The Primal Hunter

“I know, I know, and I do feel genuinely apologetic that I had to keep this secret, but I feared it would impact you negatively if you knew from the beginning I was truly a god,” Minaga said, shaking his head.

“Could the fact that you could create different avatars have been a clue?” Jake questioned himself.

“Ah, to be fair, that wasn’t an avatar. In fact, I don’t make avatars,” Minaga said, waving off the notion. “The entire sentiment of avatar-creation just seems so unnecessary when you are Minaga.”

“I do want to ask you what you mean by that, considering it is clearly a leading question, but I would honestly rather wait and see the sweet loot you promised,” Jake said, Minaga looking slightly disappointed.

“Sure you don’t wanna know my big secret? It isn’t actually a secret, mind you, but something everyone who knows about me is aware of, but I still like to call it my big secret for sentimental reasons as it was a big secret once upon a time. Back when I was a mortal, that is. You know, because I am no longer a mortal now. Being a god and all,” Minaga said, staring inquisitively at Jake.

“Loot first,” Jake insisted.

“It’s considered customary to be super respectful to gods, you know.”

“And even more customary for loot to drop after you beat a dungeon, but here we are,” Jake masterfully countered.¨

“Damn loot goblin…” the Unique Lifeform grumbled.

“By the way, why do you keep your voice infused with Willpower even now?” Jake questioned as he found it kind of odd.

“Because I am a god, and it makes me appear more dignified, yet intimidating,”

he answered. “But seeing as you don’t seem to respect the culture of the multiverse, I guess that sentiment is wasted on you.”

“Sorry, I guess,” Jake shrugged, unbothered.

“Just for that, you will be the last one to get your loot,” Minaga said with an evil grin.

“Wait, that isn’t fa-“

“Nope, I already decided, so get in the back of the line and watch me shower your party in good stuff before you are allowed to get anything,” Minaga said, having grasped victory in their conversation. “Because that’s right… you all get one reward each! Usually, you can’t give out so many items at once, but that is why I made it so the last five floors didn’t give anything to increase the reward given here. And man, did you hit the jackpot, as I got some real good stuff prepared.”

They all nodded along as Minaga decided to turn to the Fallen King first. “I am starting with you, as quite frankly, what you get is the most boring of everyone. Well, I call it boring, but I doubt you will complain.”

With those words, he pulled out a deep blue glowing orb. The moment it appeared, Jake felt the rush of energy from it and the enormous pressure it seemed to exude on its surroundings. Jake looked at it and used Identify as he quickly understood what it was.

[Minaga’s Soulcore (Unique)] – The Soulcore of the slain C-grade Unique Lifeform known as Minaga. This Soulcore contains a significant amount of Records related to the Unique Lifeform and has many alchemical uses. Directly consuming the Soulcore will lead to unexpected effects. The Records and energies within are enhanced through unknown means, making the Soulcore even more potent.

It was true that in Jake’s eyes, the reward didn’t look that special, but based on the Fallen King’s reaction, it was clearly something he wanted very badly. He did look confused, though.

“This item… could only appear if you had truly died… but…” the Fallen King said, as he nevertheless accepted the orb, not caring about the pride he showed earlier where he borderline refused to even talk to Minaga.

“See, I wanted to tell you why creating this item is possible for me, but Jake here refused to let me explain my big secret, so I can’t,” Minaga said with a big sigh as he threw a glance at Jake.

“Fine…” Jake relented.

“Great,” Minaga grinned as he cleared his voice and made his second grand declaration of the day. “I can create clones of myself.”

Only to say something utterly underwhelming.

“Uhm,” Dina said a bit nervously. “I think most people learn to do that at some point…”

“I don’t think you understand,” Minaga corrected her. “I make actual clones.”

Dina seemed confused, and Jake also wasn’t sure what he was getting at.

“Could you elaborate?” the Sword Saint questioned.

Minaga smiled, very satisfied with having piqued their curiosity.

