The Primal Hunter

Caleb stared at the rain as he felt space close in on him from behind. Carmen and Sylphie now both stood up as they also stared, concerned at the collapsing world behind them.

“I believe we should leave,” Caleb said. He really wanted to stay and observe, but he also knew he could not get closer to avoid the collapsing space. All of them wanted to see how this duel would end, but sadly reality did not make that possible.

Even Eron agreed as the man who was said to be immortal clearly didn’t want to wrestle with what lay beyond the broken world of Yalsten. Understandable, as such a place was the domain of the gods and not somewhere a mortal should ever find themselves.

With resignation, their figures disappeared one by one, with Sylphie and Carmen being the third and second-to-last to leave, with only Caleb remaining.

Good luck, Jake, he thought as he disappeared, unsure of who would win till the very end.

Treasure Hunt will end in: 4:00

Jake and the Sword Saint sent each other flying away from each other as the water and arcane energy mixed, their blades both soaked in their respective energies. The old man had lost an arm, but his movements were still sharp and powerful, but it did allow Jake to keep up in melee a bit more easily.

Both of them were low on resources, and time was running out in every sense of the word. The only place they were decently okay was in health points and the reason for that? The potion cooldown. The Sword Saint had used one after he lost his arm, and Jake had also used it at the same time as he had the opportunity and had a strong feeling he would need it. The potion did not allow the Saint to regrow his arm or anything like that, and neither did it even come close to healing the more than a hundred cuts and stabs on Jake’s body. What it did allow them to do was keep fighting.

The old man was now truly old, and all his hair was gray with wrinkles everywhere on his body and face. For every second that passed, he got closer and closer to his original appearance, and Jake felt like he had weakened, but far less than Jake would have expected. But even if he had weakened, it wasn’t like Jake himself was in top form.

Jake felt the toll on his body primarily caused by Arcane Awakening as more and more of his skin flayed and broke – him having already deactivated Scales of the Malefic Viper to save on mana as they didn’t help much anymore.

The Sword Saint didn’t use his skills anymore, except for the occasional crescent wave, raindrop attack, and barrier of rain, but even those had stopped now. Jake was also certain the old man would not be able to keep going anymore if not for the effects of the Summer Rain skill constantly rejuvenating him. Without it, the poison should have left him incapacitated by now.

A crack of space suddenly separated them once more, not only creating space but also making Jake’s arrow disappear as it was turned to nothing. For every moment passing, those cracks appeared more and more frequently, forcing the two of them to wrestle with them while battling.

The intensity of Jake’s Arcane Awakening was slowly lessening as the rainfall also wasn’t as heavy anymore, the Sword Saint barely manipulating it as they fought, likely out of resources to do so. Jake tried to take advantage as the old man didn’t want to teleport anymore, as he fired a Splitting Arrow with the sparse resources he had remaining.

At the same time, he tried to use Gaze but felt it only activate for an incredibly brief moment as his head hurt, and both of his eyes began dripping with blood from overuse. However, it was worth it as the Sword Saint was struck by two arrows, one in his arm and another in his stomach, making him groan in pain. The only negative thing was that the Saint had still managed to deflect the arrow with poison on it.

Jake tried to use the opening but found the Sword Saint already attacking him, forcing him to draw his own scimitar to block. Jake stepped down as he used One Step Mile, but the moment he did, his danger sense flared as Jake only teleported five or so meters before a tear of space appeared where he had just disappeared from and all the way to where he was, forcing him to jump back to avoid it.

One Step Mile is out of the question, Jake told himself as both he and the Sword Saint saw the tear in space, the old man clearly also deciding to stay far away from anything even close to teleportation for good.

During the fight with the Monarch and the first part of this fight, the less stable space was more helpful than anything to Jake. It made using One Step Mile easier as if he had less to fight against to teleport, but now it was like he simply tore a hole whenever he used the skill, creating a dangerous situation. The brief thought of using it offensively appeared, but he seriously doubted he could make it work and was fully aware that he had just gotten lucky to not get caught in it himself. Additionally… he couldn’t really afford spending the stamina on it.

Hunt will end in: 3:00

Jake struck first as he fired an arrow, forcing the Sword Saint to deflect it, as another one swiftly followed, which exploded, making the old man get sent back slightly. Arcane Arrow was simply the most cost-effective skill he had, which is why he kept using it, with the exploding ones costing a good deal more than the stable version.

Needless to say, Jake wanted to avoid running out of stamina as if Arcane Awakening ended before the duel ended would be what in the fighting business was called a very bad time.

They kept up the exchange of arrows shot and the old man blocking as the Saint slowly came closer, one step at a time. Jake could no longer retreat due to the world shrinking and was forced to seek downwards as soon they found themselves on solid ground back on the Mistless Plains, Jake instantly dispelling his wings to avoid the upkeep.

If Yalsten was a sphere, then the center of the Mistless Plains at ground level was the absolute middle, making that the last place to collapse, forcing them closer and closer to it. Jake kept shooting arrows as long as he could before space finally shrank to be only a few hundred meters across, and with the Sword Saint getting closer, he didn’t have time to nock and release another arrow.

He switched to his scimitar just in time as their blades met, both of them weaker and slower than before. Three arrows stuck out of the Saint’s body, reduced from four as the old man had ripped the one poisoned arrow out already.

Jake fought the Sword Saint as they exchanged several blows, him losing out as he was simply outmatched in skill. He had it going for him that he managed to dodge most counters, but it was simply impossible to dodge them all.

Will end in: 2:00

Taking advantage of having more than one hand, Jake used the other one as he tried to grab the Sword Saint, him using a bit of mana to infuse it into his gloves. Probably afraid of Touch of the Malefic Viper, the old man avoided his hand as he kept Jake at a distance favorable to him.

