Each step bent space as Jake ran through the landscape. It had already been a day or so since he left Paradise, with nothing especially interesting happening so far. A few mediocre D-grade areas had been explored, but nothing worth hunting.

He checked his map and saw he was approaching a new area marked as a danger zone. This particular area was exactly the kind of environment Jake loved to hunt in. It was a vast swath of greenery with tall trees dominating the horizon and dense foliage covering the ground, making it impossible to see far. It was not a forest but something even more filled with nature mana: a jungle.

While some areas of the forest Haven was placed in the outskirts of could qualify as jungle-like, this place was on another level. Jake checked the intel from Renato and even double-checked with what Peter had given him as both had mentioned this place as it was both a danger zone and a very popular hunting spot.

Reading the intel, it seemed like a great spot. In the very outskirts, a few E-grades could be found, but just a bit in, D-grades began dominating. This was still only talking the outer ten percent as none of the intel mentioned what was further in, just that it was dangerous. Renato’s information did note the risk of C-grades, so that was positive.

The opponents one could expect ranged from beasts, plants, and a few scarce mentions of elementals, primarily water elementals due to the high humidity. Nature elementals weren’t a thing as far as Jake knew. Nature mana tended to just seep into living things attuned to the affinity instead of coalescing into elementals, creating monster plants or treants and stuff like that.

Jake felt satisfied after studying the notes and headed in. It didn’t take him long to notice several beasts and creatures all around him through his sphere. All of them E-grades, hiding either in bushes, in trees, or even below the ground. There was a high level of verticality to the jungle, with plants and trees reaching hundreds of meters into the air, even in the outskirts.

Needless to say, Jake did not care for these E-grades as he swiftly ran forward. He didn’t cut a path but just dodged through the dense vegetation, taking this opportunity to practice his stealth a bit. He also pulled out the Prima fragment once more and didn’t get any immediate response when he tried to search for the energy signature. Then again, the mana in this area was dense, making it difficult unless he got really close. His newly upgraded tracking skill also didn’t work as, well, it wasn’t like he knew what kinds of tracks Primas left behind. Scanning every track for signs of the Prima signature sounded like a nice way to spend his two weeks before the event accomplishing jack shit.

About half an hour later, he finally encountered his first D-grade. It was a ferret-like creature that hid in the underbrush, and while Jake did scan it briefly, he did not engage. In the area ahead, he found dozens of these creatures hidden, making it clear this was their territory.

As he got further in, the space did begin to open up a bit. Not because there was less nature mana or plant growth, but because of what was happening there. Fights between D-grades didn’t always leave the environment intact and often entire areas were torn apart.

Due to the high mana density, new plants would grow back within days, if not hours, but the sheer number of beasts meant entire caverns within the foliage were formed. Jake spotted a cat-like creature battling a large mantis-like monster as both rapidly dodged and weaved in between trees, only for a third opponent to interfere and kill them when they were weakened.

Jake’s hopes were heightened as he finally felt something. A gaze upon him… an unfriendly one. Finally, a beast was able to see through his stealth and decided to make him the target. Acting like he hadn’t noticed, Jake kept going waiting patiently for his foe to strike. He didn’t need to wait long as the creature entered his sphere from above. He saw it was a snake-like monster, but it was made up of vines, bark, and plant parts rather than flesh, blood, and scales.

It stalked him from above and waited to strike, but Jake didn’t give it a chance. He turned around mid-jump, pulled out his bow, and fired a barrage of explosive arcane arrows, tearing up the surrounding greenery.

The snake was startled but still continued its assault. The head didn’t actually have a mouth but was shaped like a halberd of sorts, allowing it to sweep and stab. Jake dodged a bit away as he fired another arrow into the creature and continued bombarding it with arrows, not allowing it to ever get close before it died. It had only been level one-fifty, meaning it didn’t even give experience.

He had barely slowed down during this time but kept pace as he traveled inward, and that first snake would prove to set the example of what was to come. Ambushes happened frequently, but it was nothing Jake couldn’t easily handle. He did begin putting in a bit more effort and even used poison on his arrows when the levels grew to above one-sixty and especially when he started to get experience.

