The Primal Hunter

Jake sat down and relaxed while recuperating before moving on to the final optional boss. He felt pretty damn good about himself and, while he was sitting there, reflected on the progress he had made recently. Level-wise, he had gained one level in his profession during the period of nearly a month before they entered the dungeon, but after entering, Jake had now already gained four whole levels… which was actually an insane speed.

*’DING!’ Profession: [Heretic-Chosen Alchemist of the Malefic Viper] has reached level 171 - Stat points allocated, +10 Free Points*

…

*’DING!’ Profession: [Heretic-Chosen Alchemist of the Malefic Viper] has reached level 174 - Stat points allocated, +10 Free Points*

What made it all even more insane was that Jake had not only been doing alchemy but also fighting. Though, to be fair, the fighting hadn’t been difficult. Even so, it had netted him two levels.

*’DING!’ Class: [Avaricious Arcane Hunter] has reached level 170 - Stat points allocated, +10 Free Points*

*’DING!’ Class: [Avaricious Arcane Hunter] has reached level 171 - Stat points allocated, +10 Free Points*

The combination of easy fights and the monotonous type of enemies made every foe barely give any experience, but he had killed enough to still get some levels. It did help that usually Jake had to actually go looking and find enemies, while in the dungeon, there were ten mushroom men around every corner.

With these levels also came a few race levels.

*’DING!’ Race: [Human (D)] has reached level 170 - Stat points allocated, +15 Free Points*

*’DING!’ Race: [Human (D)] has reached level 171 - Stat points allocated, +15 Free Points*

*’DING!’ Race: [Human (D)] has reached level 172 - Stat points allocated, +15 Free Points*

Now… finally, with levels came Free Points. Jake wanted to just throw it all in Perception, he really did, but a voice at the back of his head that totally wasn’t sim-Jake screaming within his Soulspace made him reconsider.

With great reluctance, Jake did something that disgusted him as he invested 280 Free Points into Strength. Instantly he felt a hot glow go through his body as his muscles seemed to almost bulge for a moment before settling down. He had exited meditation at this point and sat here opening and closing his fist.

It was more than a 10% increase to his total Strength just by investing those points. It was an actual tangible difference, but Jake also knew that a 10% increase in Strength did not mean he now hit ten percent harder. The system and reality just didn’t work like that, and the only time where Strength was the only real factor was when in a tug of war or when trying to push someone.

Not that it wasn’t massively helpful to him, especially his melee skills. Sim-Jake had made it clear Jake needed more Strength, but also that Agility was still by far the most important stat. Something like a 60-40 split was best, according to him. Jake chose to trust his other self in that department.

Looking over his stats as a whole, they were relatively balanced, and he was beginning to get close to the optimal Strength-Agility split.

Stats

Strength: 4146

Agility: 6761

Endurance: 3626

Vitality: 4828

Toughness: 3521

Wisdom: 6207

Intelligence: 5067

Perception: 10720

Willpower: 5252

Free points: 0

Toughness and Endurance were both really falling behind, but Jake wasn’t that worried as both stats were still considered high for his level.

The highest amount of stat points one could possibly gain per D-grade level – counting race, profession, and class- was around 250 total. 100 from class, seventy from race, and eighty from profession. This was all, of course, only in the case of a human. In reality, it would always be lower, and even in the top tier, one was considered close to the apex at 220 stats per D-grade level.

Below D-grade, it was a third for E-grade, so around 75 stats total per level was the top, and then it was even lower at F-grade below that. All in all, if someone gained around 60 per level in the first 100 levels – or 6000 total stats at the point of evolution to D-grade – it would already be considered close to the theoretical maximum for pure stat gains while leveling.

Jake had over ten thousand total stats the day he evolved to D-grade – even without counting his equipment.

In reality, it wasn’t as simple as just a pure equation due to all the other factors like titles, equipment, and elixirs, especially not counting percentage bonuses which Jake had plenty of. The “of the Malefic Viper” skills also added on extra stats, making it even more skewed.

Even then. If one stayed with the simplified math, then someone powerful at Jake’s level, 172, would end up with 6000 stats for the first 100 levels and 220 for the next 73, for a total of 22,000 stats. Dividing that out in nine parts, then around 2500 in a single stat would be considered average. With Jake having a thousand more than that in even his lowest stat, it honestly wasn’t bad, especially considering this example was of someone with a powerful Path. Again, oversimplified, but it was still clear Jake was far above the expected durability of the average D-tier at his level, despite never investing much into Toughness.

