The Primal Hunter Chapter 1248 - A Stealthy Opportunity

Jake crossed his arms while observing Casper prepare his magical setup. He took some time to position stakes in a wide circular arrangement, and after ensuring everything was in place, he started summoning the Construction Golems.

Stake after stake flew from him as he deliberately surged his aura to lure them closer. It required a bit of effort since Minaga had scattered the B-grades widely, but in the end, all thirty-two surviving golems were charging right behind him.

This phase also let Casper demonstrate that his defensive skills weren't half bad. He wasn't close to Jake's prowess, true, but he handled dodging and parrying the assaults remarkably well, evading harm even with so many foes in pursuit. Okay, to be fair, he didn't manage it solo—Lyra emerged to intercept several strikes—but Jake overlooked that detail.

A grin crept onto Jake's face as he observed Casper maneuvering amid the golems, guiding them into the designated zone he'd arranged beforehand. The synergy with Lyra was flawless; the instant Casper appeared even mildly pressured, she'd intervene precisely, acting like an ethereal protector at his flank. Granted, Casper had plenty of potential left to tap, yet his progress was clear, and his ingenuity in battle stood out. His curse magic, in particular, proved way more adaptable than Jake's own abilities.

Before long, Casper herded the golems into position, signaling that Jake's role was imminent. The curse energy stakes had vanished post-placement, yet with the golems enclosed, they reemerged as the Risen activated his spell.

Curse energy swirled around him, blending with an unfamiliar essence. It resembled space magic but wasn't exactly that. The whole zone twisted as the stakes burst forth with energy, and Casper initiated the ritual.

Barriers of solid shadow rose between the numerous ground stakes, enclosing a circle with all golems trapped inside. Spanning hundreds of meters and bordered by over two hundred stakes, the area turned pitch black on the floor. Though the walls stood low and semi-transparent, Jake sensed strongly that bypassing them from above wasn't feasible.

The display was striking, yet Jake doubted Casper's plan would hold as three golems closed in fast.

Then came his gesture, hands pressing together. Jake's eyes widened when shadow walls exploded across the circle's interior. Connections formed between the perimeter stakes, erecting barriers that wove a chaotic web of dark partitions throughout the vast enclosure.

The golems found themselves immobilized, blocked from advancing or retreating as the shadow maze squeezed in, isolating small pockets—most containing a single golem, save one spot with two. Their efforts to smash through met firm opposition, the shadowy curse shields soaking up the blows and apparently channeling the power. On nearer look, Jake figured the energy funneled back to the border stakes, implying the walls, though formidable, would eventually yield.

For an instant, nothing but the dull clangs of metallic limbs against the apparently unbreakable curse shields and a subtle magical buzz filled the air. Now it was Jake's turn to step up.

From his overlook, Jake launched the initial strike, an Arcane Powershot racing over the terrain, carving a path of ruin. Upon hitting Casper's wall array, the barriers flickered, parting to let the arrow zip through untouched into a Construction Golem.

The golem shattered on impact, hurling debris that oddly sailed through the encircling curse walls without issue. Jake's abrupt assault barely registered with the rest, who kept battering away at their confines. Some only noticed the chaos when stray fragments pelted them.

That's when Jake spotted another chilling trait of Casper's setup. To him, the walls looked transparent and not overly sturdy or dense, but the golems probably perceived and endured something entirely otherwise.

Most likely, each golem viewed itself confined in a tiny chamber of total blackness, oblivious to the wider scene, fixated solely on demolishing its enclosing barriers.

They could only flail blindly in obscurity until Jake selected one as his mark. This setup also clarified why every shot earned him the full Stealth Attack boost while he fired Arcane Powershot after Arcane Powershot from his spot.

To drop them swiftly, Jake engaged Arcane Awakening at 50% offensive mode, figuring full throttle unnecessary but craving more punch than the steady 30% provided, especially sans Protean Arrows.

As a result, Jake no longer one-shotted consistently, but he dispatched them rapidly, typically in no more than three shots, with later strikes not always Arcane Powershots. The golems' entrapment in a curse-saturated domain, which subtly eroded their resilience, aided greatly.