For the first time in quite a while, Jake began to have a feeling well up inside him. He had spent long periods doing events, going to the Order, traveling, and being in cities. He had been around others all the time. But now… now he was alone.

It was almost like his senses sharpened, and he stopped thinking about anything irrelevant. He felt more comfortable than he had for months. There was only himself and an environment filled with things wanting to make him their prey.

An environment he would show exactly who the real hunter was.

A small smile crept onto his lips as Jake dodged the attacks of two treants trying to seal his movements. Jake moved on the offensive as he bombarded the treants with explosive arrows and, with a beat of his wings, sent a cloud of miasmic poison down towards them. They struggled for a while before Jake finished them and moved on but barely got a hundred meters before he was attacked again.

Few predators moved through this area, and those that did, these creatures knew about and did not attack. They didn’t know Jake, making them all attack him if they felt like they were at a higher level than he was. This resulted in a path of destructive arcane mana being carved into the jungle as he traveled. Nature would fix it soon enough, but for now, only destruction was in his wake.

Two primary types of enemies dominated the jungle: beasts and Vinewood creatures where he currently was. Vinewood creatures were like the snake before. It was more often than not just a plant lifeform in the shape of a beast, given life due to the dense and potent nature mana, making them effectively nature elementals. The beasts were… well, the usual beasts one could find in jungles.

One type of enemy could bleed and die to Jake’s poison, and the other could be destroyed by the power of arcane mana. Jake had no poison dedicated to plants like the fungicide he had made back in the day, but his blood did a banger job anyway. While he had learned how to make an inferior rarity poison during his studying just to shore up his foundation, the poison would be way worse than his blood, even against weak foes.

Weak foes who slowly grew stronger as the days passed, and Jake continued his hunt.

*You have slain [Vinewood Viper – lvl 166] – Bonus experience earned for killing an enemy above your level*

*You have slain [Deathfang Sloth – lvl 169] – Bonus experience earned for killing an enemy above your level*

*You have slain [Vinewood Mongoose – lvl 175] – Bonus experience earned for killing an enemy above your level*

*You have slain [Spiketail Lizard Devourer – lvl 182] – Bonus experience earned for killing an enemy above your level*

As his foes grew stronger, so grew the difficulties of the fights. In the section he had just entered, primarily the Vinewood creatures existed, with all beasts daring to roam there at a high level themselves. Vinewood creatures did not attack one another, meaning the chances of being ganged up on were high.

With the increased difficulty Jake faced also came levels. Every singular kill did not give much experience, but over the course of the next week, he had slain hundreds above his own level – not a single one of them yet able to put up an equal fight.

*’DING!’ Class: [Avaricious Arcane Hunter] has reached level 156 - Stat points allocated, +10 Free Points*

…

*’DING!’ Class: [Avaricious Arcane Hunter] has reached level 159 - Stat points allocated, +10 Free Points*

*’DING!’ Race: [Human (D)] has reached level 163 - Stat points allocated, +15 Free Points*

*’DING!’ Race: [Human (D)] has reached level 164 - Stat points allocated, +15 Free Points*

Jake felt himself grow in power and familiarity with the foes he faced. Even as he enjoyed himself in the euphoria of the hunt, he stayed calm enough to remember his primary goal for going hunting besides leveling.

A goal he met in the beginning of the eighth day as finally, his Prima fragment got a response. Jake’s eyes lit up as he stalked towards the Prima. It quickly became clear what kind of foe he would face as he saw no regular beasts for nearly fifty kilometers of the jungle while running towards the energy signature. It was all Vinewood creatures dominating and basking in ever-increasingly dense nature mana.

Soon enough, he even began seeing traces of his prey. Torn up ground, dried blood of beasts that looked like they had been dragged, and even a few pristine bones with every single trace of blood and flesh already devoured. Jake wondered what he was dealing with, but as the energy signature of the Prima felt like it was right in front of him, so did his prey enter his Sphere of Perception.

