The Primal Hunter

Chapter 1399 - Chosen of the Malefic Viper vs Chosen of the Heartsoul Daolord (5)

The Chosen of the Heartsoul Daolord was definitely the strongest opponent Jake had ever fought. No, he didn’t view his encounter with the Cyclops Magi as a fight, so this was definitely the toughest opponent he’d ever faced.

She also had a rather novel Path and tricky abilities that were hard to deal with. However, even if she was definitely powerful and surpassed Jake in many areas, there was one area where she didn’t hold a candle to him:

Sheer destructive potential.

Nothing she could do, even with all her combo attacks, could approach the sheer power of Jake’s strongest blow, and while she was skilled in defense and the Aegis she’d summoned was, without a doubt, capable of blocking most attacks… this wasn’t one of those attacks.

The Protean Arrow struck the Aegis, which barely held on for a fraction of a second before cracking and shattering into a thousand pieces, the arrow continuing with unstoppable momentum. The Chosen of the Heartsoul Daolord tried to speak at the very last moment, but the arrow was too close, and even if she managed to get out another Word of Power, the destructive tempest of arcane energy around her would stop most attempts to escape.

Jake watched as she was struck in the chest, the arrow piercing into her body, blasting a hole through her entire mid-section before disappearing, all the destructive energies of the arrow merging into her body alongside the powerful ethtoxin – soul poison – Jake had mixed into the Protean Arrow.

She didn’t let out a single sound as her body and soul were consumed by the destructive energies. She resisted as best she could, the very world around them shaking as all the environmental energy flooded towards her body to defend her, but alas, it was unable to.

Cracks began forming in reality, the world slowly falling apart as her body corroded, turning into dark green dust that was immediately destroyed by Jakeʼs arcane energies.

Jake was ready to shoot another arrow, but instead simply lowered his bow, knowing it wouldn’t be needed. The only reason the Chosen of the Heartsoul Daolord hadn’t died instantly was that her domain was temporarily sustaining her existence, and, based on how quickly it was falling apart, she had at most a few more seconds left…

But of course, things could never be that simple, as her voice echoed from her nearly entire dissolved body.

“Delay…”

The voice was more exhausted than ever, but the result was immediate. The destruction of her body, and even of the entire domain, was temporarily halted, delayed just as her will had commanded. This was the final vestige of power she had left, and he knew she was actively burning through what remained of her soul as her presence locked in on him.

He met her eyes for a moment and saw a look of recognition and acceptance before, suddenly, an extreme sense of danger flooded his mind. He immediately reacted instinctively as the Chosen of the Heartsoul Daolord’s final word echoed, and the entire domain fell apart, the world consumed by nothingness.

“Death.”

--

Dying wasn’t a very comfortable feeling. Jake had tried it a few times during Challenge Dungeons in Nevermore, and not once had he found the experience pleasant. Quite the opposite, in fact, as such events had only incentivized him further to avoid dying in the future.

So Jake had done exactly that by avoiding death. Well, more accurately, he’d offloaded the concept of dying onto someone else, avoiding taking whatever serious damage it would have dealt, even if it would have definitely failed to actually kill him. As he returned to the antechamber, he was joined only by fading wisps of light from the Chosen of the Heartsoul Daolord, disappearing from the simulation, and by a dark figure standing right in front of him, suffering much the same fate.

“Sorry,” Jake muttered instinctively, feeling a little bad for having used Eternal Shadow, only for it to be instantly struck by his opponentʼs final Word of Power. In those last moments, the Chosen of the Heartsoul Daolord hadn’t exactly been the most accurate, hitting Jake’s clone instead of him, as it appeared right in front of him.

The fading shadow in front of him quickly dispersed into cursed energy, but right before it did, Jake faintly felt as if it tried to turn its head towards him, something he definitely hadn’t made it do. Jake frowned, questioning if he’d seen right before shaking his head and doing what was more important as he flew down to sit on the ground to recover. He needed to be ready for whatever came next, which definitely required a lot of meditation and for him to get past the period of weakness from his Arcane Awakening, which would definitely be a nasty one this time around.

Landing on the ground, Jake deactivated Arcane Awakening and was instantly flooded by a deep sense of weakness. He breathed heavily while trying to sit as comfortably as he could, which really wasn’t very comfortable considering his backside was mostly exposed flesh, regenerating his glutes not exactly a priority while in a life-and-death battle.

He’d barely had time to sit down and was about to enter meditation when he was startled as a figure suddenly appeared in the room.

“You all done here?” a familiar voice echoed as Jake looked up and saw the projection of the Cyclops Majordomo, who quickly scanned the room. “Goodness, what a mess you’ve made. Can’t have that.”

