The Primal Hunter

Jake woke up in his new huge mansion bed after a well-deserved rest. He had taken a nap to rejuvenate himself and felt thankful that was still an option. Jake had learned some races didn’t know how to sleep and never became able to, no matter if they gained human form or not. He was grateful that at least he would never lose his ability to, only the need for sleep. Sleeping was nice.

Sitting up in the bed, he saw he had slept only three or so hours. He stretched a bit before he got up and headed to the library to finally figure out what the hell a Soulflame was. He had already checked the Viper’s drop of blood using Sagacity and found nothing, and the crystal he gained from the lesson didn’t include a description either.

He would also leave Meira alone for her task, so he went to find the books himself. Not that he would necessarily have asked her either way. Jake was a big boy who could go to the library all by himself.

The library was huge and naturally came pre-stocked with books. All of them centered around D-grade alchemy and general knowledge. In the middle was a large tome that served as an index of sorts, and Jake went over and opened it. A projection of a list appeared, and with mental commands, Jake searched for the name Soulflame.

It returned a few thousand results, so Jake tried with something more precise.

He narrowed it down a few more times until he finally found a book just called: Soulflames! Beware!

It was a picture book. For children.

Perfection.

Jake quickly tracked it down as he took it out from the shelf, and it truly was a colorful picture book. It had a picture of a flame on the cover with two small, scaled children, staring at it. Jake couldn’t wait as he opened it and began reading it. Well, reading was a strong word as it was light on text and heavy on colorful pictures.

He skimmed it for fun but quickly found it wasn’t what he had hoped for. It was more a warning than a guide on Soulflames for children not to absorb any. So, by context clues, now Jake at least knew Soulflames were something you absorbed.,

Deciding to not mess around anymore, Jake went and actually found a real book on the subject. This one had the far more normal name: Locating, Identifying & Understanding Soulflames For Beginners.

Could he have just asked Villy? Sure, but he had an entire library to himself, so why not make use of it? The library also came with comfortable armchairs, so Jake found one and took a seat as he started reading.

So… Soulflames.

Soulflames were not some skill rank or something you ”made”; instead, it was something you found. Soulflames were a special kind of natural treasure found throughout the multiverse, but they were scarce and often quite dangerous and incredibly difficult to find due to appearing in dangerous places.

A Soulflame formed when an environment reached a certain threshold, and an elemental was about to be born and awaken spirituality, but somehow it failed and turned into a Soulflame instead. It was just not truly a living object, but somehow it managed to retain a fragment of a Truesoul from what Jake gathered, making it a potent item.

This meant a Soulflame did have partial properties of living beings. It did not have levels, but it could grow independent of anyone or anything else. It was not in the same vein that other items grew either. Items just grew with time and absorbed atmospheric mana while being compatible for upgrades, but a Soulflame needed to ”learn” and upgrade itself. Because while a Soulflame did not live, it did have instincts that landed somewhere between a natural treasure with innate defensive abilities and a truly living thing.

These rare flames were incredibly valuable due to their special natures and something most alchemists desired, but it wasn’t as simple as finding one. Firstly, Soulflames had rarities, and while they could be upgraded, it was difficult. The only way to upgrade a Soulflame was to have it absorb similar Soulflames in order to ”learn” from them, as mentioned earlier.

So even if one got a common rarity Soulflame, it wasn’t necessarily good. In fact, Soulflames below rare were often not viewed as anything worth ever absorbing. These flames should instead be used as fuel for other Soulflames.

Then there was the issue of also needing a compatible Soulflame. Soulflames came in all shapes, sizes, affinities, and with innate concepts. Jake would not be able to absorb a Soulflame of pure light magic, and while he could absorb a Soulflame of the water affinity, it would probably ”nerf” him and his current Alchemical Flame as he would get a flame he wasn’t good at using and didn’t truly fit him.

Alchemists had found ways of absorbing these Soulflames and making them a part of themselves by integrating them into their Truesouls, like they were Soulbound items. This process also integrated the Soulflame with their Alchemical Flame and effectively permanently merged the two. Big focus on the word permanently because once a Soulflame and an Alchemical Flame were merged, it was viewed as permanent. The book did mention methods of undoing it and unbinding a Soulflame existed but also emphasized it would come with severe consequences.

