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Chapter 858 - Nevermore: Level 260 Class Skill Selection
🕑 Added 2024-02-26 11:55:34 +0000 UTCIt didn’t take long before they used the access code to finish off the seventy-first floor, having done so quite a lot faster than floor seventy. Also, while it was true these floors were quite a lot bigger than those before, everyone in the party had also gotten quite a bit faster, and when fighting didn’t slow them down as much, it added up.
Activating the Revitalization Protocol took place within one of the towers as all five of them stood together as Jake pressed the big red button. When he did, all of the towers hummed to life, sending beams of light into the sky as they released waves of mana that washed over the landscape. All of the satellites in orbit also began to shoot down beams that infused the world with mana and different affinities, doing just as the protocol said it would. Soon, the satellites would run out of energy and shut down, and the towers were also quickly emptying themselves, putting an end to the experiment once and for all.
With time, the planet would recover, and the towers would just become empty relics that would eventually break down due to environmental factors. Jake and company naturally had no intent to stick around for that long as they saw that behind them, where the teleporter taking them to different towers was, a door had appeared right beside it.
“Well, this floor could have gone worse,” Jake muttered as they all entered the door to the in-between room. Sadly, this one was as boring as the prior ones, with only Minaga having had interesting ones. It still had the same features, such as a door to the latest city floor, one to the next floor, and, naturally, the one they had just entered through.
“The Nevermore Points are adequate, if fewer than I expected,” the Fallen King said.
“I just think our sense of what we should get was warped by the Challenge Dungeon’s rewarding so many,” the Sword Saint responded as Jake also checked over all the Nevermore Points they had gained from the floor – minus the two bonus objectives Jake completed early on.
Seventy-first floor completed. 14200 Nevermore Points earned.
Achievement earned: Activate five tower teleporters within a month (30 days) of each other. 3000 Nevermore Points earned.
Achievement Earned: Never once allow any of the Researchers to enter the top floor of a tower. 3000 Nevermore Points earned.
Achievement earned: Defeat the entire command structure of the Researchers. 5000 Nevermore Points earned.
Achievement earned: Defeat the Chief Overseer without ever allowing it to trigger any of the satellites. 5000 Nevermore Points earned.
Achievement Earned: Do not cause needless destruction or kill unnecessary wildlife. 1000 Nevermore Points gained.
Achievement earned: Activate the Revitalization Protocol. 10000 Nevermore Points earned.
Achievement earned: Complete the seventy-first floor within 500 days while triggering the Revitalization Protocol. 7000 Nevermore Points earned.
Current Nevermore Points: 1,296,125
Overall, the floor had given just a bit over 50,000 Nevermore Points, making it quite good. Less efficient than the Challenge Dungeons, yes, but those had honestly been overpowered when it came to getting points, just as the Sword Saint said. Speaking of points from the Challenge Dungeons, Jake wondered:
“So, I need to ask… do I have the most Nevermore Points with-“
“Yes you do, Jake,” the Sword Saint cut him off before Jake had a chance to unsubtly humble-brag. “Now, do we need a recovery period, or should we proceed immediately?”
Jake was a bit bummed, but with the other wanting to get a move on, he agreed as they went to floor seventy-two.
Right as they entered the door, they found themselves in the middle of what looked like a hastily constructed city square, as the floor description popped up.
Welcome to the Seventy-second floor of Nevermore: Settlers of Kantaan
Jake quickly skimmed the rest of the description, and to sum it up… this was a city-defense floor, at least for the most part. The story was that a faction of different enlightened species had sent people to this planet far away using some special teleportation measure to set up a city in preparation for the rest of the citizens to arrive in a big ark at a later date. The problem was that they had kind of fucked up when measuring what kind of beings lived on the planet already and how receptive they would be to these new settlers.
Because the natives were not happy with these unwelcome guests.
Their job was to defend this city from rampaging beasts from different monster factions present on the planet while even expanding and placing two new settlements for when help arrived. This help in the form of the arc would arrive after five years based on the description, but through different means, they could speed up and have them come faster.
