The Primal Hunter Chapter 1232 - Dragon Hunter (1)

Jake observed as the ritual hummed into existence. As it activated, the unmistakable pressure of a True Dragon’s aura surged through the cavern and spilled out of its entrance. The power flooded the mountainous landscape, terrifying the few elementals and local creatures dwelling in the vicinity.

It was a straightforward ritual designed primarily to magnify the presence of whatever sat at its core. Jake had implemented only a few minor tweaks before centering the Dragon’s Heart within the array, surrounded by several Cores to sustain the ritual while he was away.

Within its immediate radius and for over a thousand kilometers, the emitted aura felt overwhelmingly potent. However, beyond that range, it became nearly impossible to perceive—unless the one sensing it was a True Dragon. Jake was confident that Yrelstromoz would detect a fellow True Dragon manifesting its power, even from the opposite side of the planet, which was essentially where Jake had positioned himself.

He had scouted the region briefly before concluding that these heights were ideal for his ambush. The terrain was a rugged mountain range defined by colossal canyons that resembled ancient, dried-up riverbeds, now reduced to profound, desolate rifts. This geography allowed Jake to easily conceal the ritual and offered tactical advantages during the coming conflict. Even if a B-grade could simply level the landscape, exploiting the terrain would surely buy Jake precious moments.

With the trap prepared, Jake ascended into the sky to take his position. He climbed to the very edge of the atmosphere to ensure his projectiles wouldn't lose momentum traveling through dense air, then engaged his stealth field using Unseen Hunter.

Having already forged a Protean Arrow, Jake pulled it out for a final check. The extensive research he had conducted to develop Dragonsbane Poison had proven vital for this weapon; it was saturated with conceptual properties specifically designed to neutralize dragons. While engineering the arrow, he had ensured there was ample capacity to house the Dragonsbane itself, intending to open the engagement with a concentrated dose.

Even so, a persistent suspicion that his initial strike might not go exactly as intended lingered in his mind. Consequently, Jake maintained a relatively measured strategy for his opening move.

To be clear, the attack would be lethal enough to instantly slay most freshly ascended B-grades, but he wasn't committing every single resource. He would utilize the Protean Arrow, a maximum-output Arcane Powershot, fully active Arcane Awakening, Primal Gaze, and his entire reserve of Hunting Momentum... yet he withheld what he considered his ultimate trump card:

Event Horizon.

That specific skill was being reserved in case the confrontation turned into a war of attrition. Should that happen, Jake would have time to accumulate new Hunting Momentum, strengthen his Hunter’s Mark, and ready a second Protean Arrow. By then, Yrelstromoz would likely have exhausted her defensive options. Furthermore, based on the skill’s details and his own intuition, Jake sensed it would be the perfect tool to prevent a retreat—a necessary precaution against a dragon specialized in light magic, who would undoubtedly be incredibly fast.

If the fight concluded without needing Event Horizon, that was fine, but Jake suspected its use was inevitable. Truthfully, he would feel let down if this hunt was too simple. Slaying a True Dragon had been his ambition since he first laid eyes on the Malefic Viper’s mural in the Challenge Dungeon during the Tutorial. The goal had grown in his mind for a long time, and Jake hoped the reality would match the expectation.

Once the preparations were finalized, Jake conjured a firm platform of mana and sat down. He settled in, eyes fixed on the distant city, waiting for his target to bite. He could only wait now, hoping his inaugural dragon hunt would be a memorable one.

--

Yrelstromoz soared over the desolate terrain, her mind racing with questions about why another True Dragon would be on this world. It had to be related to her, right? Was it another envoy attempting to pull her back into the Dragonflights, or perhaps a former suitor?

The lack of clarity grated on her, forcing Yrelstromoz to investigate the source.

She crossed the planet with great speed, not even bothering to assume her draconic form. Her wings alone provided sufficient velocity. As she drew closer, the dragon’s aura—which was obviously beckoning her—intensified, but she also sensed something... unusual.

