The Primal Hunter Chapter 1224 - Distraction, Consolidation & Enlightenment

Jake paused, needing a moment to digest that revelation. Back then, the multiverse’s most dominant faction was represented by a species Jake didn’t even recognize. Even more baffling was the high probability that this individual was enlightened; Villy had a known history of disliking the enlightened back in those days, yet here he was, engaged in a partnership with one.

“Termination of our agreement is unnecessary, provided you uphold your oaths and our cooperation remains mutually advantageous,” the peculiar mechanical man replied.

“See, that’s exactly why I enjoy your company. You’re easy to deal with and remarkably blunt about your objectives, without getting bogged down in useless sentimentality,” the future Primordial remarked with a chuckle and a shake of his head.

“Now, it’s probably best if we depart from this location sooner rather than later.”

“Indubitably,” the mechanical man agreed with a nod. “The alliance has undoubtedly dispatched a team to investigate, and the Golden Road Emporium is unlikely to swallow this loss; they will demand restitution if we are identified as the perpetrators.”

“Precisely,” the Viper agreed. “I take it you brought one of those devices?”

The individual belonging to the universe's allegedly most powerful race extended his hand again. The liquid metal shifted, forming a nine-fingered hand clutching a strange apparatus. Without a word, he cast the device away, and moments later, the fabric of space fractured, creating what appeared to be a rift in reality.

“After you,” the Viper suggested playfully.

“There is no profit to be gained from betraying you,” the man noted, glancing at the dragon.

“Oh, I’m aware. Regardless, you go first,” the Viper insisted.

Choosing not to argue the point, the mechanical man simply nodded and stepped into the spatial rift. The Viper grinned as he moved toward the opening, but just before crossing the threshold, he retrieved an object from his spatial storage and dropped it toward the barren world below.

With a devious smirk, he followed the mechanical man, and both vanished to parts unknown. Jake couldn't quite identify what the Viper had left behind, only that it resembled a strange metallic sheet. He attempted to investigate further, but the moment the Viper passed through the portal, the link to his Patron’s past self snapped, and the vision began to fade rapidly.

Jake prepared himself for the transition. As the Path of the Heretic-Chosen concluded, so would the system-provided mental shielding that had kept him focused. While he had successfully integrated many of the concepts saturating his form, the process wasn't complete. He needed to fully stabilize his state before he could safely withdraw his consciousness and return to reality.

Only one final step remained for his plans to succeed, potentially yielding a result even greater than his initial expectations. That final step was far from simple, however. With a focused mind, the vision dissolved, and his consciousness returned to his body.

--

“You told me to stay put, but where did he go—” Artemis was saying, her tone bordering on panic. As a Godqueen, she hadn't been able to fully track how Jake had vanished from the room.

Suddenly, Jake reappeared. His return was accompanied by a powerful surge of the Malefic Viper’s aura, which blended with the faint divine presence emanating from Jake’s improved Meditate skill.

Artemis had a mountain of questions, but she noticed something else before she could speak.

“His soul...”

“Yeah, looks like it worked,” the Malefic Viper noted with a proud nod, deciding to offer Artemis an explanation. “Quite a clever strategy, I have to admit. He intentionally shattered my temporary fixes to gain absolute access to the damaged skill. Combined with the massive influx of universal insights from all those concepts, he utilized that unique skill of his while focusing on Palate. He replaced the Records lost when the skill first broke and even managed to acquire a few more.”

“I don’t fully grasp what Jake did, but based on that summary, it sounds incredibly reckless. It could have failed in a dozen different ways,” Artemis remarked, sounding exhausted.

“Oh, absolutely. I’m honestly impressed it went this smoothly, but you have to give him credit. This is Jake’s standard operating procedure: total risk for total reward,” the Malefic Viper chuckled.

“True...” Artemis sighed, unable to dispute that. “Let's just hope he can pull it all together and wake up.”

“He will,” the Viper nodded. “Man, it would be hilarious if he somehow tripped at the finish—”

Artemis shot the Viper a glare that silenced even the Primordial. He raised his hands defensively. “As I was saying, I’m sure he’ll be back in a moment.”

--

Jake’s consciousness returned to the strange realm he had accessed via his Truesoul. He felt a faint connection to his physical form, but his priority remained maintaining his mental integrity.

By instinct, he immediately backed away from the massive, fractured gate. Increasing the distance reduced his exposure to the leaking concepts, allowing him the mental space to organize his thoughts.

Fortunately, the vision had served its purpose. Most of the concepts that had flooded his mind were either integrated during the experience or discarded into the void.

Stray thoughts still drifted through his head; for some reason, he now possessed a profound understanding of why water was wet and fire was hot, along with various other trivial and useless insights.

Seating himself within this meditative realm, Jake focused on achieving total calm, working to either absorb or flush out the remaining concepts. After a while, he realized total clarity was impossible because of the gate's persistent leakage.

Every time he cleared one thought, another took its place. This wasn't strictly a negative—it was exactly what he wanted from the skill upgrade—but Jake had hoped for a bit more control over the flow.

He could only imagine the horror of being in this realm without the gate acting as a barrier. His mind would have been drowned in high-level concepts, erasing his identity instantly. Even now, the remnants of that danger lingered.