There was probably more to it, but Jake and company didn’t have much time to think as soon after arriving, an attack arrived from a horde of rampaging monsters. They were a mix of dinosaur-looking beasts and based on what Jake and the others later learned, the beasts generally came in four flavors: lizards, mammals, elementals, and even undead.
“There is probably some moral question here regarding settlers just coming to a new planet and trying to take it over unceremoniously,” Jake said, the Sword Saint nodding.
“It’s effectively a form of colonialism,” the old man nodded. “Though the matter is complicated by these settlers having been forced to go here by their faction. They don’t have much of a choice but to go here, effectively making them refugees.”
Dina looked a bit confused as they talked. “Why is it complicated? Isn’t it normal to want to spread out and expand even if you are not forced to? This faction merely wishes to grow and has sent a seed to sprout on this planet.”
“On our homeworld, the act of expanding and forcing out the natives already living there has a very negative history, and for good reason,” the Sword Saint answered her calmly.
“But if any living being needs to keep expanding to realize their Path, it’s natural that others will be pushed away. A tree’s growing crown steals sunlight from those in its shade, and there is limited mana for all to share in the ground below,” Dina said, not sounding like she was trying to argue but was simply confused about why Jake and the Sword Saint even discussed morals in this case.
“Humans from Earth are always keen on discussing the rights and wrongs of a situation. I learned that plenty by attending the World Council we established. Yet they are also utter hypocrites in many matters, including happily encroaching on nature to expand their settlements and industries. As long as they don’t hurt other humans, they tend to show little care,” the Fallen King chimed in.
“Isn’t that fine? Humans are a social species who live together and their Path is to grow through working in unison and sharing Legacies and whatnot. To care about the preservation of humans over the lives of others is just natural,” Dina said.
“You know what, now we’re getting all philosophical again, which we frankly don’t have the time to as the attack arrives in… like thirty seconds,” Jake said. “So, quick vote, do we do the objective and defend the city or try to look for an alternative solution?”
Jake wanted to put things to a vote to finish things quickly, but… well, it turns out no one really wanted to vote, as they simply didn’t have any strong feelings either way, making everyone abstain in case someone did have an opinion. Jake also didn’t particularly care if these settlers were evil colonialists or desperate refugees; he was just there for the levels, and if defending the budding city gave more levels, he was all for it.
On a side note, Jake did think his leveling had been a bit slow on the prior floor, even if he had admittedly avoided combat when he could, as the hunting teams and whatnot weren’t that interesting opponents. Also, the Path Jake walked was one where he wanted to be challenged, so he wanted to avoid easy fights, but still, levels had come slow.
Well, it turns out part of the reason Jake had leveled slowly was that he was just before a level-up when they killed the Chief Overseer… which translated to Jake also getting a level only within an hour of arriving on floor seventy-two.
*’DING!’ Class: [Arcane Hunter of Horizon’s Edge] has reached level 260 - Stat points allocated, +50 Free Points*
Jake got the level, and after only a bit more fighting, all the attackers were dead. At this point, he had already informed his party of his level-up. Everyone gave him knowing looks as Jake retreated from the frontlines and found a little spot to sit and chill while smiling and opening the system menu. That’s right, it was time for an old tradition.
*Arcane Hunter of Horizon’s Edge class skills available*
It had been quite a while since Jake had his last new class skill. Back then, he had selected Arcane Supremacy, which had been a great boon, and he was definitely looking forward to what was on offer this time around. With all the Challenge Dungeons, there had to be traces of Records from those in the skills available.
With great expectations, he proceeded as usual and went through his options one by one.
[Superior Arcane Kick (Rare)] – You have shown yourself an experienced martial artist, allowing you to-
Jake kept smiling even if he was saddened to see there were only four new skills available because fuck that shit. So, he moved on to the first real option, even if it wasn’t that much better.