Waving his hand casually, he seemed to rewind time as all the broken furniture and damage in the room were restored. Chairs reassembled themselves, the floor tiles repaired like a puzzle being put together, and in only a few seconds, the entire room was back to what it had been before any fighting started. Save for the fact that the number of Administrators present had been reduced to one.

After the room was put back together, the Majordomo finally turned his attention towards Jake, who was just staring as he really had to reevaluate just how powerful this entity was.

“Now you… I guess you’re the one who gets an audience with the Abundant Emperor? Hm, alright, rules are rules,” the Majordomo said, really sounding like he didn’t approve of Jake getting this perceived honor.

“But we really need to have you looking presentable. As much as we possibly can, anyway, though I don’t have much to work with here,” the Majordomo continued while shaking his head. “First of all, let’s freshen you up.”

With yet another wave of the Majordomo’s hand, Jake felt a soft wind envelop him, and the very next second, his body was fully healed, resources all restored, and any aftereffects from using his boosting skill were removed. Even the mental wear and tear from using Primal Gaze had been completely healed.

Instantly, Jake had a far better understanding of this projected figure. He’d assumed this Majordomo to be something akin to the Blademaven and Magi, but now he realized he definitely wasn’t. Instead, he was some kind of system-bound entity, and if he was, wouldn’t this Abundant Emperor also be?

Assuming yes – which really seemed like a safe assumption – the chances of the throne room including a big boss fight with the emperor seemed highly unlikely.

“Slightly better when you’re wearing clothes that actually cover your body,” the Cyclops Majordomo nodded. “I’m not a big fan of its design and lack of style, but it’ll have to make do. Ah, and keep the mask on. Usually, I would advise not to cover one’s face, but in your case, it’s definitely an improvement.”

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If the cyclops bastard wasn’t a godlike entity with system-bestowed powers, Jake would definitely have started throwing hands after that one. Bloody rude if he said so. It wasn’t even true. Jake couldn’t be that bad considering he’d pulled an actual goddess.

“Could you also cover one of those holes in the mask? Two eyes is just… gross,” the Majordomo said, seemingly shivering slightly at the thought, which made Jake feel a little better instantly. It hadn’t been a general statement about Jake’s level of handsomeness, but just the Majordomo’s personal opinion, and Jake could totally live with not being attractive based on cyclops beauty standards. Not to sound rude, but he wasn’t a big fan of giant one-eyed creatures either.

“Either way, while we can’t do too much about your appearance, you can at least work on your demeanor. Given that we have some time before the other antechambers finish deciding who among them will get an audience, take this time to study proper etiquette,” the Majordomo said as the door he’d appeared in front of had a massive poster projected onto it.

“I’ll come fetch you when all of you so-called guests are ready. Try not to make a fool of yourself when the time comes, no matter how forgiving His Majesty might be. It would reflect badly on me,” the Majordomo said before Jake could even see what was on the poster, after which he disappeared as if he’d never been there in the first place.

Jake just sat there for a few moments, naturally looking at the poster, which honestly just felt even more insulting than anything the Majordomo had ever said before.

“Don’t insult the emperor directly by referring to his mother using derogatory terms… don’t strip yourself of clothes, assuming you wear clothes… avoid interrupting the emperor whenever possible… try not to attack others during conversation… what the hell is this?” Jake muttered as he said a list of the most obvious things one should avoid doing when in the presence of, well, anyone really.

He had assumed this “etiquette” to be about how one should address the emperor, how to stand, how to kneel, which Jake would have promptly ignored, and those kinds of things. Instead, it was all about how not to act like a fucking psycho when in the presence of others. Did anyone really need to be told not to have intercourse during an audience? And wasn’t that rule already covered by the one about keeping clothes on? Well, you could probably do it with minimal undressing, but… moving on.

Jake really hoped there was some plot twist and he would at least get a chance to punch the Majordomo in his big, stupid eye, but alas, he really doubted it.

After scanning the list of things one should avoid doing – which had nearly nine hundred items on it – Jake confirmed there was indeed not one absolutely insane thing on it he would have done, anyway. He also really had to note how many of the rules were very wishy-washy with language like “try to avoid,” “best not to,” “If possible,” and so on and so forth.

No matter what, Jake didn’t want to meet the person who would read this list and nod with understanding and surprise, feeling like they’d really learned something.

Shaking his head, Jake dispelled the thoughts of the stupid poster and the annoying Majordomo from his mind as he instead focused on more important matters. Seeing as there would be a bit of a break before the audience with the Abundant Emperor would take place, Jake wanted to take this time to reflect on the fight he’d just gone through, his upgrades, and of course the outcome.

Starting with the kill notification.

*You have slain [Human - lvl 359 / Principal Disciple of the Heartsoul Daolord – lvl 359 / Exalted Heartsoul Cultivator - lvl 359] – Bonus experience earned for killing an enemy above your level.

