The Primal Hunter's
Metal And Nature

The interior of the cabin was too hot for William, yet he could not take his eyes off. With every swing that dropped the hammer and every spark that was unleashed upon impact, he grew even more fascinated.

Smith had planned all this for a long time. He was currently doing the finishing touches on his magnum opus with a passion and skill that left William only able to sigh in awe.

He made what looked like a breastplate at first glance, but if one looked closely, it could be seen that the shape was slightly different. After all, this part is just part of the final product. One layer of armor that would be combined with another after it was finished.

William's greatest weakness was, without a doubt, his survivability. Although he could kill almost anything in a moment, the same was true for himself, being killed in return. The fight with Jake is a good example. One wound and he's almost hoarse.

Smith realized this weakness. Or at least he assumed so. What he made was not just a chestplate, but an entire set of armor. The metal looked like silver but based on how hard the man hit it, and how little the metal came off, it was obviously something else.

He wanted to ask but based on the expression on the man's face; he looked in deep concentration. William had little insight into metal due to the nature of his class, and he could almost see where and stamina flowed out of the man upon entering the armor. But what was even more impressive was how easily the armor absorbed everything.

When he injects mana into the metal to adapt it to its use with his manipulating skills, it usually comes with a lot of waste. Especially if he had to master a metal that he had never used before. But this armor greedily took everything like a starving man at a party.

He briefly considered it worthy of killing the man for his metal alone, but for some reason, the thought felt wrong.

Wiping off the sweat on his brows, Smith smiled at William as he called out to the other half of the last piece of armor as he began to piece it together. With the hammer lifted once more, he continued his work. It looked simple, almost comical, but William could see an intricate pattern in which mana moved through the hammer as it entered the armor with each punch.

Hours passed, and even though it had been so long, neither of them felt the passage of time. William was too engrossed in the creation process while Smith was fully engrossed in his work.

No one had come to disturb them all this time. Everyone was busy preparing for the final fight with the now dead Hayden faction. With the isolation barrier, the intense cabin manufacturing process also does not disturb outsiders.

Finally, Smith breathed a sigh of relief as he put down the hammer. Taking the finished part of the runway, he smiled in satisfaction as he started cleaning it. William wanted to jump forward and take the armor but decided not to. It was hers, to begin with .. but it felt wrong to take it before Smith gave her permission.

With a nod, the man finished cleaning the silver armor that was now shining. It looked like it was just a piece of plate letter that only covered the chest. It was sturdy but it seemed easy enough to move. But of course, William knew it wasn't that simple. Smith had put some pieces of armor on him. The parts now appear to be integrated into the letterplate - a complete set of armor covering one from head to toe. Helmets, leg guards, bracelets, gloves, all had been melted into the last piece of this armor.

This clearly shows how prepared Smith is. All of this was made from the beginning. He just has to do the last part. And for some reason, he wanted William to be witness to the last part of making this armor.

Placing the now finished armor on the table, he called out to the young man waiting in the room with him.

"Come here, son," The bearded blacksmith laughed. “Check the armor. Not bad, right?”

Not hesitating, William advanced forward as he identified the armor.

[Expanding Blessed Mithril Armor (Rare)] - An expertly crafted complete armor crafted by skilled blacksmiths who poured all their talent. Achieving a high scarcity, if hardly, this achievement has been achieved not through the elaborate charm but through the pure power of the materials used and the expertise required for their manufacture. Very high ability to absorb and store mana. Charm: Expanding Armor. Kinetic Style Diffusion.

Requirements: lvl 25+ in humanoid race.

William could not help but be impressed and a little disappointed at the same time. He was hoping for stats or something, but it was definitely strong. What he did not understand was what Kinetic Style Diffusion did.

"What's kinetic about?" William asked the blacksmith, who, in turn, observed him closely.

"Something you really need is what it is" The Smith laughed. “That's so you won't turn into a pulp inside the armor when a man hits you with a big hammer or something. It spread power throughout the surface of the armor, instead of a single point, effectively allowing the armor to absorb more blows.

“In other words, it's even a person like you can take a hit,” Smith finished explaining.

With wide eyes, William did 180 complete with disappointment. That sounds very overpowered. Of course, he did not know exactly how effective it was, but it actually made the armor much better. He could easily see himself being killed by a huge impact if he did not have one.

"So are you satisfied?" Smith asked with a smile at the young man.

“Satisfied definitely!” William smiled back. Not the fake smile he used to show, but a sincere smile. This armor is worth the wait. He felt.

William has no such thoughts with anyone else in this tutorial. But for the first time, perhaps the first time in her life, she felt indebted to someone. He felt he owed something to the bearded man. For him to be at least a bit of a person, Smith believed in him.

"I am glad to hear it" said the weary craftsman, handing William a plate of cloth-covered metal. “I've left some information about this for you. It's about war and armor and what I hope you do. Open after we finish.”

As he said, he had a sad glint in his eyes for a moment before continuing. "Now ... for the second part."

The hunter was faster than any pre-system human would have predicted as he ran down the mountain path. Despite his speed, however, what was chasing him was faster.

No higher than his waist, the small beasts enlarged the path as they traversed several meters with each footstep.

Their sharp teeth all dripped with acid spit, making a hissing sound every time it touched the ground during their pursuit.

The hunter still managed to stay ahead as he turned into a shadow form and flew forward, dodging their attacks. As soon as he landed, he turned around as he shot an arrow that hit the little beast, making it fall to the ground.

The wounds left by the arrows quickly began to fester and rot as the beast thrashed in pain and confusion. The other creatures ignored his death as they jumped over their soon-to-be-dead comrades.

The beast was relentless. Tired and a lot.