With the freedom to fire unbound, chaining Stealth Attack upon Stealth Attack, Jake started attuning deeper to the skill, syncing with its flow. He even pondered it deliberately, zeroing in on the feel.

Not part of his original intent, but when a spark of insight hit amid the perfect chance, Jake seized it. He honed in on the Stealth Attack trigger's essence, clinging to it tightly with each release.

How much time had passed since its last evolution? Prior to Nevermore... actually, before attaining C-grade. An eternity without advancing the skill, though Jake hadn't pushed for it intentionally.

Rather, he'd instinctively refined his grasp and use of it over time. That insight now bubbled up as he repeatedly invoked the skill, each strike honing it marginally further.

With ten golems down to just ten, Jake sensed he'd latched onto a key element. Post another Stealth Attack, he strained to retain the damage-amplifying principle, but it evaded him swiftly.

At seven left, he held it for the briefest instant before it vanished again. Five remaining, and Jake felt tantalizingly near once more.

Ignoring his shrinking opportunities, Jake poured his concentration fully in. He deliberately avoided instant kills now, opting for multiple follow-ups to solidify his budding breakthrough.

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At last, facing the final two Construction Golems, Jake nailed it. A Stealth Attack landed with devastating force, and just as the enhancing notion began fading, Jake seized it firmly, weaving it into his next arrow. He'd barely sustained it long enough for one extra shot... yet it sufficed.

This follow-up arrow also inflicted solid harm. Far less than the opener, sure, but its success thrilled him as he beamed. Elated, particularly after the system alert confirmed it, Jake wasted no time on the last golem, ending it outright.

Bow lowered, Jake prepared to review his notifications when Casper's actions pulled his attention. In his absorbed state, Jake had tuned out the Risen and the array, only now noting the guy's evident ordeal.

Over half the perimeter's wooden stakes lay splintered, and Casper appeared worn as he ceased the spell, dissolving the improvised cursed energy jail—likely infused with dungeon magic, Jake guessed.

He seemed irked while gesturing to gather the surviving stakes. Evidently, these weren't simple summons but pre-crafted tools, so losing so many stung, demanding time to remake.

Stakes retrieved, Casper approached Jake, eyeing the hunter inquisitively.

“I’m confused here,” Casper remarked upon reaching Jake. “At first, you were killing them pretty quickly, which was nice. But then, much to my dismay, about halfway through, you suddenly got slow as fuck, taking so long between every shot for seemingly no reason. Moreover, you took more shots to kill them. So, I guessed you were running out of juice or something, but then, right at the end, you shoot an arrow that’s some-fucking-how stronger than nearly all those prior. Now, I don’t want to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but I’m beginning to suspect we weren’t quite on the same page about you killing them as quickly as possible, despite that being the original agreement. Would I be right to suspect you were perhaps a tiny bit distracted?”

Casper's phrasing made it obvious he knew Jake's focus had wandered, and truthfully, Jake could only rub his neck sheepishly and offer regrets.

“Sorry?” Jake uttered, slightly abashed. “I kind of did get a little distracted with a moment of inspiration... and in my defense, wasn’t part of this trip for me to take inspiration from you? Which I totally just did!”

“I’m pretty confident you didn’t get inspiration from my fusion of dungeon and curse magic,” Casper muttered, shaking his head. “But did you get a skill upgrade?”

Jake nodded. “Yep.”

“A good one?”

“Let me check, gimme two seconds,” Jake said, at last accessing the alerts he'd held back earlier.

[Superior Stealth Attack (Rare)] – The strongest blow is the one not seen coming before it is too late. Increase the power of the first attack made on an otherwise unaware foe. Has a brief grace period between the foe being aware and the effect still triggering, as long as the foe is still not conscious of the hunter’s position or the nature of the attack. Adds a bonus to the effects of Superior Stealth Attack, dependent on the nature of the attack. This effect is further improved by the level of Unseen Arcane Hunter.

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[Supreme Stealth Attack (Epic)] – The strongest blow is the one not seen coming before it is too late. Significantly increases the power of the first attack made on an otherwise unaware foe. Has a generous grace period between the foe being aware and the effect still triggering, as long as the foe is still not conscious of the hunter’s position or the nature of the attack. Upon successfully landing a Stealth Attack, all immediately following attacks will also experience increased damage. Adds a bonus to the effects of Supreme Stealth Attack, dependent on the nature of the attack. This effect is further improved by the level of Unseen Arcane Hunter.

