The Primal Hunter Chapter 1271 - Primal Hunter's Spirit of Man

What makes something truly overpowered in the vast multiverse? It all boils down to perspective. A legendary skill from Jake might seem overwhelmingly powerful to someone who barely managed to hit C-grade by luck, but figures like Carmen or the Sword Saint would view those same abilities as merely solid. For Jake himself, not even the mythical skills he'd acquired struck him as overpowered.

Super impressive and fantastic? Absolutely, yet far from broken. Maybe the sole things Jake deemed overpowered in his existence were his Bloodline, which he couldn't help but measure against Transcendent Skills and rival Bloodlines rather than ordinary ones.

Valdemar's bizarre Fighting Spirit absolutely counted as overpowered, though Jake figured most Primordials and mighty gods possessed abilities that would strike him as utterly insane. Naturally, the most shattered and unbalanced god wasn't a Primordial whatsoever, but Minaga with his endless clones. Even the system acknowledged that skill's excess by burdening the Unique Lifeform with countless limitations.

Among mortals and those near him, the Sword Saint's Springtime Advent stood out as something Jake saw as overpowered. This ability let him surge in strength explosively, and that was just a single facet of it, from what Jake understood.

As for Bloodlines, Ell’Hakan’s naturally came to mind, especially since it enabled his transformation right at the climax of their battle. That one was undeniably overpowered, though it paled next to Jake’s own Bloodline.

Still, when pondering the ultimate overpowered entity, Jake's thoughts didn't land on a god. Nor did they settle on a formidable mortal by multiverse norms. Despite everything he'd witnessed or endured, no entity rivaled the First Sage, that figure brimming with apparently limitless methods.

Sure, pitting anything against the First Sage seemed unfair, given how he was an outlier among outliers, and Jake preferred to regard him as entirely beyond such comparisons.

Yet, as mentioned, overpowered status hinged entirely on relativity, so evaluating his fresh special Spirit of Man skill meant stacking it against other Spirit of Man variants. Jake had pored over details of hundreds of documented types, and he could declare without doubt that the one freshly bestowed upon him...

Yeah, it was fucking overpowered.

Just by its massive length, this skill emerged as the most feature-stuffed and extended he'd encountered, surpassing even the ridiculously lengthy Malefic Viper Legacy skills. Had it been mere padding, Jake might not have been so struck, but quite the reverse—it crammed in far too many impacts to seem logical.

Right from the start, the introductory text revealed that this skill encompassed many more elements of Human Spirit abilities than typical, a fact that shone through immediately in the initial effect: boosted experience gain. Straightforward like that, without any prerequisites unlike the ones he glimpsed before the system glitched. And to top it off, Jake earned extra experience during hunts or profession tasks—these covering nearly everything he pursued. Plus, he'd gain even more while teaming up with fellow humans on such endeavors.

This single effect alone proved that his Spirit of Man skill fused together scores, if not every one of them, excluding a handful dismissed as “not beneficial for his Path,” according to the description.

The core human trait of more effectively transferring Records came next, now enhanced. Indeed, a simple outright boost, without confining it to humans alone. What propelled this skill into outright madness, if it hadn't already arrived there, was the following line:

“

This... was absurd. He barely grasped its mechanics. He recalled a Spirit of Man tied to leadership that boosted experience for all direct underlings. Jake figured Miranda might choose something like that, but... what faced him now was wholly distinct.

The sheer array of conditions was ludicrous, and it omitted any mention of distance limits. His best hunch was that this stemmed from blending multiple leadership-focused Spirit of Man skills, each aiding experience boosts for various folks, and Jake had snagged them all simultaneously.

For an instant, Jake wondered if the “or” at the end meant stacking benefits for those fulfilling multiple criteria, or if the experience buffs layered up, but his innate skill understanding confirmed otherwise. That said, yes, Jake's own personal experience boosts did accumulate, being distinct effects.

Had this skill only handled Record transmission, experience gains and receipts—plus the stats he hadn't reached yet—it would already rank as the top Spirit of Man ability Jake knew of... yet the Primal Hunter’s Spirit of Man offered vastly more.

It further granted Jake immunity to all environmental hazards. Typically, Spirit of Man skills targeted specific environmental threats depending on their theme, like elemental ones for some, or space and time for others, but Jake's bundled them all together.

Once again, outrageous, yet it didn't measure up to what followed:

Jake was aware of various Spirit of Man skills that heightened damage resistance via different triggers, often suiting tankier types. This went beyond that and more, while hinting at the origin of Jake's resistance source.

Assuming his interpretation held, this drew straight from the Spirit of Man skill's core, providing Jake resistance drawn from the Records of every existing human at B-grade or higher. It might even pull from historical figures... not that it changed much. Any attack type out there likely had been faced by some human. Humans numbered in the billions, after all.

Regarding the exact resistance amount... Jake lacked clarity. Instinctive insight suggested it wasn't huge, but any resistance helped and would bolster him. Especially from a race skill he'd anticipated little from. On the surprise front, the skill tossed in one more insanely potent effect Jake hadn't imagined possible:

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An effect like this hadn't crossed Jake's mind. One book had noted a similar Spirit of Man skill, but the writer dismissed it as fake since no one confirmed it. Jake had doubted outright rejection, noting other texts alluded to unverified instances, yet he'd never anticipated it, given that humans with comparable skills led... unusual lives.

Jake viewed constant nudity enthusiasts as pretty unconventional by his measures. Indeed, the only cases he'd heard of this effect involved nudists, with the system backing their path by offering a Spirit of Man variant to offset equipment stat losses.