Ah, on a final note, Jake also just realized that he had surpassed 50,000 total stat points counting everything. Having a nearly 60% overall stat increase amplifier really was nice. To summarize, then Jake was just good in pretty much all aspects, and in Perception, he was in the realm of being a little bonkers with how much he had.

Abandoning any more thoughts about annoying math that Jake honestly couldn’t be bothered with, he returned to meditation. The dungeon group meditated and recuperated for the better part of a day before it was time to take on the final challenge.

“We passed this a bit faster than expected,” Irin said. “I expected us to take at least a little longer, and our speed is especially impressive considering the potentially needless over-complication of the ninth level.”

“Hey, we passed it, and it allowed us to bond over shared hatred,” Jake grinned at Draskil.

“I must also admit it was a very interesting method. I would never have come up with using a curse. Instead, I think I would have mixed some of the death affinity mushrooms into the concoction along with the life affinity energy and then just had it be stabilized and dormant using the Lifecore. Using a catalyst or just having the balance between the energies be very reactive, we could then do so it was activated upon entering another living foe, making the life and death affinity clash. It should have counted as a rather effective poison,” Reika added on. “But I guess there are some pitfalls I missed since Jake rejected the idea.“

“Nah, it would have totally worked. I just really wanted to go with my idea,” Jake waved it off. “With my method, Draskil also got involved!”

Reika stared at Jake for a moment before just shaking her head in slight disbelief. “Honestly? I think I learned more from your method too, so screw it.”

Draskil and Bastilla just stood silently in the background and didn’t seem to have anything to add, even if Jake could see Draskil had enjoyed Jake’s method. After Jake’s and Reika’s brief talk, Irin took the lead again.

“Anyway, time to tackle the final floor. Now, let me warn you, this is a fully-fledged C-grade we are dealing with,” she said as she put a hand on the gate. A notification appeared before all of them once more.

You have successfully passed the ninth floor and gone above and beyond expectations!

Now only one more challenge remains. A single more floor is sealed away at the bottom of the dungeon, only available to those who have proven themselves exceptional. But be warned, for the final floor houses an entity far more deadly than anything you have faced so far.

Do you wish to explore the final floor of the Indigo Caverns?

“I… should probably just leave,” Bastilla finally said. “I will just get in the way, and from what you said earlier, the final floor is pretty much just a single fight. Not much I can help with there, and I am unsure if I can even use my dismantling skills on a C-grade.”

“I concur in that I doubt I would be of much use,” Reika shook her head. “I couldn’t do anything to the General before, and a C-grade is bound to be a lot more powerful. I think it better I sit this one out.”

Irin also ended up nodding. “While I am confident I can stay hidden if the foe is distracted, I must admit I also don’t see myself making any meaningful contributions. I am not a fighter, as you have probably noticed.”

Jake exchanged a look with Draskil before he smiled lightly. “Well… I wouldn’t mind either way. If you want to come along to watch and maybe get some better rewards, I am all for it.”

Draskil grunted in approval. While he wasn’t the most talkative, Jake had a feeling he could actually be a bit of a softie and genuinely had taken a liking to their three other party members.

“I can try to hide us using illusions,” Irin wondered out loud, not even trying to be subtle that she wanted to enter the final floor with them. Reika also clearly wanted to go, and Bastilla fell to the peer pressure as she made a huge animated sigh.

“Fiiine! Let’s go and possibly die due because the two of them forget we exist and accidentally blow us up or something without even noticing,” Bastilla moaned in resignation.

“Wouldn’t happen. My Perception is too high to not notice,” Jake rightly defended himself.

“I am not even going to argue that,” Bastilla signed again. “Let’s just go, alright? I already feel like I am some young mistress getting escorted through this dungeon, so I may as well stay shameless and finish it.”

With that, they all agreed to continue the dungeon and began going through the passageway. It was a bit longer than before, and while Bastilla did throw a second glance at the exit in the middle of the passage as they passed it, she stayed with the group.

Exiting the passageway, they came to yet another large floor… but this one was also very different from any prior. A blue hue dominated the entire place, and while it was filled with mushrooms, they weren’t the usual diverse kind. There were only glowing blue mushrooms spread throughout, and in the middle of the floor was an absolutely massive mushroom towering more than a kilometer into the air.

It gave off an intense sheen, and the cap was clearly illuminated as Jake saw something that looked like a throne on top of it. A small throne that barely registered as a small bulge on the mushroom cap. It looked like a throne for a child, which made sense when Jake saw what was sitting on it. It was a small mushroom man with a cap vaguely shaped like a crown.