Vines… wood… the usual stuff, but rather than an animal, this just looked like a large bush. It slowly crept across the area with small roots dragging it forward as its body wrapped around the trees and larger plants while simply devouring and assimilation smaller ones. Jake used Identify on the Prima right away.

[Oakwood Brambleshrub Prima - 191]

It was more than forty meters across and ten meters tall as the huge mass of shrubbery moved, it being more of a moving mini-jungle than an actual creature. Jake stalked it for a bit as he prepared to make his move. He would use his blood as his poison of choice and keep a safe distance due to its low mobility.

Jake placed his Mark on the Prima as he scouted out the immediate area to make sure no other powerful creatures were nearby. Jake had noticed that Primas tended to be surrounded by those of their own race before, so he was a bit careful. However, this one seemed to be a solitary one, meaning it was likely also on the stronger side of the spectrum.

After checking out the area and finding no other living things, Jake wondered how to get a good vantage point. Due to the dense foliage, being more than a hundred meters away would obstruct his arrows, and even if he could now curve his arrows, it didn’t really work that well with Arcane Powershot. He would need a clean line of sight and-

Wait, why not just…?

Jake looked upwards and summoned his wings, and jumped as he quickly emerged from the dense jungle. As soon as he got above it, he grinned. Large trees and some plants still emerged, but the jungle itself was only really a few hundred meters tall due to its high density, and due to the jungle constantly regrowing, each plant was not as powerful as, say, the trees around Haven.

The creatures of the jungle were still well-protected down there due to having a “roof” over their heads, obstructing vision and functioning as a barrier to many types of attacks. Moreover, there was much cover inside the jungle if an opponent attacked from above.

That last point only really mattered for beings able to actually move and dodge. A category the Prima squarely did not fall into.

He flew up nearly two kilometers but didn’t go any further to still stay below the faint clouds floating about and dodge the flocks of birds sometimes coming by. He would prefer not to get interrupted. As he was up there, he did notice some other predators clearly also using the jungle as their hunting ground. One of them was a bit close to him – a silver-colored owl with large eyes that stared at him for a moment.

[Silvernight Owl – lvl 188]

Jake stared back before the owl decided to fly off, showing that owls were indeed pretty smart birds. He shrugged as he pulled out his bow and focused on his Mark of the Avaricious Hunter below. Arcane Awakening activated in the destructive state, boosting all his offensive stats by 50% to give himself some extra firepower. With a mental command, he activated Pride of the Malefic Viper and began condensing dozens of explosive arcane bolts in the area all around him. They were not made with the intent of actually doing damage to the Prima but merely removing the upper barrier of greenery.

The Prima was still moving slowly below, oblivious to what was about to happen. Jake nocked a stable arcane arrow with some of his blood poured on it – his quiver already full of pre-prepared arrows. He began charging Arcane Powershot and, at the same time, launched his arcane bolts. He didn’t do so with much power but more or less just let them all down towards the jungle as he charged his attack.

He held nothing back as he infused energy into Arcane Powershot with dense arcane power soon swirling around him. Nearby clouds distorted and were dragged in as Jake focused on the shot. He charged the attack for nearly fourteen seconds with his entire upper body searing in pain before finally releasing it to an explosion of pure power.

Half a second before he released the arrow, the arcane bolts reached the jungle, and an explosion that would put nearly all pre-system bombs to shame rocked the jungle. Each bolt sent out destructive arcane mana for hundreds of meters around itself, and with more than fifty of them hitting at once, a jungle area of several square kilometers suddenly found itself with a large part of the upper foliage destroyed.

The Prima below reacted as it was hit by remnant arcane energy, but none of it was strong enough to harm it. Jake had focused on destroying the jungle and not actually killing anything, after all.

The same thing could not be said about the next attack.

Parting the arcane energy, a single arrow descended along with a storm of destruction that tore a hole straight through the massive bush-like creature before impacting the ground below. Jake heard what sounded like an angry roar but had already released the follow-up as explosive arcane arrows rained down courtesy of Splitting Arrow.

