The Primal Hunter's
Powershot Level Increases

The newly obtained Infused Powershot shot an arrow at an unprecedented speed when it hit the Alpha Venomfang Badger right in the center. The powerful attack instantly pierced through the beast's body as it came out from the other direction, piercing through any vital organs that were blocking it.

Jake is overjoyed by his successful method and wants to read the notice with enhanced skills, but is quickly brought back to reality by Alpha's insane roar, as it strikes him with reckless abandon.

He quickly realized the seriousness of the situation as he was forced to jump to the side to avoid his crazy attacks.

His bow was broken while releasing arrows, his sword was still hanging on the chin of the beast, as if it was stuck on something, and his other bow had been thrown out of nowhere after the creature went berserk.

But he had one big thing happen to him in the huge hole that pierced through the creature, coupled with the wound left by several arrows and pieces of flesh that were torn apart by itself. Instead of bleeding stopping from these wounds, now starting again, the hemotoxin does its job.

The beast was also no longer as bright as before. The Infused Powershot seemed to have really angered him, making him thrash uncontrollably. However, the large movements only aggravated his injuries.

However, the problem for Jake is his inability to take the situation any further. He had no bow or sword, and trying to stab him with an arrow or dagger in close range didn't seem like a good idea either. So, she goes with the perhaps most boring approach and toks him, letting the blood loss do the job for him.

After running for a few minutes, he finally found his bow as it appeared on his ball. With that in hand, he could continue to land shots at the beast whenever the opportunity arose. These arrows were soaked with Necrotic Poison, making it even more deadly.

In an attempt to take less damage, the beast ended up taking more as it plucked out all the poisonous arrows shortly after they hit it. Huge chunks of flesh were torn to shreds, but Alpha was unable to regenerate as any residual vitality was spent trying not to succumb to blood loss.

The badger began to slow down as pools of blood soaked the already moist soil. His screams became less intense as it grew weaker.

This of course makes it easier for Jake to do more damage to the beast, making the conclusion of their fight inevitable.

Finally, the animal falls to the ground after Jake lands an arrow on one of his legs. It was still trying to crawl forward, but with barely moving, he safely finished it by finally landing an arrow in its eyes, penetrating into the skull.

With a sigh of relief, he looked at the dead beast. It was the strongest enemy he had faced so far. The fight gave him a feeling he had long since missed. Everything was too easy after he got out of the dungeon challenge.

He did not count the ambush by Richard as it was not a fight but a one-sided attack. A fight he didn't even want, based on false pretenses. It was just about running away.he wasn't in the right headroom, but if it happened again, he would never allow himself to be so foolish as to land in such a situation a second time. And if he does, he just wants to be strong enough to dominate the opposition.

To do that, Jake needs to challenge himself and improve, but every other fight is too simple. Jake receives almost no damage in most of them, and both his stamina and mana are rarely hit.

Some good fights have taken place here and there, but nothing has really pushed his desire for a real challenge. But now, he finally got one. It was a satisfying feeling, of course.

Looking at his notifications, he got a level, but what he focused on was his shock at the badger level.

*You have killed [Alpha Venomfang Badger – lvl 71] – Experience bonuses gained for killing enemies above your level. 102000 TP obtained*

*' TING!' Class: [Ambicious Hunters] have reached level 40 - Allotted stat points, +4 free points*

Only 71, he thought, checking back. It looks too low. Some badgers have been in their 60s and are much weaker. He trusted an instinct that told him that the beast had not evolved to a D-level but was still an E-level like him.

Then again .. that makes a bit of sense. The animal race is different. Variants, like how he can get a worse class or profession, so maybe someone gets a worse race. Or maybe only animals can, because Jake is not sure if humans can evolve into something.

He could not help but remember the Malefic Viper. He was once a snake, a kind of beast. But he had turned into a dragon, and even now, he had a scaly human form. Some major changes to his race came through that line of evolution, though it always retained the reptilian theme. For him to have several race variants along the way that can only be expected.

