The Primal Hunter's
Meet Old Friends 2

Jacob happily walked towards the exit of their headquarters, Bertram on one side, Caroline on the other. It's been a few hours since Jake's message arrived and his next meeting with Richard. Caroline somehow managed to convince him to let them go with just the three of them.

According to him, he was not happy about it and had hidden himself inside. Jacob wanted to go and settle the matter with the camp leader, but Caroline had persuaded him. So, for now, he could only take the wealth that had been given to him and go to the meeting.

Caroline has determined that they need a proper plan before going to a meeting, something Jacob immediately agrees on. He does like to make plans, which is why they take a long time to go. Jake only determines where to meet and not the time allotted. From the way it was written, he wanted to be sooner rather than later, but a few hours should not be too long. The meeting area is quite open, but Jacob is sure they will find each other.

The journey was not very long, only about a kilometer from their headquarters. They had built right next to the barrier, so the area where he could be was rather limited.

About a hundred yards away, Jake sat down. He, like Jacob, was nervous about the encounter. He was even afraid of the same outcome, albeit for different reasons. Jacob was afraid he was wrong and Jake would betray them. Jake is afraid they won't believe him and thinks he's actually the culprit, which inevitably results in them turning to him.

Maybe because of his nervousness, but somehow Jake only sees them a few moments before they see him, although his perception is higher. He must control himself and not rush at them. Instead, he chose to stand still and let them come to him.

Jacob slightly relaxed as he saw Jake just standing there, his hood down below and his face visible. Especially her nervous face relaxed her. He couldn't help but laugh inwardly as Jake's face seemed almost identical to how he was first forced to make a presentation to management. And the whole time after that, actually.

Jake hasn't changed ' he told himself; it must have been a misunderstanding . Maybe he's just naive, but he really believes in Jake.

Bertram and Caroline, on the other hand, did not share his sentiments. The two of them glared at their former comrades, and both of them stood guard. Unlike Jacob, they do not see him as a good old Jake, but as a potential threat. But not for the same reason.

His attitude is somehow different. His face looked more or less the same, but his stature exuded a hidden sense of confidence. The innate low self-esteem was also slightly felt, making them realize that he was stronger than them. None of them knew this, but this was rank suppression ...

But more importantly, they both try to identify him to find out that they can't. A phenomenon they had never encountered before. Even if they could not see the level, at least it would show something. But for Jake, it just gave a simple question mark. Giving them the same surprise that William had, as William did not share that detail with the others.

Jake remembers telling Jacob to come alone, but to be honest he was surprised that Bertram and Caroline were also coming along. Scouting the area with a glance, he saw no signs of anyone following them.

Jacob and the others stopped five or six meters away from him, as both of them only stood there for a moment. Jake has run this scenario several times in his head before and finally manages to get something out:

“Eh... Hey Jacob, how are you?” he asked, as he directly slapped himself mentally. What kind of question is that?

“Oh... I'm fine.... You?” Jacob said, also feeling a bit awkward now.

“Good... I guess..” replied Jake.

…

"So, you're calling us, or me, here?" Jacob said, taking the lead because Jake didn't show that he was going to keep talking.

“Ya... I had some strange encounters with people in the woods,” replied Jake, now feeling a little confident. “They seem to believe that I have done things that I did not know.”

"Jake, how many people have you killed since entering the tutorial?" Caroline cut in, staring intently at him.

A little surprised, Jake was surprised by the stern tone for a moment, especially since he had never heard Caroline talk to such a person before.

"I think ..." Jake begins, when he thinks of who he has killed.3 attackers on the first night, 6 men sent Richard after him, and 5 troupe with green warriors. “Too many. but far from enough to cause war. After we split up, I only had to fight humans twice, once against a single caster and at another time with a party of five."

Bertram and Caroline looked at each other to assess each other's reactions. Bertram thinks Jake has managed to become an Oscar-worthy actor for the past month or he's telling the truth.

However, Caroline could only sigh inwardly. This ... did not go as planned. Jake is not the existence of the animal William describes; he is too familiar.

“See friends; I told you Jake didn't do it!” Jacob said with a smile to the others, now in a much better mood. "William lied."

"William?" Jake asked while raising an eyebrow. "Metal castor, young, blonde hair?"

"Yes ..he's the only caster you've met, right?" Jacob asked, looking at Jake's sour expression.

"The West tried to ambush me after saying he was going to take me to meet you at Richard's camp," said Jake, now a little wary, as his mood changed.

