The Primal Hunter

Maybe it was Jake’s fault for expecting too much, but he had very much assumed he would meet some kind of opposition during all his travels. He had set out to find people to decipher the runes, but on the way to the first one, he didn’t get intercepted by a single enemy. Were there times when something looking like an ambush was hidden in the most obvious flight path? Yes, but Jake had just easily avoided that or kept his stealth skill active to pass by unnoticed.

After his visit to the first rune-reading person, he was told that she alone couldn’t decipher everything, but she managed to make some progress before sending him off to the next person with her notes. At this second person’s place, a bit more deciphered, and at the third, a bit more than that.

Days turned to weeks, and soon Jake had spent over a month traveling between these rune decipherers. Each of them, for some fucking reason, liked to live in bum-fuck nowhere, meaning Jake had to travel a lot to get to them. With time, he did notice the search parties looking for him increasing, but with a mixture of Pulse of Perception, a legendary stealth skill, and probably also Shroud of the Primordial doing its stuff, Jake remained undisturbed for the most part.

It did annoy him that some of the rune deciphers were stereotypical shitty quest NPCs that would only help Jake if he helped them first by doing some dumb side job, but Jake didn’t really have a choice. In total, Jake spent nearly three months before he finally met the final rune decryptor. The old man looked at the notes done by the others who had looked at the horn, and after about an hour, he succeeded in solving the final rune.

Right as he did so, all the golden runes covering the horn gave off strong light as they warped and changed. Jake quickly reached out and took hold of the horn, and the moment he did, two things happened. The first was that he suddenly knew exactly where he could find the Forsaken Dragonkin… and that a giant beam of light shot into the sky as the full aura of an S-grade dragonkin blasted out.

Jake was pushed back slightly as he saw the old decipherer fall to the ground, knocked out by the blast. This wave of aura spread further than Jake could see, and with how big it was, they could likely feel it all the way to the frontline far up in space. Quickly running outside, Jake stared up as the sky rumbled, and he didn’t doubt for a second that many powerful beings were approaching. What’s more, he got a feeling things had suddenly turned for the worse elsewhere, too, confirmed as he got a notification.

Final Special Courier Job Updated: While carrying the Horn of the Forsaken Dragonkin, meet the Forsaken Dragonkin and convince him to join the war against the dragon tribe. While carrying the horn, you will be repeatedly pursued by allies of the dragon tribe, who are now aware of your location. The frontline is rapidly falling, and time is not on your side.

Yep… things were definitely a lot worse now than before, and Jake didn’t delay for a second as he headed straight to the teleporter in the city. He was lucky that the horn had only given off that one giant blast of aura and didn’t continue to give it off, but it had still pinged every single person on the planet to this location.

However, Jake soon met another problem… the second he activated the teleporter to a new city and went through to the other side, a whole new blast of aura shot out of the horn. Due to how many people were near the teleportation gate, Jake knocked out over ten thousand people with his first teleport alone.

Fucking hell, Jake cursed, but he didn’t stop as he teleported again three more times to get as close to his destination as possible. Tens of thousands, if not far more, were knocked out in Jake’s wake as he sent off a sequence of pings to whoever was pursuing him, informing them of what direction he was heading.

When Jake had finally done his final teleport, he stormed off immediately. His wings were naturally available once more after he used the escape skill before, and he quickly summoned them and used One Step for maximum speed. He quickly got a bit away from the city, found a quiet place, and went down to activate his stealth skill. With it active, Jake continued his journey as he used Pulse of Perception every thirty seconds or so for the first period of travel despite the headache it induced as he was feeling pretty damn paranoid.

And for good reason. Powerful beings were coming his way, no longer limited to just C-grades either. With the fall of the frontlines rapidly approaching, those on the planet who had been lying in wait were now moving far more openly. Through Pulse, he did spot some people also fighting against them, as the war had pretty much broken out everywhere, and shockwaves of energy from B-grades fighting could be felt in the distance.

Jake had to fly more carefully than ever as he slowly approached a mountain range in the middle of nowhere. There were no towns anywhere close to it, and he had to cross a desert-like plain just to reach it, with nothing living there. Even the mountains were entirely bare rock, with not a single plant growing anywhere.

