The Primal Hunter

Jake had selected the only thing possible, and a new menu popped up, finally giving him a better idea of what the event was all about and how it would work.

System-tier event: Path of Myriad Choices.

Simulation Description: The participant will be shown a minimum of two and a maximum of six choices made prior that significantly impacted their current Path. This simulation allows the participant to see a potential reality wherein that choice was not made. Dependent on the results of the simulation, the participant may be offered rewards related to the actions of the simulacrum of the participant during the simulation. The scope and length of all simulations vary but shall never simulate past current Realtime.

Note that no actions can be performed during the simulation outside of observing or ending the simulation. Only one choice can be selected.

Rewards may or may not be gained from this event. All participants are encouraged to take inspiration from the simulacrum and a potential other Path than that which they currently walk.

Initiate Path of Myriad Choices?

Y/N

Jake read the description carefully before entering. The Watcher had not given much information, but this sure shed some light on things. It truly was a simulation, and considering the system-tier event tag, Jake reckoned that the simulation would not be anything simple.

It seemed insane to think that the system would more or less create an entirely different world and show it to the participants. How much had to go into that? And how accurate could it be? Jake was sure as hell curious as he accepted the prompt.

Instantly, changes happened. Within the whiteness, four scenes appeared out of nothing, simply existing there in the space contained within rooms of sorts. One of the “rooms,” if it was even correct to call it that, was of himself walking through a dark tunnel. Jake instantly recognized it as the one he had found during the Tutorial after splitting up with his colleagues.

The one leading to the Challenge Dungeon.

The second scene was one that came quite a lot later. It showed Jake and the King of the Forest standing before one another. It was before the fight had begun.

But… from there, it got weird. The two other scenes were not at all what Jake expected. The first one was of him standing before his compound bow back in his parent’s old house. He was a teenager back then and had big dreams of going pro with his archery, and from the looks of it, this was before his accident. Back then, he ended up tearing several tendons, suffered severe damage to his shoulder, and was told by a doctor that he could no longer practice for over a year. That had made the dream impossible as it put him out of the competition for so long and had resulted in Jake studying more and ultimately going to university.

The fourth scene was something Jake did not get at all. He didn’t even remember it. It showed who he assumed to be himself standing in the entryway of a house Jake barely remembered as being the one his parents used to own. The one they moved out of when he was five years old to get closer to a better school and for his dad’s job.

Jake in the scene was nothing but a toddler - less than three years old for sure, as his mother was heavily pregnant with Caleb. Jake was clearly throwing a tantrum in the scene, and his father and mother were frantically trying to calm him down as his grandmother, who had probably come to babysit, stood confused in the doorway.

I don’t get it, Jake thought as he looked at it. What choice did he make back then? Sure, he kind of understood the others, but what decisions could a damn toddler make? Luckily for him, the system of the Seat had more options available. He saw that four options had appeared before him, each with a small description attached. Treating it like a skill choice, he started from the top.

Choice 1: Turning back and never entering the Tutorial Challenge Dungeon, resulting in you never meeting your Patron god or obtaining your current profession.

See preview?

This one was straightforward, and Jake pressed the “see preview” button with interest.

The moment he did so, the entire world around him changed. Jake watched himself stand in the dark tunnel before cursing, shaking his head, and turning around.

It shifted again and showed Jake looking at Jacob and the others in Richard’s camp. Jake kept an eye on them and noticed William and Richard meet.

Next, he saw himself shoot an arrow through the head of Richard, killing him. He saw himself surrounded by dark magic as he did so.

The next image was of Jake killing the Nest Watcher – the third of four dungeon bosses before the King – and barely coming out on top moments before the Tutorial ended. A brief flash was of him standing with more of his old colleagues, with Jacob still an Augur and most having still died.

Then came what was almost a montage. It showed Jake making it to Skyggen, meeting his parents, and formally joining the Court of Shadows, also making it clear Jake had accepted the Blessing of Umbra. It showed him and his brother hunting through several flashes, them fighting beasts together, entering a different system event than the Treasure Hunt, and generally just Jake a lot closer to his family than before.

The preview ended there as the room turned white again, only showing the four scenes. The entire thing had taken only a minute or two and shown Jake snippets, but damn, was it interesting. So many things changed.