"I suppose this confirms that it was him ..." Jacob wondered aloud. “Yang means he must also be the one who killed Casper when he tried to paste it on you..”.

"Wait, is Casper dead?" Jake asked

"We believe so" Bertram said, as he now wondered what was going on.

Caroline also began to reconsider all of this. Letting Jacob come here was a bad idea, but he had to do it. Another bit…

“This is the first time I've seen you from our group. Who else didn't make it?” Jake asks, trying to calm himself down after learning of Casper's death. Somehow it hit him harder than he expected. Tearing the plaster now and receiving those lost as soon as possible seems like the best thing to do.

“Only the three of us and Joanna are left. Oh yeah, Joanna gets her legs back when sh-”

But before Jacob could finish, Jake saw something behind him entering his Sphere of Perception. A faint glittering in the air. He instantly became alert and activated Archer's Eye to confirm his suspicions.

A few seconds later, the sparkle disappeared, revealing Richard along with four others.

Before Jake can react well, he sees more and more figures appearing in his vision, as the sparkle gradually disappears, exposing people after people.

“What the hell is this, Jacob!?” jake shouted as he backed away from the three of them, ready to take out his bow.

Jacob, now also fully aware of the situation, looked puzzled and saw people also appear behind Jake. One of them, being a red-robed person with a spear on his back. Hayden's.

"I'm .. I'm not!" jacob said, trying to explain himself.

"He doesn't know" Richard said as he stepped closer, his huge tower shield was ready. His armor and weapons were also clearly above common-rarity.

"I'm sorry, Jacob, but I can't risk it" the soldier said in a slightly regretful tone as he turned to Jake.

"Rush. Come with us well and easily, and we can solve this together. If you don't attack anyone as claimed, we can let the past pass. We can even forget.. situations that arise from the last time we met.”.

While those words do sound genuine, Jake doesn't buy them for a second. He did not need social awareness, only his instinct, to feel the faint killing intent unleashed by the man - the clear desire to kill was hidden in his eyes.

Focusing on his Perception Scope, he noted more presence around him. He could only curse himself for not being more careful and guarding his guard. There was no way they could get that close even if some kind of magic hid them.

“This is not what we agreed on! There is no reason for all this! We can-" Jacob protested but was interrupted by a sharp look from Richard.

He saw a man wearing a red robe holding a spear that charged straight towards him.

Jake feels pressure from the man, instantly making him realize that this is not someone to be taken lightly. That was only confirmed further as the spear started to burn, leaving a trail of fire behind it.

"DEAD!" shouted the attacking man, releasing waves of fire towards Jake. His eyes were filled with an uncontrollable bloodlust.

Being prepared, the archer efficiently managed to dodge the horizontal fire cone as he tried to jump to the side, only to be interrupted by more people coming out of the forest.

A screen of light appears before him, blocking his way, as Jake is forced to dodge another wave of fire once again.

Jake could hear Jacob shouting something, but was too busy to listen. The situation is dire - enemies all around him, with no clear way out.

More and more people entered the fray as arrows and spells started flying, aiming at him. Ice, fire, ground spikes, and lightning sparks flew around his ears as he dodged as best he could, yet still struck the occasional blow.

A whip of fire that he could not avoid wrapped around his feet, stopped his movement when he saw the red-robed man holding him at the other end. More whips came out from the other witches around him, from all elements.

Jake panics as he tries to get rid of the Shadow Vault but is apparently obstructed by the whip that holds him back. He could barely move his limbs as he sensed at least two lashes holding each of his limbs - a tactic that had clearly been practiced before.

Richard decided to no longer sit still as he charged towards Jake who could not move.

With his panic level rising, Jake thrashes and moves a little, but it's too late when an arrow hits his shoulder, followed by more spells. His rare robe was blocked slightly, but was far from enough.

His instinctive desire for survival takes over, pulling in from the inside, as Jake makes use of a deep pool of mana. More than he's ever done before. No complicated thread or anything like that was created. He just opened the floodgates. A transparent sheen of mana started to come out from his pores as he shouted.

With that shout, he released a mana explosion, eliminating the whip and sending all the spells and projectiles aimed at him flying in all directions. The earth broke apart when cracks appeared on the ground. Even Richard, who attacked him and all the other soldiers, was thrown backwards by the shockwave.

Surprised, everyone saw Jake's figure as the dust subsided. He was on one knee, wounds covered his body. An uncontrollable mana release seemed to have weighed down on his body, as he looked visibly weaker.

