The Primal Hunter

Lights danced in the sky as the music kept playing while the All-God Legion, better known as Minaga, walked down a pair of invisible stairs right above the two blank Leaderboards. He easily got the attention of everyone, and Viridia had to admit he was perhaps the best creature in the multiverse to do something like this… he was both a mortal, making his aura not overwhelming, and a divine being that could stand alongside the pinnacle all on his own. This offered him the possibility of absolute confidence.

“Welcome, welcome, welcome! What a great day for all of you to show up and all just to cand see little me!?” Minaga’s voice was projected all throughout Nevermore City, reaching not just the square.

“Oh wait, I read that wrong… you’re here for the Leaderboards, eh?” the Unique Lifeform joked around, not a single person present letting out the slightest laugh.

“Alright, alright, tough crowd, everyone’s so freaking serious, so let’s just stop messing around and get right to it! The great Leaderboards reveal! Okay, I lied; we won’t get right to it. One small intermission first, and I need to make a few clarifications, and as a preamble, I will share sstats!” Minaga said as he summoned a floating screen above himself. “Firstly, I can happily announce the death rate for this year’s Leaderboards-competition groups was 10.3% below the expected amount! That means only about 9.4 out of every 100 Nevermore Attendees competing on the Leaderboards ended up dying, compared to 10.1 out of every 100 last era.”

Viridia looked up at the screen and saw the stats that represented millions of dead at the very least. But it also meant that more than ten times the number of dead had cout of Nevermore, now more powerful than before and with a brighter future ahead of them. She also knew that the members of the Order tended to survive far more than the average due to their far higher average power level.

“The Nevermore Points achieved by the average group is also 3.6% higher than the last era, sitting at a whopping 42.214! Pretty good if I say so myself, and you can all be proud for fostering another great generation… especially now that we’re getting to the juicy part.”

Minaga smiled even more brightly as he dispelled the prior screen and showed a new one. It was just a single number, but Viridia instantly understood what it meant. That’s… impressive.

“10.5%. That’s how many more Nevermore Points the average in the top 1 percentile gained this taround compared to the last era. To clarify, this is the second biggest jump between two eras ever seen, and compared to last time, there is no explanation besides one simple fact: even the average talent of this era vastly surpasses any we’ve ever seen prior.”

For the first time, there was an actual crowd reaction as claps were heard. Viridia also joined in, along with the other S-grades around her. It was an applause for the next generation and what she believed was an outstanding performance. A generation the Chosen of the Order was a representative member of.

“Now, at the very tippidy top we will soon see on the Leaderboards, the disparity is a bit harder to find, showing that those at the Pinnacle Tier, even in prior eras, are still not to be taken lightly. But, fret not, the young talents are a little bit better, but within the margin of error,” Minaga continued once the applause had fully died down, as Viridia heard slow discussion all around.

To see the average rise was a good sign.. but to see the top shift wasn’t, especially not after the last era. Yip of Yore had been an outlier who had been praised for surpassing all prior eras, and what he had grown into could only be described as a problem for many divine factions. The many factions had also long learned that many top geniuses would be very difficult to control unless they had an existing connection to a top faction.

Those from the new universe naturally didn’t have any pre-existing connections, making them far more unpredictable. So, while seeing the average grow was good, many hoped to not see the top spot once more be taken by someone from the new universe… something that would be difficult to achieve, seeing as quite a few of the top seeds were from the new universe.

“The following clarification is mainly for those who haven’t really been paying attention to how the Leaderboards work… but the Leaderboards have naturally been open for quite a while; we just decided not to show them. In fact, they’ve been open for about a year, but we have naturally kept them hidden, as honestly, quite a few of you are utterly insufferable when it comes to wanting to show off. You are so desperate to have names from your factions shown on a list that is shifting every hour that it’s honestly kind of sad. Seriously, how many people have been forced to cut their Nevermore journeys short halfway through for sinsecure Holy Church, Risen Altmar Empire, or whatever, to use their lost futures as a brief marketing stunt? Anyway, so, yeah, to stop this pathetic display, we chose to hide the Leaderboards till now, when the rankings are at least semi-stable, and I am certain no one has anything against that, right? We allow people to at least see the Universe Leaderboard a bit in the beginning for you bastards to do your scouting or whatever, and even that’s too much, in my opinion…”

Viridia stood and stared blankly as the entire square was silent after the Unique Lifeform’s rant. She couldn’t help but look over, and she saw a Cardinal from the Holy Church clench his staff tight, holding in his anger after the All-God Legion effectively insulted the entire Holy Church and even the Holy Mother herself. It wouldn’t be an understatement to say Minaga had just insulted half of the peak factions with a single rant… and Viridia knew that out of nearly anyone in the multiverse, Minaga was perhaps the only one who could do just that without ever suffering any repercussions.