Not wanting to dwell on it too long, he saw the next.

Choice 2: Choosing to not fight the King of the Forest but bow out and leave the Tutorial there and then, thus not ending the reign of the King of the Forest and allowing him to return to Earth for a rematch one day.

See preview?

Jake selected it, and the simulation changed once more. This one proved a lot more boring than the old one. It was just Jake leaving the Tutorial and many of the same things happening as before, but everything was just… lesser?

He had killed a D-grade later, gotten fewer levels from the looks of it, and had just been far less impressive. Haven was also far more boring. Towards the end, Jake barely paid attention as he just shook his head. He knew why this one sucked.

Him backing down back then was backing down from everything he was. Surrendering like that was not in his nature and a rejection of his Bloodline. The only result of not fighting the King would be Jake not becoming a Progenitor and being far weaker. He would lose several titles, get worse skills from the Tutorial Store, and overall just seeing it made Jake annoyed at watching such a version of himself.

It was especially hammered home how much this version sucked when he saw the King and the Sword Saint fight to a standstill as he could only support from behind, not quite at their level.

Yeah, fuck that.

Next option.

Choice 3: Choosing to not practice archery that day but instead stay home, thus never suffering any injury allowing you to continue practicing.

See preview?

The third simulation… was weird. The preview was weird. It showed a few flashes of Jake doing archery, him standing with a trophy, him in an entirely different Tutorial – one with Caleb also in it. Jake saw a brief flash of himself standing before what he assumed to be Umbra, but her form was obscured. It showed him becoming the Judge and returning to Earth.

Jake was surprised at many things that happened, but one of them more than anything else. It showed Jake killing Bertram before forcing Jacob into a teleporter that took him off the planet.

It also showed him fighting the Sword Saint, but the moment the man realized his Transcendence, Jake was demolished and saw himself be saved as several members of the Court gave their lives to allow his escape.

It ended with Jake somehow teaming up with the Sword Saint and fighting the King of the Forest, who stood side by side with William of all people.

…

“What the fuck did I just watch?” Jake asked himself as he stood there and stared as the scenes still flashed before his eyes. The simulation room had returned to normal as it waited for his next input.

No, seriously, what the fuck did he actually just watch? There were so many things to take in. Him the Judge of the Court and, from the looks of it, an utter beast with the bow. Sadly Jake saw no details, just clips, the Seat not giving away any juicy stuff, just showing possibilities. Fighting Jacob and the Church… losing to the Sword Saint… so much to take in.

However, this weirdness did make it an attractive option. To see the possibilities of mixing dark magic and archery. There was the issue of Jake being pretty damn committed to his arcane affinity by now, but he could still learn a bit for sure.

Shaking his head, Jake decided to give the fourth preview a shot.

Choice 4: Obeying your parents and choosing to let them leave.

See preview?

This one was barebones. Jake frowned a bit as he began the preview. Jake instantly remembered that day as the first scene played out. It was odd he remembered with Jake still too young to truly form memories back then, but now he remembered it clear as day. He remembered the emotions, at least.

His parents were leaving to go to a hospital check-up for his mom. Jake had gotten a horrible gut feeling when they were about to leave and had stopped them by throwing such a large tantrum, so they had to stay and reschedule. It was something Jake did not even remember… but was that decision really that big?

As the simulation began, he realized it was.

He had chosen to ignore his gut and let his parents leave after only a bit of placating. The next scene was of Jake at a funeral - the next of him living with his grandparents, who soon passed away also. Then a foster home, another foster home… the scenes just kept changing rapidly as all that stayed constant was Jake getting older.

Then… everything became almost incomprehensible. A scene showed Jake in his early teenage years standing over a body. The next of him with a knife covered in blood and wearing a hoodie. Then him in a jungle-like environment, fighting other humans.

It kept repeatedly changing as nothing made sense until it reached a scene where he finally saw something familiar. The same Tutorial Caleb had gone to and one Jake had also been participating in during the third preview.

But things were very different this time around. The version of himself Jake saw was different to a level where Jake could not recognize him. Moreover, there was no bow to be seen anywhere. This version of himself was so different from who Jake was today; that much was obviously clear from just the preview.