It was far too consistent. Usually, when someone flared their aura, there were minor fluctuations caused by breathing or movement, but this signal was static. It was possible the dragon was in a state of profound meditation or was of a sufficiently high level to mask such variations, yet it remained strange.

Her doubts weren't enough to stop her, but they did make her wary. She occasionally emitted invisible pulses of light to survey the surrounding environment, but found nothing out of place. The only signs of life were weak, stray elementals that lacked the energy to even reach D-grade this far from the ocean.

Eventually, a massive canyon bordered by towering peaks came into view. Yrelstromoz sensed the dragon was nearby and slowed her approach, releasing a fraction of her own aura to signal her arrival to the other party.

Unable to pinpoint the exact location within the labyrinthine canyons, she decided it was easier to let them come to her. After all, they were the ones who had summoned her and made her travel this distance; it was only right that they showed themselves first.

Having flared her presence, she came to a halt, waiting with narrowed eyes and crossed arms. She waited... but there was no reply. A frown deepened on her face, not because they hadn't appeared, but because there was no response whatsoever.

Her presence should have triggered some kind of reaction or resonance, but the silence was total. Yrelstromoz quickly began to realize the truth.

Just as the realization dawned on her that this was an ambush, her danger sense screamed. Yrelstromoz snapped her head upward, only to find her vision dominated by a flash of pink and purple. The attack was already upon her.

The strike was moving too fast for a standard reaction. She tried to move instinctively, but in that moment, her body and soul were seized by a terrifying pressure. A truly horrifying presence was gazing down at her.

This gaze paralyzed any potential countermeasure just as the projectile slammed into her forehead. She felt the impact shatter her skull and tear through her form. As the attack transfixed her, she fell back on her training... which commanded her to cease resistance and permit her body to be destroyed as she transitioned away...

--

Jake was already drawing his next Arcane Powershot before the first had even finished its work. Yrelstromoz had made things easy by standing still, allowing him to bypass the need for tracking and focus entirely on maximizing the raw power of the opening volley.

He watched the strike connect with the True Dragon, who had remained oblivious until the final millisecond. Her reaction speed surpassed any B-grade Jake had encountered, but it wasn't enough. By using Primal Gaze, he locked her in place just as she tried to defend, giving Jake his first experience of using that ability against a True Dragon.

To put it mildly, it was agonizing.

A sharp, searing pain lanced through Jake’s mind, though it vanished as quickly as it appeared. In that brief window, Jake confirmed that a True Dragon’s soul was exceptionally formidable, though his own was equally resilient, especially following his recent growth and his time at the Gate of Enlightenment.

The Gaze succeeded. Jake saw his arrow drive straight through Yrelstromoz’s skull. He felt the impact register, but then the situation turned strange. All resistance vanished as his target seemingly surrendered to the strike and allowed herself to perish.

A violent eruption of pure light followed. Jake was momentarily blinded, his retinas burning from the glare. The massive discharge of energy forced his arrow to detonate prematurely, resulting in a secondary explosion of destructive arcane force.

Still holding his bow with a second Arcane Powershot ready, Jake focused on regenerating his sight to observe the ground below, as he was currently beyond the reach of his Pulse of Perception. He restored his right eye within seconds, revealing the devastation beneath him.

A significant portion of the canyon was gone, replaced by a massive crater that still throbbed with arcane residue. Jake scanned the area for any sign of Yrelstromoz, certain she wasn't dead. She might be hurt, but that explosion of light wasn't a death throe.

Suddenly, while he was still searching the ground, Jake’s danger sense flared violently. Through his sphere, he detected a concentrated mass of energy hurtling toward him from the rear at extreme speed.

Jake whirled around and loosed his arrow at the incoming beam. A blinding flash erupted, and through his sphere, he watched the energy transform into a humanoid figure wielding a blade. The figure evaded his arrow and kept charging.

Swapping to his katars, Jake managed a desperate block as a massive, two-handed heavy sword crashed down, sending him plummeting. He tumbled through the air but righted himself quickly as the energy around the figure dissipated, revealing his target.

