The Primal Hunter 8: A LitRPG Adventure, page 29
Crushing all the bottles, she spilled the liquid all over the water. She knew it could attract something they didn’t want to attract, but it could also do just the opposite. Just after she did this, a large crocodile emerged from below—one nearly at the peak of D-grade.
"Hank, take Mark and Louise and keep running!" Miranda yelled to the builder as Christen tossed Louise to him. Hank complied and started running further away… not only because of the croc, but also what came from behind.
Sadly, he did not get far. The water rose in front of him like a barrier as it crackled with lightning. Hank turned back in a panic, and so did everyone else who was not too busy with the crocodile.
A group of five appeared, all of them giving off strong auras.
Miranda recognized them as the group with Arthur during the Auction. All of them had powerful equipment, and there was even the caster with the Fulgarian Deepcaller class that Jake had sold the Akashic Tome to. He was also the one who had made the barrier of water. She identified a few of them and knew they were in trouble.
[Human – lvl 174]
[Human – lvl 178]
But she still believed they could at least put up a fight… until more presences appeared behind the wall, having circled around with incredible speed. Miranda squinted and gritted her teeth as she saw them.
[Infernomaw Hound – lvl 199]
[Frostmaw Hound – lvl 199]
[Thundermaw Hound – lvl 199]
Three large, dog-like creatures, each of them more than five meters tall, guarded their path of escape. Miranda prepared her magic to hold them off as she released a pulse of Verdant energy. It entered the water below, but the Fulgarian Deepcaller slammed his staff into it, sending a pulse of lightning through and nullifying her mana.
He smiled confidently as Miranda frowned. "A pleasure to finally meet you, Ms. Wells. I am Mahowny, leader of the first advance party of the United Cities Alliance. Took us quite a while to finally catch up, but here we are.” He turned to the others in the group and smiled. "We are not merciless. It is only the City Lord of Haven and her assistant we are after, and the rest of you are free to leave.” Almost tauntingly, he added, “But should you choose to stand in our way, we will show no mercy."
He was full of himself, and Miranda wanted to do something. Just then, however, he opened the barrier a bit, and all three Hounds jumped in and killed the crocodile. It was an obvious show of strength, and they all knew one side was superior.
"I still don’t understand why you find this all necessary,” Miranda said. “You are choosing to work with an unknown Chosen from another planet, and for what? Do you truly think this will end well, even if all your plans work out? He is using you, not the other way around.”
Mahowny just smirked. "One of the good things about being a soldier is that my job is not to think about those things. I just follow orders and get the job done, and in this instance, my job is to kill you. Truly, it is nothing personal. Now, you can either decide to give yourself up and have your followers here leave… or fight. I am fine with either option."
Miranda tried to look like she was deep in thought. She felt herself being closely monitored by the party in front of her. All five of them were above 170, but the biggest problem was the three hounds. If she tried to use any magic, she did not doubt they would react and pounce. The other side clearly knew that they risked taking a loss or two if Miranda or the others had any trump cards, making them prefer that she just surrendered.
All Miranda could do was to make use of this and drag out the time. All she remembered about the Grand Mangrove River was that Jake had made a friend there, and she had hoped to draw them closer using the blood.
"Time is up," Mahowny said after Miranda did her darndest to look conflicted for around a minute. Miranda prepared herself along with the rest of her group, as the other side was about to engage. "You have made your choice, and now it is time to—"
He didn’t get further before he clamped up. Everyone stopped in their tracks, with the three hounds suddenly lying down on their respective branches, whimpering. An aura had swept into the area, making Miranda’s eyes open wide. It was stronger than anything she had ever felt on Earth, and she had no doubt the source was well in the C-grade.
She slowly turned her head and saw the figure that was the source of the aura through the thick roots of the mangrove. Miranda did not know what to expect, but it was not that. A young woman with snow-white skin and scattered scales across her body walked on water like it was solid ground. Her hair was long and white like the rest of her body, and her eyes were red with reptilian pupils. She wore a dress that looked like it was made of snakeskin, swaying behind her as if weightless. She looked like something out of a fairytale.
[Alabaster Crimsoneye Snake – lvl ???]
