The Primal Hunter's
The Life And Death Fight

Before an important exam or exam, there are many approaches to preparing yourself. Some study intensively until the last second, in a desperate attempt to acquire as much knowledge as humanly possible.

This approach often leads to overload and stress, and during the actual examination, a person cannot perform at his best.

Another way is to ask for approval that one's preparation is adequate. Ask your fellow students or colleagues, hoping maybe they also feel less prepared like you, suggesting that maybe it's just your own mind tricking you into thinking that you're behind the curve. These people will be found camping outside the exam room for hours before their time comes, trying to find useful information from those who have just been tested.

The third way is denial. Panic-death, unable to act. The true appearance of these people, however, varies greatly. Some even performed with incredible confidence despite the panic earlier. These were also the people who felt the most relieved after the incident.

Some are looking for ways to get out of the exam completely or avoid a fair exam. Cheating is an option for this. Obtain answers before or even during the test. Maybe even try to take a high risk to peek at the people next to you, looking for the right answers on their sheets. Performance-enhancing drugs aren't even out the table for this. The most nervous and panicked are probably this group.

The latter are the relaxed ones - those who are just resting, trying to get their brains in top shape before the exam. Perhaps a false belief leads them to this, or perhaps to say the belief is justified. One could only tell after the test was over.

Jake has, throughout his life, fallen into all four of these categories at one point or another. He had studied until he had a headache and sat outside the exam room for hours, asking anyone for a tip. Being nervous the night before the exam, not sleeping one bit. Once, he even tried to cheat by sneaking in unauthorized records. He ended up not needing them, and he felt like trash afterwards, but he still tried.

But the approach that worked best for him was the last. He would just relax the day before. Read a good book or even play some videogames, maybe even a walk to the movies. And finally go to bed early to wake up with enough rest for the exam.

It worked for him very well. Jake is the type of person who has high expectations of himself, often leading to panic. For years of pursuing professional archery, perfection was the only option. He competes with the best, so he has to be the best he can be.

The university is very different. In archery, one can quickly feel that they have all the necessary knowledge to perform at their best. That the only thing left for him to do was to do his best at the moment.

When one studies the theory of strategic business management, for example, things are not that easy. There is always more to know, more knowledge to look for. If you feel you know everything, it means you are unaware of how much you do not know. It was complicated, with endless theories formulated and expanded over hundreds of years.

The knowledge of alchemy in the small library, although it still contained around a thousand books, was already far more than Jake could learn for a month here. Even if he spent every second reading, it would not be enough. Yet he knew what was in the library was just a drop in a bucket.

The knowledge gained only made him more aware of how complex alchemy was. Ultimately, all professions are valid paths to power in the system and contain almost limitless possibilities. Even the road to divinity, according to Malefic Viper.

So, with that in mind, Jake just has to accept that he can't prepare himself perfectly. He did what he could, and that was enough.

Hours pass as Jake relaxes. He read books he had set aside before, books containing historical stories, reading more like fantasy novels than actual history. Jake thinks of his surviving colleagues outside, but quickly tries to eliminate the problem from his mind. He had been following the number of survivors day by day, and with only about a third left, he knew it did not look good. Some of them were most likely already dead, and he had absolutely no hope of finding who.

But he had time to reflect on his own feelings. Loneliness has given him plenty of time to think about whether he likes it or not. He has made some realizations. Her crush on Caroline was always like that, a crush. He didn't really know her at all but simply found her physically attractive.

His impression of Jacob did not change in the slightest. In his mind, he was still the same positive lighthouse and hope he had been. He was also the one that Jake expected to be okay the most. There was no point thinking about it; he reminded himself. He needs to get the right mindset for the final push.

For the past eight hours, he slept and meditated, cultivating the plants he had prepared for the potion was the only thing that could be called work. The potion will determine his life or death.

Time passed, and finally it was time to start. With only four hours to his death, Jake strangely calms down. He feels ready.

He started by collecting moss and mushrooms. Pick it carefully according to the method he has learned. The techniques he had been very familiar with for the past month as he brought them to the mixing bowl.

Taking out the Bloodletting Dagger, he made a small cut on his palm as he focused on the Blood of the Malefic Viper, as he looked at the now green-colored blood slowly dripping into the bowl. After a few minutes, it was filled up. He had to cut off his hand twice more during that time, although the spell made his wound harder to heal. A testament to high vitality and a good omen for what is to come.

His health and mana slowly recovered as he began to extract the poisonous juice from the Bluebright Mushroom, carefully adding a slightly shiny blue liquid into the potion, as he, with great care, carefully, added a slightly shiny blue liquid to the potion, driving the process by which.

Letting her soak for a while, hearing the small crackling that sounded like electricity as the blood and fungus merged, she started grinding the Dark Green Moss into a fine powder with mortar. As he heard his hiss and cracks calmed down, he added the moss powder, once again seeing the reaction when everything seemed to boil a little.