Maybe these badgers are the same. Variants appear between them, providing better statistics and skills. That would definitely explain why a level difference of only around ten or so among badgers could mean so much.

A clear explanation he had in the future. However, for now, he had a lot of things to do.

The first thing he did was to take his sword from the beast's mouth. It took quite a bit of effort to free him, having been caught between two teeth, and the creature only aggravated him while trying to remove him, pressing him into the flesh. Painful, to say the least.

The knife itself is fine. Jake fears it will break down, and having no repair spells, he has no way to fix it.

Next, he looked back at the notification list and saw the new and improved Infused Powershot.

[Infused Powershot (Rare)] – Stamina as fuel - where as a guide. Unlike ordinary Powershot, Infused Powershot does not require a long charging time but can be charged in a short time. The higher the charge, the greater the stamina and mana expenditure. Charging Infused Powershot can empower further skills. Add a small bonus on the effects of agility, strength, and intelligence when using Infused Powershot.

He was happy that the system had recognized his efforts and given him new skills. He could feel the system helping him there towards the end, even though it was just a little. To be honest, he did most of it on a whim, somehow applying a technique that he mainly used while doing alchemy.

As for the new skill, it was quite improved. It has been upgraded from Rare to Rare, and the charging time is almost removed. Skill scaling also now includes intelligence, making Jake happy to finally use stat. Well, he did have the Touch of the Malefic Viper, but the skill required him to touch his opponent, making it quite difficult to use against an opponent like Alpha who could tear him apart at close range.

The Alchemist of the Malefic Viper gave him 2 intelligences per level, while he also got 2 for each increase in the level of the race, giving him a total of 150 intelligence at the moment. It was his lowest stat a little, but he was glad it was finally of any use, at least.

Although he had to admit that the stat was likely to bring benefits that he was unaware of. It was one of the three great mental stats, the other was wisdom and willpower, so it had to do something. Willpower, for example, increases mana regeneration, while its wisdom, of course, increases mana to its maximum. If he had to guess, then intelligence might have something to do with which potential?

Nevertheless, it feels good to finally have the status mentioned as giving a bonus on a skill.

Infused Powershot is also much more powerful than the old Powershot. Or, its potential to be strong is higher. Powershot had only relied on his stamina along with the ability of his physical body to withstand the pent-up energy until he unleashed it all in a burst of strength.

This new version uses mana and stamina. Now, the weapon covers Jake's body, making it much more important. The limiting amount of mana charged is the weapon used and Jake's ability to control mana balance and stamina.

The strength of the skill was determined by the amount of mana and stamina combined, naturally making this skill much stronger. Although it was not a simple addition, it made his strength multiply. Fast shots without charging time are not as strong as the previously fully charged Powershot Jake.

He could also sense that he could not do Powershot like before, relying solely on stamina. He couldn't imagine many scenarios where he would do that, but he could. As for the last part of the skill ...

This is where the system takes over completely and helps it. The release of the skill was entirely done by the system, while Jake just wanted the way it was supposed to be. How it managed to unleash its energy into an attack so perfectly, far above its pay level.

If it works, it works, I guess, Jake thought with a mental shrug. The system is a bit strange in many areas. Skills could obviously be unlocked or upgraded according to the user's actions, but he had yet to see any new skills acquired directly. Options will only appear when you get the opportunity to unlock other skills.

Which, coincidentally, was very relevant at the moment since he had just reached level 40.

*Ambicious Hunter class skills available*

With no reason to delay, he received orders to unlock new skills, as a long list of options appeared before him.

The usual suspect was still there, with all the weapon skills still clogging at the beginning, followed by all the skills he had passed while still an ordinary archer.

By the age of 30, he had considered a bit of Hunter and Hunter's Trapping Tracking Skills but ended up passing them for the sake of Splitting Arrow. Decisions he doesn't regret.

He could see many situations where it would be useful, but he just hadn't found it interesting to him yet. Maybe next time, he told himself, knowing full well that other, more interesting options are likely to appear at a later time as well.

