The Primal Hunter

Jake and company finally stepped out of the thirty-fourth floor after what to him felt like weeks. In reality, it had not even been a week, but the entire ordeal had been quite mentally taxing.

Once more, they found themselves in the in-between room designed by Minaga, and Jake was more than happy with taking a breather and at least spending a few hours fully recovering. He wasn’t the only one, either.

The Fallen King was also tired after killing the Guard Captain. At least, Jake thought that was the reason.

“How could I not be tired after acting like I am beneath a lesser creature for so long? For a rightful King to act subservient to a mere Guard Captain… you cannot even begin to imagine the sacrifices I made,”the Fallen King said with disgust.

“Oh woe is you,” Jake grumbled. “I had to try and seduce some half-demon lady who wanted to sacrifice me in a demonic ritual.”

“You complain as if humans do not tend to enjoy such things. The swordsman does not seem bothered despite doing far more than you,” the Fallen King shot back.

“Don’t bring him into this,” Jake shook his head as he stared at the Sword Saint. “That old geezer is just… let’s change the damn topic already.”

“I do agree with that assessment. We all did our jobs, and we managed to complete the floor in a satisfactory fashion if I say so myself,” the old man in question smiled.

“Yeah…” Dina nodded. “Sylphie and I were the only ones who didn’t really contribute much…”

“Ree!” Sylphie complained.

“I see… you also made sacrifices,” Jake said in a serious nod as he scratched her feathers.

Sylphie had perhaps sacrificed the most out of them all… she had allowed the Second Mistress to pat her head. Once. In a ruse to get close to the woman.

It had worked… but at what cost?

As they were feeling sorry for themselves, they got the system messages after having completed the floor.

Thirty-fourth floor completed. 340 Nevermore Points earned.

Achievement earned: Complete the thirty-fourth floor without any guards, Courtesans, or other innocent patrons finding out anything is amiss. 500 Nevermore Points earned.

Achievement earned: Complete the thirty-fourth floor while not killing a single Mistress. 200 Nevermore Points earned.

Achievement earned: Complete the thirty-fourth floor while turning all Mistresses into allies. 400 Nevermore Points earned.

Achievement earned: Complete the thirty-fourth floor in less than a week (7 days). 350 Nevermore Points earned.

”That is a lot of achievements. Coupled with the one we got on the floor and the one for completing the bonus objective, this may be the best one yet, points-wise,” Jake said with a nod.

“Yet it is not something I would wish to experience once more,” the Fallen King voiced his thoughts.

“Oh yeah, fuck that,” Jake wholeheartedly agreed. Dina also didn’t seem like a fan, with Sylphie also not having enjoyed it. Only the Sword Saint silently muttered how it wasn’t that bad.

As they stood there, someone they had not heard from for a while also made his reappearance.

“You know how you sometimes have a concept you thought could be fun, and then decide to expand on it and build something, only to end up with an experience you aren’t quite sure about and ultimately kind of regret having made, but hey, you have spent so much time on it, so the sunk-cost-fallacy sets in hard, and you decide to just say “fuck it” and decide to use it anyway? Yeah, that’s the thirty-fourth floor for me. Granted, it isn’t downright horrible, but I think I tried a bit too many things… ninety-five percent of which you missed,” Minaga said.

“Welcome back,” Jake said with a smile. “Amazed you managed to shut up for nearly that entire dungeon floor.”

“I apologize. I was too busy trying not to die from embarrassment watching you.”

“Ouch… but fair,” Jake shrugged. “Anyway, since we are taking a break here… what did we miss?”

“I am not staying to listen to this,” the Fallen King said dismissively as he floated out of the lounge and entered one of the bedrooms to meditate.

“What a downer… but super glad you asked! You see, I wanted to make a floor where the socialites had a real shot, and I also decided to make it more fun by adding another concept… plot twists. Like… a lot of plot twists. You see, the Mistresses, Prime Consort, Guard Captain, and pretty much every major character have different paths that you can take them down, and they will even change based on what happens. The Second Mistress could have had several personalities as an example based on what you did. If you managed to find out her real identity – spoiler, she was a princess of the kingdom destroyed by the Demon Lord – she would offer a lot more dialogue. She would even open up a method to turn all the Mistresses and the Demonic Cult to once more be faithful to the kingdom, shunning the Demon Lord. This one would have given a lot of Nevermore Points, and I only feel comfortable sharing it because it would have required you to have worked with the friendlies on prior floors.”