Normally, such a skill wouldn't rate highly, since hitting the stat cap via gear wasn't tough. Most folks wore items exceeding the limit, so upon leveling, they'd absorb some stats they'd effectively earned earlier but couldn't access before.

The key outlier was someone like Jake with sky-high base stats. With the equipment limit as a percentage of total stats, Jake required superior gear compared to most, to the point where full stat intake constantly felt unattainable. By late C-grade, he'd probably need full mythical sets just to cap out, which appeared daunting... though likely doable.

Simply leveraging his status as the Malefic Viper's Chosen could have supplied him with complete gear upgrades every ten levels to stay capped, but Jake rejected that route. He preferred earning his items somewhat, thus sourcing most from Arnold.

This choice left Jake's gear subpar to potential alternatives, shorting him on many stats. Overall, by C-grade's close, equipment would have added roughly 30,000 stats, notable against his near-400,000 total. Calculations weren't straightforward, partly from his Administrator’s Seal ring, and also since equipment stats didn't mesh with skills like natural ones did.

Now, equipment worries for stats vanished, at least. To clarify, Jake still craved quality gear for its defenses, like how his Umbral Cloak had saved him repeatedly, not forgetting the multiverse's finest boots.

This shift let Jake prioritize gear with unique effects beyond raw stats. He couldn't dodge stats on items entirely, and gaining them no longer hurt, as it eased his passive stamina drain just for existing.

...wait, disregard that. Probing his passive stamina use, Jake couldn't discern if the uptick stemmed from B-grade alone or the Primal Hunter’s Spirit of Man. The added cost existed, sure, but so trivially he dismissed it. True, it might hit harder with his boosting skill active, but time would reveal.

At last, Jake reached the skill's final segment on stats. This part ranked as the least broken, since although his Spirit of Man version outdid others, the gap wasn't vast. He'd receive boosts in all nine stats, versus six for everyone else. Did that make Jake a massive cheater? Absolutely, but relative to the skill's other wild features, it felt almost modest.

This stemmed likely from the no-overlap rule for Spirit of Man stat gains. Even with his Bloodline-enhanced special edition, that constraint persisted. Perhaps for the best, really. Jake half-dreaded that merging all those skills' stats might make him burst, his soul overwhelmed beyond capacity.

Or maybe not, based on system mechanics. Regardless, Jake had zero grounds to gripe after landing such a ridiculously potent skill. In raw stats, it delivered +2505 across the board immediately, atop all percentage multipliers. The non-round 2500 irked slightly, but level 350 fell in B-grade, yielding +15 per stat instead of +10.

Shaking his head, Jake simply hovered in the void briefly, the system granting a brief pause before proceeding. He'd felt let down that his variant race showed no signs beyond skipping Race Evolution Quests, but now it delivered massively. The skill proved so stellar he knew Villy would order him to keep mum about it to all.

That thought sparked another realization. He'd worried about variant race status, as Identify or similar could let a strong god spot Jake's non-standard humanity, sparking major issues.

With this unalarming skill, Jake essentially reaped the perks of a superior human race without drawbacks or hazards. Sure, risks lingered if someone spotted Primal Hunter’s Spirit of Man effects, but explanations abounded short of him being the multiverse's premier human upgrade.

Jake mulled the skill further, but he pushed onward, sensing the system's push to wrap the evolution. He'd scarcely begun this evolution phase, with much ahead, and truthfully, he questioned wanting more shocks like the Primal Hunter’s Spirit of Man.

Unless they matched this skill's brilliance, in which case Jake graciously welcomed extra twists.

--

In a cozy private bar, a god couple lounged, the man clutching a mug, the woman nursing a half-drunk wine bottle. They nestled close, savoring each other's presence amid talks of multiverse events.

“This batch holds plenty of strong prospects, and no faction should overlook us,” the woman remarked smilingly to her companion.

“Aye,” the man agreed, downing his mug in one go before adding, “Still, we missed some targets.”

“Opportunity remains; otherwise, solid ties suffice,” the woman replied with a shrug. “Valhal endures regardless, with this ale-swilling brute around.”

Her words accompanied a hug to his arm, drawing his hearty belly laugh. “Far more enjoyable with all the fascinating talents allied with us, though.”

“Can't argue there,” said the female god, known as Gudrun, grinning.

“That young one shows promise, but against Vilas’s Chosen and those other beasts, I'm unsure she fully matches,” the male god noted, gesturing as his mug refilled instantly. “Mind you, her success in the Runemaiden Ritual caught us off guard too.”

“I welcome delightful surprises,” Gudrun affirmed.

The male god—Valdemar himself—gazed at his beloved wife, relishing her nearness silently for a beat. She briefed him on multiversal news and intrigue, but really, these sessions served as cover for private time beyond faction scrutiny.

Valdemar raised his mug for another pull, then halted, brow furrowing.

Gudrun eyed him puzzled. “What's wrong?”

Setting the mug down deliberately, Valdemar maintained his frown, hand to chest as he stared aside, as if gazing across the void. Silence stretched seconds before he relaxed, sighing.

“Felt a strange pull... unclear what,” Valdemar grumbled, then shrugged and reached for his drink anew. “I'll sort it if it's significant.”

--

“How fascinating,” the Eversmile murmured, his spirits high that day. He observed Primordial-4 amid the ripple. He sensed the hunter's ascent to B-grade right away, though the outcome still caught him off guard.

In a welcome manner.

All members of a given race linked through faint karmic ties, born of their common Origin and Records. An incredibly subtle link