The Primal Hunter Chapter 1249 - A Pair of Dungeon Critics At Work

“This makes no damn sense!” Jake shouted, soaring at maximum velocity with his wings beating wildly. “How in the world could a group with B-grades even acquire something like that!?”

“Quit posing questions we both realize lack any logical reply!” Casper shouted in response, swirling curses and spectral energy around himself as he struggled to keep pace with Jake, aided by Lyra.

Trailing after them came an artifact of tremendous might, tumbling in their direction. The radiant blue sphere devoured all in its route—be it alive or lifeless—sparing merely the maze's barriers. Jake and Casper had witnessed a handful of unfortunate Construction Golems brush against the enormous sphere, only to vanish in an instant.

Worsening the situation, inscriptions adorned the sphere, displaying five luminous characters that remained discernible no matter how it spun:

Jones.

The pair continued their escape along the passage as the colossal sphere pursued, its velocity gradually accelerating over time. Jake and Casper had already unleashed various assaults upon the cursed object, yet nothing proved effective. No matter what this sphere truly was, it surpassed the capabilities of initial B-grades.

“I’m absolutely posting a review on this mess,” Jake muttered irritably as he finally noticed an object in the distance, prompting him to call out to Casper. “Left side, about fifty seconds out!”

Casper gave a quick nod, concentrating on sustaining his pace while the sphere edged nearer. The foreboding harbinger of annihilation drew perilously close as they arrived at a sizable breach in the barrier, wide enough for both to squeeze through.

Just as they neared it, Jake unleashed a surge of arcane force sideways, thrusting him into Casper and hauling them both into the gap moments before the enormous sphere barreled past. Sensing it go by, Jake’s instinct for peril ignited, and the hairs on his nape bristled as a chill coursed through him.

“Damn it,” Casper gasped, panting hard while orienting himself. “Alright, I’ll bet that abomination won’t factor into the real dungeon release, but is merely Minaga’s payback for our meddling with him back in Nevermore…”

“I truly hope you’re correct,” Jake replied, peering out from the opening to watch the vast sphere continue down the extended corridor of the Grand Labyrinth until the route bent slightly, causing it to vanish from sight. “Otherwise, it’d account for nearly all fatalities.”

“He’ll surely eliminate it,” Casper grumbled, shaking his head. “Man, I thought things were progressing so flawlessly up until now.”

“They were indeed. Right up to that horror’s arrival,” Jake agreed, glancing at the adjacent paths and along the two fresh corridors they’d accessed. “Strange, no Architects, Engineers, or even Golem Foremen in sight. Plus, from what I observe, both routes seem to terminate in dead ends.”

“Then we’ll retreat and trail wherever that sphere headed,” Casper suggested. “Fingers crossed it can’t reverse course… but if we pursue it, hasn’t it already eradicated everything ahead?”

“Without question,” Jake affirmed with a nod. “Yet there are additional breaches further on for discovering alternate routes.”

“True,” Casper agreed with a nod. “Let’s hunt down more targets to eliminate. Ideally, we’ll stumble upon another area packed with decent foes once more.”

“I’ll keep my eyes peeled for spots like that, but alert me if you sense anything unusual. Particularly those concealed teleporters,” Jake instructed, receiving an acknowledgment from the Risen before they turned back toward the alternate corridor and resumed their flight through it.

As he flew, Jake persistently scanned with Pulse to pinpoint further adversaries. He detected a few, but all lurked beyond barriers with no evident access. That colossal sphere of ruin had undoubtedly disrupted their path, though as Casper noted, they’d advanced steadily, both in mapping the Grand Labyrinth and accumulating experience.

Moreover, their battles had expanded beyond mere Construction Golems to include three additional enemy varieties. Each had suffered the identical demise, naturally.

Judging by their designations, the motif stayed uniform. These beings centered on fabrication, rendering them inherently less formidable in fights. The Architects wielded space, light, and illusion spells, whereas the Engineers mainly manipulated earth and metal.

Jake had pondered the nature of these non-golem entities, and he still did to some degree. Evidently, Minaga hadn’t just fabricated the Aginian faction, but an whole species called Aginians.

In terms of looks, they resembled a blend of elves and cephalopods. Featuring pointed elven ears and slender frames, yet with beak-shaped mouths and tentacle-like tresses, plus eyes akin to those of octopuses, complete with their peculiar rectangular forms.