[Cursed Arcane Bolt of Hunger (Rare)] - Allows the hunter to summon bolts of arcane mana containing curse energy to defeat your foes. Two kinds of bolts can be summoned: a stable and a destructive version. The destructive bolts will explode upon impact, and the stable version will be tough and piercing. Stable cursed arcane bolts will have the curse energy be slow-acting, while destructive cursed arcane bolts will act aggressively. Due to the Sin Curse of Hunger, the overall damage of the Cursed Arcane Bolt is reduced in exchange for all damage dealt, now stealing a slight amount of energy. Adds a small bonus to the effect of Intelligence when using Cursed Arcane Bolt of Hunger.
This was one of those skills Jake had no intention of ever selecting but still valued as it gave him some insight into what was possible. It was clearly gained due to his research and improvement of his control of curse energy during the House of the Architect and was an interesting merging of curse energy and Jake’s arcane affinity. Having life-stealing arcane bolts definitely did seem intriguing, even if he wasn’t sure how useful it would actually be if it came at the cost of overall damage done.
Either way, cool skill to look at, but not really an option. Especially not with such a low rarity. Not that the next skill was that much of an improvement either, even if the rarity at least went up.
[Destabilizing Arcane Explosion (Epic)] – Remain unimpeded as you destabilize the world and all that seeks you harm. Allows the hunter to erupt in a destructive arcane explosion with the aim of disrupting all energy constructs and the concept of stability itself in your immediate surroundings. This arcane explosion will significantly weaken all environmental mana and objects and is incredibly effective at dismantling enemy energy constructs. Adds a bonus to the effects of Wisdom, Willpower, and Intelligence when using Destabilizing Arcane Explosion
He wasn’t quite sure what to think about this one. Was he going to pick it? No, definitely not, but the concepts in play were a bit surprising. The description told him that it was possible to directly attack the concept of stability itself using his arcane mana, which was… well, wasn’t that pretty much what the acid Jake had made also did? It kind of was.
Definitely another one of those skills to keep in mind for future freeform magic and when considering other upgrades. He was a bit surprised at one thing, though. This was the third skill, and it was only epic rarity. He had kind of expected better with his high-tier class. Then again, he probably shouldn’t be that surprised.
Jake remembered something he had read a good while back, which made him theorize that the reason the skills weren’t that awesome was due to Jake having improved some himself already. Seeing an upgraded version of Mark was definitely something he could have imagined, along with a better stealth skill. So it seemed like the system had to make skills more from things Jake had done rather than the innate Records of the class itself. Not to say there weren’t any skills like that… the next one available being one such example.
[Barrier of the Arcane Hunter of Horizon’s Edge (Ancient)] – Embrace stability as you become impervious. Allows the Arcane Hunter of Horizon’s Edge to summon a barrier of pure, stable arcane energy, blocking out any kinds of direct attacks that attempt to pass through – both physical and magical attacks alike. This effect is further improved when blocking attacks made from a far distance and from higher-leveled foes. All affinities not of your creation will be significantly suppressed within the barrier and a slight area around it. Mana or stamina will be consumed depending on the nature of the blocked attacks. Adds a bonus to the effects of Wisdom and Endurance when using Arcane Barrier of the Arcane Hunter of Horizon’s Edge.
Definitely the first “real” skill to consider. It was very similar to the barrier skill that had been offered back in D-grade, even having the same concept-suppressing effects. This one was quite a bit better, though. He especially liked the part that made it better, the more powerful and far away the attacker was.
Admitedly, Jake did kind of lack a good defensive skill. Right now, he relied on freeform stable barriers and Scales of the Malefic Viper whenever he had to block an attack he couldn’t simply avoid. Then again, that was also the biggest reason why he maybe didn’t need the skill: Jake would rather just dodge. So this skill would only be useful when there was no other choice.
That led to the question of how much better it even was than just a few layers of freeform stable barriers coupled with Scales. Jake naturally had no way to determine that, but it was a valid concern in his mind.
Ultimately, Jake wasn’t that keen on the skill, even if it could be useful in some cases. He was more interested in just improving his freeform arcane magic instead, perhaps taking some inspiration from this skill. He had taken inspiration from the last barrier skill offered, too, partly in his Unseen Hunter skill, where the barrier he could create when not moving was capable of suppressing concepts.