So you shouldn’t just merge with a Soulflame haphazardly. If Jake merged with a common rarity one now, it would downgrade the rarity of his Alchemical Flame to common, and based on the nature of the Soulflame, potentially make his Alchemical Flame skill useless for what Jake currently used it for.

This did mean many alchemists never got a Soulflame. Soulflames weren’t necessary, even if they were good to have, and an alchemist with a Soulflame and one without at a similar rarity and level would be unequal. However, it was far easier just to upgrade your own Alchemical Flame to higher rarities and far easier to have one suited to you if you never absorbed a Soulflame.

To put it simply, a Soulflame was absorbing a natural treasure that merged with Alchemical Flame, adding another layer of difficulty to the upgrade process while ”locking in” the nature of the flame semi-permanently. This did result in a better flame – assuming you got one suited to you, that is.

However, he did discover one thing… getting an Arcane Soulflame was not going to happen. Transmuting one was not possible due to their state as semi-living entities. Giving birth to one, while theoretically possible, would likely take Jake thousands of years and way more resources than it was worth. And that was from an optimistic viewpoint.

So, anyway. Now that Jake had an idea what a Soulflame was, the next question was obvious.

How did he get one? And should he even get one?

To the surprise of absolutely no one, the easiest way to obtain a Soulflame was to just buy one. Alchemists had devised methods of trapping Soulflames and sealing them for later sale, but even that process was difficult.

As the Soulflame had innate spirituality, it would struggle. It would try to destroy whatever sealed it, and often its power was not to be underestimated. Jake even read many examples of people dying to Soulflames that they tried to capture. The only thing more dangerous than capturing a Soulflame was to try and merge with it.

When the dragon teacher had mentioned the risk of scorching one’s Soulspace, it was not a joke or an exaggeration. It was a common occurrence that people who had spent obscene amounts of money on a Soulflame would find themselves killed or crippled in the process of absorbing them. The book Jake had found did not touch on any absorption methods but did warn one against attempting without a solid plan.

The question of if he should get one was also tricky and one he couldn’t truly answer. It was the kind of thing Jake would only know if he ever came across one, and when that happened… well, he would follow his intuition.

Albaromoz Emberflight returned from holding his first lesson in quite a while as he instantly took out a token and sent a message towards an Elder of the Dragonflight. The information he included resulted in an instantaneous answer as he was granted an audience immediately. However, not with the one he expected…

He headed to the teleportation hub as he went towards the territory of the local Emberflight Clan. The Emberflight Clan was a Dragonflight consistent of thousands of branches spread throughout the multiverse in many different sectors and planets. They had naturally also chosen to have a presence on Primordial-4 due to the vicinity of the Order of the Malefic Viper. Also, the fact it was a Great Planet just made it a natural space to set up a branch.

The Emberflight Clan was a Dragonflight that specialized in the concept of fire but also alchemy. The Order was a great place to send their young and for them to learn methods not taught anywhere else. In fact, the Dragonflight currently had well-over ten thousand of their young geniuses attending, and many higher-leveled beings like himself also make use of the Order.

Albaromoz teleported a few more times before he went towards the Firebound Peak, home of the local branch leader. It was a Grand Elder of the Emberflight Clan that had stepped into the realms of divinity dozens of Eras ago.

Flying towards the mountain, he felt the pressure from the flames that burned at the top. It pierced the sky like a pillar of the world, extending an impossible distance. The heat emanating from the Peak halfway up would be enough to kill a C-grade, and the chamber of the Grand Elder was something Albaromoz as an A-grade couldn’t handle easily.

When he reached the Peak, he found himself before a giant golden gate leading into it. He kneeled before it as it swung open, inviting him in. This was only his second time there, with the first time being when he had been granted his Soulflame by the Grand Elder herself. It was a Soulflame nurtured by their clan only granted to elites, and Albaromoz had gained his shortly after reaching A-grade.

Through the golden gate, he entered a massive hall of gold with countless precious treasures scattered throughout. A single pillar of the hall would rival the wealth of most A-grades, and the treasures scattered haphazardly would be able to create wars in even A-grade empires.