The interesting part of skill is always the newcomer, after all. Among them are some - the first is not very interesting.

[Infused Strike (Common)] – Sometimes, there is power in simplicity. Charge melee weapons with mana, attacking for additional damage. Added a small bonus on the effects of intelligence and power when using Infused Strike.

These skills are just. Maybe it could come in handy, but Jake doubts it will be as useful as many of his other options.

In addition, close range was not his first choice. While he saw himself as somewhat competent at it, his goal was ultimately only to find an opportunity to create distance and re-use his bow.

The creation of additional skill options also helped confirm the precedent that he would have a little more directly created this new option. He was firmly convinced that the Infused Strike came as a result of the Infused Powershot.

Of course, he was sure there was a more complicated reason behind the way the system unlocked skills.

He naturally would not do so with Infused Strike. The next skill option also makes it easier to set it aside.

[Determination of Ambitious Hunters (Rare)] – Ambitious Hunters are not people who retreat even in front of the most fearsome enemies. The mind is the fortress, the hunter is determined. Increases resistance to all mental-based and illusory attacks. Increases resistance to suppressive effects. Added a small bonus on the Determination of the Ambient Hunter effect based on willpower.

Passive defensive skills. It was rare at the time. The effect appears to be fine, though not necessarily useful for Jake's current situation.

He has not met much with mind manipulation. But thinking about it scared him to death. The mind is a complicated thing, and Jake doesn't like the idea that it's being manipulated in the slightest.

Imagining someone controlling you without you, yourself, even realizing it is truly terrifying. Being a willing puppet just because of some chaotic skill. However, most mental magic is not like that, he hoped.

Thinking back, perhaps Molerat Screechers and even Alpha had used some sort of mental attack with their screeches. The attack was not only physical but had mixed energy, momentarily jolting his mind, throwing his senses for a single round.

Of course, he was fine because his bloodline ability made him not depend on his usual senses. But it is still a terrible experience and a feeling of vertigo that is far from pleasant.

The skill also provides resistance to illusions and suppressive effects. The two are also things that Jake has never met as far as he knows.

To be honest, he didn't really like that skill. While he believed it would play a part in a certain situation, for now, he needed something to make him stronger immediately. The reason is quite simple.the dungeon is not finished yet.

He still has a goal to defeat Mother Den. While he had killed an Alpha, the beast was not a great villain. Mother Den was most likely an animal even stronger than Alpha, so she needed something to help her fight it. Something that will undoubtedly be the last skill.

[Ambicious Hunter Mark (Rare)] – Prey selected, hunt begins. Mark the target discreetly, making you aware of its position at all times until the mark expires or disappears. All damage done to the marked target is increased. Experience the added bonus gained for killing targets marked above your level. Add small bonuses to the damage inflicted, the duration of the sign, and the subtlety of the sign based on perception.

The first part of the skill that allowed him to know the position of his prey was somewhat irrelevant to him at the moment. He had never met a savage beast that was about to escape or leave the fight, forcing him to hunt it down. However, he could see it useful if he ever had a clash with a retreating enemy, such as if he could mark William back then.

No, the reason why he wanted this skill was due to the effect of increased damage. This was also the first time he had seen a skill that said it directly increased the damage done. It was always an "increased stat effect" or something like that.

The skill of scratching both his itch: First, to gain more power and secondly to explore the intricacies of the system.

It even had the experience of the final bonus gained for killing enemies above its level to complete it. Such a bonus was already in place for everyone based on the kill notification, but he assumed this one would only increase that bonus. This effect likely comes from the "ambitious" part of the skill's name, as it seems to fit quite well with the theme of its class. Of course, this effect was also the first to be seen in a skill.

He did not have much to think about as he received the skill and felt information flood his brain. After a while, he knew exactly how to use that skill, just like the others.

Turning towards the cave exit, he walked past Alpha as he gave her one final nod of approval, as a hint of excitement began to pile up in his chest. The fight with Den Mother will definitely be more exciting.