Moving on, Jake honestly felt a bit disappointed so far. However, when he saw the final skill … yeah, Jake still wasn’t sure how to feel. The rarity at least looked great.
[Brave Presence of the Emerging War God (Mythical)] – As you step foot upon the battlefield, let none hold doubt that a god of war has appeared. Having proven yourself and received the personal recognition of Valdemar, you have shown yourself to truly have the bravery and presence required to one day be recognized as a true War God. Allows you to emanate a Presence of Bravery by infusing it with inner energy, increasing the physical stats of all allies nearby while putting mental pressure on your opponents. Any allies fighting in the presence of the Emerging War God will be near-impervious to all forms of mental attacks. As bravery fills their spirits, retreat is no option, as even when resources are lacking, bravery remains. All effects of Brave Presence of the Emerging War God scales with Willpower and Endurance, as well as your overall level of power.
There was no need to try and theorize how Jake had unlocked this skill choice. It said why right there in the description. This was born of the Records from Jake clashing directly with Valdemar, probably coupled with the Primordial’s genuine intentions of having Jake join Valhal. Records recognizing Jake could be an Emerging War God.
Jake wasn’t sure how to feel about that.
Ignoring everything else and just looking at the skill, Jake had to recognize it was a damn powerful one. It would allow him to make everyone around him more powerful simply by being near him, put pressure on enemies, and even make all allies borderline immune to certain forms of magic. Based on that thing about bravery and lacking resources, Jake also read it as allowing those influenced by him to keep fighting despite not having stamina and mana left. All in all, it was a mythical skill through and through… but not one fitting Jake’s Path at all.
The skill never once mentioned making Jake himself stronger. Even if it did, the skill still had a stamina cost Jake didn’t doubt would be high. He didn’t need all the mental resistance stuff, either. This skill was, without a shadow of a doubt, absolutely incredible for someone leading an army or even a party leader, but Jake was neither of those. He was a hunter who was solo most of the time. He was no god of war, and quite frankly, he didn’t want to become one.
In the short term, this skill would probably still be useful as he was fighting in Nevermore with his party, but what about when they were out? Jake was going to be alone for the most part again, out hunting more and more powerful foes. This skill would be nearly useless in that case.
Not to mention how Jake felt it would “pollute” his Path as a hunter to have a skill like this. He feared it could end up unlocking a bunch of other commander-like skills in the future, something Jake definitely didn’t want.
No… no, while the skill was interesting and even a bit flattering, it wasn’t one Jake wanted. It didn’t fit him, no matter how powerful it was.
This left Jake with a bit of a problem when the usual strategy of just picking the highest-rarity skill at the end of the list didn’t work. It didn’t help that he didn’t like any of the other skills on offer either
However, where one sees challenges, there can also be opportunities. Because, while none of these five options were any good, they weren’t the only ones he had to choose between. Jake still vividly remembered the skill he had skipped for Arcane Supremacy when he reached 230, and when he checked the list, it was still there, just as he had hoped.
He was naturally talking about Penetrating Arcane Arrow of Horizon’s Edge.
[Penetrating Arcane Arrow of Horizon’s Edge (Ancient)] – No defenses shall stop your arrows as they pierce the foes that dare impede your Path toward the horizon. Allows the Hunter to create a Penetrating Arcane Arrow that will pierce through nearly any natural barriers and have a far higher penetrative effect on any defenses made by the target. Will temporarily lower the defenses of the foe if they are struck successfully. These effects are more powerful the higher the enemy’s defenses and the higher the level disparity between you and your opponent. On an internal cooldown, the Horizon-Chasing Hunter can push himself beyond his usual abilities and infuse the concepts of the Penetrating Arrow of Horizon’s Edge into another self-created arcane arrow. Doing this will temporarily make the skill unavailable, with this period dependent on the power of the arrow you infused. Due to their conceptual synergy, Penetrating Arcane Arrow of Horizon’s Edge receives significantly increased bonuses from Unblemished Arrows of the Horizon. Adds a bonus to the effectiveness of Agility, Strength, Wisdom, Intelligence, and Perception when using Penetrating Arcane Arrow of Horizon’s Edge.
