The Primal Hunter

Jake had never wanted to leave a dungeon faster as he promptly exited the Endless Journey before the Forsaken Dragonkin could properly understand what Jake had just said. He kind of snickered to himself as the chamber got replaced with a white void similar to the ones he had seen before fully leaving other Challenge Dungeons.

Speaking of the Challenge Dungeon… Jake had done pretty well, hadn’t he? While he was doing the Endless Journey, Jake honestly had a hard time getting a feeling for where his level of performance was at, but considering he got a Mythical Medallion and even did this without losing a single one of his three lives, he had to have done pretty damn well. He wouldn’t say it was at the “impossible” tier, though… which was why he was honestly a bit surprised when he read the Grand Achievement.

Grand Achievement earned: Successfully completed the Endless Journey while proving yourself a truly Mythical Courier. With minimal errors during Courier Jobs, a persistently near-perfect performance, and fast deliveries, your performance as a normal Courier was unquestionable. During Special Courier Jobs, you showed great skill to get yourself out of perilous situations and using your far overqualified stealth abilities, managed to operate near-unimpeded during all your jobs. Your Journey may not have been Endless, but seemingly, your talent is. 100.509 Nevermore Points earned. Due to completing a Grand Achievement, you will receive a 25% multiplier of all Nevermore Points at the final calculation.

Jake smiled a bit as he read the description… and for some bloody reason, it finally only clicked for him now why the Endless Journey had seemed to be “off” and easier than it probably should have been. It mentioned his stealth skills were far overqualified, and while his Unseen Hunter was a great skill, he wouldn’t say it made him overqualified… but Shroud of the Primordial sure did.

It explained a lot. The only times Jake ever got attacked was when he went straight into an ambush or approached enemies by himself. No one ever tracked him down and attacked despite several Courier Jobs saying he would be hunted. So, it seemed like the skill had been far more of a cheat than Jake already knew, and coupled with the cheats Jake used knowingly, he could see how he had gotten the 25% bonus. It was just on the margins, though, if this theory that you needed at least 100,000 Nevermore Points was true.

Jake wasn’t going to feel bad about “cheating,” though. Everyone who was talented was a bit of a cheat in their own right. Just looking at his party should make that clear, with it having another Bloodline, a Transcendent, a weird borderline-never-seen-before hawk-elemental hybrid, and finally, a Unique Lifeform, who were literally born cheaters.

What especially didn’t make him feel bad about cheating was the reward he got from it… because Jake had succeeded. He felt it in his body he had succeeded even before he saw all his system notifications and, more importantly, that his little theory had been right.

Back when Jake cleared his first Nevermore Challenge Dungeon, and gained the 25% multiplier, it had come with a title reward. It was the only title he had gained from any of the Challenge Dungeons, as the title specified one could only have one at a time. The title itself had been good but not overly exciting.

Colosseum of Mortals: True Grand Champion – You have proven yourself the one true Grand Champion of the Colosseum of Mortals, defeating beings that stand at the apex of the multiverse and exited the Colosseum of Mortals with more than 10,000,000 Colosseum Points. Even a Primordial was slain on your path, making you truly worthy of the title. Only one Nevermore Challenge Dungeon title can be held at a time. +200 to all stats.

Jake had theorized that there was more to it, though. He believed that if one did reallywell, there would be some kind of meta-achievement for doing extremely well in all Challenge Dungeons. And, as always, his intuition that was the case proved true as he saw the notification.

Reward gained: Nevermore All-Star Challenger Title.

Being right felt awesome, especially when being right also meant you got an even more awesome title.

Nevermore All-Star Challenger – Prove yourself a being standing at the apex in not one but multiple different disciplines. Achieve at least a 100% Nevermore Points multiplier through Grand Achievements from the five Challenge Dungeons available in the C-grade version of Nevermore. This must be done while actively competing on the Nevermore Leaderboards. Only one Nevermore Challenge Dungeon title can be held at a time. +300 to all stats. +5% to all stats.

Comparing this title to the one just giving +200 to all stats wasn’t even fair. It now being +300 to all stats was nice for sure, and for someone like Jake, it was a few full levels worth of stats, but the 5% was where the real meat was at. Percentage titles weren’t easy to get and were considered pretty rare – even if Jake had his fair share already. Their impact throughout one’s entire Path simply made them so meaningful, as they would give massive benefits even when one reached S-grade… potentially even in godhood.

One also had to remember one more thing… Jake was kind of double-dipping with this title. He had gained a title for getting a big multiplier that could likely help him get yet another title once Nevermore was over. At least he expected there to be another title, as that only made sense… the big question just was if there was potentially more than one. Oh well, he would find out eventually.

Taking stock of his Nevermore Point multiplier by now, Jake smiled. He had gained two times 5% - once from the Dark Witch, and another time during the climb – along with the 25% from Minaga’s Labyrinth. Adding on top of the now 105% from the Challenge Dungeons, Jake was sitting on a comfortable 140% Nevermore Point multiplier. And it wasn’t as if he didn’t have a lot of those.

