The Primal Hunter's
Progress

Feeling the warm radiance flowing all over his body from level-up was as comfortable as ever. He is equally happy to see that the experience of the profession also helps with his level of racing.

Looking at his stats, he realized that he now had 6 unused free points. Jake still feels very unsure of how best to distribute it. Is there a way to build an optimal building? In the end, he decided this was not the time to try and do a meta-game system. You know, with his life at stake and all that.

So, after deciding not to hoard any more points, he put it into the best status for alchemy according to all the books: Wisdom. He felt a warm light once again before opening his status menu to confirm the change.

Status

Name: Jake Thayne

Race: [Human (G) – lvl 5]

Grade: [Harmer – lvl 9]

Profession: [Alchemist of the Malefic Viper – lvl 1]

Health Points (HP): 380/380

Which Points (MP): 192/240

Durability: 235/250

Statisticians

Power: 28

Agility: 31

Durability: 25

Vitality: 38

Toughness: 16

Wisdom: 24

Intelligence: 16

Perception: 44

Willingness: 25

Free points: 0

Not much has changed with his stats other than the wisdom of getting a considerable increase of free levels and points. Nodding to himself, he closed the menu once more and turned his attention to the mixing bowl in front of him.

Looking at the batch of mana potions that had already finished, he felt very satisfied with himself. Walking into the closet, he took out a few bottles and started putting potions into it. The bottles were perfectly sized to get the full benefits of each potion.

Jake wondered what would happen if one drank an additional potion during the cooldown period. He and his colleagues had several theories, most of them specifying it would end badly if a person drank more than two within an hour.

But now he knows what's going to happen. And that was a big surprise. If a person consumes two herbs in an hour, the second can lead to dire consequences, such as reduced thirst or drinking one less herb.

Other than jokes, one could pour mana potions for days without suffering any adverse consequences. It's basically just water. Of course, this raises more questions about where that excess energy will go.

It's really frustrating how no book wants to talk about it. They're all just like: "So yeah, the second didn't work because that's how it is."

Alias, system-fucker is how potions work. The batch he had just made could be consumed as is, but it would only have the effect of a single herb, so one was more or less forced to bottle it up. It will also not be listed as an actual item before being put in a bottle or other similar container.

Moving back to the present, Jake ends up with a total of just three bottles, something which, according to the book, is considered quite gruesome. It's not that Jake cares so much, he's just proud of his accomplishments.

Using the Identification on the potion, it only echoed how terrifying they were.

[Mana Potion (Inferior)] – Recover 87 mana when consumed.

He remembers Caroline telling him that which herb the system gave them upon entering the tutorial had given him at least 130 mana when he used it. He had to thank Jacob for being quite terrible in the battle the next time they met.

The fact that Jake can see the exact amount returned is also something new. He wasn't sure if it was because Identifying rose ranks or one of all the skills of a new profession. Or maybe it was the presence of the profession itself.

Jake put the potion on one of the other tables in the lab with a smile. He planned to drink it later, but he still had enough mana to not make full use of it. After proving himself capable of making something, he started mixing the second batch after cleaning up a bit.

However, the atmosphere of his party quickly subsided as he failed in the next two waves. However, it quickly diminished when the third mana herb succeeded - the other three herbs, with exactly the same properties.

Seeing that his mana was slightly reduced, he drank one of the herbs he made and felt the mana fill up almost completely once again. He planned to drink the potion every hour with internal cooling to keep working, with the only limitation being his mental energy.

Mixing continues. A day and over a dozen mana potions were consumed later, he finally started to fatigue once more, and his last two batches failed because he could not focus.

It was hard work, but the result speaks for itself:

*'DING!' Profession: [Alchemist of the Malefic Viper] has reached level 2 - Allotted stat points, +2 free points*

*'DING!' Profession: [Alchemist of the Malefic Viper] has reached level 3 - Allotted stat points, +2 free points*

*'DING!' Race: [Human (G)] has reached level 6 - Allotted stat points, +1 free points*

*'DING!' Profession: [Alchemist of the Malefic Viper] has reached level 4 - Allotted stat points, +2 free points*

His level was impressive, but, without a doubt, slower than leveling his class. He had spent over 24 hours on the challenge, yet he was only level 4 in his profession. Compared to the outside, where he in less time than that reached level 9. If he was more efficient and played solo early, he would definitely reach double digits by now.

Looking at the window of the dungeon challenge, he recorded the time.

Leftover time: 28 Days – 22:53:11

Walking back to bed once more, he brought a book on health herbs to read quickly before taking another nap. He had decided to try and make it the next day, because the experience of mana potions began to drop and also because he had enough to make himself last for a while.