The young woman—no, C-grade monster turned humanoid—watched them all, seemingly looking for something. Or someone. Finally, her eyes landed on Miranda.
"Who are you?"
Chapter 33
Snake Girl = Danger Noodle
Miranda’s mind was a bit jumbled from the powerful aura, and it took her a moment to formulate a response. This resulted in her not being the first one to answer.
"I sincerely apologize for disturbing your area," Mahowny said as he bowed. His party members followed suit, their nervousness palpable. Sweat poured down their brows as they also realized that this monster was more than any of them could handle.
It had to be mid-tier C-grade… which meant it was above level 250. The group from the United Cities Alliance could probably handle a weak C-grade using their hounds, but the snake was an entirely different issue. It was leagues above anything they could even touch.
"We are only here for this woman and will leave once done," Mahowny further said. "And we are more than willing to compensate you for allowing us this."
The snake did not even turn to him, continuing to stare at Miranda.
Miranda felt the pressure and finally came up with an answer. "Miranda Wells… I work for the Malefic’s Chosen."
As if a switch had been flipped, the humanoid snake’s eyes opened wide. "Really? Is he here?"
"No, sadly not," Miranda said, the pressure on her instantly alleviated.
The snake deflated. "Oh…"
Miranda saw that Mahowny and the others had turned white as sheets, now matching the complexion of the snake girl. They looked like they were already about to plan their escape, having realized they were in a very perilous situation.
"I was being chased here by enemies of the Chosen," Miranda said, quickly pouncing on the opportunity to remove the elites from the United Cities Alliance. "They aim to kill me and hurt the Chosen through that."
This got a response out of the snake, who turned her head to the party of five.
Mahowny instantly raised his hands in defense. "This is all a misunderstanding. I—"
He didn’t get further. Miranda wasn’t sure what happened, but one moment he was talking, and the next, there was no head on his shoulders. The movement had been too fast for her to see. It wasn’t even certain if it was teleportation or just incredibly fast movement.
"Did you know that humans have these unwanted movements in their aura when they lie?” the snake said in an insidious voice. It looked like she hadn’t even moved as she stood there with a severed head, parts of the spine hanging out. “I learned that from the ones I acquired to perfect this human form.”
Her rhetorical question did not have a chance to be answered as movements came from below. The aura of the Alabaster Snake had completely masked them. Three C-grade snakes shot up from the water, and within less than five seconds, the hounds and human party were all dead.
Miranda could only stand there and stare as it happened. She had hoped for assistance, but the response had been prompt and unexpectedly harsh. There was no questioning or doubt in the snake; she had simply acted and wiped them out unceremoniously.
She saw that Hank looked incredibly worried, and Neil’s party still had defensive positions. Sloppy ones, as they all knew that if any of the snakes that had just appeared chose to attack, none of them would survive.
Are these the "friends" Jake talked about? Miranda asked herself, already knowing the answer. He had mentioned it so casually, like it was no big deal… but the snake in front of them was far more powerful than anything she could have imagined.
The three C-grade snakes that had appeared were all far larger than the small and delicate-looking Alabaster Snake, but they all showed respect to her and bowed before ducking their heads underwater once more, dragging the corpses along with them.
"Humans are really questionable," the snake said with scorn before looking at Miranda. "Ah, but not you. Just the normal humans, if you know what I mean. Anyway! You said you are here because of the Forefather’s Chosen? Why are you here if he is not?"
Miranda was not sure what to answer, but she quickly read the mood and emotional state of the powerful C-grade. "There is a conflict going on right now, and the Chosen is preoccupied with handling other matters, including an enemy Chosen that serves a god who is antagonistic towards your Forefather. Due to this, the city I managed for him could no longer properly protect itself, and he asked us to go here."
The snake listened attentively before tilting her head. "But why here?"
Miranda smiled, happy the C-grade had asked. "Because he trusts that you can keep us safe while he is gone."
The snake reacted a bit more strongly than Miranda had expected. With starry eyes, the snake clenched her fists and put on a massive smile that looked more than a little odd. "Re… Really? He trusts me?"
"If not, he would not send us here," Miranda promptly answered. "It is truly my pleasure to meet a confidant of the Chosen. As I said before, my name is Miranda Wells. May I ask what your name is?"
