The Primal Hunter Chapter 1217 - Depths of the Unknown

Monitoring the thousand individuals who attended Jake’s seminar within the Order turned out to be far more fascinating than Vilas had anticipated. What began as a simple search for suspicious behavior inadvertently shifted into a case study on the psychological and spiritual effects of being exposed to Jake.

It was predictable that even if a mole existed among the students, they wouldn't act out so soon. Even without knowing they were under surveillance, the participants had been under intense scrutiny from various factions since the lesson ended. Some people were eager to network with them, while others were desperate to find out if Jake intended to teach again.

One particular rumor generated significant buzz: the possibility that the Chosen was looking for a disciple. It was a common practice for those reaching the peak of C-grade or entering B-grade to take on students—especially non-humans—as the act of passing down Records was a fundamental aspect of their Path.

Vilas leaned into these rumors, subtly fueling them through various channels. It provided the perfect smokescreen for his intrusive surveillance; everyone assumed the heightened interest was merely a byproduct of the lesson. To be fair, the Viper hadn't invented the rumor out of thin air. It originated from Jake’s own parting words, which had been widely discussed, where he mentioned the possibility of meeting some of the attendees again in the future.

Many interpreted this—perhaps with too much optimism—as a sign that Jake intended to mentor someone from the group. The Viper knew better, of course, but he thoroughly enjoyed watching the chaotic fallout of such speculation.

Furthermore, Jake remained completely oblivious to the stir he had caused, having not stepped foot outside his residence in years. He was far too consumed by the refinement of his Dragonsbane Poison to entertain the thought of a student. In truth, the Viper doubted Jake was even prepared for such a responsibility. At the very least, Vilas wanted to personally vet any potential candidate to ensure they could handle Jake’s incredibly "free-range" approach to instruction.

An unintended consequence of the spotlight on these students was the spreading knowledge regarding Jake’s Bloodline. While his unique presence was already a known factor, the interested parties now had a sample size of a thousand people who had experienced it in a concentrated setting.

The impact of Jake’s aura on these students was a mere fraction of what those close to him experienced, yet it was still significant. They hadn't suddenly become immune to the presence of deities, but they could now navigate the pressure of stronger peers in their own grade with ease. There were even subtle signs of increased mental fortitude against those of higher grades.

Observing these developments, Vilas pondered whether he should have his Chosen conduct regular sessions just to flare his aura and build the Order's collective resistance. It would undoubtedly strengthen the organization and sharpen the talented youth, but the Viper also realized that talking Jake into it would be a chore.

There was also the lingering question of whether providing this "resistance training" would negatively impact Jake. The concern wasn't for the students, but for the source itself.

By exposing others to his presence, Jake was essentially forging Records within them rooted in his Bloodline. It remained unclear whether Jake was actively imparting these Records or if he was simply acting as a catalyst for the students to generate them internally.

Jake wasn't exactly helping to clear up the mystery, either.

Witnessing Jake’s total exhaustion after the lesson, the Viper initially suspected a massive, unintended impartation of Records. Jake had been unnervingly drained for a near-peak C-grade. However, after a brief rest, he had bounced back to full strength. This quick recovery didn't align with the heavy toll of imparting Records, which usually required a grueling recuperation period.

This led the Viper to a different conclusion: it was entirely possible that Jake had managed to deplete his entire pool of mental energy in just a few hours simply by teaching a group of D-grades. The idea that socializing was so taxing for his Chosen was somewhat embarrassing, but the more Vilas analyzed the situation, the more plausible it became.

In the end, even if presence-training was proven to be risk-free, the Viper wouldn't force the issue. The recent lesson had been a special case, but generally, he preferred to let Jake follow his own whims.

Not that the Viper felt any pity for his Chosen; Jake had been incinerating high-level alchemical materials at an absurd pace, happily draining the resources of his "poor" Patron.

