The Primal Hunter

Vilastromoz had to admit that the Wyrmgod had managed to gather quite the respectable images to be used as Champions. To see Gudrun had already been surprising, as she wasn’t really known to be that huge of a fighter these days. Even before she became a god, she had been more of a shaman or leader than a Valkyrie that used a spear. Well, it was not like she could have been one, as Valkyrie wasn’t really a term before Gudrun, as she was the one who more or less created that Path.

Yet the seven Champions were even more noteworthy. Two of them were entirely system-created, and their images did not stem from “real” beings – those two naturally being the Lightning Monarch and Archmage. Truthfully, the Viper didn’t care for these two. The only slightly interesting thing about the Lightning Monarch was that his arcane affinity had been taken by the system from a now-dead S-grade that failed to ascend to godhood.

But the other five were quite something.

As Jake had theorized, the dark elf was Umbra. However, based on the Viper’s assessment, it was a significantly weakened Umbra in every single way, with many of the things that made her truly dangerous removed.

The Phoenix Queen was, interestingly enough, the daughter of the Phoenix that the United Tribes had sent to Jake’s Chosen reveal party. In the outside world, she had managed to become a god a few eras ago and now worked alongside her mother.

Vilastromoz didn’t have many comments on the Necromancer. He was a divine general from the Ghostlands and was an incredibly powerful necromancer when he was still a mortal.

That Lord of the Hunt was an archer god Vilastromoz had never interacted directly with. However, she appeared to hail from the Pantheon of Life, so it should be a fun fight.

Finally, there was the Wargod… who was definitely an interesting fellow to include in a Challenge Dungeon like this. Mainly because he – despite the name – was not truly a fighter in the outside world but a renowned blacksmith.

One thing had to be clarified, though. Even if these gods were not fighters or pinnacle beings in the outside world, it truly didn’t matter. The Wyrmgod could have taken any random S-grade and created an image from them, and chances are they would have been far, far beyond Champion material. If he chose to copy their S-grade conceptual understanding and technique level, that is.

However, all these images were made by copying the skill level that the image sources possessed in C-grade. In some ways, it was close to fighting the C-grade version of gods, but even then, there were big differences… because when in C-grade was the image copied from?

There was a vast difference between a level 200 and a level 349 in their technique and conceptual comprehension. For many of the earlier fights, it had been early C-grade images, while the further one got, the further in C-grade the images were also copied from, with many of the Champions copied from late-stage or even peak C-grades.

That is to say, Jake was not fighting a level 0 with the understanding of a level 250 like himself, but more often than not, a level 0 with the understanding of someone above level 300.

“So, what level is Umbra copied from?” the Viper asked.

“Roughy level 280,” the Wyrmgod answered. “The Warmaster is level 349, with the others between level 300 and 340. I believe they will offer your Chosen quite the challenge, and I would be impressed if he manages to eke out victories against every opponent without losing any lives.”

“At least there are no real penalties to losing lives anymore,” Vilastoromoz shrugged.

“Yes, I believed it to be counterproductive to penalize those who attempt to beat the Champions further than the lost bonus from every remaining life. Should he beat two Champions, he will have made back the potential loss,” the Wyrmgod explained. “There has to be balance, after all. And beating the Champions without losing lives is far from intended.”

“Hm, let’s say Jake wins… who is this mysterious Grand Champion you got hiding for the grand finale?” Vilastromoz asked with a smirk. “It has to be a big one when you have Umbra as just a Champion..”

“You will see if your Chosen manages to make it that far, but do be aware that should that happen, I believe that will be the end of his journey. Not a single person has defeated the Grand Champion yet, after all,” the Wyrmgod said with quite the confidence.

“Yeah, not gonna lie, you may have overdone it with that one… then again, it is meant to be the end of the Challenge Dungeon if you beat the final boss, so maybe it’s fine?” Minaga chimed in.

“Now you got me all curious…” Vilastromoz smirked even more, but he knew not to probe more than necessary. He had some personal theories about who the Wyrmgod could have gotten. Of course, there were also some notable people he knew it couldn’t be.

As a former Progenitor himself, many would potentially have expected to see Yip of Yore show up somewhere, but the Viper knew better. And it wasn’t because the Wyrmgod didn’t want an image of Yip, but Yip himself, who would have refused. In fact, he hadn’t really left anything of note with anyone else.

