The Primal Hunter

”I already told them to go fuck themselves,” the short-haired woman said with a shrug. “Turns out that when the big boss is backing you, everyone else also just backs down. Funny how that works.”

“My interpretation is that you just like to create chaos and political uproar,” Jake grinned.

“Who gives a shit?” Carmen said, clearly not caring much.

“Well, not me in particular,” Jake shrugged as he looked at the pugilist that had come by to visit. This was not her first time coming by, either, as she had barged in – or at least tried to, only to be stopped by a system-made barrier – the day she arrived on the city floor.

Through his sphere, he also saw others slowly making their way over to their chosen meeting spot, with the next to arrive likely being the Sword Saint.

“Davian is still being a bitch complaining about people talking,” Carmen sighed, clearly annoyed as she looked at Jake casually mix some stuff into the cauldron. She herself was also fidgeting with some weird stone figurine in her hand.

“Shouldn’t the talk have died down by now? What are they even saying at this point?” Jake asked, not caring overly much about what people were saying.

“It’s quite romantic, actually,” an old man said as he appeared in the doorway. “A real Romeo and Juliet tale. Two souls from opposite sides of a conflict, their love seeking to overcome even the will of the gods. I am sure books of such a forbidden love shall be written.”

“Hey, old man, wanna test how strong those bones of yours are? The ones in your face in particular,” Carmen shot back as she turned to him.

“No, I am quite confident my feeble old bones are not fit to match the fist of a Runemaiden,” the Sword Saint chuckled. “And would it lighten your mood to know this rumor is not exclusive to you two?”

“Oh?” Jake asked, confused. He had to admit he was not up-to-date on the latest gossip, but considering the old man nearly had enough Minaga Coins for his toll, he seemed to have some more time.

“An even more unbelievable and romantic tale,” the Sword Saint said as he went over and took a seat. “Imagine the scene. Two lovers even before the initiation, but in the final moments before the universe changes, one of them sadly perishes… only for the system to arrive and allow them to return to life. Both are thrust into their own Tutorials, neither aware of how the other is doing or even that they live… but the moment they arrive back on the same planet, they find themselves part of warring factions, with one now even a Risen.”

“Wait,” Jake said, but the Sword Saint raised a hand.

“Could you imagine the pain these two poor souls must feel? To finally be reunited, only to discover their love is forbidden. Even so, it refuses to fade, no matter how they try… and when they once more encounter each other within Nevermore, free from the oppression and influence of their factions, love blossoms stronger than ever before,” the old man, spinning quite the tale.

“You can’t be serious, right?” Jake questioned, knowing who he was talking about.

Smiling, the old man pulled out a painting from his spatial storage. Jake looked at it for one moment as he nearly choked and momentarily lost control of his mana.

The painting depicted two people Jake knew quite well. One was an extremely handsome man with loose robes and deep blue eyes. He had a white rose in his hand as he held it out in a romantic gesture while staring intensely into the eyes of the other person across from him. Opposite stood a pale man with hesitation in his eyes, looking shy as he held a black robe behind his back, his clothes also halfway undressed for some reason.

Who else could the painting depict but Jacob and Casper? Highly stylized versions of them, anyway.

“You seriously painted that?” Carmen asked in disbelief.

“Naturally,” the Sword Saint nodded proudly.

“It’s pretty good,” she nodded.

“Seriously?” Jake raised an eyebrow.

“What? I may be a brute, but I can appreciate good art when I see it,” Carmen shrugged.

“It’s practically fanart,” Jake protested, pointing at the painting as he turned to look at its painter. “And why the hell did you even paint that to begin with? Too much free time?”

“For the Minaga Coins, of course,” the old man answered, flashing a large smile. “Recently, paintings on this topic have been trendy, and the Brokers gladly buy them for high prices, especially as the demand is high while the supply is low. Being a first-mover in the market has already been a big advantage.”

“How bloody bored are people?” Jake had a damn hard time understanding. “I would ask if people also wrote fanfiction, but from your smirk, I am just going to assume the answer is yes… how the hell did that rumor even begin?”

“A very good question,” the Sword Saint nodded. “It would have had to be someone from Earth to know about their relationship before the system. Additionally, they must have started this rumor and helped perpetuate it for some tangible gain, would they not?”

“Are you for real?” Jake said, his mouth open as Carmen giggled.

“I gotta admit, old man, you are far more entertaining than I first give you credit for,” she said, still looking at the painting.

“Pretty sure you even painting that qualifies as blasphemy. Also, isn’t the Risen and Holy Church pissed? Oh, and why the hell did none of them mention this is going on?” Jake questioned.

“When did you last talk to either of them?” the old man asked.