Throughout it all, he carefully injected mana. This part was why he needed it for so long, because he needed to balance the potion carefully and guide it to where he wanted to be. The necrotic nature was slowly removed from the mix as he focused the mana, thus allowing the vital energy found within his blood to prosper.

He can do it the other way around, reinforcing the necrotic nature, as his blood acts as a catalyst that reinforces that trait. But now, the necrotic energy served as fuel for the vital energy, however, he had to be careful.

The reason he extracted the highly viscous juice from the mushroom and not just added the entire mushroom was because he only needed a highly concentrated amount of necrotic energy to remain. That thick little energy ball would be the catalyst for the Argentum Vitae Mushroom, the final material.

He has added a total of 28 mushrooms worth of the extracted liquid. He had tested and investigated, and based on his Sense of the Malefic Viper, the condensed energy found inside should be enough to help empower the vital energy within the silver mushroom.

The time he injected mana was long, tiring, and, most importantly, very intensive mana. Its pool of 3150 was quickly drained. He knew this was going to happen, of course, because he had invested a lot of wisdom into making this possible.

Perception has also shown its value, especially in complex craft processes like this. A small change in mana flow is inevitable, but with a high enough perception, Jake can detect it before it becomes a problem. His senses were tense, focused to the limit.

With only twenty minutes left, the arduous process had been completed. Jake has technically finished his potion now and will come out as a potent, rare poison. Without a doubt, his was the most powerful. But he's not done yet.

Taking out the 10 Argentum Vitae Mushrooms, he hesitated a little as he threw them all into the bowl. Nothing happened during the first few seconds, as he observed closely, both hands on the bowl. But soon, the silvery layer on the mushroom eroded, and as soon as a small hole appeared in the first hole, the ridiculous vital energy within it flowed out like waves.

Jake still had about half of his mana left after quickly chugging down the most powerful mana potion before he threw the silver shroom. He had considered not using the potion on the cooldown and instead using the healing potion during consumption, but honestly, if his plan did not work out, the healing potion would yield nothing.

The mana pool left was spent freely, as it contained vital energy flowing out. Soon, the energies of all 10 mushrooms began to affect the potion, and this was the moment he had been waiting for. With a hint of advice through which he injected it, he unleashed a thick ball of necrotic energy as it collided with the vital energy.

Or maybe a clash is not the right word. The vital energy completely devoured him, and with his guidance, he assimilated the necrotic poison into fuel himself. Minutes passed, one by one, as he pushed the mana into the bowl.

When he only had 300 mana left which was very few, he felt like he was almost done. With a final push, spending over 200 mana, he finally heard a small *ding* as he looked at the system message.

* DING! *: [Malefic Viper's Poison] has been activated! The transcendent power of the Malefic Viper has forcibly increased the rarity of your creation to Rare, increasing all effects substantially.

*You have successfully created [Unstable Amalgamation of Malefic Vitau (Rare)] – New types of creations have been created. Bonus experience gained*

*'DING!' Profession: [Excellent Alchemist of Malefic Viper] has reached level 44 - Allotted stat points, +5 free points*

Quickly examining the mud left behind in the bowl, he could not help but make a strange compromise between grimacing and smiling.

[Unstable Malefic Vitau (Rare) Merger] – Unstable creation, made by mixing opposite energies, achieves something stronger than the sum of its parts. It contained an enormous vitality strength, powerful enough to turn into poison. Not worth consuming. Extremely Unstable: Unable to maintain current shape at 9:57

That's what he expected. Probably more than he expected. He had gained an entire level from it, as he had just leveled up from the last batch of poison he made as well. He quickly threw free points into vitality. He'll need everything he can get.

Looking at the timer, he prepared himself.

Heal yourself from poison 0/1

Time remaining: 2:38

Two and a half minutes, and the poison will ignite to take his life. At that time, he would drink the mud in front of him. He did not dare to touch it but would only drink it straight from the bowl.

As he just sat there, looking at the timer ticking down, he did something he didn't remember ever doing before. He prayed.

He was never a religious man. He never went to church, not even during Christmas. But today, he prayed. Not to the gods of the earth, but to the only gods he met.

The Malefic Viper might not be the most stable creature he had ever encountered, but he was extremely powerful. He has blessed her, allowing her to complete the miracle she created today. He is the man behind his profession. At least it's based on who he is, or his record to be more precise.

So, he prays his – prayers as low as possible.

"I swear, you stupid snake, if I die from drinking mushroom juice, I'll come back from the dead and hunt you down."

To his surprise, he felt a response. Just a faint emotion from the outside. A faint thrust, coupled with a barrage of ridicule.

He smiled at himself. He has done what he can, and now it is up to his own will and determination.

The timer mercilessly beats.