The Primal Hunter

Setting up a ritual circle was a bit like making a painting, but in order to make the painting, you had to program every stroke using some illogical programming language that also, for some bloody reason, had to follow weird rules reminiscent of feng shui. Concepts had to play properly together, which could be likened to mixing colors to get the optimal palette. Some colors did not mesh well together, and if all colors mixed haphazardly, you would get a muddy brown. AKA, you would get shit.

All of this also had to be done while painting within the lines if one was following some pre-set ritual circle and trying to make a very specific image. Not following a pre-set ritual circle was far beyond anything Jake could do quite yet.

When Jake initially set up the ritual circle, all looked well. The colors were adequately separated, and things seemed to be meshing well. However, with a higher Perception stat, he could begin to see the flaws. This could be likened to seeing the borders where the different colors mixed. To the naked eye, perhaps it looked fine, but if digitalized and someone zoomed in and saw the individual pixels, small flaws could be spotted. A bit of color may have gone over a line, the intensity of a certain color may be off, or a faint shade darker in one place than another.

The problem is that any minor change would echo throughout the rest of the formation. To once more bring it back to the programming analogy, fixing one bug could create another. Jake slightly changing a shade of color could push some paint over a line at the opposite end of the formation, and if he messed with too many things, he could even end up ruining one of these lines altogether, making the entire ritual collapse.

All of this is to say that Jake’s usual approach of just trial and error did not work with ritual circles. At least he did have the ritualism skill that gave him some ideas and faintly hinted at what he should do here and there while also giving warnings when he was about to do something dumb. It was far from enough, though, and there simply wasn’t a ritualism skill with enough innate knowledge to make you a good ritualist. In the end, everything took time and practice, and luckily for Jake, he had some time for that while waiting for the others to be ready for Nevermore.

More than that, he had a library full of high-level books and someone, quite frankly, way-overqualified willing to teach him.

“Your analogy is good, but it still has some flaws. You cannot simply view a ritual circle as a two-dimensional creation but as something that functions in a mesh. It is part of a three-dimensional world and has to interact with it through catalysts and energy absorption. This even ignores the fact that this specific ritual interacts with an egg of a living creature possessing a soul, making it pass into the metaphysical,” the old alchemist said after Jake voiced some of his thoughts.

It was naturally Duskleaf, someone more than happy with teaching Jake here and there. Though he did limit himself to basic things and did not want to comment directly on the ritual circle Jake had made for the Pollendust Bee Queen. At least not outside of the aspects that weren’t considered basic.

“So, a 3D painting of sorts,” Jake muttered to himself. “Though I am beginning to also run into some issues with the final energy infusion. I had not properly taken into account the qualitative difference in power between D and C-grade when making the ritual, and I fear it may be overloaded and fail at the final moment.”

“To redraw the lines of a circle is entirely possible, but you have to delve beneath the paint. Remember, you are working in far more than two dimensions. You view it only from one direction and not as a mesh where you can focus on small singular aspects, even if one looks to be covered by other. The surrounding constructs will need to be stabilized before the redrawing, and adaptation of the paint is necessary afterward, but I believe you are more than able.”

Jake thought for a while before opening his palm and making an outline of the ritual circle. He studied it for a while before shaking his head.

“It just all feels so interconnected,” Jake complained. “Stabilizing certain elements with my arcane affinity does seem doable, but controlling this stabilization while also redrawing seems bloody hard.”

“It is,” Duskleaf smiled. “Ritualism and formation, in general, are not simple. Formation masters can spend lifetimes creating and mastering a single formation. I know that usually, the circles you make are simply following a blueprint, but this is different. Hm… to use your analogy, then usually you are just acting like a printer and not actually doing any proper painting yourself, while now you need to pick up the brush yourself. You do have it a bit easier as this ritual is still based on a well-studied one, but that also means the changes you make need to be well-thought-out.”

About now, Jake also had some more context on the difference between all the terms. Ritual circles, magic circles, and formations in particular.

Ritual circles were, on average, considered very conceptual in nature. They relied more on traits of mysticism and leaned into a lot of what Jake called system-fuckery to work. These rituals also nearly always dealt solely with energy and not really with anything else. This meant they, in most cases, needed an active caster, and if the caster died, the ritual would cease to be. The main guiding energy of a ritual was thus nearly always the caster or casters who would actively participate for it to work. More than that, rituals were often considered shorter endeavors and not long-term installations. They were created with a purpose, and once the ritual was done, they would fade.