“About… two weeks ago, I would say?” Jake said.

“Well, that answers it then. These rumors started only ten or so days ago and have been spreading like wildfire since, with the prices still spiking. They should reach a zenith within the month, and hopefully, I should be able to collect the final coins by then. Or at least get very close,” the Sword Saint explained.

“You think that painting can fetch that much?” Carmen asked.

“Of course not,” the old man shook his head. “I have a collection that I happened to coincidentally pre-prepare.”

“You know what? We should change the topic, as the two main characters of your head-canon are nearly here,” Jake gave up as he didn’t wanna discuss the topic more. Casper and Jacob were indeed arriving within the minute. Considering the two were not walking together when they arrived at the hotel, Jake did find it suspicious that they arrived within thirty seconds of each other.

Maybe there was something to those rumors after all… not.

Jake heard them talking in the hallway as they walked over, quite loudly too.

“I swear if I ever find the guy who spread this bullshit…” Casper spoke loudly from outside. “And you said you tried to kill the rumor?”

“That I did, and there was some effect for a while, but not much. At this point, I fear that denial will only strengthen the delusions of those who have chosen to believe the rumor,” Jacob said, his voice full of hopelessness.

“Lyra is pissed, just in case you were wondering,” Casper kept complaining. Jake looked at the old man as he lifted a finger to his lips and shushed, getting a muted giggle out of Carmen. She enjoyed this far too much.

When Jake saw them enter, he also couldn’t help himself.

“The loverboys arrive,” Jake announced them loudly as they walked in together. “Coming from a date?”

“Very funny,” Casper stared daggers as he also saw Carmen. “Shouldn’t throw stones when you live in a greenhouse. Aren’t there also rumors about you two?”

“It’s stones in a glass house,” Jacob sighed. “And at least there is some partial truth to that rumor, right?”

“See, now you make me want to punch both of you in the face,” Carmen smiled as she looked at Jacob. “You especially, Augur of Cons.”

“The Holy Church is not a con,” Jacob shook his head.

“Sure, and the Primordial Church is not a cult of fanatics,” Carmen snorted. “Let’s not beat around the bush; the Holy Church is a fucking meatgrinder of souls to fuel the Holyland, nothing else, nothing more.”

“Now, let’s not get all political here,” the Sword Saint shook his head.

Yeah… Carmen did not like Jacob. Jake couldn’t really blame her, either. Had Jake not known Jacob before the system, he too would be far less inclined to engage with the Augur.

“Besides, more people are coming,” Jake commented as he saw two others approach. Caleb would naturally also participate in their little meeting, and he had even brought along Maria, who Jake hadn’t met up with before. He did know she had arrived on the floor, having gone to the ceremony at the Order and all, but that didn’t mean he expected her to participate.

One could say many things about Minaga’s city floor – not many of them kind – but it was certain that it functioned as a nice gathering spot of geniuses. The record set by Jake’s party had even been broken about eight months back by a group from the United Tribes, led by a beast that reminded Jake of the Great White Stag.

Caleb and Maria soon joined them as they all greeted each other. The two of them had both only done the Demon Lord empowered with one artifact, making them get mocked a bit, while everyone else present had done it with all three on full power. Jake was kind of amazed the Holy Church had done it, considering Jacob was not a fighter, but he had shared that it was perfectly doable with Bertram able to revive. Having a guy who could use ultra-powerful items that would blow him up after use was quite an advantage, and Jake still remembered that Holy Sword during the fight with the Monarch of Blood.

It was good to finally catch up with everyone, despite it not being that long for many of them. Jacob did feel a bit out of place at times, but he took the constant jabs at the Church with grace, recognizing the faction was problematic.

A lot of blasphemy was definitely going on, that was for sure.

On a side note, this get-together was pre-integration Earthlings only. Sylphie and the Fallen King would not join them, partly because they were busy gathering more Minaga Coins to catch up but also because they wouldn’t fit in. Matteo had also rejected the invitation due to not fitting in, with Bertram not going as he wanted to focus on gathering Minaga Coins.

Someone that didn’t care about failing to fit in was the last person who was about to arrive.... someone Jake had not at all expected would actually bother. It was the healer that had mysteriously disappeared from Earth only to reappear at Nevermore with the Dao Sect. He had arrived with a party that was not only hailed as real contenders for the top spot but had even broken the record of the group from the United Tribes, making them the current record-holders.

He was naturally talking about Eron, the last person invited. Arnold would also have been, but he had yet to reach the city floor. Jake only heard about that group from scouts placed by the Court of Shadows, and the weird void party apparently stopped on every single city floor for quite a while and engaged with the Challenge Dungeons there before moving on. An odd strategy, but the entire theme of Arnold’s party was being weird as fuck, so it tracked.