Additionally, they possessed standard pairs of hands and feet, albeit with membranes linking their digits, which made Jake dread the prospect of an aquatic segment in this dungeon owing to their watery appearance, but fortunately, no such nightmare had surfaced yet.

Regarding strength, they proved rather feeble, once more probably due to their builder roles rather than warrior ones. The mightiest foe encountered so far remained the Golem Foreman, though even that fell swiftly. That wasn’t to imply Jake and Casper hadn’t faced any hurdles. Excluding the Jones Orb, of course.

This stemmed chiefly from adversaries clustering more within the Grand Labyrinth than without. Frequently, groups collaborated on labyrinth barrier segments, rendering solo engagements nearly unfeasible. Thus far, Jake had managed to dispatch every encountered foe in the dungeon with a single strike, including the Foremen, which demanded a maximum-effort Arcane Powershot paired with a Protean Arrow.

In terms of duration, Casper and Jake had shared nearly five days inside the dungeon, and although they harbored numerous grievances to voice at Minaga afterward, their achievements stood beyond reproach. Casper had ascended two class levels during their venture, and Jake himself had earned one in their most recent clash.

Admittedly, solo, Jake might have advanced further, but in that scenario, he likely wouldn’t have upgraded his Stealth Attack skill or deepened his grasp of curse application in battle.

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Furthermore, it would have been far less enjoyable, since Jake was truly relishing his time with Casper, and it felt great to reconnect and learn about the Risen’s escapades over recent years. Though they’d shared moments before, this marked their longest uninterrupted duo since the system’s advent. Technically three, including Lyra, but she’d been considerate, resting in her locket mostly, granting them some quality bro time.

“I sense a teleporter close by,” Casper announced during their flight. “It ought to lie just forward.”

Jake emitted a swift Pulse and inclined his head. “Yes, a breach exists there. I suspect the teleporter hides beyond it.”

It proved mildly frustrating, but Jake’s Pulse and Sphere of Perception failed to reveal the teleporters. Manifesting as arcane sigils etched into the Grand Labyrinth’s metallic surfaces, they left no tangible traces, only mystical ones, eluding Jake’s shape-based detection.

Fortuitously, Casper’s presence proved invaluable, with skills tailored for dungeon navigation. As a Dungeon Engineer, his expertise lay in dungeon creation and upkeep, yet he possessed abilities enhancing perception inside them, occasionally allowing minor exploits. Regrettably, the Risen hadn’t uncovered major loopholes yet, and given Minaga’s authorship of the dungeon, none would emerge unless deliberately inserted.

“Incidentally, does it seem to you that a dungeon-oriented Path was far more dominant in Nevermore?” Jake inquired as they approached the breach.

“Absolutely, it was,” Casper verified. “I’m certain Minaga exaggerated it there to aid fellow dungeon aficionados. Yet for a setup like this, granting someone like me excessive edges would constitute poor crafting. Balance is key, and currently, I sense some benefits without it tipping into outright injustice. Of course, my view is influenced by partnering with you and your utterly overpowered nature, but from our observations, it doesn’t warrant critique.”

“Fine, that’s reasonable,” Jake conceded, unwilling to debate the Risen’s points, even the bit labeling him as somewhat overpowered.

They had now arrived at the breach, and upon passing through, Casper swiftly identified the teleporter concealed on the far wall’s base. These remained invisible until proximity, rendering them simple to overlook without a companion like Casper.

“Suggesting Architects or Engineers yield items to simplify spotting these ranks as solid input,” Jake remarked while observing Casper examine the transport sigil to gauge its destination.

“Yeah, best of luck to non-dungeon engineers or space mages locating them,” Casper scoffed, swiftly concluding his analysis. “Okay, this leads far across and to the Grand Labyrinth’s far side, nearer the core, so taking it seems wise. Any nearby breaches toward foes?”

Jake shook his head. “None for hundreds of kilometers. I could probe both ways, but hopping this should expedite things.”

“Might be an ambush,” Casper cautioned, reminding Jake of their prior teleporter mishap that deposited them before a massive destructive sphere.

“No way we trigger two trap teleporters consecutively,” Jake expressed optimistically. “And regardless, the previous one still advanced us.”