Yet the horn responded as he got closer and closer to his destination. When Jake entered the mountain range, yet another blast of aura was released, making Jake grit his teeth as he knew everyone was coming his way now. Things were really out of hand, and before anyone had a chance to catch up, Jake reached a small cave at the foot of one of the mountains.

Entering, Jake walked through it for a while until he reached its end. There, he found a heavily enchanted stone gate with a slot in it that looked very similar to the horn he had been carrying around all this time. Briefly inspecting the cave walls and the gate, Jake quickly recognized everything here had been fortified to a level where he doubted even the Founder could break through with force. Taking out the horn, Jake slotted it in as all the runes activated. Jake felt like he was on some treasure-hunting expedition as the golden runes spread to the rest of the door before it began to slowly sink into the ground, allowing him passage.

Walking through the open gate, Jake entered a long, bricked hallway as torches lit on both sides. He had already scouted ahead and knew he was in the right place and that there were no traps, so after walking calmly for a few minutes, he reached a large chamber unimpeded.

There, right in the middle of the large chamber, was a single figure. The floor was covered in a large magic circle that seemed to be feeding this person power, and he didn’t even react when Jake made his entrance. Yet Jake felt the attention of this being upon him… and he knew it was the strongest creature he had met in this Challenge Dungeon so far, and not by a little. He didn’t even dare use Identify as he was pretty damn confident the being would be aware if he tried to.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Probably at the level of Viridia… and I heard she is close to the peak of S-grade…

“Greetings,” Jake said with a polite bow as he stopped a good distance away, not entering the range of the magic circle.

The dragonkin slowly opened his eyes as two red irises looked Jake up and down. “That horn… I had nearly forgotten I even gave it out. Tell me, what is a mere C-grade doing here, interrupting me? It wouldn’t have anything to do with the little scuffle outside, now would it?”

“You are correct,” Jake nodded, seeing no need to hide anything. “The planet is facing a crisis, and I was tasked by the Guild Founder – the man whom you gave the horn - to seek you out and request your assistance.”

Right as Jake said this, a notification appeared in front of him as the Final Special Courier Job had changed once more.

Final Special Courier Job Updated: Successfully convince the Lost Dragonkin to assist you.

As Jake read the objective, he cursed internally. He had a bad feeling about this one.

“You are asking me to help the man who killed my father? What’s more, what he wants my help with is to kill my half-brother and other family members?” the Forsaken Dragonkin asked as he tilted his head and flashed a toothy grin. “Now, why would I ever want to do that?”

Alright, it was clear the dragonkin already had full knowledge of what was going on, which did make his opening line kind of weird. However, it meant that simply explaining the situation in detail wouldn’t get him on Jake’s side, so he had to actually do some convincing. The problem with that was Jake had no idea what to say. Doing all he could to not show his uncertainty, Jake simply nodded as he kept up his professional demeanor.

“Yes, that is exactly what I and the Founder are asking of you,” Jake answered. He had to gamble on the Forsaken Dragonkin, having a somewhat positive view of the Founder. If not, why had he left him alive back then and even given him a horn to find him with? It wouldn’t make any sense if he actually gave a shit about his “family,” so Jake would gamble on the Forsaken Dragonkin not liking them, considering them forsaking him and all. “As for why… I would ask why not. You are clearly no ally of the dragon tribe nor your so-called family.”

The Forsaken Dragonkin looked at Jake with some amusement as he chuckled. “You’re not wrong, but why would that make me want to help you? The dragon tribe doesn’t matter to me much anymore. If I wish to see them wiped out, I may as well do so after they have exhausted some of their strength in this war. Wouldn’t that be more efficient and just make more sense?”

As the dragonkin talked, Jake got more and more confused. Why are we even having this conversation?

It sounded like the dragonkin wanted Jake to convince him or something. Like he needed convincing. As an S-grade, why else would he bother talking to some random C-grade? If he had already made up his mind to not help, he could just be doing this for his own amusement, but Jake really hoped a high-tier S-grade wasn’t that bored. Plus, the Courier Job had to mean convincing him was possible somehow.