To understand higher concepts, one had to merge with the world, but that carried the risk of losing one's self to nature. It was deep philosophical territory, but in typical Jake style, he chose not to overthink it. This brief brush with the infinite made it clear how he wanted to handle future insights.

Jake wasn't the type to spend centuries in silent contemplation seeking profound truths. He wasn't a monk from the Dao Sect. While he expected to have long meditation sessions in the future, he would always trust his instincts over philosophy.

Progress was slow but steady, and Jake realized it would simply take time to process the remaining concepts. Since he wasn't actively trying to contemplate them, he decided to distract himself to make the time pass faster.

It was time to inspect the new Palate of the Malefic Viper upgrade.

Jake pulled up the description, reading it carefully and comparing it to the previous version.

[Palate of the Malefic Viper (Mythical)]: The Malefic Viper has spent eternity refining his Path by consuming countless toxins, treasures, and the very laws of the multiverse. Similarly, the Alchemist of the Malefic Viper can ingest toxins and beneficial alchemical materials to discern their properties and effects, while gaining increased benefits from all consumed potions. Natural treasures are swallowed and refined rapidly using your current Touch of the Malefic Viper (Legendary). Non-toxic items are still refined, though at a reduced speed. This allows you to learn the traits of any treasure within your stomach during the refinement process. The Alchemist can choose to fully consume a swallowed object, destroying it if possible. If an item is indestructible or its destruction is too volatile, the Alchemist may suffer a backlash and damage to the internal space. Furthermore, the alchemist can ingest environmental energies and concepts to fill his internal stomach, allowing him to manipulate the internal environment. Swallowed objects will gradually absorb compatible Records and concepts within the internal space, facilitating their improvement or evolution. Ingested concepts and energies will be absorbed or dissipate over time. Grants immunity or high resistance to most poisons. Passively grants 9 Endurance per level in Heretic-Chosen Alchemist of the Malefic Viper (C-grade variant). Through perpetual consumption, let your power grow; through gluttony, let your Records and wisdom expand as you consume the world.

The changes were extensive, which made sense given the jump in rarity. The flavor text was more refined, and the description remained one of the longest in his status. Jake didn't mind; complexity usually meant more utility. He focused his attention on the functional changes.

The most significant addition was the ability to swallow energies and concepts, mirroring the Malefic Viper’s own power. Jake wasn't at the level of draining planets yet, but he could certainly become a major threat.

He felt that if he pushed himself, he could now achieve something previously impossible: the creation of desolation. It was a daunting thought, one he intended to test in a controlled setting later.

As a side note, he realized he couldn't consume the concepts in this specific golden gate realm, as he wasn't physically present. It was a mental projection—complicated stuff.

Furthermore, instinctive knowledge told him this upgrade provided more than just the ability to fill his internal stomach with concepts. It gave him superior control over that internal space, allowing him to filter and purify what he took in.

In this regard, Jake might actually surpass the Viper thanks to his arcane affinity. His arcane energy could be made completely inert, allowing him to isolate and stabilize specific elements with extreme precision. Conversely, he could introduce the destructive version of his arcane affinity to wipe out anything he didn't want.

This increased control was vital because of another massive change: the one-item limit was gone.

The internal stomach had expanded significantly in both size and power. Jake could now hold more potent treasures, and more of them simultaneously—within reason. Instead of a numerical limit, it felt like a capacity limit based on the total energy of the items.

He could swallow a literal lake of common herbs if he wanted, but he still couldn't stomach something excessively powerful, even as a single item.

Regarding powerful items... the reason he still felt a bit "full" was the object he had swallowed previously. Jake had originally broken his Palate skill by trying to ingest half of a desolation-tainted World Core.

He had worried that fixing the skill wouldn't solve the problem of the core, but he was relieved to find he was wrong. He had been far too weak to handle it before, but now? Now, he was fully capable of refining and absorbing it.

It was a good thing he had pushed for the mythical upgrade; a lower tier might not have been enough to handle that core.

There were more layers to the upgrade. The description mentioned that absorbed items could now evolve. This was a game-changer. Jake could eat a low-rarity item and, by tailoring the internal environment, guide its evolution into something far more powerful.

The potential for future growth was staggering, even if the immediate benefits weren't all apparent. Of course, all the existing perks were buffed too—his poison analysis was sharper, and his potions were more effective.

Comparing the versions again, he noticed a subtle change in wording. The old skill said he "would" suffer backlash and damage if he failed to consume a treasure. The new version said he "may." That single word change was a testament to the newfound durability of his internal stomach.

Jake looked forward to testing the limits of what he could eat, but that was a task for another day. It was time to leave this place. Refocusing on his soul-form, he saw that the lingering concepts had mostly cleared.

The distraction had worked; his mind was sharp and clear. Taking a deep breath, he looked at the massive gate one last time, consolidating his practice and insights. Power radiated from him as everything clicked into place.

As the energy enveloped him and he resonated with the golden gate and the realm, he saw a movement. In his peripheral vision, several golden pages drifted through the void, fluttering with echoes of ancient power. Jake smiled faintly, offering a silent word of thanks before closing his eyes, ready to wake up in the real world.