Formations leaned more into math. They were highly calculated creations that were more like a grand circuit board made to run one specific computer program. They could activate autonomously, be self-controlled, and the really high-level formations were even capable of showing AI-like behavior. More importantly, they did not necessarily require a controller but could function purely off external energy sources. In fact, if the creator had to actively use any energy to make it work after its completion, it was a sign of a poorly made formation. Even if the original creator died, as long as the formation was maintained over time, it could remain active nearly indefinitely.

This did mean that, on average, formations were seen far more often in the multiverse. Arrays that helped defend cities were just another form of formation. The teleportation circles made to allow travel were also just formations.

Ultimately, these two could never truly be separated. A ritual would always have traits of a formation, and a formation would nearly always have aspects of a ritual. To call one more complicated than the other also wouldn’t be right, as it often depended on the person what they found harder. Both could also just be considered magic circles.

Honestly, the terminology was all mixed up, and some used the two interchangeably. Even the system changed between them at times, seemingly viewing them as very much the same. The only reason they were separated as they were was because of just how damn complicated formations and rituals were. Miranda could call herself a great ritualist but not quite a formation expert. Neil was just the opposite. So if both called themselves magic circle experts, it would just lead to confusion.

Anyway, that was a quick summary of what Jake had been forced into reading way too many books about. This was even without mentioning all the researchers arguing about it and their different hot takes.

For Jake, hardcore formation theory was the worst. He was way more of a ritual guy himself, as he liked the control they required. Duskleaf also agreed that he should know when to limit himself. While having some breadth was a good thing in alchemy, he would learn enough about formations simply by trying to get better at rituals.

Not to misunderstand that Jake couldn’t do math. He was just more the kind of guy who liked math with numbers, while formations were all about that high-level math that wasn’t even real math. Real math had numbers, not letters, and yes, he had fought with Casper about that several times. Speaking of Casper… that dude was one of the few who truly did do both rituals and formations to a very high level. Jake hoped he was doing well and to meet too.

Regarding Jake and rituals, Duskleaf seemed extremely keen on convincing Jake to study curse rituals more, primarily due to Eternal Hunger. The old alchemist god had some good points, including how he could use the weapon as a powerful catalyst to do some amazing things, especially as the weapon was linked to his soul. Worth considering, but later. For now, it was all about the bee ritual.

Jake and Duskleaf had only been at the bee ritual for about half a day when someone else also returned to the mansion. Someone who had been quite busy herself.

“Lord Thayne, congratulations on your evolution,” Meira said with a bow as soon as she exited the mansion upon noticing him and Duskleaf outside.

“Thank you,” Jake said with a smile, adding on. “You are fast approaching C-grade yourself too. Ah, but one warning. You have to, at the very least, attempt to officially join the Order before evolving, okay? Of course, I am also open to alternatives, but the status quo will change.”

He had not really talked to her about it during his last visit, but Meira had picked up even more classes on her own. Jake had kind of expected it, but more just that she would continue down the Path they had talked about. Seeing her take the initiative and pick up entirely new topics was only a positive and only more proof she was more than ready. Based on what Duskleaf had said, she was also skilled enough by now to join. Jake wasn’t entirely sure what her hang-ups were, but he felt like he had to set a deadline.

Meira did look a bit taken aback at Jake forcing the issue. She looked to Duskleaf, but the old alchemist just smiled in response.

“If you have any concerns, just ask me,” Jake said with a shrug.

“I will,” Meira said after a moment of hesitation. “I apologize for disturbing Lord Thayne and the Grand Elder and shall return to my studies.”

With a bow, she left towards her own residence, walking at quite a brisk pace.

“I don’t get it,” Jake muttered to himself.

“What is there not to get?” Duskleaf asked.

“Shouldn’t joining the Order be something she wants? I also know that she has the opportunity to go to the Altmar Empire. Both must be better than being a slave here,” Jake voiced his thoughts.

“Hmph,” Duskleaf scoffed and shook his head. “You truly are clueless. While this may be overstepping, and I am usually not a fan of getting involved in personal business, I guess I have no choice. First of all, you view her as far more naïve than she is. She is still a D-grade and isn’t stupid. She knows the benefits her current station brings. Just look at her. Unlimited lessons, me teaching her, and this mansion to live in with you, someone who does not care at all what she does. The only negative is her status as a slave, but considering that is never used against her, all she truly lost is her own sense of pride from not being free in principle. For someone who has never truly been free, that is not a demerit at all.”