Nevermore Points: 1,242,425

With the multiplier, Jake had just shy of three million. For now, that is. There was still time to clear some more floors, and who knows, maybe he could even reach above four million total points if things went well.

As he had completed a Challenge Dungeon, Jake had naturally also gained one more thing: His item reward. He hadn’t really made many considerations as to what he would get, as most of the rewards so far had been kind of or only really things that were useful circumstantially. So, with little expectations, he checked out the reward… which turned out to be a bit of a mistake.

What appeared before him was an odd sculpture-looking thing. It looked a bit like a crystalized splashing wave or something, but from it, Jake felt an intense aura… and when he saw the name in the system notification, his eyes opened wide. They opened even wider when he used Identify.

[Wyrm’s Breath of Akashic Awakening (Mythical)] – Infuse a piece of equipment with additional Records while also attempting to awaken or amplify existing Records within, upgrading the item to a maximum of mythical rarity. If the item is already at mythical rarity, all existing Records will still be empowered. Contains faint Records related to the Wyrmgod of Nevermore, making this item especially suited to upgrading items related to the space affinity. WARNING: Touching directly upon the Records of an item may make others related to the associated Records aware. Additionally, some items do not have enough innate Records to amplify or awaken, lessening the effect significantly.

Requirements: C-grade. Soulbound.

Sometimes, you go in with zero expectations and end up incredibly pleasantly surprised. This was one of those moments. Jake didn’t even have any forethought as to what this Challenge Dungeon could reward so that only made the surprise even better.

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When it came to the Wyrm’s Breath, Jake also recalled an item he had bought a long time ago, all the way back in E-grade. It was the Token of Akashic Awakening he purchased during his first meeting with Sultan, a token that could upgrade an item to epic rarity. Needless to say, this one was far, far more valuable. Epic items were a dime a dozen, while mythical equipment was incredibly rare. Something that could potentially upgrade a piece of equipment to mythical rarity even more so.

The first Token of Akashic Awakening Jake used on his Boots of the Wandering Alchemist, and looking at the description of this item – especially the part about the item he wanted to upgrade needing to have good enough innate Records – Jake had a feeling he would use it once more on the boots. Jake had already upgraded them two times, the latest at the beginning of C-grade when he made them ancient rarity, but he felt pretty damn confident they had more than enough innate Records to become mythical too.

Smiling with satisfaction, Jake put the Wyrm’s Breath away as he exited the white void entirely, leaving the fifth and Final Challenge Dungeon for good. His vision flashed for a moment as he appeared outside of the entrance to all the Challenge Dungeons. Perhaps he shouldn’t have been surprised, but there were even more people than usual there, and he was kind of happy he had remembered to put his mask and cloak back on.

Jake released a Pulse of Perception right away as he felt for any of his party members. He frowned a bit when it didn’t pick up any of them, making him wonder if he was really the first. At least he did wonder about that until he returned to the Order of the Malefic Viper’s very small base of operation on the city floor.

There, he learned that both Sylphie and the Sword Saint had finished their five Challenge Dungeons already, and had both returned back to a prior floor to do their own thing for a while. Jake also remembered the weird time-painting he had been given by the Sword Saint before he entered the first Challenge Dungeon. It was made to track time, so they all would spend only a total of ten years doing the dungeons to still have another ten remaining to do a final push for some more floors and levels.

Taking out his painting, Jake confirmed that he was actually a lot ahead of schedule. All of them seemed to be. Despite having done all five Challenge Dungeons, only around eight and a half years had passed. Seeing as Jake was the third to be done, he also reckoned the Fallen King and Dina would finish before all ten years were up, so there was a chance they would have more than ten years to grind.

Jake considered for a moment if he should do the same thing as the Sword Saint and Sylphie by going to a prior floor – probably just the one just before this city floor – but after a bit of thinking, decided not to. Instead, he went to one of the private rooms in the Order of the Malefic Viper base.

During the last many years, Jake hadn’t really ever taken a break to properly go through stuff, and he decided now was a better time than ever. He had just gained the Wyrm’s Breath that he could use to upgrade an item, plus he also had another Challenge Dungeon reward saved, namely the High-Quality Storybook Page.

[High-Quality Storybook Page (Unique] – The page of an unknown storybook containing empty Records of a tale yet untold. Allows you to infuse the Records of a skill into the storybook page. Ripping a page infused with the Records of a skill will grant you an opportunity to upgrade the skill. The effect is lower, the higher the rarity of the skill, and the page will not accept Records of certain skills. It will have no effect if used on skills at or above legendary rarity. Skill upgrades are not guaranteed.

Requirements: C-grade. Soulbound.

With this, Jake would be able to upgrade a skill, and while he hadn’t quite decided which one yet, he saw no reason to delay using it any longer. Plus, he wanted to be at his best when it was time to begin doing floors once more.