You gotta be fucking kidding me.

[Mushroom Man King – lvl ???]

Defeat the supreme leader of the mushroom men: the Mushroom Man King.

Jake just stared in disbelief at the “final boss.”

It was just a small mushroom man no more than a meter tall, holding a wooden scepter with a glowing mushroom growing out the tip. On a scale from one to ten, it was a solid zero when it came to representation and intimidation.

“I…” Irin muttered as she stood there. “An unexpected opponent for sure, and-“

“Irin,” Jake interrupted her. “Just admit it already.”

She looked reluctant but finally sighed. “Okay… okay, I admit, the design of this dungeon could be better, and maybe some questionable decisions were made during its creation.”

“It’s shit,” Draskil just muttered.

Reika and Bastilla also didn’t hide their contempt. Jake decided to take charge and spoke: “Nevertheless, it is still a C-grade. With that in mind, we must go all out from the very beginning and utterly destroy this abomination. So stay back.”

Draskil understood as he moved forward. Jake joined him as he pulled out his bow and instantly began making an Arrow of the Ambitious Hunter in his quiver. Irin and the others stayed at the gate many kilometers away from the throne of the Mushroom Man King as she set up a barrier making them invisible and hiding their presence.

“It is a mage of some kind,” Jake quickly said as he felt the mana from the Mushroom Man in the distance. “And this entire place is that little bastard’s domain.”

“Hm,” Draskil grunted. “Not strong.”

“No,” Jake shook his head. “No, it is not.”

Draskil grinned as his wings unfolded and his body began burning with power. Jake responded in kind as Arcane Awakening activated, and they both took flight towards the Mushroom Man King, who only now became aware of their existence.

The entire cavern began humming with mana as the little mushroom got off his throne and lifted the scepter. Every single mushroom present seemed to resonate with the scepter, and even the large mushroom beneath the little king responded.

Bolts of mana condensed by the thousands as the king attacked. Scales covered Jake’s body as Draskil just flew unbothered towards the boss. Beneath the king, the flesh of the mushroom cap began changing and seemed to almost liquefy and come alive as it moved to defend.

Jake had already stopped in mid-air and nocked an arrow to shoot. He avoided a few mana bolts before releasing it towards the Mushroom Man King but found his attack blocked by the tendrils of mushroom. However, even if he was blocked, he did his job as he made an opening.

With the tendrils out of the way, Draskil disappeared as he reappeared right in front of the Mushroom Man King. He swept his claw upwards and sent the little creature flying through the air with a few new claw marks on its shroomy body. Yet Draskil still frowned as the mushroom king healed before he even hit the cavern wall.

Jake did notice a very slight dimming of some of the mushrooms on the ground far below, as he understood. He should have known it was another case of kind of shitty design. Every time they dealt damage to the Mushroom Man King, it would absorb energy from the many mushrooms spread throughout the cavern to recover, making it effectively one tanky motherfucker.

“Gotta destroy the mushroom!” Jake yelled to Draskil, getting a roar of recognition in response. He didn’t really do as Jake expected but just charged the Mushroom Man King again, smashing it down towards the ground.

The little abomination was ready after the second strike and summoned blue barriers to defend himself, but Draskil just tore straight through them and grabbed the Mushroom Man King. He proceeded to tear the final boss in two and threw the pieces away.

Only for both of them to regrow a little crowned mushroom man holding a scepter.

Fuck me do I hate this place, Jake cursed. He proceeded to bombard the area with explosive arcane arrows but found the effect underwhelming. As he thought about others ways to fight, he got an idea as he reached into his inventory and took out three bottles.

On the ninth floor, the batch of poison had been put into four bottles total. One for the cauldron to pass the level and three that Jake had kept. Looking at them, Jake decided to see how good they actually were as he wrapped all three in arcane bolts and sent them into the massive blue mushroom before proceeding to explode the bolts and spreading the poison.

Instantly the poison took hold, and Jake saw parts of the mushroom begin to wither and die. The Mushroom Man King – both of them – lifted their small scepters, and instantly the mushroom began to regenerate and the poison rapidly eliminated.

Draskil turned towards him and threw him a glance as they both knew what had to be done. Jake acknowledged as Draskil went for the two Mushroom Man Kings as Jake beelined it towards the large blue mushroom. During the dungeon, Jake had used most of his alchemy skills, but one skill he hadn’t used yet was absolutely perfect for this situation:

Touch of the Malefic Viper.