The Primal Hunter

From all the things Jake had seen so far, his simulacrum wasn’t that much better at fighting in melee than him. He was better for sure, but it was more from experience than pure fighting technique. One could say that to beat other humans, sim-Jake didn’t need to learn anything advanced. He just needed to attack with one quick blow and end their lives.

With the system, enemies did not go down as easily. Especially not foes above himself in level. Even a blow to the brain didn’t necessarily mean instant death, so Jake finally got to see his simulacrum in extended combat against several foes. From this, Jake truly understood: this version of himself was far superior to the current Jake in melee combat. Far, far superior.

Jake followed sim-Jake for days as his other version went through the dark caverns, ascended a set of stairs and entered a grand hall, fought there, and then ended up within a decrepit old village after going up another set of stairs. Jake was a bit confused as sim-Jake explained the Tutorial a bit.

“I am in what is called the Shadow Trials, which is the combat grounds. It is split into several floors, and I am currently on the twenty-fifth floor. I have killed two bosses of sorts so far, but neither have been that hard. As you know, I was blessed by the god known as Umbra and offered the Legacy of some god known as Tenlucis who died or something like that. Quite potent if I say so myself, even if I do find it questionable to accept the Legacy of a god weak enough to have died, but oh well. I will take what I can get, and I do get the feeling Umbra is worth working with. For now,” sim-Jake explained rather casually.

These were words that most other mortals would scoff at, if not scream at him for blasphemy. Not only did he offend a dead god, but he also put himself on the same level as Umbra by insinuating they worked together and that he was no follower. Naturally, Jake expected nothing else, and from the looks of it, Umbra was also fine with it. Jake was not told what level of Blessing his simulacrum had gotten, but he knew he was not a Chosen. Potentially a Divine Blessing.

Dark lightning began revolving around sim-Jake as he recognized some of the abilities Caleb had. It was a bit odd seeing a version of himself be surrounded by that same black lightning. Sim-Jake dove forward toward a zombie-like creature. It lunged towards sim-Jake, but he hit it through the head with a dagger before it had time to do anything. It struggled and tried to strike sim-Jake, but every attempt was foiled as it soon died.

He then stepped back and seemed to sink into the shadows. Jake still saw him with his sphere, but it was like sim-Jake melted into the shadows to anyone else. He ran over to the next zombie that didn’t notice him before getting stabbed through the head. Flailing around, the zombie used its claws to tear at the ground and collapse the building it had been hiding in, but sim-Jake was already out of it and proceeded to throw a bolt of black lightning at the collapsing house, making it explode.

Everything shown so far had been simple and easy like this. Sim-Jake dominated everything he came against so far. This made Jake initially think these foes were just low-level monsters… but no, they were all several levels above sim-Jake himself. In fact, sim-Jake was many levels ahead of where Jake had been about a month into the Tutorial. In Jake’s defense, he had focused on Alchemy for nearly all that time, but Jake also soon noticed something else.

Through the days Jake observed his simulacrum, he didn’t see him do anything that was not fighting or meditating to prepare for another fight. Jake frowned at his and began moving a bit and forth to get his simulacrum’s attention.

“Hm? What?” sim-Jake asked. “I must say, this the longest you have been around so far, so I guess this entire combat thing is quite important. Is that why you are moving around? Do you want me to explain more of why I fight like I do and such? Sure I guess.”

“Well, no, that wasn’t what I meant,” Jake said out loud but still stood still. What? He still wanted him to explain more. Sometimes telling was just better at delivering information than showing, especially if one wanted to learn the intent behind something.

“Not right, huh? Or only partly?” sim-Jake asked as he proceeded to take out a potion. Jake saw it and rapidly moved back and forth, making sim-Jake stop just before drinking it.

“What?”

Jake tried to move a bit more as he wanted his simulacrum to just give him some damn information on his profession. He was really curious by now what this version of himself would do. Jake himself had no idea, honestly. He had ended up becoming an alchemist to not die and had come to like it only after getting the profession. What would this version have chosen? Any kind of social profession was out of the question, so it had to be crafting-related, right? What interests did sim-Jake even have besides fighting and killing? Maybe something to make things that made that easier?

