The Primal Hunter Chapter 1249 - A Pair of Dungeon Critics At Work

“This doesn’t make a damn bit of sense!” Jake shouted, soaring ahead at maximum velocity with his wings beating wildly. “How in the world could a group with B-grades even obtain an item like that!?”

“Quit posing questions we both realize lack any logical reply!” Casper shouted in response, swirling curses and spectral energy around himself as he struggled to keep pace with Jake’s velocity, aided by Lyra.

Trailing after them came an artifact brimming with tremendous might. It consisted of a radiant azure sphere that devoured all in its route—both alive and lifeless—sparing merely the labyrinth’s barriers. Jake and Casper had witnessed a handful of unfortunate Construction Golems brush against the enormous sphere, only to witness their immediate dissolution.

To compound the trouble, the sphere bore inscriptions, displaying five luminous characters that remained perpetually visible no matter how it tumbled:

Jones.

The pair continued their escape along the passage while the colossal sphere pursued relentlessly, its pace gradually accelerating over time. Jake and Casper had already launched various assaults at the cursed object, yet nothing proved effective. No matter what this sphere truly was, it surpassed the capabilities of initial B-grades entirely.

“I’m absolutely posting a complaint about this,” Jake muttered irritably as he finally noticed an element further along, prompting him to call out to Casper. “Left side, about fifty seconds out!”

Casper gave a quick affirmation, concentrating on sustaining his velocity while the sphere steadily narrowed the gap. The foreboding emblem of utter devastation drew perilously near as they approached a sizable breach in the barrier, wide enough for both to squeeze through.

The moment they drew alongside it, Jake unleashed a surge of arcane force laterally, thrusting him into Casper and hauling them both into the gap just prior to the enormous sphere thundering past. Sensing its passage, Jake’s instinct for peril ignited, and the hairs on his nape bristled as a chill coursed through him.

“Damn it,” Casper gasped, panting hard while orienting himself. “Fine, I’ll speculate that this isn’t truly part of the dungeon’s core upon completion, but merely Minaga seeking payback for our meddling with him back in Nevermore…”

“That’s what I’m hoping,” Jake replied as he cautiously peered from the opening and observed the enormous sphere persist in rolling along the extended corridor of the Grand Labyrinth until the route bent slightly, causing it to vanish from sight. “Otherwise, I’d bet it accounts for nearly all fatalities.”

“He has to eliminate it,” Casper grumbled, shaking his head. “Man, I thought things were progressing so flawlessly up until now.”

“They were indeed. Right up to that abomination’s arrival,” Jake agreed, glancing at the adjacent areas and along the pair of fresh passages they’d accessed. “Strange—no Architects, Engineers, or even Golem Foremen present. Plus, from what I observe, both routes appear to terminate abruptly.”

“Then we’ll retrace our steps and trail wherever that sphere headed,” Casper suggested. “Fingers crossed that cursed thing can’t reverse course… though, if we pursue it, hasn’t it already eradicated everything ahead?”

“Without a doubt,” Jake affirmed with a nod. “Yet there are additional breaches further on to discover alternative routes.”

“True,” Casper agreed with a nod. “Time to hunt down more targets already. Ideally, we’ll stumble upon another section packed with suitable foes once more.”

“I’ll keep my eyes peeled for a spot like that, but alert me if you sense anything unusual. Particularly those concealed teleporters,” Jake instructed, receiving acknowledgment from the Risen before they turned back toward the alternate corridor and resumed flying through it.

As he navigated the air, Jake persistently scanned via Pulse to pinpoint further adversaries. He detected some, yet they all lurked beyond barriers without an obvious path to engage. That colossal sphere of ruin had undoubtedly disrupted matters, although, as Casper noted, they’d advanced steadily, both in navigating the Grand Labyrinth and accumulating experience.

Moreover, their battles extended beyond mere Construction Golems, incorporating three additional enemy varieties. Each had suffered the identical demise, naturally.

Judging by their designations, the motif stayed uniform. These beings centered on fabrication, rendering them inherently less formidable in skirmishes. The Architects manipulated space, light, and deceptive spells, whereas the Engineers chiefly wielded earth and metal manipulation.

Jake had pondered the nature of these non-golem entities earlier, and a trace of curiosity lingered. Evidently, Minaga hadn’t merely fabricated the Aginian faction’s title but an whole species called Aginians.

