The Primal Hunter Chapter 1246 - The Concept of Death

Casper grinned and responded, “Then I guess I shouldn’t disappoint,” while starting his approach to the Grand Labyrinth still being built. His initial strides were measured and calm, yet following just a few, that well-known shadowy aura started radiating from him precisely when he vanished from sight.

Moments later, he materialized far off, thanks to employing a certain movement technique. There, he dropped into a squat and laid his palms against the earth as he muttered words, and exactly one full minute passed before he stood once more, cast a quick look at Jake, and triggered his movement ability again.

By this point, Jake had switched on his Unseen Hunter ability, so although Casper could still spot him because he already knew Jake was there, the approaching B-grade foe wouldn’t manage to detect him at all.

With keen curiosity, Jake observed as the Risen selected his mark and lifted his arm to call forth a massive dark timber spike, pulsing with curse power. Jake didn’t dwell on why Casper stuck to wooden spikes, since, well, effective methods stayed effective no matter what.

Casper locked onto a lone Construction Golem, separated from the rest, and promptly unleashed his strike. The projectile hurtled directly at the B-grade machine, which barely had time to respond right before impact.

Jake made a mental note of that detail. He doubted this was Casper’s only option for kicking off the battle, so he figured it was the Risen’s way of demonstrating his prowess.

The timber spike crashed into the golem, driving it down into the dirt as it burst apart into shards that lodged into the metallic frame of the B-grade. These fragments failed to pierce the armored surface outright but slipped through like they belonged there, leading Jake to suspect they were more like pieces of concentrated curse essence than solid matter.

That first assault didn’t appear to inflict serious harm, however, because the golem swiftly regained its footing and pinpointed Casper’s location. It lunged at the Risen without pause, displaying remarkable velocity from what seemed to be coiled spring mechanisms in its legs.

Simultaneously, its limbs morphed into armaments—or rather, building implements. The right arm shifted into a whirling drill bit, and the left into a hefty pickaxe, each tool equally suited for combat, though Jake pondered how such gear aided in labyrinth building.

Refusing to squander brainpower on such trivia, Jake focused on the golem’s advance toward Casper. As it hurtled forward, the Risen conjured shadowy spikes nearby and launched them at the B-grade, scoring multiple hits that merely added more of those dark shards without much else.

Casper swiftly fell back as his adversary closed in, maintaining a volley of strikes that hardly impeded its momentum. Crafted from sturdy metal, this builder golem boasted impressive durability, even as a low-end B-grade, prompting Jake to wonder if Casper faced real trouble in landing substantial blows. He also pondered how the Risen planned to bypass the issue that curses generally fared poorly against constructs like golems or elementals.

Luckily, answers came quickly, as Casper pulled back directly to the spot where he’d prepared for a full minute earlier. The golem pursued relentlessly, firing off a handful of laser shots en route to halt its target, though it was obvious this builder lacked prowess in long-range fights.

As it crossed over Casper’s prior setup, the Risen finally acted. He halted, pressed his hands to the soil, and at that instant, a rune array ignited beneath the B-grade.

An immobilizing power halted its progress while Casper’s form surged with a strange teal glow, and a spectral woman’s image materialized behind him. The array shifted to match the hue of the power from Casper and Lyra, then channeled into the golem, freezing its aerial path as though caught in weightlessness.

Every tiny shard soaked up the spectral force and lit up, then abruptly, they all expanded into complete spikes simultaneously. In a flash, the Construction Golem resembled a botched version of the Sword Box illusion, minus the container and with stakes replacing blades.

Yet, examining it more closely, Jake saw these spikes lacked physical form. They shimmered ethereally with a phantom vibe, causing Jake to scowl as he reconsidered the strike’s impact. He might have been correct in doubting its potency, but the next events confirmed it remained dire for the B-grade.

The golem attempted motion, but when it reached out, its limb warped oddly before bending backward at a sharp angle, snapping in the effort. The same fate struck its leg as the golem’s structure twisted and fractured, appendages contorting under Casper’s command of the array.

Regrettably for the Risen, ending the B-grade proved tougher than anticipated, for it burst forth with power as its base altered into apparent jet boosters that blasted flames downward, shattering the array.

Casper appeared more irritated than worried as he lifted his arms swiftly, then lowered them… only for another rune circle to emerge, this one erupting with eerie luminescence before phantom bindings lashed out to ensnare the golem.

The golem strained to break free by ramping up its boosters’ force, snapping the chains sequentially, but Casper clearly aimed only to delay it briefly, granting time for a subsequent assault. Or rather, for Lyra to deliver it.

His pendant flared once more as his spectral partner fully manifested. She drifted from behind Casper’s form and surged at the golem. In that moment, Jake finally glimpsed the entity Casper hosted, her presence strong enough to make him furrow his brow faintly.

he observed, and after activating Identify, he grasped why she projected such might.

[Blightwraith: lvl 349]

Clearly, Casper restrained Lyra rather than vice versa. Her elevated level puzzled Jake, as he’d figured some cap would tie her strength to Casper’s, but that assumption proved wrong.

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That said, Jake had to admit his ignorance regarding the link between Casper and Lyra or how it functioned at all. He understood Lyra served as Casper’s protector, so she didn’t count separately in scenarios like dungeons or system occurrences.