“If that is what you want, then surely no one could stop you,” Jake answered. “But I would still try and do my utmost to convince you to assist us, so please, is there anything I can do to sway your mind? I am most certain the Guild Founder and all those who oppose the dragon tribe would be more than willing to compensate you in any way they can if you save them.”

Hey, if Jake had no idea how to convince the guy, why not ask him how to? Who knows, maybe it could even work.

The Forsaken Dragonkin smiled as he tilted his head before standing up. “Now that you mention it, there may just be one thing you could do to convince me.”

Without any warning, the dragonkin appeared beside Jake as he spoke. “You know, I’ve been watching the happenings of this world for a while. Ever since my dear brother contacted me a few centuries ago and informed me of his return while asking for my help, I kept an eye on things. Considered if this world even stood a chance and if either side would rule, who I would be able to tolerate the most. I do not care about ruling anything… I am merely pursuing whatever lies beyond my current level of power. What comes after S-grade: the mythical realm of godhood.”

“Understandable,” Jake answered as the dragonkin stood beside him with an amused look.

“That is to say, I need whatever side wins to stay out of my way when I want them gone and support me when I want anything,” the dragonkin continued.

“As aforementioned, I am sure that can be arranged and that the Guild Founder and all other factions would be more willing to do whatever they can for the one who saved them. Even if that includes doing your every bidding until the day you ascend,” Jake said. Hey, no one said he couldn’t make unrealistic promises as long as they beat the dragon tribe, right?

“Ah, but wouldn’t the dragon tribe do the same? In fact, that is exactly what they offered already when I spoke to my dear brother. The thing is, my impression of them isn’t the best, so if both sides are equally subservient, I see no reason not to side with this Guild Founder of yours and choose the side you represent.”

Wait, things are actually going kind of well? Jake asked himself as he smiled and nodded.

“While I am unable to make any definitive promises on account of everyone, I can swear I will do my utmost to convince them to assist you in attempting to reach godhood, and with the authority and trust given to me by the Guild Founder, I am highly confident in my success,” Jake said as he felt like a deal was pretty much struck.

“Oh, I believe you,” the Forsaken Dragonkin said as he stood right in front of Jake. “You have made quite the impact ever since you appeared out of nowhere in this world. You weeded out corruption, became chummy with the most powerful people, and rose to a position second only to the Guild Founder within his little Guild as far as I can tell… impressive for a C-grade. Almost too impressive.”

“I am merely doing my best as a Courier and carrying out all jobs given as perfectly as I possibly can,” Jake answered, hoping that being professional would be enough. Still, his bad gut feeling only kept getting worse.

“Now, that… that is where I begin to question things,” the dragonkin smiled. “Why? Why are you carrying out these jobs as best as you can? Why are you seemingly so loyal to the Guild? Why do you risk your own life carrying out their bidding? To this point, I have yet to figure out what you get out of it. You are clearly competent, yet if I go purely by your actions, you seem like nothing but a thoughtless slave doing as his master wants.”

Jake narrowed his eyes as he looked directly at the S-grade. “I have my own reasons for doing what I’m doing.”

“I think this is the first time you’ve been wholly honest with me,” the dragonkin said. “You just keep making me more and more curious. You stand before me now, yet I sense no fear. No reverence. Nothing. Are you truly only a C-grade?”

“Does it matter?” Jake questioned. “What would anything regarding me as a person matter when it comes to your choice of who to support?”

“Oh, it matters a lot. You have influence. Your voice matters, and as I said, I can’t quite figure you out,” the Forsaken Dragonkin continued. “There are few things I actively dislike, but at the top of that list is doubt… uncertainty. Elements I cannot with confidence control. You are an uncertainty, and I am not sure if I can control you… so I have an offer. A task you can do for me, and if you accomplish it, I will help the Guild Founder and his allies wipe out the dragon tribe for good.”

Jake really didn’t like where this was going. “What do you want?”

“It’s simple… prove to me your professionalism and dedication to your job as a Courier. Prove to me you will truly do everything in your power to carry out your duties.”

The Forsaken Dragonkin looked entirely serious as his smile faded, and he pulled out a dagger, pointing the handle toward Jake.

“Kill yourself.”