“When people usually create alternative versions of themselves, it is through pouring items into making a puppet, creating an avatar that holds a portion of your full power, or maybe just a projection with no real power besides just a bit of mental energy. I do neither. I create a second version of myself… independent from any of the others. In power, soul, existence, and Records,” Minaga smiled. “The only thing linking us is our minds, as we are all still the same, even if we stand independently. So, yes, the Minaga you killed was truly me. A clone of me, anyway.”

“That is… not a possible skill,” the Fallen King began. “Unless it is your Unique skill, but even so, it seems too powerful. It breaks conventions.”

“You know as well as I that the Unique skills of us Unique Lifeforms go beyond the rules of the multiverse and are pretty much just Transcendent skills that aren’t actually classified as Transcendent skills due to being granted by the system. We are living anomalies, after all. But, there is some truth to what you said… it is too powerful, hence its limitations. Only a certain number of Minagas can exist at once, though I can make more if they are lower-leveled clones. Oh, and one minor other detail. I don’t have any skills besides that one.”

“Wait, no skills?” Jake questioned. “What do you mean by that?”

“That my status screen has one single skill and that I never got any other. Okay, that is a lie, as I technically have some other skills, but I never had a single skill selection in my life, and everything I do is purely freeform magic. The skills I do have are general utility stuff everyone else also has… though I did never get Identify, so that one is a bit of a bummer. Took a long time to make my own version without a skill.”

“Then was it one of your created clones we fought just now?” the Sword Saint asked clarifyingly.

“Yep, and you did kill it for real,” Minaga confirmed. “It is no different than if you had truly killed a Unique Lifeform at level 275. Because you did.”

“I see,” the Sword Saint nodded. “And then I presume the knowledge and experience this clone of yours comes from the original body?”

“Another misunderstanding,” Minaga smiled. “There is no original body. In fact, the very first Minaga died only in B-grade. There is no original; there are only many iterations of me out there. There is only Minaga.”

“Huh,” Jake muttered as he frowned. “How exactly does-“

“Nope, we are done talking about that topic now that I got you interested,” Minaga said with an evil smile. “You said you wanted loot first, so I am just obliging.”

He then turned to the Dryad in the room before Jake could protest.

“Next up is Dina! I must confess that you impressed me a lot as you even managed to block my Minaga Selfdestruct Attack, though it did seem to take quite a toll. Anyway, I thought about it a lot, and your control is truly impeccable. The problem is what you control. Your vines are strong, but I feel like you need more quality over quantity with them, as only really the ones summoned directly from your Guardian have any real oompf. While I cannot directly tell you what to do or how to improve, I can give you a little something that could help you. Even if you decide to use your reward for something else, that is all fair, as quite frankly, this little thing will be a huge boost no matter what if you successfully learn from it,” Minaga said as he took out an odd wooden box.

Dina looked at it for a while before she accepted and opened it. Right as she did, the entire room was filled with a green aura, and Jake felt all of the mana in the room be replaced. Projections of trees appeared everywhere around them, and moss began growing on the furniture from the sheer density and power of the nature mana. Jake identified the small item within the box before she quickly closed it again.

[Refined Ancestral Branch of the Emerald Forest (Mythical)] – A wooden branch from one of the Ancestral Trees found within the World Wonder known as the Emerald Forest. This forest contains immense power and Records related to the concepts of nature and life, with this branch containing some of the essences of the Emerald Forest. Through unknown means, the branch has been further refined, making the energy within far more manageable to absorb. Unknown alchemical uses.

Jake was taken aback the second he saw the rarity tag, and Dina was also looking at Minaga like he was insane. “This… this is…”

“Right, probably should give an explanation. The Emerald Forest is the World Wonder of the fourth universe and is a giant forest filled with creatures starting at A-grade. Deeper within, you will find beings with the power to rival gods, and in the deepest parts, Godkings don’t even dare set foot. I took that branch pretty far inside of the forest and made some improvements so you can actually use it,” Minaga explained. “It’s a really good thing, and I know that your grandad has spent quite some time within this forest.”

