The Primal Hunter Volume 2

Going Up

Going Up

Chugging a health potion, Jake opened his eyes once more and wiped the blood away. He was currently flapping his wings, trying to keep himself aloft as he saw the hawk gaze back at him like he was an i***t for talking to thin air. But its look was now not only of ridicule. It contained a hint of fear and respect, which gave him a silly sense of satisfaction for one-upping a freaking bird.

Villy being a peeping tom was something he honestly didn’t even notice anymore. Maybe the tutorial, where many gods had observed him all the time, had desensitized him, but he did notice when three new observers suddenly joined, seeing as nobody except Villy had looked at him since returning to Earth. How exactly he knew… Well, it was just his intuition.

He took a quick glance at his notifications and saw that he had killed six hundred and forty-one birds with his Gaze. This was the first time he’d used it with full power and the intent to kill and not immobilize. The effect was way above his expectations. Not a single bird below E-grade survived, and even the weaker ones in E-grade died instantly.

Jake had chosen the skill for its ability to immobilize his foes. To have a skill that made use of his high Perception. But today, his eyes were opened to exactly how potent the skill was. It wasn’t just its ability to kill, but how it did it.

Not a single one of the dead birds had any wounds. Their bodies were completely unharmed. Instead, their souls had been completely and utterly shattered by the Gaze. The attack had been instantaneous and unavoidable. As long as they were within his line of sight and he intended to hit them, they would be affected.

The backlash he suffered was more due to his own inexperience with the skill than the skill itself. He had pushed more power into it than he could handle, which caused his eyes to suffer damage. But it was nothing a healing potion couldn’t solve in seconds.

Flying down, he managed not to screw up the landing entirely, as he only took a few stumbling steps. The hawk followed him, perching itself on a tree nearby. Jake could feel how tired it was as it rested its eyes for a moment.

Jake also sat down on the ground and entered meditation. The first thing he did was check the notifications. The birds he had killed with his Gaze had all been between level 10 and 37. Sadly, the experience gained wasn’t really worth much due to the significant level disparity.

Next, he checked the upgraded skill.

[Advanced Archery (Common)] – An Archer’s best friend is the bow in his hand and the arrow in his foe’s heart. You have shown improved proficiency with a bow, making the weapon even more familiar to you. Adds a minor bonus to the effect of Agility and Strength when using a ranged weapon.

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[Expert Archery (Uncommon)] – An Archer’s best friend is the bow in his hand and the arrow in his foe’s heart. You have proven yourself an expert with your chosen weapon and are fast approaching the level of mastering your craft. Adds a small bonus to the effect of Agility and Strength when using a ranged weapon.

It wasn’t fascinating either, despite how much he had anticipated it. It was a simple and boring skill that just made his archery slightly better. It didn’t give him any knowledge of any kind. It was more just a confirmation that he had reached a level of proficiency—unlike his Basic Twin-Fang Style, which gave him limited knowledge and guidance for melee combat.

He did remember that Casper had told him how the Basic Archery skill gave him knowledge of using a bow upon first entering the tutorial. Knowledge Jake, of course, already had.

Closing down his menus once more, he instead focused on recovering his dwindling stamina pool. He and the hawk had been flying around for a few hours before the flock attacked them. It had already been more than half an hour into the fight before Jake decided to end it with Gaze of the Apex Hunter.

He and his new bird friend had truly bonded over this past day. And when he said bonded, he meant that his hatred had slowly been replaced by gratitude, while the bird was still condescendingly teaching him how to use his wings properly.

Yet he had a feeling the bird would be a bit nicer after today. Despite its level being higher than his, he believed that he had proven himself stronger. Because he was.

While the hawk was quite strong, even for its level, it didn’t make Jake feel threatened at all. It was focused on speed and wind magic. Its attacks were mainly composed of quick and powerful blows that aimed to take the opponent by surprise.

Meanwhile, Jake had his danger sense and, if necessary, Moment of the Primal Hunter, which would warn him of any sneak attack well ahead of time. At the same time, he could use Gaze to freeze it and land a blow. The hawk had been hit by a few blasts from the flock before, making him aware of how feeble the bird actually was.

To sum it up, the hawk was a glass cannon—incredible speed and damage, but low Toughness and Vitality. If he had to guess its stats, he would say nearly all of it was mainly in Intelligence and Agility, with a respectable amount in Wisdom and Strength.

Not that he had any intention of fighting the hawk. They were buddies. And from the bird’s actions, it clearly didn’t intend to fight him either.

After meditating for an hour, he opened his eyes once more. With the cooldown for potions over, he took two stamina potions out and downed one of them. The hawk saw him do this, as it gave him a knowing glance. With a slight chuckle, he tossed the stamina potion up in the air, only for it to be swept up in a gust of wind, landing in the talons of the hawk.

He spread his wings once more as they, in concert, took to the air.

They flew around for a few hours, bumping into several wayward birds that quickly met their end through the blades of wind. Soon the hawk began flying back toward wherever it had left to the day before, and like the day before, it stopped Jake’s attempt to follow.

So Jake did as last time and landed once more. He didn’t do any alchemy this time but instead began testing out his upgraded archery skill. There was not a lot to test, but he wanted a better idea of how effective the increase in attributes actually was.