It was truly a wonderous Dragon Cave, far better than Albaromoz’s own.

”Child of Emberflight,” a voice echoed as Albaromoz felt the pressure, and he instantly kneeled. A being appeared before him as he purposefully bowed even deeper.

”Patron Fireplume,” Albaromoz spoke in reverence. Yes, the Grand Elder was not only his benefacter and leader of the local branch but also his Patron. He looked up and saw the horned woman, wearing a deep red dress that looked to be burning as she stood in the middle of the hall and regarded him.

”This knowledge you bring is not to be taken lightly… are you certain?” her ethereal voice echoed throughout the hall. Albaromoz felt the barriers fully up as their conversation was fully sealed from the outside world.

”I would not deign to use the word certain, but I do hold enough confidence to request an audience just on the chance I am correct. The ambient mana surrounding him was fresh, not from here. His knowledge seemed surface-level at best, even if he had deep insights into certain elements. Additionally, he somehow possessed enough Academy Credits to attend my lesson, which means he must have a backer within the Order. He was the last one to sign up for the lesson, too, despite it being available for two years… and he signed up the day the new batch from the ninety-third universe finished the entry-dungeon. He had the blessing of the Malefic One and was able to hide from my Identify effortlessly. What he did feed me was purposeful… and I felt a presence that should not belong to one such as him,” Albaromoz explained.

”Elaborate.”

”The presence was… and pardon my disrespect, more powerful than Patron Fireplume’s, at least it felt as such. Yet he was no god as he possessed a blessing. Coupled with my belief, he is one of the newcomers from the new universe…”

Albaromoz had confidence in his theory. In fact, he was certain enough that he would bet his life on it.

His Patron naturally understood as she also answered in a serious voice. One that meant she also understood the gravity of the discovery.

A young human, likely only D-grade at best, able to hide his identity and remain unperturbed beneath the presence of an A-grade. One who could leak a presence more powerful than a god while also holding a blessing from one, meaning he wasn’t a god himself. One with deep insights into certain elements of something while only having surface-level elsewhere. Newly integrated… the conclusion was obvious to Albaromoz and his Patron.

”It’s a Bloodline Patriarch.”

The conclusion was obvious. A transcendence was also theoretically possible, but passive transcendences were beyond rare. No, a Bloodline made far more sense.

Bloodlines appearing far more in new universes was a well-known fact. It was like the system had ”stored up” Bloodlines until the generation that would be integrated happened. They were also always Bloodline Patriarchs with entirely new Bloodlines as they came from a new universe. This was a golden opportunity, and Albaromoz knew it.

”However, he is already a member of the Order of the Malefic Viper,” Patron Fireplume said. ”Moreover, you failed to get his contact information. This is, of course, assuming you are correct. Something I have no way of discovering as he is hidden within the Order.”

”With permission, may I direct the young mistress to evaluate him during a lesson? If my theory is correct, he is bound to attend some of the introductory lessons, and including her as one of the scouts would allow us to see if he does indeed possess a Bloodline,” Albaromoz inquired.

The young mistress was a young talent of the clan who came from a prestigious line from the main clan headquarters. She also possessed the Bloodline of the main clan, making her an ideal candidate as those with Bloodlines could feel one another.

Patron Fireplume appeared in thought for a moment before she agreed. ”Very well, but keep me updated at every step. If it is truly as you say, he may have a pinnacle-level Bloodline. And whatever happens, do not cause issues within the Order or overstep any boundaries.”

That was a given, Albaromoz thought. He didn’t have a death wish.

”Less than a week,” Vilastromoz smiled in triumph.

”For it to be discovered he has a Bloodline… not that he is your Chosen,” Duskleaf protested.

”See, the key is in the details. We made a bet how long it would take till his secrets were discovered by a public faction, and I said less than a week, and you said more than a week. By all metrics, I win,” the Viper insisted.

”Fine, you win, congratulations, you are the best and most correct ever,” Duskleaf said sarcastically. ”Are you gonna do anything about it?”

”Why would I? Isn’t this just gonna make things more fun?” the Malefic Viper said with a big grin.