“Ah, I really needed to get that off my chest, now to get back into it. So, as I said, the Leaderboards have been open for a while, and the listing has sure shifted a lot. For the Era Leaderboard alone, the top 100 has had a total of 351 names on it, quite a few more than usual. As for the top 10, we have had a total of 21 names there. Again, this is for the Era Leaderboard… but we naturally aren’t going to address that first. Instead, let’s keep it a bit more local and discuss the far more volatile Universe Leaderboard.”

Having changed the topic away from insulting peak factions, Minaga shared smore stats. Waving his hand one more time, another screen appeared.

“I call this Leaderboard more volatile because it’s been quite the shuffle! People getting high spots only to be bonked down from the top 50 to below the top 100 within a day happened more than once! The higher average has resulted in far more than usual reaching the minimum Nevermore Points required for Pinnacle Tier to qualify them to even appear on the top 100. This has resulted in a whole new record of the most names ever appearing in not only the top 100 but even the top 10 of the Universe Leaderboards! An all-trecord, too!”

The screen floating above Minaga began to be filled with the stats of the Universe Leaderboard. Stats that made Viridia and many others raise an eyebrow.

“1084 have had their nappear in the top 100, with a whopping 76 in the top 10 at spoint! That’s a lot of people getting ssweet, sweet titles! However… there have only ever been three names at the very top. Two of which now still dominate the Leaderboards. Yes, Leaderboards, plural.”

This was the first real hint about the actual people on the Leaderboards. No hints as to who they were, just that they were from the ninety-third universe, which instantly made Viridia think that the Chosen of the Malefic One had to be among these two. He had to be.

“Now, for smore interesting miscellaneous stats regarding the Challenge Dungeons and the thought process behind their designs…” Minaga began before smirking and stopping himself. “Relax, I’m just messing with you all. I guess it’s tto get to the real meat of this entire thing.”

With a snap, the screen with stats disappeared as Minaga paced back and forth up in the air.

“Sof you keen-eyed ones may have realized by now I am just dragging tout because I am waiting for something to happen. Or maybe you didn’t realize anything and just assumed I like to ramble on, something you would be entirely correct on, but in this instance, I am also dragging out tpurposefully, as we quite frankly started this entire thing at least a few minutes too early. You see, for suspense, we have delayed sarrivals of those who had already finished Nevermore, and we had to make sure everyone was done for maximum dramatic effect to put on a good show and all that. Also, relax; their order of completion is still intact; we just delayed them teleporting to Nevermore City. With all that said… may the young talents descend!”

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With these words, space began to move as Viridia felt the energy of the Wyrmgod himself at play. All around the huge central square, figures began to appear in rapid succession, either on the stands or on top of the many buildings belonging to top factions.

Viridia quickly looked around, and on one of the buildings, she saw the swordsman who had entered with the Viper’s Chosen appear, standing among followers of Aeon Clok. On another platform with followers of Stormild, she saw the hawk, and on a third belonging to the Pantheon of Life, the dryad. Finally, on their very own platform, a figure appeared, and Viridia was ready to bow as she saw it was not the Chosen but instead the Unique Lifeform who appeared.

She didn’t have tto say anything to this Unique life form before Minaga spoke once more.

“And now for the grand reveal… of one of the Leaderboards!”

Finally, the thad come. Space itself warped around the Universe Leaderboard as words began to appear on it line-by-line before soon showing the top ten. At the stime, beams of white light descended from above, highlighting ten figures who were all standing spread around the square. It didn’t take long to realize who was highlighted… it was naturally the ten top performers… and Viridia saw a real smug Cardinal over at the Holy Church building as two beams had descended on top of them. This light began to change up in the air as projections of these ten figures appeared, allowing all to see them.

