The Primal Hunter Chapter 1231 - Stalking One’s Prey

Jake observed from across the sprawling metropolis as the True Dragon lingered at her table for several moments before finally choosing to depart. He speculated whether she intended to track him down, but she simply retired to her suite within the resort. Despite the scowl on her face, she appeared completely unbothered by their previous confrontation.

One might argue that such a direct approach had been a gamble, yet Jake felt confident in his ability to flee if things turned sour. Fortunately, he only required a few activations of One Step and Unseen Hunter to vanish, aided significantly by the fact that she wasn't putting much effort into searching for him.

Nevertheless, he felt the risk was justified for several reasons. Primarily, despite the detailed presentation Villy had provided, he wanted to personally gauge her character. He had intentionally acted a bit provocative, and her immediate attempt to end his life was all the proof he required that she was truly a despicable person.

Furthermore, this brief brush allowed Jake to better estimate her power levels. Even while suppressing her strength, Yrelstromoz couldn't hide entirely from Jake’s senses. After feeling her aura, there was no longer any uncertainty in his mind.

She was undoubtedly the most formidable prey he had ever set his sights on.

Granted, she wasn't a warrior forged in the fires of constant battle. Granted, she was relatively young for a B-grade. Granted, she was viewed as having mediocre talent. Yet, she remained a True Dragon in every sense. Her single attempt to strike him down had solidified that reality.

Jake’s danger intuition had shrieked at him to evade the moment she unleashed her power. While he wasn't certain the attack would have been lethal enough to trigger Moment of the Primal Hunter, he suspected it was close. The fact that she could manifest such destructive force while maintaining her humanoid form—and while much of the skill's Records were dedicated to remaining inconspicuous—proved her magical talent was undeniable. It was exactly what one would expect from a dragon.

The third and final motivation for Jake’s personal visit was to initiate the hunt and give her fair warning. He wanted her to know he intended to slay her rather than just striking from the shadows, yet he had no desire to launch a formal challenge that would cost him the advantage of a surprise opening move.

Moreover, Jake suspected his initial strike might not be as decisive as he hoped, so he didn't want to rely solely on that first blow. It was highly probable that Yrelstromoz possessed some form of life-saving mechanism to mitigate his opening gambit. Based on the light research Jake had conducted during his final prep phase—which he intentionally kept brief—dragons who specialized in magic almost always had defensive skills to survive assassination attempts.

The Lumenflight was comprised of dragons who were magical experts even among a race of masters. While lineages like the Emberflight or Darkflight were more balanced with physical might, the Lumenflight leaned heavily into pure sorcery. Because of this, Jake was certain she had a trick up her sleeve.

During his preparation window, Jake had also forged every tool he deemed necessary for this mission. He had amassed a surplus of Dragonsbane Poison and a vast array of various potions, all freshly brewed to capitalize on the stat boosts from his Sacred Prodigy title.

Now, positioned several hundred kilometers away while tracking Yrelstromoz, he steeled himself for the impending clash. However, the timing wasn't right yet; he wanted to observe her a while longer. He hoped to glean more tactical information and also take advantage of one of his skills: Relentless Hunt. This allowed him to gradually accumulate Hunting Momentum even now, according to the skill's mechanics.

He noted that their short interaction had already triggered the skill. While the momentum built much slower than it would in active combat, the progress was steady and would provide a significant boost to his first attack.

Another reason for his patience was to gauge her natural resistance to debuffs. Upon his departure, Jake had placed a Hunter’s Mark on Yrelstromoz. This served two purposes: it confirmed he could mark a True Dragon without detection, and the duration it took for the mark to fade would reveal her inherent resistance to such effects.

A final factor making him hesitate to strike immediately was the setting. While Yrelstromoz and Villy seemingly had no qualms about wiping out population centers as collateral damage, Jake preferred to avoid it. He saw no reason for his hunt to claim the lives of countless innocent bystanders, especially in a resort designed for people just looking to relax.

He had a strategy in mind that he refined while waiting for the Mark to dissipate. During this time, Jake pondered the data on Yrelstromoz and their recent talk. From those factors alone, he had developed a clear picture of the True Dragon's personality.

She was a person born into extreme privilege but burdened by equally extreme expectations. Upon realizing she couldn't meet those standards, she didn't persevere or pivot; instead, she grew resentful of everyone. She began taking her frustrations out on the world, basking in her natural superiority as a True Dragon while caring for no one but herself.

Had she simply been a dragon who decided the Path of seeking power wasn't for her and chose a quiet life, Jake wouldn't have bothered her. He would have judged her choice as foolish, but he would have left her in peace.

But she had chosen to be a multiversal tyrant who found joy in tormenting those weaker than her. She was so narcissistic that she couldn't tolerate anyone outperforming her, a trait confirmed by their brief encounter. Yrelstromoz hadn't even hidden her rage as Jake continued to win the card game. The only reason she hadn't lashed out sooner was that she had already resolved to kill Jake within minutes of him joining the table.

There was a slight danger that her outburst could have caused collateral damage, but Jake gambled that she wouldn't. Not because of any empathy for the guests, but because a public scene would end her vacation and force her to relocate. Furthermore, she was supposed to be keeping a low profile; while she could hide a few quiet murders, widespread carnage was too conspicuous and easier to trace back to her specific magic.

As Jake sat with these thoughts, his eyes snapped open when he felt the Hunter’s Mark vanish. Simultaneously, a faint prickle of danger hit him, causing him to sit perfectly still and focus entirely on Unseen Hunter to remain hidden.

This was a prudent move, as a split-second later, a ghost-like wave of energy swept over him and the arcane mana barrier he used for concealment. He remained tense as several more pulses rippled through the air, until he finally saw Yrelstromoz frown and shake her head.