This setup echoed beast tamers or classes with bound followers, limited in number. A subdued creature retained its own essence and operated independently mostly, yet such ties imposed heavy limits.

Advancement linked to the controller, and crucially, the controller’s demise meant the end for all connected beings. Hence, striking the summoner or tamer directly often proved the smartest tactic against them.

Naturally, some avoided such bindings with their allies. Think of the partnership between Jake and Sylphie, built on cooperation that evolved into synergistic abilities over time. On reflection, this path suited Hawkie and Mystie as well.

Casper and Lyra’s dynamic didn’t align neatly with Jake’s knowledge. She merged with him yet stood apart. From what he gathered, she tethered to the pendant on his neck, which in turn bound to Casper, creating a layer of detachment.

Though subtle, that extra link made Jake speculate if Lyra could survive Casper’s death. It might even allow her eventual freedom from the pendant to exist fully on her own.

Of course, Jake merely guessed at these matters, and amid his musings, he recalled Lyra’s origins. The Blightfather, the Primordial behind the Risen race and revered as the God of Death, had forged the pendant and revived her. For such a being to craft something beyond Jake’s comprehension was, naturally, expected.

Clearing his head of these stray ideas, Jake refocused on the spectacle as Lyra neared the confined Construction Golem. He observed intently for her next move or spell, but instead of spectacle, she phased straight into the golem… vanishing.

Jake’s brow creased before realization dawned.

Instantly, the golem radiated decay, and even as it fought the restraining chains, demise overtook it. Rust spread across its frame, corrosion ate away sections that dropped off, the bindings sliced into softening metal, and its aura faded swiftly.

Against all odds, the B-grade persisted in resistance, but no evasion existed when the assault brewed from inside. Lyra had infiltrated its core, becoming a corrupting essence that permeated fully.

Casper ceased feeding power to the array, rising with a breath. He rolled his shoulders and extended his arm to manifest an elongated timber spike, simple as a basic spear.

Approaching the golem crumbling under Lyra’s influence, he drew its notice, prompting it to leap at the solid foe in range. It unleashed its remaining strength, but Casper welcomed the charge, thrusting his spear-stake into the earth at an angle toward the incoming machine.

Jake caught the Risen’s grin as the golem barreled onto the pointed end. Evidently, the B-grade attempted evasion, but Jake surmised Lyra interfered, dooming it to self-skewering.

The spike pierced the weakened, corroded shell effortlessly, spearing through the head and out the rear. At that point, Lyra emerged from the golem, with Jake scanning her as thoroughly as possible.

Jake reflected. Boldly invading the B-grade’s interior had drained considerable energy. Lyra had dissolved into a poisonous energy cloud infesting the golem, eroding it internally. Effective against this frail-souled construct, but attempting it on Jake… she’d face his counter of surging annihilating arcane forces within, likely causing harm yet falling short of her spectral alternatives.

Needless to say, the B-grade perished utterly after self-impalement, and Jake watched its remains disintegrate into corroded metal scraps.

Satisfied with the victory, Jake stepped forward and teleported closer, materializing before the pair soon after.

“Not bad,” Jake commented with a grin, unable to resist nudging the metal heap with his boot. It disintegrated further at the contact, devoid of any structural hold.

“Thank you, and apologies for the delayed introduction,” Lyra replied, dipping her head. “I’d offer a handshake, but, as you see.”

Jake laughed lightly and shook his head. “Delighted to meet you, and it seems you’re keeping Casper in check. He can be quite the challenge, I know.”

“Hey, I look after her too,” Casper objected, folding his arms. “So, any real insights on the battle?”

“Looked almost effortless for you both,” Jake commended the spectral duo and Risen. He recognized Casper’s ongoing strength gains and Lyra’s unique boosts, yet their swift dispatch of a B-grade—even a feeble one—exceeded his forecasts.

“Can’t deny it was a breeze,” Casper admitted with a shrug.

“That Ghost King moniker wasn’t just hype, then,” Jake remarked, smiling faintly. “One thing puzzles me, though. During the golem’s takedown, I sensed loads of curse power, but mostly death affinity spells beyond that. Maybe I’m clueless here, but it struck me as oddly potent against a lifeless thing.”

Casper eyed Jake thoughtfully before responding. “You nailed it by admitting possible ignorance.”

Jake itched to throttle him, but Casper’s partner intervened promptly.

“Death exceeds simple opposition to life force,” Lyra clarified. “It’s a state and a shifting force. True, everyday views tie it to life’s cessation, but it spans much wider: endings and transitions to nothingness. Death claims dying stars, dried rivers carving canyons, or rusting metal crumbling to dust. In essence, it transforms not just life, but all being into oblivion. Unlike other forces, it targets the soul—the core of aliveness—most directly.”

Jake anticipated a quick reply sparking more queries, but received a deeper dive instead. It sparked reflections, though questions lingered.

“If death ends existence, why do undead persist?” Jake probed, aware this delved too deep for C-grades to fully grasp.

Casper pondered briefly, and though Jake braced for sarcasm, he heard a sincere echo that sidestepped Casper’s own limits.

“I’d love to match Lyra’s wisdom, but I’ll relay my Patron’s words: Risen aren’t dead; we’re undead. We faced death, accepted it, and reclaimed being. Yet undead remain vulnerable to death’s touch. Existence binds us. No one escapes the concept—not gods, Primordials, or even the multiverse, which may one day meet absolute end.”