An ambitious warrior continued the attack as he charged down with a downward slash.

With a speed that far surpassed that of the soldier and faster than any onlookers could react, Jake threw the bottle to the side, hitting the soldier's face.

Falling backwards, the man screamed as his skin began to peel and rot. The surrounding healers reacted quickly, but before they could even heal him, half his face was gone as he fainted on the ground, still rotting.

Everyone's surprise brings Jake enough time to drink the health potion as he rushes away, not being conservative with his resources as he uses the Shadow Vault.

As Jake begins to move, so does everyone around him come out of their stupor as their attacks continue.

To Jake's horror, the red-robed man also possessed powerful movement skills, as he shot out two wings of fire and rushed at an inhuman speed towards him. Gritting his teeth, he could only pull his dagger to withstand the blow. His momentum was too strong as he was thrown backwards. However, in the end it was in his favor, as he managed to put more ground between them.

Pulling more bottles of poison, Jake begins throwing them at his attacker as he retreats. The pursuers were ready when different shields and walls appeared to block them, rendering them completely ineffective.

Richard and the spear user chased after him, one charging forward with his tower shield raised, and the other with a fire bubble enveloping his body.

As Jake Shadow Vaulted once more, he was a little further away, but halfway through the second one, he shouted as he smashed into the transparent wall. Without raising her gaze, the ball made her aware of the culprit as she turned around and looked at Caroline with her hands outstretched in front of her body.

Goddamn it, Jake cursed in his heart, when Richard caught him first. The man is much slower than Jake in attacking, leaving Jake plenty of room to dodge. Richard, however, never planned to hit him.

Behind her, Caroline's barrier blocked her as a wall of light appeared on her left, with Richard leaping to the right, raising his shield as a shield ghost appeared, also blocking the path to her right.

Jake barely had time to turn to his last path to move as he looked at the lance that was using a spear at the end, in a standing position with his spear pointed right at him. Barriers block him to all sides; Jake has no way to escape.

Barbarian Trail

Jake hears the man's voice echoing as he flies towards Jake at a much faster speed than before. He couldn't even react as the spear pierced through his chest and came out from behind, smashing Caroline's barrier, Jake flying away still pierced by the spear held by the red-robed man.

His entire body felt like it was burning on the inside as he flew backwards. His health was extremely low; both his lungs were charred, and his internal organs were burned beyond recognition. A state in which any pre-system human would long die.

Eventually, the two of them find a tree, stabbing Jake on top of it as the caster laughs at the maniac. "This is for my son!"

Jake, feeling no need to answer, exerted all the strength he could as he pushed himself forward along the spear shaft as he grabbed the man. The man was surprised to see Jake could move, and even more so on the near-death archer put his hand on it.

This shock was nothing compared to his astonishment as he felt a great pain in his chest. Looking down, he saw his red robe slowly darken as the flesh beneath him began to undergo necrosis. Out of worry, he unleashes his spear and staggers back, also leaving Jake free.

Not taking the time to look at his work, Jake thrashed as he stopped. His body was in pain, but not at an irresistible level compared to what he had experienced during the last trial in the challenge basement.

Hearing Richard and the others catch up, Jake gritted his teeth as he managed to break through the Shadow Vault once again and tried to disappear from sight.

However, their pursuit does not stop, as Jake is forced to defend Shadow Vaulting, again and again, his injuries get worse. He passed through Richard's headquarters as he walked towards his destination.

Finally, he found himself at a mysterious barrier blocking the inner area once again. He hoped it was some example, no different from a dungeon challenge.

Without hesitation, he stumbled through the barrier as his surroundings changed. His scope gave him information as space seemed to rapidly expand around him, and he found himself in a world that looked like a completely different world, a barrier still behind him.

Lying on the ground, he crawled to the rock, turning towards the barrier, a bottle of poison now in hand. If one of those bastards were to follow him, he would definitely welcome them with a bottle of poison on his face.

No matter how long he waited, no one came. At least not from the barrier.

Behind him, he saw three creatures entering his sphere. They look like dinosaurs or something. Succeeding to stand back up somehow he saw their level.

[Redhide Raptor – lvl 39]

[Bluehide Raptor – lvl 40]

[Greenhide Raptor – lvl 40]

Smiling weakly, Jake stood there as the beasts approached him.

Really a bad way to die, he thought, while throwing the poison bottle towards the blue bottle and preparing themselves as they all attacked him.