“I am blanking here. Something to do with the potion?”

Stopping his movement, Jake stood still to confirm that was partly it.

“Is anything wrong with drinking them?” sim-Jake asked. “Hm, I have theorized that they are too good to be true and may have some long-term demerits that I have yet to notice, so-“

Jake quickly denied it. Potions were awesome, and he was almost offended at his super-distrusting simulacrum talking shit about them.

“Good to drink? Then does it have something to do with this particular potion?”

Jake stood still.

“Is it the effects?”

Nope.

“Where it comes from?”

Yep!

“I traded it with an alchemist fo-“

Jake began moving quickly again the moment he said the word alchemist.

“What? You want to know about this alchemist?” sim-Jake asked, looking genuinely confused.

They went through a few more questions before sim-Jake finally asked a question Jake could work with.

“Are you asking if I am an alchemist?

It wasn’t actually what he wanted to ask, but that question would lead to a natural follow-up, so Jake answered yes.

“No, I am not. Oh… yeah, I should have understood this way earlier. Of course. You are here to learn about me and my Path, so it is relevant. You want to know what my profession is, right?”

Yes! Finally!

Sim-Jake just smiled and shook his head. “Why the hell would I have one? Sure, the stats would be nice, but that just isn’t me.”

Jake froze at that. What?

“I know, I know. I have been told plenty of times I need to get one, but I ask again, why the hell should I? They want me to sit on my ass making swords, or what, pick up painting? Make magic formation and spend hours on making something that is still fucking useless to me as I am currently? Become an alchemist and sit with a stupid pot like some second-rate cook who only knows how to make fucking soup? No, fuck all that. I am a god damn hunter, not a good little craftsman making my masters happy. I am the damn master. They can spend their time learning how to make things, and I can spend mine using their creations to get stronger and do what I was born to,” sim-Jake explained passionately.

Now, more than ever, Jake saw the difference between them grow. The thing is, Jake did not disagree with much of what he said, besides his words on alchemy, which he forgave sim-Jake far, as he knew it came from ignorance. He had a hard time imagining himself doing any profession either when he first entered the Tutorial. He just wanted to hunt. If he had not found the dungeon, he would have waited a long time before getting one, and if he did get one early, he would have half-arsed it.

The only reason Jake appreciated alchemy in the beginning – after using it to not die, that is - was because he saw its usefulness. He saw how it made him stronger. The skills related to the Malefic Viper were skills that did have alchemical effects but were also combat skills. Sure, Scales of the Malefic Viper could be used to touch toxic substances and resist fumes and such, but its true value was in combat. Villy knew it, Jake knew it, and the system also knew but allowed it.

Not having a profession this early also wasn’t an end-all, be-all. Sim-Jake was only a month into the system. Sure, it would make him lack some easy race levels early on, but he could always get a profession that would fit him later. There were near endless possibilities, so-

“Just to reiterate, I don’t plan on ever getting a profession. The lack of instant gratification through easy levels is a sacrifice I am willing to make to follow the Path I have chosen for myself. It may sound stupid, if not outright moronic, but I believe this is truly the best decision. Even if I can somehow get a profession that fits me well and doesn’t feel like a waste of time, I wouldn’t do it. But I have a plan. One I even discussed with Umbra, and while there was some disagreement, you, of all people, should know that those like us can be stubborn. What I plan to do is evolve. To evolve out of this pathetic human form and become more than I am now. I need the class still, but there are enlightened races that only have either-or of class and profession. I want one such race. Till then, I shall walk a Path of purity. One of pure combat and dominance. Also… while I said I may sacrifice instant power, it isn’t like I have encountered anyone worth fighting amongst humanity quite yet, and the multiverse runs on a timescale far different than our pathetic old world,” sim-Jake explained further.

Jake stood with his mouth open for a while. When he heard the first part about never wanting a profession, Jake thought his other self was indeed a moron, but… could Jake really say sim-Jake thatwrong? At least he had a plan, and what he planned was entirely possible. So far, Jake had already had the possibility of evolving into a vampire or a Malefic Dragonkin, which would allow him to only have a class or profession, so who was he to say sim-Jake would not get similar options down the line? Even if he did not get any of these extraordinary evolution chances, there was a good chance he would get one for his D-grade evolution.