Reviewing the evolution, Jake felt no shock at the result.

It fell short of the Stealth Attack of the Unseen Arcane Hunter option from his class level 290, yet it remained a solid, direct enhancement. It mirrored the post-initial damage boost, albeit the Unseen Arcane Hunter variant scaled via Perception in a distinct way.

Apart from that, all facets simply amplified, bolstering the skill comprehensively. Decades of subtle buildup crystallized during this barrage of rapid invocations.

“Hello?” Casper prompted, waving his hand. “Definitely been more than two seconds.”

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” Jake said again, unaccustomed to company during hunts and evolutions. “Went from rare to epic, so not a massive upgrade, but still a good one.”

“Right,” Casper acknowledged, flashing a sly grin. “Guess it would be too big an expectation for you to have gained another mythical skill just like that.”

“I wouldn’t have complained if I had,” Jake quipped in return. “Sadly, those do not come that easily. At least not usually.”

“It’s okay, I know I should temper my expectations,” Casper laughed, shaking his head. “And here I was hoping for someone to finally confirm if there was another rarity after mythical for us mortals to discover.”

Casper's tone was playful, but Jake met it with a pointed glance. The Risen squinted. “Wait... oh, fuck you.”

“You can ask for details,” Jake shrugged.

“Yeah, fuck you twice, we both know that shit’s definitely considered Forbidden Knowledge,” Casper groaned.

“If it’s any consolation, whatever you did with that formation was pretty damn cool,” Jake offered sincerely. “The durability of those walls, the fact they clearly couldn’t perceive the outside world, and the fact it even slightly weakened their defenses... it was quite something.”

“I’m not going to disagree with it being awesome, but I should warn you it’s likely a lot worse than you think,” Casper explained. “The walls have incredibly high base damage reduction, meaning that they can take nearly unlimited weaker blows, but risk breaking from one singular powerful attack. In other words, it wouldn’t work on actually strong enemies, and is only good on large groups of weaker foes. This isn’t mentioning the high cost and time requirement to make those stakes, which I have to place down beforehand, by the way.”

Jake followed the rundown attentively, though he suspected Casper understated his prowess. He always minimized his talents, even back at work before the system—which might explain no promotions despite topping the devs... or perhaps exactly why. In any case, Casper bragged only in jest.

“Sure, that formation, but I’m sure you have plenty of other tricks in the bag,” Jake replied smilingly. “Also, why do you even complain? Didn’t you just get a level from that?”

Though Jake hadn't leveled from the thirty-two Construction Golems, Casper had, acknowledging his role in the fray.

“I’m not complaining about gaining a level, I’m complaining about having to create another pile of Sealing Stakes later,” the Risen sighed. “They are such a pain to carve and infuse.”

“Man, I’m feeling so sorry for you,” Jake deadpanned. “Is there anything I can do to make things better for poor little Casper?”

The Risen shot Jake a dirty look before grinning. “We can finally pick up some speed and get killing. I doubt I’ll get much out of Construction Golems either, so let’s find something actually interesting to fight. Hopefully, we can even encounter a pile of experience – I mean, an enemy powerful enough for some of my single-target focused curses to be relevant.”

“If not, we should file a complaint with Minaga for making the place too easy,” Jake agreed, gesturing them into the labyrinth's depths.

“Oh, for sure, and we should leave a bad review written on a massive billboard outside the dungeon entrance,” Casper concurred, trailing Jake as they soared ahead.

“By the way, the future version of this place, eh, dungeon two to four, had traps and stuff, right?” Jake inquired as they neared a huge excavation pit in the colossal Grand Labyrinth wall.

“Yeah,” Casper confirmed, stepping inside with Jake. “Though considering this version is still being built, I seriously doubt they implemented any traps yet.”

“Right,” Jake agreed. “Yeah, I guess that tracks.”

Casper was spot on; a building Grand Labyrinth wouldn't feature active traps yet, would it? No, it shouldn't... but since when did logic deter Minaga?

No, never.