“Say, how many methods would there be to turn the Demon Lord into an ally?” Jake asked.

“None set by me.”

“Really?” Jake questioned, finding it hard to believe.

“See, people sometimes think they would like a story going in a certain direction that actually sucks. The Demon Lord is set up as a boss, not as a potential ally, and there has been way too much build-up for it all to just result in a small conversation and an amicable solution. That would suck for sure.”

“How are you sure it would suck?”

“Because I say it would, duh,”Minaga said unapologetically. “I am the expert here, after all.”

“Fair, fair,” Jake grinned. “I assume you are not going to answer any questions related to the thirty-fifth floor?”

“Nope, that is for you to experience; no spoilers from me! Outside of the spoilers, I do decide to give, of course.”

“How shameless,” Jake chuckled.

“Alright, alright, one freebie. If you plan on doing what I think you plan on doing… I would open the lockbox that the thirty-fourth floor rewarded,” Minaga said in a hinting voice.

“Oh yeah, that is a thing,” Jake was reminded. Even Sylphie seemed to have forgotten, proving they were all a bit off their game after that damn harem floor.

Sylphie did her job and flew over and poked the lockbox on the elevated platform with her talon. It instantly opened and out floated five stone coins. Stone coins with the face of Minaga printed on both sides, a goofy smile on one and a fake horrified look on the other. Jake stared as he used Identify on one of them.

[Minaga’s Best Nevermore Escape Talisman (Unique)] – This is quite literally the best escape talisman Nevermore offers, and I am only giving it out because the people who earned it are pretty darn good at what they do. Just break it, and poof, you go right back to the last rest floor you visited. I know you might be questioning if it is really that simple? Is there really no point penalty? And you go to the rest floor and not city floor? Or any other punishment? Well, question no more, for it is indeed that awesome! Oh, but don’t bring it out of Nevermore, or I’ll take it back. Also, the talisman is single-use, which in retrospect should be pretty obvious considering you need to break the talisman to use it.

Staring at the “description,” Jake failed to hold himself back.

“Is this seriously an item?” Jake questioned.

“Oh, do you have any issues understanding what it does?” Minaga questioned, sounding annoyingly genuine.

“No, I am questioning why the hell the description sounds like you are describing the item to me in your usual tone. It doesn’t read like an item description,” Jake semi-complained.

“Because I made it, including the description? If you understand what it does, why are you complaining?”

“I wouldn’t say I am complaining… just questioning…” Jake said a bit defensively.

“Well, let me help you by not hurting your dear sensibilities.”

One of the talismans flashed out of existence, only to be replaced by one that was the same size but had nothing printed on it besides a basic-looking magical circle. Jake used Identify again.

[Incredibly Boring Nevermore Escape Talisman (Unique)] – An Escape Talisman. Crush = teleport to the latest rest floor. Can’t be brought out of Nevermore. One use.Requirement: Jake Thayne

“Is that better? Or do you want me to simplify it even more? I am sure I could find a fluff word to remove somewhere,” Minaga said with quite a bit of snark.

Jake looked at the talisman and sighed. “I liked the original version more.”

With another flash, the original talisman reappeared. “See, you never know you’ll miss something before it is taken away.”

“Truly wise words,” Jake said as he went over and took one of the talismans. All the others followed suit, with the last one left floating there for the Fallen King. He could pick it up when he returned from resting.

If Jake and the others would actually need these talismans, Jake didn’t know, but he did know that he wanted the “original” version. Because if they didn’t need them, they could at least sell or trade them, while the “special” talisman was effectively Soulbound to Jake. It couldn’t even be a nice collectible as it couldn’t be brought out.

“I guess you can all imagine why you get these Talismans… let’s just say the Demon Lord can be quite a boss if you want him to be! So if you are at risk of dying, just crush the talismans, and you will be brought back to this room right here instantly. A real lifesaver. Ah, but do note you will not be able to renter the thirty-fifth floor before your party is done in there if you do so, and if they pass the floor, the gate here will be replaced with one leading to the city layer after the thirty-fifth.”