Jake already knew the Chosen of the Heartsoul Daolord was human, and he’d hoped to find something interesting about her class or profession, but both were more or less what one would expect. He was a bit surprised at her profession, though, as he had honestly believed that being a Heartsoul Cultivator was a class.

It kind of was, seeing as all members of the Heartsoul Palace were called Heartsoul Cultivators, but he hadn’t thought it to be a profession instead. Maybe it was both? It sort of made sense either way, as Heartsoul Cultivation was all about refining oneself and creating one’s domain. At least based on what he’d read.

Either way, an interesting tidbit. It was also a little interesting that her class and profession were both at the exact same level. That either meant she focused on both at the same time, or that she leveled both her class and profession at the same time while doing the same stuff. That really wasn’t something one could usually do, but it was possible, and not too odd that the Dao Sect would have Paths that allowed it.

All in all, she definitely had a powerful and somewhat novel Path that had challenged Jake in ways he wasn’t used to, which had led to substantial growth. Even in areas he hadn’t expected, as he saw that right beneath the kill notification, there were two more.

’DING!’ Class: [Arcane Hunter of the Boundless Horizon] has reached level 354 - Stat points allocated, +125 Free Points

’DING!’ Race: [Human (B)] has reached level 358 - Stat points allocated, +135 Free Points

Again, Jake really hadn’t expected many levels this event, yet he was getting a few here and there. Fighting with three powerful opponents seemed to have barely given him a level up, with this final fight probably accounting for the majority of it. Killing those Administrators had probably also given a little experience, even if most of them hadn’t even provided experience.

Gaining a level wasn’t the greatest gain of the fight, though. It was by far his skill upgrade to Pride of the Malefic Viper that had also come as a surprise. Not necessarily that it had been upgraded, but that it had gone straight from legendary to mythical. This was also the B-grade version of mythical.

As he started reading the new description, he began to understand why.

[Pride of the Malefic Viper (Mythical)] – The endless pride of the Malefic Viper is legendary throughout the multiverse, and as you further comprehend his Origin, so will yours be. Significantly increases the effect of all Words of Power spoken. By channeling your mana and Willpower, impose your presence upon the world, granting you greater control of all energies while allowing you to attack the psyche of those touched by your presence. Within your presence, all unwanted energies are denied and must overcome your will to affect you. The cost and effect of this are dependent on Willpower and the power of what you are attempting to deny. Your pride increases all resistance to any kind of mind-affecting effects, and allows you to fight back when anyone dares attempt to impose their will upon you directly, but be warned that all resistance wanes in despair. All effects of the mental attack increase based on the target’s vulnerability, the nature of your mental attack, and the disparity in Willpower between you and your foe. Passively provides 27 Willpower per level in Primeval Alchemist of Malefic Origin. May your will be truth, your pride eternal.

The description was similar to before, but some elements had been condensed, while new features had been added. All aspects of it had also been upgraded, and while the description of creating a field around him with greater control appeared very similar to before, there were some drastic differences.

Before, Jake had to effectively attack the energies that entered his range using Pride, making it a more time-consuming process. Before, it said he “could deny” the presence of other energies within his pseudo-domain, but now, it said these unwanted energies would be denied. A very minor difference in wording, but a huge one in effect.

It removed the necessity for Jake to understand what was affecting him and was more of a blanket-level concept of defiance. What’s more, before this, defiance relied only on him pouring in mana, but now it said it relied on both his mana and Willpower. Again, it did require Willpower before, but now his will was a far more active component, empowering the concept and allowing his already high mental strength and soul to come into play as well.

Then the skill had also added the ability to resist people directly imposing their will upon Jake. Unlike the pseudo-domain, this wasn’t an active component, but mixed in with the passive resistance to mind-affecting abilities. This did require him to actively resist, though, effectively giving him a choice. Jake had a feeling that this effect in particular was a huge part of why the skill had reached mythical rarity, and there were definitely a lot of aspects to it, as the concept of someone “imposing their will upon him directly” was quite broad to say the least, and definitely didn’t just cover those trying to use Words of Power on him.

Finally, of course, there was the extra Willpower per level to his profession. Jake was never going to complain about more free stats, and it definitely also added to why the skill was now mythical rarity.

Overall, a pretty damn great upgrade, and Jake was more than pleased for his first Malefic Viper Legacy skill of B-grade to be a mythical rarity one, and hopefully, there were more skill upgrades to come.

Perhaps even soon, as it wouldn’t be long before he would meet with other Administrators who also stood at the top of the multiverse, having slaughtered their own antechambers.

All he could do was wait, though, as Jake sat down on the floor and entered meditation, replaying the fight in his head while reflecting on the battle and all the insights he’d gotten, seeing no need to not start working towards his next skill upgrade immediately.