In terms of looks, they resembled a blend of elves and cephalopods. Featuring pointed elven ears and slender frames, yet possessing beak-shaped mouths and elongated tentacles as tresses, along with oculars akin to those of octopuses, boasting their peculiar rectangular forms.

Apart from that, they possessed dual arms and legs, albeit with membranes linking their digits, which made Jake apprehensive about a potential submerged segment of the dungeon owing to their marine appearance, but fortunately, no such nightmare had materialized.

Regarding strength, they proved rather feeble, once more attributable to their functions as builders rather than warriors. The mightiest opponent encountered remained the Golem Foreman, though even it fell swiftly. Not that Jake and Casper had faced zero difficulties thus far. Excluding the Jones Orb, obviously.

This stemmed largely from adversaries clustering more densely within the Grand Labyrinth than externally. Frequently, groups collaborated on labyrinth barrier segments, rendering it nearly unfeasible to isolate combats. Until now, Jake had managed to dispatch every encountered foe in the dungeon with a single strike, including the Foremen, although that demanded a maximum-effort Arcane Powershot paired with a Protean Arrow.

In terms of duration, Casper and Jake had endured nearly five days partnered in the dungeon, and although both harbored numerous grievances to voice to Minaga subsequently, one aspect they couldn’t fault was their advancement. Casper had ascended two class levels amid the dungeon, and Jake himself had secured a level in their most recent confrontation.

Admittedly, solo, Jake might have achieved greater strides, but under those conditions, he suspected he’d miss the Stealth Attack skill enhancement and the deepened grasp of curse application in fights.

Oh, and it would have been far less enjoyable, since Jake truly relished his time with Casper, appreciating the chance to reconnect and learn about the Risen’s endeavors over recent years. Though they’d shared moments before, this marked their most extended uninterrupted companionship since the system’s advent. Technically, three individuals if including Lyra, but she remained accommodating, mostly resting in her locket to grant them some male bonding time.

“I sense a teleporter in the vicinity,” Casper announced during their flight. “It ought to lie just ahead.”

Jake emitted a swift Pulse and inclined his head. “Yes, there’s a breach there. I suspect the teleporter resides beyond it.”

It proved somewhat frustrating, but Jake couldn’t detect the teleporters via his Pulse or Sphere of Perception. They manifested as arcane sigils etched into the Grand Labyrinth’s metallic surfaces, producing no tangible traces but solely mystical ones, thus eluding Jake, who perceived solely outlines.

Fortuitously, Jake benefited from Casper’s presence, whose abilities shone particularly in dungeon settings. As a Dungeon Engineer, he specialized in constructing and upholding dungeons, yet retained proficiencies that heightened his awareness inside one, and occasionally permitted minor “shortcuts.” Regrettably, the Risen hadn’t uncovered anything overly advantageous yet, and given Minaga’s authorship of the dungeon, he wouldn’t either barring intentional inclusions.

“Incidentally, am I alone in thinking a dungeon-oriented Path was far more dominant in Nevermore?” Jake inquired as they neared the breach.

“Absolutely, it was,” Casper verified. “I’m convinced Minaga deliberately exaggerated there to aid his kindred dungeon aficionados. Yet for a setup like this, granting someone like me excessive edges would simply constitute flawed creation. Balance remains key, and thus far, I sense some benefits without tipping into outright inequity. Of course, my view is influenced by partnering with you and your blatantly overpowered nature, but from our observations, it doesn’t qualify as a legitimate flaw.”

“Fine, that’s reasonable,” Jake acknowledged with a nod, refraining from debating any of the Risen’s remarks, even the bit labeling Jake as somewhat overpowered.

At this point, they’d arrived at the breach, and upon entering, Casper promptly identified the teleporter concealed on the far wall’s base. These remained invisible until proximity, facilitating oversight without a companion like Casper.

“Suggesting that Architects or Engineers yield items to simplify locating these ranks as solid input,” Jake commented while observing Casper examine the transport sigil to gauge its destination.

“Indeed, best of luck to non-dungeon engineers or space mages spotting them,” Casper scoffed, swiftly concluding his teleporter evaluation. “Okay, this transports us a considerable span to the Grand Labyrinth’s far side, nearer the core, so likely wise to utilize. Any nearby breaches toward foes?”

Jake denied with a head shake. “None for hundreds of kilometers. I could probe further along paths, but proceeding via this seems swifter.”

“Potential ambush,” Casper cautioned, reminding Jake of their prior teleporter mishap ending in a massive destructive sphere charging at them.

“No way we trigger two consecutive trap teleporters,” Jake expressed optimistically. “And regardless, the previous one advanced our position.”

