The Primal Hunter

Jake was certain most, if not all, factions related to higher powers were aware of these things. At least he saw their eyes light up at the mention of a System Event, and most seemed to nearly instantly forgive and forget his coin-flipping antics.

The third and final vote of the World Congress will pertain to the upcoming System Event to help the enlightened races of Earth. All System Events will primarily compose of combat, and any participants are advised to recognize such.

All events will offer unique rewards and opportunities.

Options for the System Event:

1.Tournament (Singles)

2.Tournament (Groups)

3.Town Defense

4.Treasure Hunt

5.Event Dungeons

The Tournaments will include both battles against monsters as well as other enlightened beings of Earth. If Singles are chosen, the battles will primarily consist of 1 vs. 1 fights between monsters and enlightened ones, while Groups will include group battles and larger combat scenarios against monsters. The monsters will be rare variants from across the multiverse, both powerful and valuable. Groups can consist of up to 10 members. For Singles, all rewards will be given individually, while for Groups, it will be split evenly among Group members.

The Town Defense event will see the enlightened beings of Earth in a city of old, and they will have to defend it from ever-increasing waves of invading monsters. Every Pylon will be granted their own minor settlement to defend. However, an alliance of up to five Pylons may be established before the event and allow them only to defend a single City instead. The invaders will carry much bounty for you to claim. All rewards will be split among the defenders, partly based on contributions.

The Event Dungeons will offer three distinct dungeons that can be challenged in parties of up to five and two Challenge Dungeons that can only be attempted by individuals. Rewards will be split according to standard dungeon rules, with a final reward given depending on overall performance.

The Treasure Hunt will see the participants travel to a foreign land filled with treasures to be unearthed and discovered or hidden away by a lost civilization in their safest and well-defended chambers. Beat challenges and claim your spoils. During the Treasure Hunt, the participants will encounter other creatures attempting to claim the items, as well as the ever-present threat of the other enlightened ones and the environment itself. The Treasure Hunt will be entered individually, and all rewards are individually earned.

All events will take a total of 10 days and will begin in three months (90 days). Beware that death is a risk, but all participants will have the possibility of surrendering and exiting any ongoing Event at the cost of a reduced reward. All participants must be D-grade or above or be granted an exception to participate by the system. Anyone who meets the requirements to participate will be given an invitation upon initiation of the chosen System Event.

Three days after the chosen event concludes, there will be an Auction where the participants and cities may auction off their spoils as well as any other valuables they hold onto. More details regarding the Auction will come after the conclusion of the System Event.

Only one option may be chosen.

Voting will begin in: 3:59:59

It was a massive notification, and everyone in the entire hall was silent for a moment as they all took it in. Jake also carefully took it all in, already considered what option he liked the most. Actually… it was a bit like when he was choosing skills. 5 options too. Of course, there was the difference that he would have to discuss it with a massive group of other interested parties this time.

Miranda didn’t hesitate as she obscured their platform, and just in time as Jake saw many other factions do the same. There were a few that didn’t, but the vast majority did. They needed to discuss the new information and reach an internal consensus.

”Thoughts?” Miranda asked openly.

”I think the solo tournament would be best for Haven. We don’t have a lot of powerful groups besides Neil’s party, and most of the other events seem more catered towards groups. However, if it is purely solo battles, I believe we have the strongest person on Earth,” Lillian said, being the practical person she was.

There was just one issue with that. ”No thanks,” Jake answered, shaking his head.

A tournament honestly just sounded… boring. Besides a handful of the people present, he didn’t see anyone even capable of putting up an entertaining fight. The Sword Saint and maybe one or two others could likely offer a good bout, so the entire tournament would just be him fighting monsters. And while that did sound quite entertaining, he liked many of the other options more.

Lillian looked a bit confused, but Miranda seemed to understand his thoughts as she nodded in acknowledgment.

”I think Town Defense would be the worst option for us. That event seems heavily focused on the power of cities as a whole, and Haven simply isn’t big enough for that to seem like a good idea. Also, the rewards seem to be heavily biased towards large parties, and even if one has an exemplary performance, they will very likely have to share a lot of the bounty with others. As Haven is more focused on singular, powerful individuals, that entire options seems like a bad idea,” Miranda said.