The Health Potion, according to the book Alchemy for Novices, is the second easiest type of herb to make, right after which one. The process is very similar, with only slight variations. The pattern and method of injecting mana into the mixture is the most significant difference, and is much more difficult than with mana herbs.

He also wanted to immediately start making poison, but he felt that it would be a little more challenging than the three basic resource recovery potions. Books that fit his intuition. From what he had briefly read, concocting poison had many of the same methods as potions, so there was a lot of overlap, so it seemed that his practice of potions was not in vain.

In the end, concocting poison was also mainly about injecting mana properly and controlling the crafting process.

After reading a book on health herbs, Jake put it on the floor because there was no bed table. A few seconds after closing his eyes, he fell asleep. Dreaming of potions and alchemy, really looking forward to waking up and continuing.

Jacob, Caroline, Bertram, Casper, Ahmed, and Theodore all walk with a group of Richard's men as they go hunting once again. The team they followed was the usual one except Caroline, who could join them while Richard was resting at the camp.

Richard had reached level 12 earlier that day and had gained a new ability at level 10 that allowed him to hit with his shield and send out shock waves, knocking anyone on his path. With that and his stats increasing, he had hunted many ferocious beasts above level 10, he had hunted, and they had even moved their headquarters once to enter further into the forest and find a stronger enemy to hunt down.

The only one from their original group at level 10 was Caroline, who often went with Richard and the so-called 'elite forces'. Caroline at level 10 has learned her version of healing that is far away, much to everyone's delight.

The entire camp has also expanded significantly. When they joined, Richard's group of 26 people did not include them. Well, 20 guys with six that Jake killed. After joining, they increased to 29, and after recruiting even more, the group was now slightly above 50. Richard is still in charge, of course.

They had only gained one more healer, but he was only level 6, and Caroline had shown herself competent, so Richard held her inside his army. The aura of passive regeneration alone was enough to keep the healer at first. In battle, they often contributed nothing because their healing was touch-based, but with him now able to heal remotely, his value increased significantly.

Jacob was the leader of this small group who usually had to go without a healer. He was level 8, and the only one in their squad who was level 9, other than Caroline, was Casper. Dennis and Lina are both on other teams. Jacob knows that this is because Richard doesn't want to group them all together even if you consider Joanna, who is stuck back in camp.

Speaking of Joanna, she brought a pleasant surprise. He began to refine robes and robes for people and conjured arrows for archers after joining, trying to make himself useful. A few hours ago, just before they left the camp, Joanna had opened up a profession.

This is the first example of a person acquiring a profession they know. Joanna had sewed and sewed before the tutorial, which likely helped her unlock it, to begin with. It's just a theory.

According to Joanna, her profession does not provide many statistics per level, she only offers 1 wisdom, 1 willpower, 1 agility, and 1 free point per level.

To see that stat gains were very low compared to time investments, Richard's interest diminished significantly. That was true until Joanna reached level 1 in her profession, and since she was also level 3 in her class, she also raised her race level. This immediately rekindled his interest. Each race level gives +1 for all stats and extra free points, making it more valuable than classes and professions.

His interest was further strengthened after he experienced that leveling was getting harder, and level 10 seemed to be one of those difficulty leaps. Hunting with a team also hurts her experience gain, but since she is stronger in a group due to the nature of her class, she must become one.

On the way back to base, Jacob thought about what Jake was doing. It had been almost two days since he left, and they had not seen or heard anything from him. He and Richard had the tacit understanding to never mention it, but Jacob was still wondering.

He is not afraid of Jake's health, more curious about what level he has achieved now. Okay, he's a little worried, but the guy can obviously handle himself. At least he wished he could, because Jacob had experienced some bad things.

After a final fight with a small group of badgers, one of whom was above level 10, they finally made it back. Speaking of ferrets, those things turned out to be much more dangerous when they reached double digits. Not just because of their size but because of the poison their claws are now secreted.

If Caroline wasn't in that group, they wouldn't even try to fight her. The other group had lost two people due to one of the ferocious beasts, as they were severely poisoned from just a few small scratches. The potion they drank only served to prolong the suffering as they died. The importance of a healer is once again evident.

Back at the camp, Jacob goes straight to Richard, reporting how their little hunt is going.

“Yakub, welcome back. Any difficulties?” said the big man.

His shield was leaning against the rock next to him. It was not one started by a heavy warrior, but a much larger tower shield. He got it early that day and, according to Caroline, an unusual rare item.