No, any Legacy he ever left behind was in meticulously designed Challenge Dungeons, and he would never risk giving anyone else the slightest level of freedom with an image of his. Due to his Path, he wanted, no, needed to be in full control of everything related to him, including his legacies and anything left behind associated with him.

For him to leave an image around would be the antithesis to his Path. Especially if it was an image that someone was meant to be able to beat in a fight. No, it definitely couldn’t be him… but that didn’t mean there weren’t more complete monsters it could be.

“So, any bets on if Jake will beat all the Champions without losing any lives?” Minaga said with a cheerful grin.

“Rather than all the Champions, how about we make the bets one by one for every opponent? That way, we get seven times the bets,” the Viper offered. “And I am willing to bet Jake will beat this Lightning Monarch on his first try.”

“Are you telling me you don’t think Jake will beat all the Champions without losing any lives?” Minaga teased.

The Viper just smiled. Looking at the lineup… he wasn’t going to answer that one.

Four hours wasn’t a long time, and Jake presumed the Lightning Monarch had chosen to accept the fight so fast to try and take Jake by surprise. In fact, it wouldn’t shock Jake to find out that the shortest time there could be between an issued challenge and the actual fight was four hours.

This instant acceptance of the duel also indicated the Lightning Monarch had already researched Jake and believed that any additional research time would benefit Jake more than him. Of course… it was also entirely possible the guy was just so damn confident he didn’t believe he needed any time to prepare, and based on what Owen said, that was actually a legitimate possibility.

According to Owen, his father had always insisted he had only lost the Gauntlet last time because he hadn’t been careful enough during the fight and slipped up. He had simply refused to believe his opponent had been stronger than him.

Jake also learned that the primary reason for Owen’s father’s overwhelming confidence was his lightning magic. Owen described it as a “rare and unique affinity only passed down in their family,” but Jake instantly recognized it as an arcane affinity. Based on conversations with Villy, he also knew that inheriting talent, even for things like arcane affinities, was totally a thing, so seeing Owen and his both be capable of displaying a so-called “unique” affinity wasn’t surprising.

When it came to the affinity itself, Jake luckily had a wonderful test subject. Owen could summon the odd blue lightning, which allowed Jake to analyze it and figure out how it worked, and through his tests, he had discovered a few interesting peculiarities.

Lightning had the innate property of “burning” mana when it hit someone, but the blue lightning appeared to have almost the opposite effect. At least when Owen used it on himself... and this was where Jake found the biggest difference between normal lightning affinities and Owen’s.

Owen’s was more suited as a body-buff rather than an offensive weapon. He couldn’t really shoot powerful lightning bolts, as the energy got a lot weaker while outside the body, while inside, it made Owen both faster and stronger while giving him significant resistance to any energies that invaded his body by burning it away.

Offensively, it did have some properties, but those really only ever showed when the lightning coated a weapon. That was why Owen was still so intent on using a spear and why his father used a sword.

In conclusion, it was a great affinity for spell blades. During Jake’s preparations, he also studied whatever he could concerning the man’s fighting style and whatnot, but there wasn’t that much available outside of what Owen could teach him.

Could he have gotten more information by paying Colosseum Points? Potentially, however, Jake decided that he knew enough after seeing all Polly had gathered and being taught by Owen.

Back to just before the fight began, Jake was standing ready to enter the arena, with Owen beside him, looking visibly nervous. “You know… I didn’t really think about how messed up this situation is… I am asking my friend to beat up my dad to make him go home and live on a farm…”

“If it helps anything, I’ve beaten people up for worse reasons,” Jake shrugged. “Also, shouldn’t he be rich if he is a Champion? Why live on a farm?”

“Well… okay, it isn’t really a farm, more like an estate or compound placed outside of a large city... Owen said, scratching the back of his head. “Just... be careful, alright?”

“Don’t worry; I already said I’ll do all I can to not kill your old man,” Jake tried to reassure him.

“I mean that you also need to be careful for your own sake. While I admit my father is delusional if he thinks he can become a Grand Champion, he is still incredibly powerful. His title of Champion is earned, and while you have promised to try and not kill him, he will not show the same mercy. It doesn’t matter if he knows we are friends or not; he will do all he can to win,” Owen said, his nervousness somehow getting even worse as he began to fidget.

“I already told you that should he be too strong, I won’t show mercy either,” Jake said, padding the guy on the back. “Alright, how about we make a bet… if I win and beat up your dad so he sees reason, you’ll ask Polly to accompany you back home. Deal?”