Jake agreed. Also, it said waves, which likely meant hordes, which meant a lot of busywork killing weaker enemies.

”I am personally leaning towards Dungeons or that Treasure Hunt,” Jake said.

While Haven already had a D-grade dungeon close by, that wasn’t the part of the event he focused on. It was the two Challenge Dungeons. Jake had only ever been in one Challenge Dungeon, and that had awarded him his current profession and put him on the Path of the Malefic Viper. It had been a major turning point for his progress and an invaluable experience. The gains outside of the profession were also good for a dungeon you couldn’t even be level 10 to enter, having provided both stat-gaining items, that mural that gave 10 willpower, and of course the entire garden and living area he cleaned up. Oh, and on top of it all, he even gained usual dungeon rewards, aka the spatial necklace and fabulous boots.

He wouldn’t discount the regular dungeons too. If they gave loot the same as in the tutorial, he would come out with quite a haul if he managed to clear just 2 of them during the ten days. It was all a gamble, of course, but he should be able to make solid progress, considering his relative strength compared to the rest of the planet.

The other option he liked was the Treasure Hunt. Why? Well, it was in the name. Jake liked treasures, and he liked hunting. How could he not like an event centered around hunting down treasures then? Moreover… he felt like he was quite suited for it.

Hunter’s Tracking, Sense of the Malefic Viper, an insanely high perception stat, not to mention all the benefits from his Bloodline such as improved intuition, his danger sense when breaking into well-defended chambers, and of course his Sphere of Perception that had grown immensely since his evolution. If anyone was good at finding cool stuff and getting to it, he felt like it was him.

Also… of all the options, Treasure Hunt seemed the most ”open”. The rest looked way more regulated with set challenges to overcome. Based on the description, the Treasure Hunt would be an area perhaps a bit like the tutorial, allowing those who truly stand out to exemplify themselves. That meant Jake could spend the entire ten days going for the good stuff and not waste the first few days slogging through the easy parts.

Heck, it even mentioned competing with other humans and the Risen, so he would even get a chance to test his mettle against the other powerhouses of Earth.

Out of all the options, he also felt like it synergized best with the subsequent Auction.

Thinking about it, the idea of an Auction was quite interesting, especially considering it would be in three months. With a system store now available for at least a while, many would be able to craft more and better stuff than ever before, and surely they would save the best for the Auction.

Jake voiced his opinion to the others, as well as his reasoning. They seemed to get it, but Miranda did have a point of concern.

”Based on the rules, there is nothing stopping factions from grouping up during the Treasure Hunt. While the minimum requirement of D-grade will mean you can’t enter with an army, I can still see most of the major factions enter with quite a group in three months. Haven won’t have as many, so we may be outmanned severely and be taken advantage of.”

”I am very confident Eleanor, Christen, Levi, Silas, and I will achieve D-grade for the event,” Neil chimed in.

”Me too, but that will still leave us severely behind pretty much every faction besides some of the smaller ones,” Miranda said, shaking her head.

”You are only making it sound more enticing,” Jake said with a toothy smile. ”While I can empathize with you guys being ganged up on, I personally welcome it. Besides, I doubt they will dare grouping up on me. The system said death is still a risk.”

”Yeah… but needlessly killing anyone will be a diplomatic disaster,” Miranda, shaking her head again.

”If they try to start shit, it isn’t needless. While I would prefer not to have to, I am not averse to making a few examples,” Jake said, mirroring her shaking head.

He truly didn’t want to kill humans if he could avoid it, as he knew how complicated it was. It was the same reason why he tried to avoid killing even invaders like Abby and Donald, but just like Abby and Donald, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill if he decided it was necessary.

Jake still vividly remembered the ambush that had nearly killed him back in the tutorial. If he were ever put in a similar spot, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill every single fucking person involved; consequences be damned.