“Valid,” Casper relented with a shrug. “Still, caution first.”

Mobilizing curse energy, Casper enveloped himself to bolster defenses. Jake saw no reason for similar measures, trusting his peril sense to warn him pre-activation if doom awaited. Even absent that, he held sufficient faith in Minaga to avoid instant-kill portals, deeming them unenjoyable for all.

Jake had offered to scout solo first, given the bidirectional nature, but Casper’s evaluation revealed post-use inactivity for hours, imposing cooldowns. Thus, unless Jake desired to squander time shuttling back and forth for safety checks before retrieving Casper, they needed to proceed jointly immediately.

“Set to depart?” Casper queried.

“Naturally,” Jake affirmed.

With a nod, Casper triggered the teleporter, enveloping them in spatial magic. Jake sensed the pull through the void, their surroundings altering from beside one labyrinth barrier… to another.

Yet a rapid Pulse verified this zone diverged markedly from their origin.

Surprised, Jake pivoted toward a specific angle, mirrored by Casper, who also perceived the anomaly there.

“You sense it as well?” Casper inquired.

“Beyond sensing, I perceive it clearly,” Jake replied, grinning.

A shift had occurred in the Grand Labyrinth. Hitherto, they’d navigated solely vast corridors flanked by towering barriers, limited to rightward or leftward progression. Variety had been scarce, but now alteration arrived.

In the far distance ahead, the Grand Labyrinth expanded, forming a rounded chamber of sorts. Featuring a single ingress and egress, it underscored its significance. They hadn’t reached the dungeon’s heart, but this might hint at the path or contribute to the core’s access.

Enhancing matters, the broad corridor to the chamber teemed with dozens of B-grades. Not the usual laborers, but two novel foe types. One resembled a sturdier golem than Construction variants, yet crucially, it radiated an aura signaling battle intent. Their titles affirmed as much.

[Aginian Guard Golem – lvl ???]

Accompanying them were ordinary Aginians armed and armored, patrolling the passage with pairs of Guard Golems. These outmatched the golems in prowess.

[Aginian Guardsman – lvl ???]

“At last, genuine adversaries,” Casper declared, activating his stealth ability as they assessed the upcoming threats.

“Close, but not entirely,” Jake countered, eyes sharpening. “They surpass the earlier weak B-grades, true, but remain fodder. Luckily, I anticipate true quarry inside the forthcoming chamber.”

“Come on, with Guard Golem and Guardsman in their titles, they can’t be feeble,” Casper protested, shaking his head. “Perhaps your instincts falter this time?”

Spoiler: they did not falter this time.

Casper and Jake advanced methodically down the corridor, eradicating every patrol in their path. As Jake intuited, these sentries held greater power, yet fell short of posing a real threat. Relative to the Rainbowfeather Sovereign from Jake’s Pantheon of Life encounter, these paled, and since then, Jake had surged in might.

It required some effort, but eventually, they attained the threshold of the inaugural true “chamber” in the expansive Grand Labyrinth. The preceding corridor lay strewn with fallen bodies and shattered golems atop the ramparts, reinforcing the chamber’s prominence.

Remaining concealed, Jake and Casper surveyed the space beyond. The round chamber stood largely vacant, its floor of gray sand contrasting the ubiquitous stone elsewhere. Intricate designs etched the sand throughout, lending an unsettling vibe.

Beyond the sand, one element dominated the chamber. At its heart rose a ziggurat, exuding a peculiar aura of potency. Upon the ziggurat’s base tiers, Jake and Casper identified multiple foes. These appeared far more formidable than the dispatched guards, and rightly so.

[Aginian Elite Guard – lvl ???]

They earned their elite status, and as Jake probed further, he noted a distinctive Aginian radiating superior presence.

[Aginian Guard Captain – lvl ???]

Jake’s smile had already formed, but upon beholding the pyramid’s summit, it broadened into a wide grin. A lone cloaked silhouette perched there, its aura the most potent encountered in the dungeon thus far.

[Aginian Formation Master – lvl ???]

Casper completed his own evaluation and regarded the hunter. “Tell me, Jake… I suspect now’s the moment I can demonstrate my targeted curse magic to you fully.”

“It certainly appears so, doesn’t it?” Jake concurred eagerly, anticipating whether this clash would elevate or diminish the dungeon’s ultimate appraisal.