There was also the Cradle to check for his Soulflame growth… and some alchemy to get done, especially considering his party members would probably want more potion and elixirs and such for when they continued. So much to do, and hopefully so little time, because he really hoped the Fallen King and Dina would also arrive soon so they could get going.

Jake was far from the only one who was finishing up the Challenge Dungeons. Many powerful parties were getting them done, though Jake’s was one of the first of the Leaderboards teams to do so, as their speed had been high just reaching the city floor where all the Challenge Dungeons became fully available.

However, some other teams did match Jake and company’s speed. What’s more, as these people finished up the Challenge Dungeons, they didn’t do so quietly. Instead, their results were announced and spread throughout the city floors and quickly picked up by the different factions. Davion from Valhal did all five, ending with a multiplier of 70%, with his best performance in the Colosseum of Mortals and House of the Architect, proving himself a diverse fighter. 70% was around the number where it was worth bragging about, and it was impressive, especially for someone like Davion, who was a very focused fighter to get it.

With time, more scores were shared. Dozens more came out with a 70% score, including people from the Court of Shadows, Holy Church, Altmar Empire, Pantheon of Life, Dao Sect, and pretty much every other faction. Soon, those who had gotten even better than that also reared their heads as a few 75% scores were shared.

Not soon after, the Holy Church made a big deal out of a member of theirs, gaining an 80% multiplier. It was a member of Jacob’s party, but naturally not Jacob himself. Much praise was levied, but it was short-lived.

He was soon overtaken when Azal the Ghost King exited the five Challenge Dungeons with an overall multiplier of 85%. This was the kind of score that proved he truly was a multi-faceted genius, and his existing popularity skyrocketed.

Of course, there were also many who didn’t share any details about their performances but kept it all a secret. Many were simply disciples of powerful individuals and saw no reason to publicize anything, while others didn’t want to draw unwanted attention. They would showcase their true talent on the final Leaderboards instead. A great example of someone who just didn’t care about attention was Arnold. He had ended with a total multiplier of 75%, but he didn’t tell anyone… and he wasn’t even the one with the highest score on his team.

Some also performed below expectations. There had been much hype about the new Chosen from the Lifesoul Daolord – Eron – but his score was never publicized. In part because he only ended with a 50% multiplier total. He was simply too lopsided. He got a 25% score in House of the Architect and 15% in Minaga’s Endless Labyrinth, but those were his only two good performances, with the only other Challenge Dungeon he got percentages in being the Test of Character.

Time passed, as soon an announcement made waves. A dragonkin from the Regalflight – the golden dragons – had achieved a multiplier of 90%. She was the daughter of one of the Grand Elders within the dragonflights, and they proudly flaunted their achievement.

Not too long after, a previously unknown figure matched this performance. A Demon Prince from one of the hells that few had their eyes on made this shocking announcement, as the often-forgotten demon faction also got some buzz.

More scores were published for a while, as all the big factions had big performers, but very few reached their mythical 90% multiplier. It had to be noted that these multipliers mattered for more than simply the clout. If one reached 70% after doing all five, there would be a title that improved at 80% and 90%, too. At 90%, it would even give 5% to one’s three highest stats, making it incredibly impactful and one many people aimed for – and failed to hit.

As the era was long, someone would definitely get more than that at some point… but none of them had expected it to have already happened a while ago, as the announcement had merely been delayed. Definitely intentionally so to make it at a good time to generate the most attention.

It was naturally made by someone who cared a lot about his reputation and one of the people most had their eyes on… the Chosen of Yip of Yore: Ell’Hakan. His score sent a new shockwave through Nevermore as he didn’t just announce the final score but what he got in each Challenge Dungeon.

20% Colosseum of Mortals, succeeding in gaining the recognition of Valdemar with his final life. Proving his ability to fight, even without all his skills.

25% Test of Character, never once taking control, but exploiting the situation by never having to, and instead controlling the person he was inhabiting to always choose the outcome he wanted. This proved his strong character and unshakeable will in the eyes of many.

10% Minaga’s Endless Labyrinth. The first true stumble on his journey, but still a very respectable score.

20% House of the Architect, showing his ingenious creative mind. Nobody needed to know he had exploited much within this Challenge Dungeon.

20% Endless Journey, proving that even if he was a Chosen, he could also show humility and adapt… assuming that is what he had actually done, and not merely made use of his Bloodline to sway things in the directions he wanted, exploiting the prone-to-be-exploited natives of the dungeon.

With a score of 95%, it was difficult to imagine anyone could beat him. While it was true getting a 100% multiplier was possible, it was simply so rare and often didn’t happen more than a dozen or so times in every era. At least, that was how many openly stated they had gotten the score, though there may have been more who kept it hidden. In either case, it was simply that hard to find someone talented in so many different areas at once. As for getting above 100%... that sounded like a pipedream to most.

As for Jake publicizing his score… well, he was frankly too busy doing alchemy to decide if he wanted to rain on everyone’s parade.