Ignoring everything else, Viridia finally gazed upon the Universe Leaderboard… and it didn’t look right. It didn’t look right at all.

“Two did better than anyone else… please joinin applauding the performances of our runner-up, Wintermaul, along with our top dog: Ell’Hakan, Yip of Yore’s Chosen!”

Viridia just stared at the Leaderboard… as things truly didn’t make sense. Where is he?

Nevermore Leaderboards (C-grade): 93rd Universe.

1. Ell’Hakan – Pinnacle Tier.

2. Wintermaul – Pinnacle Tier

3. Lopas – Pinnacle Tier

4. Holy Dawn Paladin – Pinnacle Tier

5. Arnold – Pinnacle Tier

6. Eastbound Monk – Pinnacle Tier

7. Disciple of Lucenti – Pinnacle Tier

8. Sword Saint – Pinnacle Tier

9. Immortal Faith – Pinnacle Tier

10. High Templar – Pinnacle Tier

Silence filled the entire square as everyone looked as two of the large projections in the air were highlighed more than the others. It was the two atop the Leaderboard, and soon, celebration erupted from several places, and nearly everyone did as Minaga said and gave a round of applause… except for those from the Order.

Viridia looked up and saw the figure of Yip’s Chosen projected. He had a light smile on his face, not exactly looking smug, but not like his performance had cas a surprise either. He looked like someone who had just been told something he found rather obvious as he bowed a few times. Yet Viridia also saw something else… doubt and a bit of confusion that seemed to mirror her own.

The other highlighted figure was the one called Wintermaul. It was an ice elemental of sform, looking a bit like a mix between a yeti and a bear, but made entirely of ice. To see an elemental do so well was rare… which had to mean this particular elemental was truly outstanding.

Still… things were wrong, and as everyone else was celebrating and Minaga gave them tand space to do so, Viridia turned to the Unique Lifeform that had been part of the Chosen’s party, throwing him a questioning gaze. One he instantly understood.

“I must say, I am pleasantly surprised to at least find myself in the top 100… and to see the small plI now call hhave not just one, but for multiple individuals to be in the top ten…” the Fallen King said. “To see the mechanic with relations to the void outperforming the swordsman does surprisea smidgen, though. Alas, I can only say it’s his fortune.”

Frowing, Viridia looked at the Unique Lifeform. “What happened in there? The Chosen…”

“Allowto make a prediction… my fellow Unique Lifeform by the nof Minaga has been putting on an entire show, which was part of the reason I was held in a white void for a few minutes before I was teleported here.”

“The All-God Legion is in charge of this Leaderboards reveal,” Viridia nodded.

“Then it makes sense. From all I have learned about Minaga, he is a performer who enjoys making drama and putting on a show more than anything. So do not worry quite yet, and just enjoy the show as the suspense builds, and we await the grand reveal,” the Fallen King said.

Viridia instantly realized what the Unique Lifeform was trying to say as she breathed a sigh of relief, and did as he said as they waited for Minaga to continue. A few minutes passed as the celebrations died down, and the congratulations of the top ten cto an end. Until the factions would host larger celebrations at a later time, that is.

“Once more, I want to congratulate all those who placed in the top 10 from the ninety-third universe. You all have done pretty well for yourselves, considering you’ve only been part of the multiverse for just a short amount of time… but what’s perhaps even more impressive is that we still find four names from the Universe Leaderboard also present on the era one! Behold, our top ten of this Era… and the Era’s Pinnacle!”

Space once more moved as the second Leaderboard was revealed, and ten figures were highlighted again as projects appeared; four of these highlights repeated. Along with the highlight of the Era’s Pinnacle… which had gone to the one most people had expected to see there and the top seed according to all the gambling houses.

Nevermore Leaderboards (C-grade): 93rd Era.