Yrelstromoz hovered in the sky, clad in ivory, glass-like armor that shimmered in the sun. She gripped a massive sword with a blade that appeared to be carved from gemstone. Her aura was blazing, indicating she had triggered a powerful enhancement skill—likely a requirement for using her survival ability.

Despite the opening attack, she appeared completely unharmed. However, on closer inspection, Jake noticed her heavy breathing and slightly erratic energy. Surviving that strike hadn't been as effortless as she tried to make it look.

"So she has a life-saving skill," Jake noted to himself as he studied the True Dragon, who was staring back at him with a sharp gaze.

“You... you’re that human from the other day, aren’t you?” she asked, a note of doubt in her voice.

Jake was now in his full gear and mask, looking vastly different from the man who had cheated the local casino, so her hesitation was expected. Still, she had recognized him. He had clearly left an impression, and his power as a C-grade was now impossible to ignore.

“Indeed, we meet once more. Under better circumstances, I would argue,” Jake replied, activating his Sense of the Malefic Viper to check if any Dragonsbane Poison had survived her survival skill.

It was faint, but by pushing past the dragon’s natural defenses, he could feel traces of the poison still active. This confirmed she had indeed taken damage. It wasn't life-threatening, and she had even managed to purge his Hunter’s Mark, but the fact that he'd drawn blood was encouraging. He was also glad he hadn't spent everything on the first shot.

“I don’t know what you did to make that kind of attack, but I doubt it’s something a mere C-grade can repeat,” Yrelstromoz remarked, appearing surprisingly composed given she had almost just died.

Jake had anticipated she might be rattled, but her behavior was cold and analytical. She was gauging him, and he could feel her repeatedly using Identify.

“I guess you’ll have to find out,” Jake smirked. Refusing to give her more time to recover, he drew his bow and snapped off a quick Arcane Powershot while leaping backward to open the distance.

Yrelstromoz attempted to swat the arrow away with her blade, but the projectile curved mid-air, bypassing her sword and piercing her shoulder. The True Dragon stumbled back, her eyes wide with shock as the arrow bypassed her armor.

“How?” she whispered in shock.

Jake answered with a splitting arrow. This time, Yrelstromoz had adapted; she transformed into a streak of light to dodge. Once she regained her footing, she gave chase. Jake used One Step to teleport, causing her to lose her target for a split second. He used the opening to bury an arrow in her lower back, eliciting a pained groan and injecting even more Dragonsbane Poison.

“Fine... let’s see how long you can keep this up.”

Jake ignored the taunt and focused on stacking the toxins. He knew he needed a specific threshold of poison before the Mana Allergy effect would trigger, which would make every spell she cast cause her internal damage. Fortunately, Yrelstromoz’s current combat style was playing right into his hands.

She continued to press her attack with a basic, direct style, largely ignoring his smaller shots as they hit her one by one. Each time an arrow landed, she simply yanked it out and resumed her assault, seemingly more irritated than threatened.

Either she was being incredibly cautious—trying not to over-commit in case Jake had another massive attack ready—or she just didn't care. Jake had to admit that without the poison, these small hits were doing negligible damage while he was still testing her. He remained defensive, unsure of her full capabilities. Since she was a True Dragon who hadn't even assumed her true form yet, he knew she was holding back significantly.

After a minute of skirmishing, during which Jake landed a dozen arrows, Yrelstromoz’s expression darkened and she ceased her attack.

“Odd, whatever boosted you to this level of power should have run out by now,” she noted, looking confused.

Jake raised an eyebrow, suddenly understanding her tactics. Yrelstromoz was under the impression that Jake was relying on a temporary artifact, a treasure, or a suicidal enhancement skill to fight at her level—something that would soon expire and leave him vulnerable.

To her, that was the only logical explanation for how a C-grade could stand against her. She was waiting for him to burn out... an assumption that Jake found incredibly insulting.

'Oh, you're in for a surprise,' Jake thought as he watched her, his focus sharpening. He was eager to see exactly how long she would continue to underestimate him.