“Can I… isn’t this too much?” Dina questioned while just staring at the box.

“Nope! It’s just enough. Moving on to my fellow swordsman. Your reward is rather self-explanatory, so here ya go,” Minaga said as he took out a disc and threw it casually to the Sword Saint. Jake used Identify on it mid-air.

[Minaga’s Sword Projection Formation Disc (Mythical)] – A formation created by the Unique Lifeform Minaga himself, infused with his soul and essence. The user can Infuse energy into the formation disc to summon a projected arena, including a corporal clone of Minaga wielding a sword. The formation takes approximately thirty minutes to activate, and any disturbances will interrupt the process. Reabsorbing the formation into the formation disc is instant. The soul within the formation has a limited lifespan and can only be summoned for a total of 1000 hours before permanently dispersing, rendering the Sword Projection Formation useless. The summoned projection will always be the same level as the user.

Requirements: Soulbound.

The Sword Saint looked at the item and smiled before he stood up and bowed. “Thank you for continuing your teachings.”

Minaga waved him off. “Eh, I like good students, and that was the best gift I could get on as you don’t look like you need any equipment. There really isn’t much to say, as I created it myself, so you know it is damn awesome. Though it did take a sacrificial ritual using one of my clones, so that was kind of fun. Anyway, moving on to the little featherball!”

Without waiting, Minaga took out what looked like a flower crown, but on second glance, Jake saw it was more of a nest. It looked incredibly odd, and a light green wind seemed to surround it, though compared to the other items, this one had no fearsome aura.

Using Identify, he wasn’t quite sure what to think.

[Dreamy Embrace of the Benevolent Sylph (Mythical)] – An item created by a particularly benevolent Sylph who loved all those who, like her, were loved by the wind. Allows the user to submerge their soul into the dreamy embrace of the nest and enter a small simulated world created by the item’s creator. While within the simulated world, the user may experience the true winds of this benevolent Sylph, taking inspiration and seeking guidance. However, should the user not be loved by the wind and the remnant will of the Sylph not take a liking to them, the dream may become a nightmare and the Sylph less than benevolent.

Requirements: Soulbound.

Sylphie looked at the thing for a bit before jumping out of Jake’s arms and hopping over as Minaga placed the item on the floor. The bird stared inquisitively down at it for a while, as Minaga explained.

“Now, not gonna lie, this item was part of a series of nine, created by a powerful Sylph before she died as a final gift to the world. However, do not think that in any way makes it less impressive. I do also feel like I need to add the fact out of those nine, five have been bound and used by others so far, and this resulted in four of those dying from the Sylph within the dream not being a fan. So, yeah, a lot of people think they are cursed, but I got a good feeling the Sylph will be more than happy with you,” Minaga said as he slightly nudged the nest closer to Sylphie.

The hawk kept looking at it for a moment before screeching and putting it into her little vest’s spatial storage. With the item safely put away, she hopped back to Jake.

“Now you, Jake. Sadly, I also have to give you something, and man, you are truly difficult to give anything to. Unlike the Sword Saint here, giving you a practice partner or something akin to that could potentially do more harm than good, not to mention I risk having Vilas breathing down my neck if I go against any of his intentions. Ah, but you do definitely need to work on your archery. Anyway, that is beside the point,” Minaga began as he looked at Jake.

“I also don’t like to just give equipment as we all know that stuff becomes useless just as you begin to use it. You really had me wracking my brain, you know, until I remembered a special something. While this doesn’t really help make you stronger, it does assist you in potentially becoming so in the future. Plus, it is something Vilas is fine with you getting, so a big bonus in favor of giving it to you there.”

Minaga said as he took out an odd item. It looked like an urn of sorts and didn’t give off any special aura, but Jake still felt like the item was far from ordinary. Using Identify, he was not sure what to think or say as he saw the description.

Soulflames…