Reading this skill once more, Jake felt certain. He had wanted it back then already and had only skipped it because Arcane Supremacy was just too good in comparison. Now, there was no clearly superior other choice, and Jake was more than pleased with selecting this one, as it would finally give him proper armor-penetrating attacks. Especially the ability to infuse the skill into another self-created arrow interested him, as he looked forward to seeing it mesh with Protean Arrow.
After barely any more thinking, Jake selected the skill as the instinctual knowledge entered his mind as he closed his eyes and took everything in. Once he had fully internalized all the knowledge, he opened his eyes again, as the Sword Saint had come over to check in with Jake as they waited for the next attack to arrive.
“Got a good new skill?” the old man asked with a smile. He still had a couple more levels to go before it was his turn, but it wouldn’t be long.
“Yeah,” Jake nodded as he stood up.
The Sword Saint smiled even more as he raised an eyebrow. “You know, while you were selecting a skill, the others and I discussed this floor, and we agreed that perhaps it would be wise to send one of us out to scout the area and perhaps see if we could slay any leaders or commanders in charge of-“
“Yes,” Jake cut him off as he grinned. He wasn’t going to say no to a chance like that.
“How lucky you agreed; I was just thinking you would be suitable for the job,” the old man chuckled. “Now, get going as we hold down the fort. Stay in touch and keep us informed of what you find.”
Jake didn’t need to be told twice that he could go play and took to the air. He briefly exchanged a glance with his party members as he passed, who waved him off as he heard the Sword Saint’s voice through the Golden Mark.
“Happy hunting.”
Comments
kapat
sword saint is so sweet at the end I love the party is like, yeah let’s let Jake go play!
Kconraw
Thx for the chapter
Olof Karlsson
Thanks for the chapter!
Frederik
yeah sry in hinsight that comment was a bit dickish but to my admittedly sleep deprivet Former self it seemed perfectly fine 🤦♂️🙈
Ty Cooper
I mean they already did that with shadow vault and made that bada**
Hodge Wasson
I'll agree that it's a complicated subject, that it's happened in various degrees of severity throughout history, and even that this isn't the best place for a debate. That being said, arguing that might makes right in this reality (seems objectively true in this story) ignores the very reasons that things like society and diplomacy exist. Not saying it doesn't happen, just like objectively horrible manifestations of the concept such as rape, murder, and robbery exist; however, blaming the victims of atrocities - or otherwise handwaving the atrocity through false equivalency - only furthers to perpetuate similar trauma by failing to fully condemn the agressor. "She shouldn't have been wearing that, she was asking for it" is a reprehensible response to rape and similarly "Native Americans did a fine job attacking each other" and "You have to be strong enough..." equally and falsely puts the blame on the victim of the atrocity. Again, I agree that it has and continues to happen. That is no reason to condone the actions as anything other than the morally reprehensible and unneeded acts that they were/are.
Kris Piskorski
That would probably become a skill like an Arrow/Archery of the Primal Hunter when he reaches godhood, in the same way villys skills work
kingofshibainu
Truly the cheatiest cheater
kingofshibainu
He thinks he did. But do you think Valdemar will be denied? Jake is going to be running away from that battle maniac for eternity
kingofshibainu
I think high record origin skills are harder to change (my guess) so it would be hard to override Valdemars records with his own. Might be something he picks up later though. I agree the skill would be interesting if he made it his own.
kingofshibainu
I expect the pace of things will pick up. He'll get a level in alchemy to get a new skill, then speed run these floors to see how high they can get before one last final showdown to cap nevermore.
Kyle
I doubt it. A big difference between the two is that in DotF the skill selections are training wheels for letting people grasp the Dao, which exists outside the System. In this story the multiverse runs on System-fuckery. It’s technically possible to do everything without it, but even when you manage it, the System-rewarded skill is usually so much more effective. We may see skills take increasingly longer to get but I don’t think they’ll go away entirely.