Still, the investment was finally bearing fruit. The Viper watched as Jake successfully brewed his first batch of Weak Dragonsbane Poison. As a bane poison, it was still rudimentary, but as a general toxin, it was flawless—especially considering it was crafted by a C-grade. Jake had also been clever with the design, tailoring the poison to attack the mana of the True Dragon he intended to hunt.

Finding a suitable target, however, was proving to be a headache. The Dragonflights didn't exactly have a surplus of disposable kin waiting to be slaughtered; they were fiercely protective. While the Viper could theoretically pressure them into providing a "villain" for Jake to kill, he knew Jake would reject such a staged hunt.

Jake wanted a True Dragon who was a genuine piece of work—someone he would want to kill regardless of their species. Finding a target that was neither too strong nor too weak had taken over three years. A few candidates had appeared, but none were quite right. Even the promising ones usually ran into complications.

There had been a member of the Darkflight who, driven by insecurity, murdered his maturing C-grade younger brother before the sibling could evolve into a True Dragon. The killer was weak and knew his brother would eventually outshine him. He tried to cover his tracks by killing several other hatchlings, which led to his arrest. Before Vilas could even finish his evaluation, the mother of one of the victims took matters into her own hands and ended the dragon’s life.

Another option was an Emberflight True Dragon with a pathological obsession with fire. He had been leaving a trail of ash across the world, and by the time the Emberflight intervened, he had fallen into a mindless state of aggression, attacking anything that moved. He was easily captured, but his kin found they couldn't cure his condition, leaving them at a loss.

On paper, this looked like the perfect prey: a rabid dragon that needed to be put down, which the Emberflight themselves were hesitant to kill. It was a perfect opening for an outsider to step in.

However, the Viper rejected this candidate for a reason Jake would surely respect: the dragon was too pathetic.

Vilas’s investigation revealed that the dragon had lost all higher reasoning, becoming a mere beast of instinct. While a True Dragon’s raw magical power made it dangerous, the lack of tactical intelligence made it a hollow shell. Even the Wildflight, who prioritized physical dominance, avoided techniques that compromised their minds. Precise control over mana was essential for a true challenge; for Jake to kill a dragon lacking that would feel like a hollow victory. Thus, the Viper kept searching, maintaining his strict criteria.

As time slipped by, Jake focused on perfecting his bane poison while spending increasingly long sessions in meditation. It was no secret that Vilas was far more interested in Jake’s meditative progress than his alchemy. Still, the Viper avoided over-analyzing it, hoping to be genuinely surprised by whatever breakthrough Jake achieved.

If Jake managed to grasp the true essence of Meditate while still in C-grade, it would be unprecedented. The Viper wasn't even sure it was possible, as he had never witnessed such a feat, which only added to his anticipation.

While juggling his own projects and keeping an eye on Jake, the Viper continued to filter through reports of True Dragons. Most were discarded immediately, but one report that day caught his eye, causing him to raise an eyebrow in curiosity.

--

Jake hovered in the air, the massive tome gifted by the First Sage suspended before him. He studied the text over and over, letting the ancient wisdom flow through his mind and project into his Soulspace as a swirl of abstract shapes and shifting imagery.

Though he felt he had memorized every word in the book three times over, certain nuances remained slippery. He was confident in his grasp of the basics, but the deeper truths seemed to dance just out of reach.

What he knew for certain was that the Meditate skill was designed to strengthen the bond with one’s Truesoul to accelerate the recovery of resources. This was the skill's primary function and the reason it was hailed as the premier recovery technique in the multiverse.

The only thing that could compete with it was natural sleep. Over the past few years, Jake had become convinced that this was no accident.

Regardless of the First Sage’s genius, he required a foundation. As a human born before the System, he would have spent a significant portion of his life sleeping. After the System’s arrival, the Viper’s mentor would have undoubtedly recognized the potent restorative properties of rest.

Jake suspected that the Meditate skill was partially modeled after the mechanics of sleep. In the pre-System era, sleep was a vital biological process that managed a myriad of functions Jake wasn't qualified to explain. He simply knew that almost all living creatures required it, and the lack of it led to disaster.