Another carpet-bombing session was initiated as even larger sections of the jungle were destroyed with the Prima right in the middle. While it didn’t feel like he did much damage due to its large size, his Mark of the Avaricious Hunter made him aware he indeed did, as the Arcane Charge was building fast.

Jake fired off a few more barrages as finally, the Prima seemed to have pin-pointed its attacker. Before he could shoot again, he had to dodge to the side to avoid tens of wooden spears shot at him. This was followed by hurled stone and boulders in massive numbers as the Prima’s tendrils just tossed everything it could find in his direction, including entire damn logs.

Not that any of these had a chance to hit as Jake kept his distance and dodged as he released destructive arrows. The Prima tried to defend by intercepting his shots but found itself unable to as the arrows curved in unpredictable directions

Come on, pal… you need to have more than that, Jake thought as he dodged the many projectiles. Each of the spears would pierce deep, but they simply didn’t have a chance to hit.

Below the destruction continued as the Prima defended itself while counterattacking as well as it could. Jake did notice how little damage he seemed to do and noticed it was constantly absorbing energy from the soil below. Lower parts of the jungle hundreds of meters away that had survived began wilting as the Prima absorbed energy to rejuvenate itself, but Jake quickly cracked down.

He took flight as he swiftly flew in a circular pattern around the Prima, spreading poison mist to kill the plants and make the creature unable to heal. Jake never stopped attacking either, but as he got closer to the ground, the Prima did find more ways of fighting back.

Vines shot up towards him as Jake dragged the fight out and just built up damage. He did get a few minor cuts as the bramble part of the Prima’s name was shown. Each vine did not aim to merely wrap him up or stab him but was lined with sharp thorns that would rip anyone apart like a chainsaw while draining their blood.

Jake managed to build his advantage for several minutes before the Prima made its move, clearly aware it was losing badly.

His sense of danger reacted as Jake was forced to quickly flee upwards as more than a hundred tendrils emerged from the soil below. Jake released a blast of arcane mana to destroy some tendrils but suddenly realized how useless that was.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed another tendril rise in the distance. Then another, followed by ten more. A hundred more. Like the jungle itself was rising towards him, thousands of tendrils reached towards the sky and tried to catch Jake – and he had no delusions that being caught would be a good time.

As he flew upwards, the cloud of poison bathed the many tendrils chasing him. Some of them began withering but were rapidly replaced by others, forcing him to repeatedly release arcane explosions behind him.

Somehow the tendrils kept chasing even as he reached a kilometer high, but clearly, the Prima was running out of ones long enough. Jake took the chance and rapidly moved to the side to dodge away and nocked an arrow. Arcane Powershot charged as the tendrils came again, but Jake just tossed them a glance with Gaze of the Apex Hunter, making them eerily freeze mid-air. At the same time, his sense of time slowed due to Steady Aim as he focused intently.

The arrow he had knocked was larger than any of the others, as it looked more like a spear and was nearly entirely purple and pulsed with power. With the Prima infected with his poison, he had rapidly gained an understanding of it good enough to condense an Arrow of the Ambitious Hunter.

Jake released the arrow down towards the defenseless Prima and saw it sink into the creature just as it became able to move again. It writhed in pain, and the many tendrils swayed in mid-air as they seemed to lose strength. With a mental command, Jake activated the Arcane Charge from Mark of the Avaricious Hunter that had been charged more than Jake had ever done before.

For a brief moment, a flash lit up the world.

The swaying tendrils all began to wither, and the Prima below slowly turned black as it fell apart and began turning to ash.

*You have slain [Oakwood Brambleshrub Prima - 191] – Bonus experience earned for killing an enemy above your level*

*’DING!’ Class: [Avaricious Arcane Hunter] has reached level 160 - Stat points allocated, +10 Free Points*

Jake stayed in the air as he gazed below. An area several square kilometers big had been utterly decimated and left bare with remnant arcane energy still lingering here and there. Without further ado, he flew down and quickly located the loot, which included the expected Prima fragment and an odd seed of some sort. He tossed the seed in his inventory for further inspection later, but for now, he had another matter to attend to.

*Avaricious Arcane Hunter class skills available*