“That,” Jake said after thinking a bit, “makes sense.”

“I am not saying for you to change anything, but if you want to convince her the status quo has to, a conversation is needed. If not, it will be nothing more than a punishment. To you, perhaps freedom is the ultimate prize, but for her, it has never held any understandable value.”

“But who ever said her not being a slave would change anything besides her status?” Jake argued.

“Who says it won’t? As a slave, she is tied to you. She has some kind of connection with the Chosen of the Malefic Viper. I am only here because of you. If she is no longer your slave, then what is she? A random D-grade elf member of the Order that you used to know. What she has right now is good, and the unknown is always frightening. She doesn’t know what will happen. Also, can you truly tell me nothing would change? Tell me, where did you expect her to live once she became a member of the Order?”

“Well… every member of the Order gets their own place…” Jake said, but he instantly saw the issue there.

“Which to most is nice, but to her a bad thing when she wants to stay where she is,” Duskleaf said. “Granted, if you make this an issue is still your own decision. Ultimately, you could just kick her out at any time if you wanted to. While the girl isn’t horrible, she is far from a genius, and if separated from you, I see a difficult future for her, but that isn’t your concern. Right now, she is taking advantage of you due to the circumstances both of you unintentionally found yourselves in, and you truly don’t have any obligations to her. But from what I gather, you do feel responsible, so you have to do something to make her want to change the status quo.”

“So, what is your advice?” Jake asked, a bit unsure what the god was getting at. Clearly, Duskleaf was not just mentioning this for nothing. Or maybe he had just gotten annoyed at Jake being oblivious… both were entirely possible.

“Make a decision and tell her. From my understanding, you want to no longer have her as your slave, so assuming that is a given, tell her what will come next. Whatever rules or norms may exist don’t matter to you. If you want her to remain here working for you, simply hire her as an attendant, making the status quo unchanged despite her change in status. If you don’t want her around, tell her that. If you want to be rid of her entirely because she now knows your secrets, kill her or make her sign a contract,” Duskleaf said. “The only important thing is actually sitting down with her and talking about it. Make it so her future is not a feared unknown but has some element of certainty.”

“It just feels like me deciding what will happen goes against the entire point of me doing this. I want her to want to be free and to make decisions herself. If I just tell her how things will be…” Jake muttered.

“Then explain that to her too. In some ways, you fail to realize that she has actively made her choice already. She wants to become someone you want to keep around and is useful to you for purely selfish reasons. You are the Chosen of a Primordial, Jake. If you decided to recruit slaves tomorrow, there would be a line halfway across the planet. The two of you will never be equals, and I doubt you can ever make her truly see you as an equal, no matter how much you may want that,” Duskleaf shook his head.

“Yeah…” Jake said with a sigh. “You do have some good points; I guess I should have a proper sit-down with her and decide on what the future holds. In all fairness, I am fine with whatever she wants to do. I do kind of need an attendant in the Order to do things for me, and it may as well be her, right?”

“All up to you,” Duskleaf smiled. “I do like the girl as a student. She picks up on things quickly, and being in your presence will for sure keep benefitting her. Her talent is growing by the day, and if she keeps up her current dedication, she could go far. Right now, her primary motivator is to remain useful to you, and I doubt that will change if you keep her around, but that is honestly not a bad thing. The system at least doesn’t care, as long as she remains consistent in her Path.”

Jake nodded along. “Got it. I will talk to her about it and try to figure out what she wants. I still hope that some part of her wants freedom and to, at the very least, be able to leave if she wants to. It isn’t like either of us wanted to be in this situation originally, and she must carry at least some level of resentment towards me as the Order enslaved her, so who knows?”

“That is the final part you don’t get,” Duskleaf shook his head. “She clearly likes you, Jake. Not you as the Chosen, but you as a person. I would not say her emotions pass into love, but it is similar. For this, I will not say anything; that is up for you young ones to figure out yourselves. Just know she doesn’t solely remain around you due to the benefits you bring.”

Jake didn’t say anything but just looked at the god.

“You did know,” Duskleaf realized. “More to consider, then. I will go get some tea while you sort your thoughts.”

With that, Duskleaf disappeared with the clone that was made from a plant that couldn’t even consume tea, as far as Jake knew.