1. Ell’Hakan – Era’s Pinnacle.

2. Demon Prince of the Fourth Hell – Pinnacle Tier

3. Wintermaul – Pinnacle Tier

4. Aishalstromoz Regalflight – Pinnacle Tier

5. Ghost King Azal – Pinnacle Tier

6. Disciple of the Heartsoul Daolord – Pinnacle Tier

7. Lopas – Pinnacle Tier

8. Grimclaw Noxmane – Pinnacle Tier

9. Holy Dawn Paladin – Pinnacle Tier

10. Saintess of the Holy Church – Pinnacle Tier

Two beams once more highlighted the smug Holy Church, showing that they had impressively maintained two spots in the top ten. Only one of them was a repeat, as someone Viridia recognized as the Saintess who had been part of Ell’Hakan’s group was also highlighted.

The newcomers were a demon prince who had made swaves recently, currently shown standing with an arrogant sneer as he gazed toward where Ell’Hakan was standing. Next up was a princess of the Regalflight – the golden dragons – who nearly always had members toward the top due to the extremely high average power of those who managed to becgolden dragons. She was standing with a neutral look in her humanoid form, but no matter what, she couldn’t hide her innate pride.

Azal, the Ghost King, was also an expected figure to see. The swas true for the Disciple of the Heartsoul Daolord, who was a young girl looking no older than someone who had barely entered adulthood. Then there was Grimclaw Noxmane, a wolf from the United Tribes, who looked like a, well, large wolf.

The creature known as Lopas did strike Viridia as an odd one. This Lopas had appeared on both the Universe Leaderboard and the seventh spot of the Era Leaderboard, gaining the creature quite a bit of attention… which was why it was surprising to see the sleeping sloth-like creature’s projection clearly sleeping in mid-air.

All of these top performers got a lot of praise, and even if the Church had two in the top 10, there was no doubt who had the most attention of everyone. Ell’Hakan had repeated the feat of his Patron and claimed the very top spot, proving himself the Era’s Pinnacle. Viridia clenched her fists as she threw a glance toward the Fallen King, who looked unbothered, just waiting.

“Truly an impressive display by everyone, and I will say… even if you do not find your non the top 10, do not be discouraged. Top 100, or even top 1000, is also a feat to celebrate. Even if you don’t find yourselves on any Leaderboards, do not for a second believe this is an evaluation of your entire Path and your potential. To many of you, this will be but a slight blip in your existence and hopefully just a pleasant memory that may or may not have rewarded a sweet title. This is also a warning to the ones who did place well on the Leaderboards to not relax simply because you did well in one World Wonder. This is just a single step on your journey.”

The words of the Unique Lifeform were sobering and encouraging. It was likely something many of those who had either done better or worse than expected needed to hear. Putting too much stock in Nevermore wasn’t wise, after all. Viridia herself hadn’t done that well back in Nevermore, partly because of her Path as a witch not being the best for the World Wonder, yet out of her entire party, she was the only one who ever even reached A-grade.

After Minaga allowed the words to sink in a bit, he spoke once more.

“Just one more thing before we all go our different ways… I’m going to tell you all a bit about a personal grievance of mine. Trust me, It’ll be relevant,” Minaga said as he once more began to pace back and forth. “I’ve been working with the Wyrmgod for quite a few eras now, working on floors, consulting on different projects, working on Challenge Dungeons… with my mainstay creation naturally being my labyrinth. Both the floors and the Challenge Dungeon.”

The ramble seemed entirely irrelevant to everything else that was going on, yet as the All-God Legion began to talk, Viridia saw the Fallen King slump and let out an audible sigh as he let her know his thoughts.

“Here we go again…”

“I worked hard on this, and I try to make them pretty fair so people can’t cheat, yet every single era, there are sindividuals who find new ways to “break” stuff, if you will. This is fine. It givesdata to fix the error for the next iteration. Except this taround, this bastard appeared who exploited the hell out of both my labyrinths without a single trace of shame, doing so in a fashion that I can’t even fix for the next era. He even went as far as to set an all-trecord in my Challenge Dungeon, and not even by a little, but by so much I felt like he did it only out of spite.”

Viridia frowned as the Unique Lifeform gave her a small nod. A nod that made her smile as the Unique Lifeform continued.

“And wouldn’t you know it… that very sbastard is just about to cout of our precious World Wonder in… three… two… one…”

A beam of light descended right beside Viridia as she felt space warp… and a masked figure appeared as the Leaderboards all shifted in real-time.