The preview ended almost prematurely, shortly after Jake entered the Tutorial, showing him fighting several shadow beasts.

Being done with all the previews, Jake needed a moment to process everything. Because damn, was there a lot. Watching a movie of yourself doing things you have never done was just fucking weird, man.

Ultimately, these previews were lackluster and only allowed one to form an idea of what it was about. Jake considered all four of them and quickly filtered out the second version. That one was just a more cowardly version of himself who didn’t become a Progenitor.

Next up, he filtered away the first choice. He wasn’t a fan of it, and it included Jake doing much of the same but without poison and with more dark magic. It did have the bonus of Jake spending more time with family, but… that wasn’t exactly something Jake could learn from. Okay, he probably could, as he really needed to go visit more and be a better son and brother.

That left the third and fourth, and of them, there was really only one option.

The fourth one was just too impactful and the one Jake understood the least. The Path was so different from who Jake was today. It was a Jake who fought entirely without a bow or poison. Moreover… the vision ended shortly after he entered the Tutorial. Did that mean he would die according to the simulation? Or was it something else? Curiosity alone made him feel forced to pick it.

However, before he did that, some considerations should be made.

One thing was clear from all these previews. Even without showing him anything substantial, Jake could infer some things, and the constant relation to the Court of Shadows couldn’t be a coincidence. Even when his entire life was different from childhood, he ended up there. Yet now, Jake had no relations to it besides through his brother. He didn’t even use his dark affinity for much.

That should maybe the initial takeaway. My dark affinity is excellent, and I should be able to make some use of it, Jake noted mentally.

There was also one very notable absence of choices Jake would have expected – what would have happened if he had become a Malefic Dragonkin? It was such an obvious one Jake was surprised it wasn’t there. Why had it chosen these four? It couldn’t be due to how significant their impact would be, could it? All Paths ended up somewhat similar – either with the Court or Villy – and there was none where Jake even went with a third god as far as he could see.

So, why was it? Jake fought a version of himself back then. He knew he could have absorbed the power back then and changed significantly. Why was he not shown that? System limitations? No, that was out of the question. It could show even pre-initiation events, so thinking it couldn’t figure out how to show him as a Dragonkin was moronic.

Wait… ah… yeah, that is possible.

Jake got on a potential explanation. These choices he had been offered had one thing in common: the lack of knowing their impact before making the choice. The only one that one could argue he did know was the one with the King and leaving the Tutorial, but did he really know? He had no frame of reference for what was good or the true reward for victory.

So maybe it just showed choices one could have made that would have had a significant impact without you realizing it. If not, wouldn’t all the options offered be evolutions? It was a given that if Jake had chosen a different class or profession during evolution that it would change his Path.

It was just a theory, but it seemed kind of right. Either way, he had no way to confirm or deny this theory, not that it truly mattered. Jake had four choices and had already picked one mentally.

Without hesitating anymore, Jake chose the fourth option. The second he did so, a new message appeared.

Initiating simulation of Choice 4. All simulated content will be curated, and low-impact events and actions will automatically be filtered out or swiftly passed over.

With that message, the entire world changed. Jake found himself standing in the old entryway as if he was truly there, staring at a toddler version of himself throwing a tantrum.

“No!” little Jake yelled as he refused to let go of his dad’s leg.

“Just stay with grandma, okay? We will be back soo-“

“NO!” Jake yelled again, tears in his eyes as he yanked the leg.

Jake remembered it now, clear as day. He had kept it up long enough for them to stay… but this time, it was different. He saw this version of himself relent, abandoning his trust in his instincts in favor of obeying his parents. He had let them go, despite feeling something bad would happen if he did.

Two hours later, a phone call came. A major car crash.

Less than a week later, the funerals - his parents both dead. His brother never born.

When Jake was five, his grandmother died, and he now no longer had any family he was still in contact with, meaning Jake became an orphan. Time quickly passed, but one thing was different from the start. He was no longer growing up in a loving family with parents and a little brother but in an underfunded and apathetic system where children were more often than not viewed as burdens.

Jake more than anyone. For there was one major difference between this child and Jake from back then. Something separate from the trauma and hurt. As he grew, it only became more apparent.

He had never suppressed his Bloodline… instead, he had embraced it.