all secretive, I guess,” Stormild answered, unconcerned. “Anyway, yeah, I’m sure he’s having

still a bit concerned as she pointed out

I guess? But he’s fighting Vilas, and against him... yeah, nah, being strong just

Man was super strong, there was no need to be nervous. Though, looking at Uncle inside his ritual thing, she did feel bad for all the poor people from the Brawny Warrior Club who would end up wasting such a

throughout the multiverse, much to the befuddlement of many followers of the Primordials. While the top brass of the factions were carefully observing the happenings on Primordial-4, their leaders seemed far less interested than one would

would expect that the Primordials would watch carefully as, potentially, the precedent that the Primordials could fall was about to

laissez-faire attitude about the entire thing, but once asked, their answers as to why they seemed so assured things would go according to their expectations

He’s the Malefic Viper.

--

was happening, the empty husk below him began to change. He still had his hand inside it as it wrapped around his arm, the rest of the empty skin and scales tearing itself into ribbons, flying up and wrapping itself around much of

across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author.

disbelief as he stared toward the sky and saw what looked like a green sun

vibrating Yip’s body as

You walk forward with steady steps, always progressing, always growing stronger, leaving your peers in the dust. As for those who do manage to stand up to you? They are crushed, and a hundred years later, they become nothing more than forgotten memories or nostalgic moments of how weak you

he wasn’t

but no matter who you are, it’s inevitable,”

this wall, the harder you hit it... and you, Yip of Yore, hit it hard,” the Viper continued. “You flew through the grades of mortality like none before you, especially after crushing Altius, the one

his body and look at the Viper directly, but his body was paralyzed as the molt of the Viper slowly wrapped

you were a genius, as not even that proved a true wall, as you condensed your Circles and placed your foot upon

wormed its way into Yip’s entire body as it mixed with whatever he had absorbed using his own Transcendent skill earlier, making

leaving more and more gods who once looked down on you in the dust. Perhaps you even thought this would go on forever. That you could

Viper teleported and appeared in front of Yip as

makes you question where you went wrong and if perhaps your Path was flawed from the very beginning. Many gods resign themselves to their fates when this happens; others accept it and move on with the hope that they can progress once more again in the future. But you... you grew desperate.

The ultimate prey. A has-been Primordial, merely coasting along on his old legends... legends worthy of reaping and making your own. I was your ticket

now just stared at the Viper, the emotion in his eyes

here. Your recklessness has led you to your current predicament. So tell me, oh hero of legends, was this all worth it to finally break through that

silent for several moments as he stared into empty space before he finally spoke, not even fighting the molt that had pretty much fully merged with his body by now. “Since

the right word, but to answer... it’s bold of you to assume you ever fought anything else,” the Viper said in a casual voice as he paused for a moment. “Tell me, Yip, do you

new. To rid yourself of something that has served its purpose. My dragon form... that part of myself... it had served its purpose. It’s a representation of what I was, and now I had shed those

Yore muttered before he looked up, a glimpse of clarity as a faint

he simply nodded, not even infusing his