Oh my God, is he wrong! The beast had just started to actually run vertically up the wall. To be honest it was one of the silliest things Jake had ever seen, but unfortunately he was too busy not to be destroyed by the huge monster to appreciate his comedy.

The fight lasted a bit long and only ended after he managed to ride the monster while injecting Malefic Viper Touch.

He had won the fight, but it had become quite an interesting spectacle - a spectacle that had attracted some of these pests. To his dismay, the first person to see him started making loud scream sounds, which attracted even more of those damn things.

They are small animals like the green raptor, about the size of a golden retriever. But they are very fast and agile while also having a very toxic bite. Jake can resist being bitten because the poison doesn't affect him too much because of his Palate of the Malefic Viper, but it still hurts.

He had already killed over ten of them, yet five were still chasing after him. Troublemakers are nothing but determined, at least.

Shadow Vaulting once again, he managed to sneak away from the two that were getting closer as he landed another poisonous arrow on one of the beasts, making it fall to the ground.

In return, he gets four acid spits fired by other small dinosaurs. The speed of the liquid was too fast for Jake to avoid because he just covered his head and let it rain down on him. It does hurt a little, but honestly it's not too bad.

It has to be said that the poor animal is not very compatible with Jake. Their powers are focused on the use of acids and toxins, two things that Jake strongly opposes. At the same time, they did not possess very strong poison resistance.

Their speed was impressive, and they had avoided most of Jake's attempts to counterattack, but in the end, it was a battle of attrition.

Jake is able to take down the vandals in one shot, while they can barely hurt him. Their damage comes through toxins released through their bites, which in the end only helps Jake recover a bit of mana each time they bite him. He could not only withstand their attacks, but he could easily handle the occasional attack of those who landed.

That was why it only took a few more minutes before the last beast died on the ground. When the two of them, Jake doesn't bother dodging anymore because he only meets them at close range. Holding them one by one, he used the Touch of the Malefic Viper to take them down quickly.

Tired of the chase, he lay on the ground as he gazed up at the sky. Another reason he switched from using his bow was a little more embarrassing.

Despite having two arrows, the first, and one taken from the archer who was together with the natural warrior, he had used all the arrows in both. Especially since those damn beasts were constantly avoiding him.

If he finds another upgrade token, he, without a doubt, wants to upgrade the quiver. It will also help make his arrow better, making him not always broken every time he shoots it. Even now, they often broke when he hit a savage beast.

Speaking of quivers, he took out the ones he had stored in his spatial necklace, as he started injecting mana into it along with the quiver on his back. Another advantage of being better at handling mana is that it does not make direct skin contact with the item when injecting mana. Even though it makes it much faster and more efficient.

As he relaxed, he started going through the fight. In the end, the battle was somewhat fruitful. Opening up his notification menu, he noticed that he had gained two full levels of combat with dinosaurs and buffalo. The level of the dinosaurs was not very high, but he had killed quite a number of them.

*You have killed [Acidtooth Compsognathus – lvl 42] – Experience bonuses gained for killing enemies above your level. 44000 TP obtained*

The highest level is only 42, with the rest between 38 and 41. However, that experience took him to the next threshold.

*'DING!' Class: [Ambicious Hunters] have reached level 30 - Allotted stat points, +4 free points*

* Ambicious Hunter class skills available*

He was excited to finally gain some new skills in his class. While he technically obtained the Hunter's Sight and Big Game Hunter, the former was merely an improvement over what he already had, while the others were passive. He had sensed that ability during his fight. It was refined, but he felt like he was becoming a little faster and stronger every time he fought a savage beast of a higher level.

If he is insensitive, he will not notice it or just think of it as adrenaline or something. It was not that he knew whether those chemical compounds had any effects or even real consequences after the system and statistics became something.

As usual now, he started going through skills one by one. Which before he developed his class is still available except for a few exceptions. Some of these are obvious because they have upgraded the available versions on the list below.

However, the first skill was completely new.

[Basic Nature Affinity (Inferior)] – Someone with his environment, Ambitious Hunters find inspiration and solace in nature itself. Gives the hunter a natural affinity. Allows the hunter to transform his energy into one with the affinity of nature, giving him little healing and regenerating properties. It also allows the user to absorb mana from the affinity of nature more easily.

This skill was the first time he had encountered an Affinity skill. He knows which type of skill is prevalent among many users across the multiverse who want to use which type they don't naturally have.

As for the skill itself, it was quite interesting to Jake. But it's still in the area of just 'a little'. Everyone had a natural affinity by default, and from the previous sword, he more or less asserted that he did not have a natural affinity.

Affinity skills are not active skills. That would allow the user to change the energy properties, but that's it. Jake can use mana now, but it's not very effective yet, because he's still training and developing. Small explosions of mana during traps are a good example of this.

Which can be used for anything. Where natural affinity is just another subcategory of which type. Jake had even read that if someone became proficient enough in some kind of magic, the kind where they could change, so the status window began to show "where nature is" instead of just where. While this will undoubtedly limit the individual in many ways, it will also significantly empower anything that uses mana of nature.

The skill will also unlock many new skills for Jake as he reaches level 40. There was even a chance that the affinity skill itself would come with another skill, even though he doubted it.

But while that skill would open many doors, it would close far more. That would not make acquiring another more opposite affinity impossible, but it would make it astronomically more difficult. In other words, he simply did not feel like committing to the current path. He was also afraid that it would have a bad impact on his alchemy.

Although he knew it might not hurt him, perhaps even improving his skills in concocting potions, he had a protracted fear that it would have a devastating impact on his poison making. It was just a little frightened, but his intuition advised him not to. And if he had learned one thing, it was to trust his instinct above all else in terms of decisions like this.

With all that in mind, he moved on to the next skill.