Jake listened to Minaga as he considered for a moment. Did he even want this talisman? If he had it, wouldn’t the upcoming fight be less exciting if he knew, in the back of his mind, he had an escape at any moment? Maybe he should just-

“Don’t even think about it,” a voice suddenly said in his head.

Jake turned and saw the Sword Saint looking at him with a judging look.

“Think about what?” Jake responded telepathically. Mind you, this conversation was not through the golden mark but directly between just the two of them.

“Handing off that escape talisman to someone else. I know you are thinking about it. You may not want it because you believe it will cheapen the fight, but discard such selfish thoughts,”the Sword Saint said.

“Selfish? Sure, it is selfish, but we are all the owners of our own lives. Besides, I don’t plan on dying,”Jake answered nonchalantly.

“Nobody expects to die until the moment they do. Have you considered the consequences of your demise? How it will affect Sylphie? Not to mention whatever effects it may have on the Fallen King and his existence or the fate of Earth should you go and die. I cannot tell you how to live your life, but I can tell you that as long as we are in the same party, you will keep that talisman,” the Sword Saint said in a stern tone.

“Or what?” Jake said defensively.

“Or we will have to part ways and find separate parties. If you choose to use the talisman or not is up to you, but you are to, at the very least, keep it,” the old man kept insisting.

“What a weird hill to die on. Me keeping it, but not necessarily using it,” Jake scoffed internally.

“You may not agree or understand why, but just humor me in this and keep it,” the Sword Saint didn’t let up.

“Fine…” Jake gave up. While the Sword Saint was willing to die on that hill, Jake saw no reason to. In reality, he wasn’t that upset with keeping the token; he just never liked being told what to do. This token was also a lot different from something like Villy offering to resurrect him if he died or some automatically activating talisman that would save his life.

This one was optional. Jake had to use it himself. An option, if you will. Something that wasn’t different from normal as he always had the possibility of attempting to escape. Right now, he already had his impressive speed and One Step for usual situations, and of course, his Wings of the Malefic Viper – a skill with an option that was pretty much all about escaping a tricky situation.

“Think about how you would feel if Sylphie didn’t have the talisman and you saw her in mortal danger. It would plant an unnecessary seed of worry,” the Sword Saint finished off, clearly just wanting the last word. Jake just threw him a glance, not bothering to keep the discussion going more than necessary.

“So, Minaga… got some more interesting scenarios we missed on that last floor?” Jake asked out loud.

“What a silly question, of course I do! So, wanna hear about how the First Mistress actually has a crush on the Second Mistress, or maybe about how the Guard Captain can be manipulated into pursuing the Prime Consort romantically? That would have created some real hijinks. Wait! How can I forget about how…”

Jake just leaned back and relaxed while enjoying the local non-alcoholic drinks – he had enough alcohol for now – as he waited for everyone to feel ready to move on. Hearing Minaga talk was oddly relaxing, and Jake had a good time just sitting there at the bar.

In the end, they spent around ten hours on this in-between floor. While the majority of the time was used relaxing, they did also take the time to gather towards the end for something they had rarely needed on any of the prior floors: strategizing.

If Minaga was to be believed, then the Demon Lord would be far more difficult than any prior opponent they had faced in the dungeon. Especially considering their plan of purposefully powering him up with all three Secret Scrolls.

On that note… the Secret Scrolls were gone the moment they entered the in-between floor, but Minaga assured them that the items would reappear with them upon entering the thirty-fifth floor.

Either way, their plan was clear. If Jake was correct, and the old demon was, in fact, working for the Demon Lord, then handing off the Secret Scrolls to him would perhaps be an option. Assuming it would work, they still had the actual battle and their plans for that to discuss.

After they finished all their strategizing, they made sure everyone had everything they needed, and Jake even went as far as to craft a new batch of health potions for the group to make sure they had the best Jake could make.

Gathered in front of the gateway, with Sylphie on his shoulder and the party around him, Jake nodded. “Let’s go.”

“Good luck with the Demon Lord! I hope you all have a great time, and if you don’t, then you can only blame yourselves for not knowing what’s fun and what’s not. Oh yeah, and don’t die!”Minaga gave his encouraging parting words moments before their group entered the thirty-fifth floor.

It was Demon Lord time.