Now, to make one thing clear, Jake still thought his simulacrum was being stupid. Clearly, he had some inborn hatred of being human, one Jake did not have at all. In fact, he thought being human was pretty darn awesome. Also, after seeing Valdemar tear Villy a new one, how could he ever proclaim that humans weren’t great?

“I still sense disapproval, but my mind is set. I may crash and burn and ultimately adapt my Path, but I doubt it. Now come, the boss is ahead,” sim-Jake said.

Yet just after he said that the scene ended. Clearly, the upcoming fight was not viewed as at all impactful by the system. He then saw a few brief scenes. Sim-Jake was fighting in nearly all of them, where he faced different progressively stronger monsters and eventually had duels with humans. Jake saw him easily beat both Matteo and Nadia in duels, making it clear he was the strongest in the Tutorial. Even without his profession to gain race levels, he stayed ahead of the curve, and what levels he did have were probably more valuable due to a powerful class.

Jake watched on as soon it settled on a scene once more. Sim-Jake noticed him the moment he appeared and smiled at him.

“Not just popping in briefly this time, eh?” he asked with a light smile. His equipment had entirely changed since the last time Jake saw his simulacrum. He wore dark leather armor now of high quality and even had a spatial item from the looks of it.

“I guess it makes sense… we are at the end of this Tutorial, after all. With a day left, we stand before the final fight,” he laughed a bit as he looked at what was in the horizon.

Jake followed his gaze and saw a spider-like creature sitting on a massive web. He instantly knew it was a D-grade. Looking at sim-Jake, he wondered if he was up to the task… but quickly realized that it wasn’t even a question.

He was level 66. If he still had no profession, it meant he had pushed his class all the way to the cap at 99 and then kept getting experience to level his race about a dozen more times. In a bit over two months. It was a speed that completely put Jake to shame in every way.

Moreover, this Jake was not facing a King of the Forest but a regular D-grade. He also didn’t seem to have any special items; even if he did, Jake knew sim-Jake would not use it. He simply didn’t have to. One had to remember that Jake had been around level 80 when he had killed his first D-grade back on Earth, but that fight had been rather easy. And while this version of Jake was not as strong as Jake was then, he could surely put up a big fight.

But before he engaged in the fight, sim-Jake turned to Jake with an odd gaze.

“You know… I always felt something was off about this world. I believed for a long time it was simply due to my uniqueness. Then I thought it was due to your presence. Finally, I believed it was due to the initiation not having happened. But even now, things just feel slightly off,” sim-Jake suddenly said as he smiled at Jake.

“Yet I choose to ignore it. I chose to suppress that emotion even now… so please observe as always. From the very first time I laid my eyes on this creature, I wanted to fight it, and now that I stand before my goal, I will reach it. I will prove my Path to you, and after I win, we can discuss… everything. If I survive, that is,” sim-Jake added, his smile oddly melancholic.

Dark magic began revolving around him as weapons appeared in both hands. At first, Jake thought they were daggers, but at a closer look, they were more… fist-blades?

The weapon had an H-shaped horizontal hand grip that rested against one’s knuckles. Each weapon had one blade, and the blades themselves were wide triangular blades. The blades themselves were straight and roughly 40 cm long, making them rather long.

“These are called katars. Classified as push daggers, they are highly efficient stabbing weapons. However, they are also rather impractical in battles usually and inferior to a dagger or a sword, much less a spear. However, they do also have advantages. First of all, using them is very natural and similar to punching. Secondly, you can put your whole weight behind every hit. They can also be used for slashing, but it is a bit less practical, while the handle itself can help block, albeit not that well. Defensively, it is a weapon inferior to most others you will see. I shall show you why these weaknesses truly don’t matter.”

With those words, shadows surrounded sim-Jake as he prepared to face a D-grade in the Tutorial. No gimmicks. No special quest items. Just a natural predator that had grown through hunting to reach that stage in two months.

And what followed was indeed a display of what that natural predator was truly capable of.