Gritting his teeth, Jake kept pressing the issue as he felt himself now overpower the Sword Saint in strength. He wasn’t sure if it was because of his Arcane Awakening or the old man getting weaker, and he didn’t have time to think about it either as he tried to push his advantage.

Dozens of blows were exchanged as the blade of rain met the arcane-infused blade, sending droplets and arcane energy flying. Jake finally spotted an opening as he prepared to attack but thought twice as he identified it as a feint. Instead, he just did a more straightforward blow, ignoring the opening to take the Saint by surprise. He swung down as his blade hit the old man in the left shoulder, Jake cleaving into flesh as he momentarily celebrated.

A celebration that soon turned to shock as he noticed he hadn’t been feinted… he had been double-feinted as the old man smiled and allowed Jake’s blade to sink in deeper as he swept his blade down and upwards in a fluid moment.

Jake tried to avoid and succeeded partially as he only felt pain in one of his legs. However, he suddenly felt himself lose his footing as there was no foot to step down with. Jake tumbled back as he tore out his scimitar from the Saint’s body while desperately trying to roll as he blocked another swing from the Saint.

His wrist hurt as he blocked two impacts, with the first one failing to be blocked as Jake got a long cut down his chest mid-roll, making the damage even worse. Using a bit of his last mana, Jake fired a blast of arcane energy out of his hand, sending the old man back as he was forced to block, falling over as he lost his footing just as another crack of space appeared where he was retreating to.

This gave Jake the opportunity to stand up again and even deposit his severed lower leg into this inventory, primarily to make sure he didn’t lose the boot. He stood there with his blade drawn on only one leg as the Sword Saint got to his feet again and attacked. Jake, refusing to give up, dove forward as he blocked another blow, making him lose his balance – or at least make the Sword Saint think he did.

With his one hand, the Pillar appeared once more, Jake using it as leverage as he stopped his fall and raised his entire body as he smashed his leg into the Sword Saint’s side, sending him stumbling back as Jake made the Pillar lighter and swung it as he was still mid-air. To get full power and be able to lift the Pillar, he used both hands as he let his own scimitar fall to the ground. This time he got the intended effect as the Sword Saint tried to block by instinct, not using the redirection skill in time.

The sword was knocked directly out of his hand as the Saint chose between getting a broken wrist or his weapon. Yet at that moment, he also had the awareness to wave his hand as a small collection of raindrops sent Jake’s dropped scimitar flying away, making them both disarmed.

Well, Jake had the Pillar, but he didn’t get the chance to use it much as the old man closed in on him, and before Jake had the chance to swing the massive weapon, but he was forced to deposit it as a staff really wasn’t good in such close combat.

End in: 1:00

The old man stuck forward, Jake avoiding his one arm by swaying as he moved to counter, but found his balance too bad as he was kicked in the stomach. Before he could recover, he received an uppercut, but just as the Sword Saint tried to elbow him in the chest, Jake grasped his arm as he smirked.

Jake punched the Sword Saint in his face with the other, following up with a headbutt just as he received a low-kick himself, making him fall over. Jake still had hold of the old man’s arm and dragged him down to the ground with him as Jake got on top and began punching him repeatedly.

He managed to land a dozen hits before he was jabbed in the throat as a leg swept up and pulled Jake backward, smashing him into the ground, with the Saint rolling away to get standing again. Jake couldn’t stand up properly for good reasons, but he stilled pulled himself to a better position as their brawl continued.

They exchanged punches and kicks as blood soiled the ground, neither willing to back down. Both their armors were utterly broken at this point, Jake more or less only wearing a single boot and his mask along with some tattered pants, with the Sword Saint only clothed on his lower body.

00:30

Jake tried to use Fangs of the Malefic Viper but found himself missing as he instead was high-kneed in the face, still sending him back in pain despite the mask. Several bones in his face were broken as he learned that his trying to bite made the mask phase-through not just for himself to bite but also when receiving attacks.

For a few moments, Jake was on the back foot as his vision was blurry, but with his sphere, he managed to dodge a blow as he countered.

He yelled as he landed a right hook on the old man’s face, sending two teeth flying out as he was chopped right into one of his deep sword wounds, making him wince in pain as the wound widened. Jake growled as his other hand palmed one of the arrows in the Sword Saint’s body, making it penetrate even deeper, sending the old man stumbling back as he painfully wheezed.

They were separated as they breathed heavily before engaging again.

00:15

A few more tired blows were exchanged before Jake’s danger sense reacted as space suddenly tore open just before they hit each other, blasting them both back in opposite directions, rolling on the ground.

00:10

Jake pushed himself up and noticed his bow in his sphere, only seven or eight meters away. He ran on three legs over to it as quickly as he could as he also saw the Saint had been blasted in the direction of his own sword, the old man also rushing to pick it up.

00:07

Managing to pick up the bow, Jake knew he only had one real opportunity left as the Sword Saint had also picked up his sword and gotten to his feet – him having the clear advantage in movement with two legs and all.

00:05

Jake stood on one leg as he summoned an arrow and willed as much energy to appear as he could, his Arcane Awakening almost flickering as he nearly couldn’t keep it going. Yet he pulled out just enough as he pulled the string fully back.

00:03

Arcane Powershot channeled as the Sword Saint charged towards him, his blade burning with far more power than Jake thought he should possibly be able to summon at this stage.

00:02

The two made eye contact as Jake saw that the old man was fully back to his old appearance from before his transformation. Both of them were on their last legs and pulled out all they had for the final clash.

00:01

Jake and the Sword Saint yelled simultaneously as Jake released the string just as the blade ascended with space collapsing upon them, the Treasure Hunt coming to an end.

00:00