Under the System, sleep was no longer a biological necessity, yet the ability remained for those who chose to use it. Jake was aware that beings like the Forest King or Vesperia were incapable of sleep; while some rare entities could learn the habit through great effort, those two likely never would.

Jake had often wondered why the System allowed such a seemingly overpowered ability to persist for those who didn't need it. Through the insights of the tome, he began to understand the "why" and "how" behind the mechanics of both sleep and meditation.

He had been puzzled by how Meditate functioned. Every other active skill, even something as simple as Identify, required a resource to activate. They all carried a cost. Meditate seemed to be the anomaly, providing a net gain in resources instead of a loss.

But that wasn't quite right. Meditate did have a cost, though it wasn't a traditional one. Every version of the skill—even the specialized variants used by the Sword Saint—demanded a specific sacrifice:

The user’s external senses.

Jake realized that Meditate was an ingenious way of redistributing the soul’s focus. By shutting down external perception, the System redirected those "processing" resources toward the Truesoul’s passive regeneration, supercharging it. This was all managed by the System in a way that was hidden by the very act of using the skill.

Sleeping took this a step further by extinguishing consciousness itself. The price was total vulnerability and lack of awareness, and the reward was even faster recovery. Meditation was the middle ground between being fully awake and being dead to the world.

While he couldn't prove it, Jake was certain of this theory, and the First Sage’s records seemed to support him. With this understanding, he felt he could evolve his Meditate skill into something far more potent by leaning into this redistribution—especially since Meditate had one advantage over sleep:

It was an official System skill.

Sleep itself wasn't a skill. While sleep-related skills like Vampiric Slumber existed to put users into stasis, they proved that the System could enhance the basic act of resting. When the System turned an action into a skill, it meant the System was providing a "subsidy," allowing for greater returns at the same cost. Jake’s Serene Soul Meditation utilized the System to help him maintain mental calm. There was likely a small trade-off in regeneration speed, but Jake knew he was getting a bargain compared to doing it manually.

If Jake merely wanted a superior recovery skill that also healed his soul, he could have created it then and there. But he wasn't looking for a better battery; he wanted something more profound.

According to the First Sage’s Legacy, there was a deeper layer. A hidden meaning within the act of meditation that Jake hadn't grasped yet—something that went beyond resource recovery or even the individual soul.

That day, as he drifted within his Soulspace, Jake felt the breakthrough was imminent. It felt as though he was channeling the very Records of the tome, his understanding sharpening to a razor edge. It might have been the delirium of years of study, but his resolve was unshakable.

Closing his eyes within his mind, Jake concentrated on the rhythm of meditation and the flow of Records from the book. His breathing slowed. In the physical world, his body became a statue of relaxation.

He pushed deeper into the skill than ever before, trying to strip away everything until only the core of the skill remained. And then… he felt it. A sudden realization hit him. His instincts flared, and he lunged toward the epiphany without a second thought. Everything finally clicked.

The Tome of the First Sage reacted, emitting a soft radiance. Its pages tore themselves free, dissolving into rivers of pure Records that surged into Jake. He was oblivious to the phenomenon. In fact, he was becoming oblivious to everything.

His awareness of his Soulspace dissolved. His sensory sphere retracted until it vanished. He lost the feeling of his limbs. He severed every tie to the outside world, diving into the deepest recesses of his being.

Soon, the only evidence of his life was the steady rhythm of his breath. Then, even that ceased. Jake sat in a profound, absolute stillness. His mind was a void, his senses were dark, and even his Bloodline went quiet as it followed him into the abyss. He had reached a state far beyond any known meditation or the deepest slumber. What remained of Jake’s consciousness drifted toward his Truesoul—the supposed core of existence—and then pushed even further. Guided by the Records of the First Sage and his own primal instincts, Jake ventured into a depth that perhaps no C-grade had ever touched.