“Valid,” Casper conceded with a shrug. “Still, caution prevails.”

Casper summoned curse energy, enveloping himself to bolster defenses. Jake deemed it unnecessary, trusting his peril instinct would alert him pre-activation if it led to doom. Even absent that, Jake held sufficient faith in Minaga to dismiss instant-kill teleporters as antithetical to enjoyment.

Jake had suggested scouting solo first, given the teleporters’ bidirectional nature, but Casper’s analysis revealed post-use dormancy for hours, precluding rapid back-and-forth without cooldowns. Thus, barring hours wasted on verification cycles—scout, return, retrieve Casper—they needed to traverse jointly immediately.

“Set to proceed?” Casper queried.

“Naturally,” Jake assured.

Casper nodded, triggering the teleporter as spatial magic enshrouded them. Jake experienced the pull through void, their surroundings altering from beside one labyrinth barrier… to adjacent another.

Yet a rapid Pulse verified this zone diverged markedly from their origin.

Startled, Jake pivoted toward a specific bearing, mirrored by Casper, who similarly perceived the anomaly.

“You sense it as well?” Casper inquired.

“Beyond sensing—I perceive it clearly,” Jake replied grinning.

The Grand Labyrinth exhibited alteration. Hitherto, they’d navigated solely vast corridors flanked by towering barriers, confined to rightward or leftward progression. Variety had been scarce, but now divergence emerged.

In the distance before them, the Grand Labyrinth expanded, forming a rounded chamber of a kind. Featuring solitary ingress and egress, underscoring its significance. They hadn’t attained the dungeon’s heart, yet this might hint at or contribute to reaching it.

Furthermore, enhancing matters, the expansive corridor to the chamber teemed with scores of B-grades. Not the usual laborers, but two novel adversary classes. One comprised a sturdier golem variant surpassing Construction Golems, and crucially, it radiated an aura signaling combat design. Their titles affirmed as much.

[Aginian Guard Golem – lvl ???]

In addition, standard Aginians armed and armored patrolled the corridor. Evidently surpassing the golems in prowess, each oversaw the zone accompanied by two Guard Golems.

[Aginian Guardsman – lvl ???]

“At last, genuine adversaries,” Casper remarked, activating his stealth ability as they assessed upcoming objectives.

“Close, but not entirely,” Jake countered, eyes sharpening. “They outmatch the prior weak B-grades, true, but remain insignificant. Thankfully, I anticipate true quarry within the forthcoming chamber.”

“Their titles include Guard Golem and Guardsman; they can’t be feeble,” Casper protested, shaking his head. “Perhaps your instincts falter this time?”

Spoiler: they did not falter this time.

Casper and Jake advanced methodically along the corridor, eradicating every patrol in their path. As Jake intuited, these sentries held greater might, yet fell short of mounting a real threat. Relative to the Rainbowfeather Sovereign Jake clashed with in the Pantheon of Life, these paled, and since then, Jake had surged in power.

It required some effort, but eventually, they attained the ingress to the inaugural true “chamber” inside the vast Grand Labyrinth. The preceding corridor lay strewn with remains and shattered golems across the ramparts, reinforcing the chamber’s prominence.

Maintaining concealment, Jake and Casper surveyed the forward expanse. The rounded chamber stood largely vacant, and differing from the ubiquitous stone flooring, gray dunes covered it entirely. Intricate motifs traced into the dunes lent the site an uncanny vibe.

Beyond the dunes, one further element occupied the chamber. At its midst rose a ziggurat, exuding a peculiar aura of potency. Upon the ziggurat’s inferior tiers, Jake and Casper discerned multiple foes. These appeared far more formidable than the recently felled sentries. Justifiably so.

[Aginian Elite Guard – lvl ???]

Evidently elite, and as Jake probed deeper, he identified another distinctive Aginian emanating a yet grander presence.

[Aginian Guard Captain – lvl ???]

Jake already bore a smile, but upon beholding the pyramid’s apex, it broadened into a wide beam. A lone cloaked silhouette occupied it, its aura the most potent they’d faced in the dungeon hitherto.

[Aginian Formation Master – lvl ???]

Casper completed his parallel scrutiny and regarded the hunter. “Tell me, Jake… I suspect I’ll at last demonstrate my focused curse magic to you here.”

“It certainly appears so, right?” Jake concurred eagerly, anticipating whether this clash would elevate or diminish the dungeon’s ultimate appraisal.