Numbzy
I am not aware if any concept is any more or less difficult than others. I believe the difficulty only comes from your understanding of the concept, not it's origins.
Tim Bartlett
it might be difficult to removeValdemar from a skill
Yaldabaoth
Yooooo! That would be sick asf! "Emergance of the Primal Hunter God" I love that as a name idea for such a skill, so feckin much! 😄
James Faulkner
Tftc!
Numbzy
It's unfortunate that Jake didn't pick Vladdy's skill. I see some serious potential that Jake could essentially remake the skill for his own purpose. Remove the parts that embolden his allies. Empower the Aura to incite dread/fear in enemies to combo with Primal Gaze. Convert the War God aspect to Hunter God. I see plenty of potential for it. Remember when Jake was explaining that you could remove concepts from skills? This would have been the perfect situation to show that in action.
Decibel790
Oh riiiiight. Although, valdy will know he passed up on a skill from him and probably have a chuckle about it.
Ty Cooper
I am pretty sure they cannot see the skills. Villy said it was like reading the true soul. That's why he tells Villy about them after he gets skill them.
Tyler S.
Emergance of the Primal Hunter God
Decibel790
Thanks for the chapter I wonder what kind of uproar he created by ignoring valdys skill
KenTX325
@ Hodge-It’s a complicated subject and it’s probably not appropriate to try and debate it here. Not saying Native Americans weren’t screwed over. Just saying that it is not unique. This has happened over and over throughout history and all over the globe. It was happening here before the Europeans arrived. You have to be strong enough to make others say it’s not worth it to attack you.
Ty Cooper
I think the system still gives out skills but they are required to upgrade them
Ryan Ulrich
Will there ever come a time where Jake doesn’t have a skill selection? Similar to DotF, once you become a high enough grade the system expects you to start crafting your own skills instead of handing out freebies.
Thenais
Jake rejected the bromance path :'(
joel southard
Nice thank you for the chapter
John Balman
It's doubtful he will take that particular skill, It is truly to counter to his path now if another Vladimir skill comes along that aligns with his path hell yeah he'll take it if it's an awesome skill
John Balman
Same
John Balman
That is a damn interesting thought maybe none of those ells will do anything, but if they've had a baby or two???
John Balman
Jake being true to Jake
Ty Cooper
I mean he can get some great heretic points by saying f*ck it to Valdy's portion stuff and make it Hunter God skill that make all animals shake in fear when he pulls out a weapon.
Yaldabaoth
What would be cool, if Jake could pick this Mythical skill in the future, just to be able to corrupt it for his path. 🤔 Maybe use both, Pride and Touch of the Malefic Viper, to corrupt the skill, and then (maybe) combine it with Pride, to create a Hunter skill, if not already done so, or to just consolidate them? 🤔
Yaldabaoth
Yooo, was thinking the exact same thing! If it doesn't fit his path, then just corrupt that shit, to do so and fit said path! Yut yut!
Bmanzoo
Yeah those eels and are in proximity of the Musa tree and have been around for a lot of events
C. Adkins
You mean the eels that were chilling when Jake was first practicing mana strings out of the tutorial? Most beefed up npcs in history
Stubbsee
My idea included that already, even if it wasnt perhaps explained very well. It would have two versions, the default one that is like summoning his current normal arrows but it includes the concepts of defence breaking from this skill and the enemy adaption from protean arrow but keeping it pretty economical and spammable. Meanwhile he would have his finisher that combines the current protean arrow and the overcharged concept that would hugely buff it but make him unable to summon any arrows for a bit.
Tommy
Now the system has offered it to him, and not only that but Jake didn’t choose it, it means that should he have further fortuitous encounters and experiences that build up his records etc. then the system can potentially edit it / create something even more bespoke to fit Jake’s path. Basically, now it’s been shown to be on the table, I think Jake will get something more Hunter-aligned in the future…. Hopefully!
Specter
Thank you! "his help in the form of the arc would arrive after five years based on the description," arc -> ark
Bmanzoo
Does anyone else wonder what kind of weird records the eels in Jake’s pound have?