“I… what does Polly have to do with anything?” Owen asked, visibly flustered.

“You know what? I’ll take that as a yes,” Jake grinned, having timed his tease perfectly with the gate opening up in front of him. “Now go find her on the stands, yeah? I got a Lightning Monarch to beat up.”

Owen looked like he wanted to say something, but he kept silent as Jake walked off into the tunnel leading to the arena.

It did not take long before Jake heard the clamors of the crowd. Failing to resist, he sent out a Pulse of Perception and saw that the arena was somehow even more massive than any of the earlier ones. Not in size of the battle area itself, but the stands. There had to be more than half a million spectators at this point… with Jake still no closer to learning where the hell they all came from.

Ascending the stairs leading to the small entrance area of the arena, the battleground soon appeared before his eyes. A few seconds later, he saw his opponent at the other end of the arena, right as the announcer began to speak.

“To be a Champion is a privilege, an honor, and a promise. A promise to remain one of the strongest the Colosseum has ever seen, standing side-by-side with other titans. Yet some are not satisfied standing beside others… they seek to stand above them. To truly prove themselves the very best. We have one such individual here today. One man who refuses to not be at the apex, and despite having only become a Champion recently, he shows no intentions of stopping his ascension. It’s the one, the only: Doombringer!”

Yep, Jake was definitely happy they called him Doombringer now. It was definitely better than any of the stupid prior names.

“However, barring his path on the Gauntlet of the Grand Champion is another man who has attempted this ascension once before. A man who failed, but not after leaving a mark by even daring to try. I am naturally speaking of the Lightning Monarch, a veteran of the Colosseum who has been a Champion for well over a decade! He is a true warrior who has proven himself again and again and, after a long absence, is back to do so once more. So let us ask: Will Doombringer succeed where the Lightning Monarch failed? Or will the Lightning Monarch teach him just how difficult his quest is? Let’s find out! Lower the gates!”

Jake had kind of expected this introduction message to be longer, but maybe it was intentional that the announcer didn’t mention a smidge of information about either of them? Nevertheless, it didn’t matter to Jake.

Looking across the arena, he finally saw his opponent properly. The Lightning Monarch’s entire body, save for his head, was covered in silver armor, and he wore a single sword in his hand. His face reminded Jake a bit of Owen, except for his sharper features, stubbled beard, and the several scars that covered it.

Focusing more on the sword, Jake felt quite the power from it, making him certain it was of a very high rarity… likely even legendary. The armor wasn’t anything to scoff at either. While he wasn’t a pay-to-win character like Gudrun, he definitely hadn’t cheaped out on his equipment.

He did look a bit intimidating, but Jake didn’t feel any fear. His aura was also respectable, and Jake knew this wouldn’t be a walk in the park, but he was walking into the arena a man with a plan.

His opponent quickly walked forward as he observed Jake closely. As was almost customary by now, they both stopped toward the center of the arena as the Lightning Monarch spoke. “I must applaud your bravery. To attempt the Gauntlet of the Grand Champion is a decision not made haphazardly and one I truly and deeply respect. Ah… and I also heard you have some kind of connection to my son? I hope you have been a good influence on him, but do not think I shall show the slightest restraint for his sake.”

“I, too, have heard quite a lot about you,” Jake said as he smiled, not even much in the mood for a long conversation. “Including that you are considering reattempting the Gauntlet of the Grand Champion despite nearly getting beaten to death the first time around.”

“Alas, one failure shall not define me. I was not at my best that day, and I am even more powerful now… who knows, perhaps today shall even be my unofficial start to the Gauntlet by beating you?” the Lightning Monarch said with a small chuckle.

“Have you considered that you lost the first time around because you aren’t cut out to be a Grand Champion?” Jake asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Your feeble attempt at making me doubt myself is useless,” the man waved him off. “Now come. Bring out your bow and show me what you got.”

“No,” Jake shook his head. “Prove that you are worth it for me to bring out my bow. Prove that you are worth spending these arrows I have painstakingly created. If you do that, maybe you’ll have a shot at becoming a Grand Champion… but if not, maybe you should just go home and be a family man?”

With those words, Jake pulled out both katars and charged forward, preparing to do as Owen had asked. He would not just beat up his dad but truly hammer home the difference between someone with the make of a Grand Champion and someone without.