Jake kept an eye on Eron through his sphere as he walked towards the large hotel room they had booked. He looked the same as before and did not wear much equipment, based on what Jake could see. The moment he entered the hallway leading to the room, Jake felt something he had not felt for a while bubble up from deep inside of him. He frowned as he suddenly began to feel… hungry. Famished.

When Eron appeared in the doorway, Jake had to restrain himself as he nearly instinctively jumped the healer. Jacob went to greet Eron, but Jake remained seated as he clenched his fists, suppressing himself.

Fuck… Jake cursed the curse as he took a deep breath and forced down the feeling. He knew where it was coming from too. As the wielder of a cursed weapon, one he had even tethered to his soul, it was natural to be influenced by it… but this was a first. Because looking at Eron, he felt an overwhelming sense of gluttony.

Eternal Hunger could smell the feast before it, and it wanted to dine.

“Are you okay?” Caleb asked Jake as everyone turned to look at him.

“Yeah…” Jake said with a sigh, returning his senses to reality. Eron stood not far from him and smiled as he stretched out a hand.

Jake controlled himself enough to extend a hand and shake it as Eron raised an eyebrow and nodded. “Your control of the curse is… impressive.”

“Curse?” Casper practically jumped. “Oh, fucking hell, you are still walking around with that?”

“It’s a great weapon, just a bit hungry at times,” Jake defended himself, having properly reined in Eternal Hunger. The curse was still lurking, but Jake was no longer filled with the same sense of starvation. Now it was just a slight buzz telling him to pounce - that a wellspring of vital energy stood before him, reaching levels Jake could not even properly understand. Jake did wonder… if Eron had addressed his weakness to soul attacks, was he truly invincible unless some utterly overwhelming force appeared? Because as things were now... Jake got the feeling he wouldn't be able to do much to Eron, and he wondered if anyone else at their level could. Shit, he reckoned that the overpowered healer could have potentially soloed the Demon Lord at full power alone. It would have taken a damn long time, but it should be possible. This feeling did make him uncomfortable, but he knew Eron could not truly be invincible.

There must be a poison I can make, Jake told himself as Casper spoke once more.

“It’s a fucking Sin curse; the longer you keep it with you, the more it will embed itself in your soul until one day it becomes a part of you so significant you can no longer cut it out without severely hurting your Path permanently,” Casper explained, trying to be helpful. “As your resident curse expert, I would bloody know.”

“Well…” Jake shrugged as he took out Eternal Hunger. Casper looked at it for one second before face-palming.

“Fucking lunatic.”

“I shall take that as a compliment,” Jake smiled as he put the weapon away and turned his attention back to Eron. “I did not expect you to show up.”

“Why not?” Eron asked with a raised eyebrow and a smile.

“You disappeared from Earth without anyone knowing what happened, only to show up here with the Dao Sect, a notoriously recluse faction. A faction I know is big on cutting out your prior life and dedicating your entire being to your Path,” Jake pointed out.

“I must admit I also find it… odd. They are isolationists by default,” Jacob commented.

“So does the Holy Church wish to brand itself, yet you, Augur, find yourself in the company of a Runemaiden of Valhal, a Judge from the Court of Shadows, a mercenary in the service of Gwyndyr, the notorious Chosen of the Malefic Viper, a Transcendent blessed by Aeon, and finally a student of the Dao Sect. Why is that, Augur?” Eron asked.

Jacob narrowed his eyes. “We are in Nevermore… and I have been given certain freedoms due to my position and what they expect of me.”

“Then, perhaps I find myself in a similar situation,” Eron nodded, not sharing further.

“People will still talk,” Jacob pointed out.

“If mere words can sway one’s Path, then you have far to go,” Eron shook his head. “The opinions of others are of no consequence. Missing a meeting with all of my fellow Earthlings would only be a cause for regret.”

“Some of us do have to consider the impact our actions have on others,” Caleb pointed out. “Not everyone can act carefree.”

Jacob nodded to that. “True. The reason I am here is that out of everyone, I have the easiest explaining my actions. I am an Augur, and my Path is to help others find their Paths. For me to talk to anyone and everyone is expected, and many believe I am meeting you all to try and bring you onto a Path aligned with the Holy Church.”

“Hey, I have a better reason,” Jake protested. “I don’t really care.”

“Perfect argumentation,” the Sword Saint chuckled.

“I’m just a mercenary who was hired to be here if anyone asks,” Maria shrugged.

“And I am here because this was simply where my Path took me,” Eron finally smiled as he took a seat before turning to look at Jake. “Now, pray tell, how is our dear small planet doing these days, World Leader?”