If he were worried that there would be retaliation, Jake would just rely on the nugget of wisdom from the Viper… become strong enough for them not to dare and try anything. Of course, he knew that as humans, they were emotional creatures and didn’t always act logically, but the stronger one gets, the more people tend to value their lives. Well, Jake was a hard exception to that, considering the still near-suicidal behavior he was willing to exert if he could get a good fight.

”Just don’t overdo it and tell me if you kill a scion of some faction or the son of a City Lord or something like that,” Miranda answered. She looked like she knew she couldn’t convince him otherwise… and she was right.

”I don’t think most factions will try anything either. Is it really worth the risk to attack those from Haven?” Jake asked, trying to convince her.

”Not with you around, no, but the rest of us? While some might still be rebuffed, just as many won’t care,” she answered. ”Anyway, dungeons or Treasure hunt. Got it. Which one would you prefer?”

”Treasure Hunt,” Jake answered, having convinced himself quite a bit as he thought about it and the subsequent discussion.

”Alright.”

Their platform was made visible, and they just stood there for a while and waited. Soon, Sanctdomo to one side and Saya to the other also became visible. Jake looked towards Jacob, who returned his gaze, and Jake threw him a questioning look.

Jacob smiled as he mouthed the word: ”Treasure.”

Jake smiled and subtly nodded. He wasn’t surprised at all. He had expected Jacob and the Holy Church to either want Treasure Hunt or the Town Defense one. Town Defense because they were the largest city Jake knew of, and Treasure Hunt because they had a living cheat with the power to divine where valuable things could be found.

As Miranda had noted, then high city populations weren\'t necessarily that big of an advantage. This event would only be for the elites, no matter what. Three months seemed like a long time, but one must remember that D-grade wasn’t that easy to reach. Neil and his party were all regarded as powerful experts, yet he couldn’t promise they would all reach D-grade before the deadline.

One by one, all the platforms became visible. No one stepped forth right away to voice their opinions but waited patiently for the entire hall to be ready.

This vote was a bit different from all those prior. This vote wasn’t one that truly concerned the trade managers or was even really political. It was a decision only those who had reached D-grade or had the confidence to be D-grade by the deadline should really be involved in making.

As the silence permeated the room, Jake soon noticed that most were looking up towards him and the platforms to his sides. Waiting for them to start it - Something they didn’t get a chance to as one of the few factions present nearly entirely based on combat spoke first.

”The Court of Shadows proposes we vote for the Singles Tournament,” Caleb spoke, breaking the silence.

Many frowned across the hall, but Jake’s brother didn’t give them time to comment before he came with his explanation.

”Properly establishing the power rankings of the strongest on Earth will surely be a valuable thing and will allow the strongest to battle each other in relative safety. From my understanding, as long as you surrender, you won’t die, and the system has a tendency to heal people as they exit trials, so this would allow us all to go all out and have the best learn from each other. Additionally, the tournaments differentiate themselves by a winner being guaranteed, and hence bountiful rewards being guaranteed. In all other events, we may get unlucky and end up with nearly nothing if we fail to complete enough of the event.”

Even more frowns filled the room, and many glances were also thrown towards Jake, with also quite a few directed at the Sword Saint. Everyone knew that either the old man or the masked man would win if a tournament was to begin here and now, and chances are that dynamic wouldn’t change unless either of them began slacking off.

As to why the Court would choose to vote for the singles tournament when they didn’t have the winner on their team?

It was something even Jake could quickly figure out. First of all, Caleb believed Jake would likely win, and secondly, while the Court wouldn’t win, they would probably have quite a few good placements. Assassins tended to be quite good at one versus one fights, after all.

”Would it not be equally valuable to know which city ranks the highest?” a female voice sounded out from the platform with the undead. ”We propose the Town Defense event to help cities and experts prove they truly can defend their citizens while at the same time allowing us to work together and form stronger bonds among our fellow Earthlings and prove the strength of our alliances. If we fear missing out, would it not be an idea for some of the top settlements to group together? Haven, Sanctdomo, Saya, Midtgaard, Skyggen… if such cities banded together, wouldn’t we surely be able to lay claim to the best the system has to offer by putting our best experts together?”

And thus… another long discussion began.