“No, nothing special. It's getting harder to find enough animals to hunt, and those we have tend to be on the weaker side. Should we consider moving further into the forest?” Jacob asked as he sat on the rock opposite Richard.

It was frustrating trying to level up at a decent pace. Every time the group moved, Richard would have light warriors and archers with stealth scouts in the area, and he would monopolize powerful ferocious beasts with his own troops.

“I think we should. Two digits are getting rare. Did you find the item or token on exit? ” Richard asked.

One more rule Richard. All goods must be given to him, so that they can be given to those who can make the most of them. That is, every item was monopolized by Richard and his friends. Richard already knew of the items the day they joined, and it made Jacob a bit annoyed that they might have missed a while of their initial trip in the forest.

He had no doubt that many kept it to themselves. It was risky because Jacob did not want to know the consequences of being discovered, but he understood why some people still did it. Jacob did not hide it. He played a long game.

"Yes, Casper found one common rare enhancement token" he said, giving it to Richard. “I think the number of boxes in the area is also getting rarer.”

"Casper's an archer, right?" asked Richard, whom Jacob responded to. “She's nearing level 10, right? Tell him to keep up the good work; a spot on the elite team might just open up. We will also soon get some new members, so maybe need him help lead them.”

"I will definitely tell him," Jacob replied, hiding his disgust. Another tactic Richard. If a squad other than hers had someone who stood out, she would try to separate them. He is not open about it and often supports his choices with plausible logic, but Jacob has been in management long enough to recognize such nefarious leadership.

Richard actively sought to limit cohesion. He allowed enough for them to get used to each other and to be able to work together, but anything more than that he wanted to avoid. The position of Jacob and his colleagues is quite unusual because they all knew each other before the tutorial. Richard and his gang became the only other group like them.

Most of the ten groups that have entered the tutorial are foreigners. Random crowds of people were thrown together. Since the system has brought people closer to each other physically while transporting them, at least to some extent, it means that many end up getting in with at least one or two people they know.

But Richard broke up those small groups whenever he could. He had a million reasons why it was the best, but most people only did what he said out of fear. Not to be afraid of being attacked, but also to be expelled from the camp.

While the way things are run is far from ideal, it is much safer than likely elsewhere. One must remember that not everyone is fit to fight or willing to risk their own lives. Many joined just huddled in the camp. At least Joanna had now paved the way for them to advance without the need to face the beasts.

As Jacob walked back to his comrades, a young man wearing a robe, which had clearly been upgraded with tokens, passed by. Stick on his hips, other items upgraded or looted. It instantly gave his identity as a caster. The man, who was not a man at all, was in his late teens and put a stupid smile on his face.

His name was William, and he joined after Jacob and his group. Richard knew quite a bit about this young man, it was just that he was clearly competent and had reached levels above 10 even before he joined them. He was not with any group when he joined but came alone.

The story is that a powerful monster has ambushed them shortly after entering the tutorial, and he escapes as the only survivor. Yes, no one bought it, but since they couldn't prove him wrong, they just followed him. The dominant theory is that he has escaped.

However, the most shocking thing was that the young man still insisted on hunting alone even after joining. Richard initially wanted him in the elite squad but was rejected. He had considered just 'erasing' the man permanently but had decided against doing so.

In any case, he could not do it openly, as it would be bad for morale, and Richard still had a shadow in his heart left behind when Jake killed his right hand and five others. The only survivor, a mess, who still hasn't left the camp since he returned. So, secretly sending a group after the casters is a risk. One he doesn't want to take.

Instead, it goes with the principle of keeping your potential enemies close.

“I heard you talking to that guy. I also think we should move further. No more experience points around here, ” William said, sighing as he continued. "I'm afraid boredom will end up killing me before those eliminated animals do."

"I hear you; I plan to move on when the last group returns, ” replied Richard, a little annoyed by the teenager's reckless attitude towards the entire tutorial.

"Big!" The caster replied with a smile. “Oh, by the way, I need more mana potions. Got any?".

"Ask some of the others," replied Richard, trying, but failing, to hide his annoyance. William had taken almost all of their mana reserves, and Richard only had the potion he had purposely hidden. He wanted to save some for the healer in case of an emergency.

"Oh, alright," William replied as he turned around, happily walking towards the campfire where people were performing various tasks. Some were sewing, others were trying to make something out of leather, and there was even a man trying to draw with charcoal from fire - all trying to open a profession.

As William walked away from Richard, he thought how great this place was. He was finally free, his mind unshackled. Purified from all who suppressed him in the old world.

He has returned to perfection.