Hodge Wasson
@KenTX325 Kindly fuckoff with your false equivalence bullshit. Of nearly 600 tribes with their own languages, cultures, origin stories, etc. you are somehow able to tell us what they were generally ALL like in such a short statement? Yeah... sure. I have no doubt you're a preeminent scholar and not just shooting your opinion from your waist. Were some tribes warlike brutal to some neighbors? Sure, and yet most still lived and traded with each other without a problem. Nevermind that even if your statement was generally true it still wouldn't suffice to justify the horrors of colonialism and shit like children being stolen away to be put in boarding schools to eradicate the language/cultures.
Govir Drauka
If that’s the case, it went over my head. I was expecting only 4 after that and thought the barrier skill was the last one. But I can see it interpreted as a joke now.
Hodge Wasson
@Mrbaily & Darthnarciss In context of the system and this book, it makes sense. Not complaining about it being here or saying it's contextually wrong. A system that gives out power and levels the way it does specifically promotes that kind of "fuck you I got mine" attitude. Even makes it the morally correct thing as you can then protect those that you care about who would otherwise be screwed. Just shines a depressing reflection upon our reality where power doesn't NEED to consume everything else to propogate.
jazz
Skill selection 💪🏾 always fun
Polish Squirell
have him make a Hunter God skill based on it
Rahsheem Reid
The Isley brother said
Numbzy
It would be interesting and powerful, but the biggest issue with it. The resource cost would presumably be quite high to be shooting hundreds, if not thousands, of arrows every fight. Maybe he would be able to use a weaker version of the skill to save on cost for most standard arrows.
Numbzy
I'm assuming that playing g with adding the over-charging concept will happen after Nevermore. After all, he's going to be a busy boy to finish as many levels as possible to get the #1 placement on the leaderboards.
Numbzy
He's making a joke since the kicking skill is so bad in his opinion. He's basically saying it's not a real skill.
Cody C
Damn man i like to listen to these on audible and im not looking forward to having 4 whole releases be inside nevermore but what can you do i guess🤷🏻♂️ at least we’re past the challenge dungeons now
Michael
While valdemar would be a bit upset, he probably would at least recognize Jake's path as a hunter trumps valdemar's hopes of him becoming a war god
Steven Myer
Then you sir, madam or spooky skeleton as you might be are far better at reading retention then myself!
Govir Drauka
Right, but it then goes on to list 5 skills and even later says "Because, while none of these five options were any good". So something's not consistent.
KenTX325
Native Americans did a fine job of attacking each other to seize land and resources before the Europeans arrived. Look at Comanche defeating the Apache in TX. Look at the long list of who conquered who through out history. The moral is be strong enough to defend yourself.
Shannon Bryce
5 is the maximum available he has just almost always gotten the max before due to his varied style
Isley
good chappie
KenTX325
Jake does have an aura attack skill at legendary already with Pride. He doesn’t use it very often but there is no reason not to. Maybe put his own spin on it and combine with gaze.
Thomas Laptain
I could see the idea of Jake taking it and then 'corrupting' it somehow like he has with items while using touch, making it into one suited to his path.
Govir Drauka
“there were only four new skills available” Should that be five new skills? And if so, is that how many he normally gets? I.E. he wouldn’t be disappointed in getting 5 again.
Darthnarciss
Not to belittle your experiences or your viewpoints,and I'm saying this as an almost middle aged black man in America, but in the Multiverse within this series, Might literally makes Right. It completely stands to reason that in such a universe if you fail to protect what you own you don't deserve it. It's morally Right in such a world to take what others don't have the strength to hold. Becuase if you don't, someother punk will and then they might be strong enough to go after you and yours.
Xarow
It would but he won’t know about it unless Jake brings it up. Don’t think that would be I character for him though.
Xarow
I liked the Tree analogy, that nature does not worry about moralising things. Now that all life and elementals can become intelligent, do they all start moralising or do humans now drift more to the nature ‘survival of the fittest’ view? A lot of how the system works, promotes those with the strongest records anyway.