Seeing this, Jake finally exhaled and allowed himself a small grin. She had sensed the expiration of his Hunter’s Mark. He couldn't recall that ever happening before, which brought a smile to his face. Had he been worried that this hunt might be underwhelming since he was fighting a dragon who wasn't exactly at the top of her race? Yes, but now he knew it wouldn't be simple. After all, a True Dragon was an apex predator of the multiverse for a reason.

Jake continued his surveillance, unwilling to strike too soon after nearly being exposed and hoping she would provide an opening away from the crowds.

It was unfortunate he lacked any Void Spheres, but they were difficult to obtain. Learning to pull targets into the Shadow Realm would have been ideal as well, but that wasn't an option yet.

Roughly a day passed with him watching her; Yrelstromoz remained in her suite the entire time, doing nothing. Eventually, she grew bored enough to step outside, visiting the pool bar for a single drink before returning to her room.

The following day followed a similar pattern, though she stayed out longer. By the third day, her guard seemed to have dropped almost entirely as she resumed her normal routine. The only change was that she refrained from killing or drawing attention to herself, acting like a typical guest. If she behaved this way consistently, Jake would never have targeted her, but having seen her true nature, she was now nothing more than prey.

Was there a chance she could find redemption? Could she be changed for the better? Perhaps... but unfortunately for her, it was Jake, not Jacob, who had come for her. The hunter had no interest in offering her a chance to repent. The only atonement she would find was in the afterlife. Or, she might kill him—and truthfully, slaying Jake would likely grant massive Records even for a new B-grade, which could theoretically help her turn her life around. Sadly for her, Jake intended to keep that a mere theory.

Another day went by as Jake plotted his attack. Yrelstromoz remained wary, and he noticed her glancing over her shoulder occasionally, though she never spotted Jake, who was using Pulse of Perception from over a hundred kilometers away.

He sent out constant pulses, receiving a mental snapshot every second to monitor her. Jake felt confident that he would soon be able to expand his field for constant, long-range observation, but he didn't want to push his limits before reaching B-grade. For now, this method sufficed.

Returning to the hunt, Jake weighed options to lure her out of the city. One advantage of this planet was its desolation. Yrelstromoz had likely picked it because the only visitors were vacationers.

The planet featured only a single ocean, which was essentially just a large lake. This coastline was dotted with countless resorts and holiday towns, surrounded by lush greenery and scenic views powered by the lake's energy.

Everywhere else on the planet was either untamed wilderness or barren wasteland. It was mostly rock, ore, and sand, devoid of life. Since the planet's energy was concentrated around the water, there was nothing of value outside the urban zones.

Ideally, Jake would draw her into these wastes to fight far from any civilians, but the challenge was how to make her move. He needed bait, but he wasn't sure what would work.

As Jake sat in deep thought, a certain snake god, who had been watching with curiosity, could no longer restrain himself.

“I feel like you’re just trying to provoke me right now because of our earlier talk,” Jake whispered, keeping his eyes on Yrelstromoz to keep his Hunting Momentum building.

the Viper remarked.

Jake retorted.

Jake said.

the snake god said nonchalantly.

Jake answered.

Jake was prepared to respond to the Viper’s impatient comment, but the Primordial had already severed the telepathic link. He sat there for a moment before browsing his inventory and... well, okay, Jake really needed to pay more attention to what he was carrying. This wasn't even a case of some ancient, forgotten item; it was something he had been using quite recently.

Yrelstromoz couldn't shake a persistent sense of unease, even though a week had passed since her strange encounter with the human who had dodged her strike. His parting words still rankled, even if they logically shouldn't.

It hadn't helped when she felt a faint magical trace on her dissipate the same day they met. The realization that she hadn't even sensed it being applied was deeply disturbing.

However, the more she analyzed the situation, the more she doubted the need for alarm. Logically, she didn't believe there was any real threat after considering the facts.

The man who had approached her radiated the clear aura of a C-grade. She suspected he might have masked his true level, but hiding one's grade and level were two different things, especially when using energy, as he had while evading her.

Only someone vastly more powerful than her could masquerade as a C-grade and avoid her detection, but that made no sense. No A-grade or high-level B-grade would hunt her, as that violated multiversal protocol. If the United Tribes wanted vengeance for her killing a subordinate, they would have to send a group of new B-grades or face diplomatic backlash.

This left Yrelstromoz with two conclusions. Either it had been an A-grade or someone equally powerful who was simply playing mind games with her as a form of psychological harassment... or it had been a peak C-grade who was exceptionally strong for his rank and managed to survive her strike.

Regardless, both scenarios suggested no real danger. No A-grade would dare actually kill her, and if it was a C-grade, the idea of such a weakling even attempting to hunt her was laughable.

Consequently, she went back to her relaxation, though she stayed somewhat alert in case she was being watched. She maintained this caution until the day she was lounging by the pool and sensed something peculiar.

Initially, she doubted her senses, but as the feeling lingered, she sat up and pushed her perception outward. In the distance, there was something familiar... something with a draconic essence.

Scowling, Yrelstromoz hesitated, finding the timing highly suspicious. Why would she suddenly detect another dragon on this world? It was clearly linked to the human from a week ago, but that only deepened the mystery.

She didn't believe a dragon had been sent to assassinate her. Dragons rarely killed their own kind. Yet, that only made the situation more perplexing. Obviosuly, whatever it was intended to lure her there.

Yrelstromoz pondered for a moment before dismissing her doubts. If they wanted to attack, they’d had an entire week. The concept of an assassin worrying about collateral damage never even entered her mind.

After weighing the matter, her curiosity took over. Yrelstromoz decided to investigate the source of the draconic presence. She went in fully aware that it might be a trap, but even if it was, did she truly have anything to fear?

She was a True Dragon, after all.