Sam Rosenberg
Nice chapter. Hoping Jake picks the war god skill in the future!
Frederik
we already knew that 😅
Ty Cooper
Lol just a week later they complete the dungeon. Jake having a new skill went on a rampage while experimenting and killed all the leaders of the packs and the beasts are to disorganized with the power balance distroyed.
kingofshibainu
Yes! The Arcane kick skill prediction was correct! He got the penetrating arrow skill and can't wait to see it in action tomorrow. Lol Settlers of Catan reference and looking forward to what he does with this "overcharge" concept
Stubbsee
I had a thought, What if jake merges his normal arrow creation, protean arrow creation and this into one skill? His regular arrows will have the enemy specialisation and defense penetration, while he can make a super arrow with these effects like his current ability and even potentially overpower it to make it even stronger at the cost of a cooldown, while this would mean he is unable to make any arrows for a period, I think that would make the arrow even stronger than it would otherwise be since he is sacrificing all his ranged options on this one finisher.
Andrew Lavoie
It's weird when books do that but I totally understand your feelings on the subject
Gavin
I really like how dedicated Jake is to his path and self without seeming like a edgelord
Tyler S.
Much fun cant wait to see the real powerleveling, thanks for another good chapter Zog
Tyler S.
Would be funny to get a comment on Valdamar being bummed from him avoiding the skill
Tyler S.
They know his restless heart so well, the primal hunter needs to stay busy... for plot reasons or else the story would be many fast-forwarding of century/ mellenia passing with very little progress
Steven Myer
Now that we know he can pick up old skills he passed on, maybe for the holidays this year if Jake could save a skill selection and pick up Duskleafs skill in front of him would be fantastic.
Steven Myer
I love the skill choice but it would be cool to see him defend with something new besides scales, so I hope the barrier keeps evolving to something with his path! I'm also looking forward to him "corrupting" the skills from villy to his path when he works on them at some point and makes them his own, can't be level as a heretic if you don't start stealing more then a drop of blood!
Travis G
Trust the Path, Jakey 🙏
Cory Sauls
TFTC
JJB4345_80_815
Yes, Thank you for the chappy, Zogarth!
Hodge Wasson
Coming from a small rez (Native American reservation) myself, I am somehow not surprised at all that a multiverse that usually puts personal power above all else cares little for the ethics of colonialism. Hell, we as a global society profess a much more egalitarian mindset and clear acts of murdering Native populations are barely met with strongly worded letters, if acknowledged at all. Great book and setting to read about, but hits depressingly close to home at times.
Zogarth
Fixed. Accidentally used an outdated description.
JJMand
I thought he would have picked it anyway and just never used it, until he could usurp the skill and change it to something that would fit him better.
BumAssBumAss
Kind of disappointed by the new skills, but glad he finally picked penetrating arrow. I was really thinking Jake would pick it at 230, but that's fine. I thought it was weird, but the description is different. During the 230 skill selection, the skill said "Will temporarily lower the defenses of the foe if they are struck successfully." But now it doesn't. It was the reason I thought Jake would pick this over arcane supremacy.
Jack
love the fact they thought lets send someone to face beasts that a almost certainly level 300 and they probably didn't even have discuss who cause jake would be pissed if isn't him
Vega
Nice. Thanks for the chapter.
Jack
One thing i love about the primal hunter is that jake never picks a skill based on rarity and only cares if it fits his path. So many things I've read where the MC always picks the highest rank skill even if its useless to him merely because it got the highest rarity. I love the fact that its totally possible that jake would turn down a Divine rarity skill for a inferior rarity skill that would suit him better.
Naotsugu97
Arigato!
Michael Fannon
Jake really does have good teammates. Soon as he gets a new skill, they send off to face horrible odds against an endless hoard all alone. They really do get him.
CinnamonHawk263
I always enjoy these class/profession skill choices, it’s interesting to see the effect Jake’s actions have on him through these selections.
Valhazstromoz
Poor valdemars like "wtf bro I was trying to help your ungrateful ass" lmao
BlackRazaras
Thanks for the chapter