Miranda had to admit that a cold shiver ran down her spine as she asked the question. If Jake had met this snake, there was a chance he had also given her a name, and no matter how dumb it was, she didn’t doubt the female snake—given her personality—would be all giddy and proud of it. She swore that if he had named the snake Snakie or Scaley or anything like that, she would be unable to hold her poker face and would smack him over the head the moment they met again, Chosen or not.
"A name?" the snake asked, still all happy about what Miranda had said. "I sadly do not have one of those. Most simply call me by my race, as I am the only one in these parts. You can refer to me as it, too, if you so desire."
It was almost funny to see how the female snake now tried to act all professional, as though she were welcoming guests into her humble abode. Which was exactly what she did in her mind, Miranda reckoned.
"Please follow me back to the center of the mangrove," the Alabaster Snake said. “Ah, we even have a few humans there, and lodging for your kind.”
"Really?" Miranda asked with genuine surprise. Humans living in a C-grade-infested danger zone? She had a hard time seeing that.
"Yep, you will see when we get there," the snake girl said, smiling. She looked towards the water for a moment before the three large snakes emerged again. Alongside them, a wooden barge had also appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. "Get on for a quicker trip. Ah, did you know the Chosen rode it too? We helped him the last time he was here, and he was so nice."
"I can imagine," Miranda said, having to fake her smile a little. How in the hell did Jake end up making friends with nearly every monster he didn’t just kill? Heck, even the ones he killed, he somehow ended up making friends with posthumously, as in the case of the Fallen King.
She and the others got on the barge and traversed the Grand Mangrove River far faster than expected. The snake girl ended up joining them on the barge and was incredibly talkative once she learned everyone there had met Jake before. Neil was the first to truly reciprocate, curiously asking about the area and the odd spatial fluctuations he felt.
It turned out that the mangrove forest truly was a mysterious place. The water was far, far deeper than it should have any right to be. It was likely spatially expanded somehow, and so were some areas of the Grand Mangrove River in general. Small clearings from a distance could turn into large, open areas once one entered them and vice versa.
The place they were being taken to was one such clearing. It was close to the center of the Grand Mangrove River and the lair of the Alabaster Crimsoneye Snake. Miranda also learned along the way that the snakes had pretty much fully taken over the entire Grand Mangrove River, having hunted down all powerful C-grades that could prove to be threats. The rest, they had left alive, effectively to fatten them up for future slaughter.
It didn’t take them long before they reached their destination, and Miranda was astonished when she saw it. After entering a clearing, the area opened up and revealed what looked like a massive, clear lake with sunlight coming down from above. Floating barges and platforms with buildings filled the clearing, making it look like a small city had been constructed.
Miranda saw well over a hundred people walking on the barges, and there was clearly too much space for the number of people. She also noticed something else… The moment they appeared, all the humans rushed out of their homes and sat down on their knees at the edge of the barges, many of them shivering.
"How come these people are here?" Miranda couldn’t help but ask.
"Oh, I had them brought here,” the snake said. “Humans who tried to pass the river but were captured. After the Chosen was here, I realized that I didn’t truly understand the world or the humans, so I decided to get some. While humans are dumb, they can also know a lot. Oh, I even got this form after studying humans a whole bunch!" She shared this last bit with a big smile.
"So, they are staying here against their wills?" Hank asked curtly. Miranda threw him a glance to shut up, but the snake had already heard him.
"Well, I brought them here against their wills, but I guess they can try and leave? Not that I see them making it out without getting eaten or recaptured.” The Alabaster Snake laughed, clearly finding it funny.
"I see," Miranda said before anyone else could speak. "Could you please bring us to a place where we can relax? We have been on the move for a long time."
"Of course!" the snake girl said enthusiastically. "I prepared a special place in case the Chosen returned! Humans are really good at making things; I will admit that."
Miranda nodded along, glad to have everyone else stashed away. She had a feeling that the snake girl wasn’t going to leave them alone, though, so she would bite the bullet and handle the C-grade. She feared what any of the others could say, and if the snake got mad for just a single second, it could tear any of them apart.
"If you are interested in learning more about the Chosen, I am more than willing to share,” Miranda said. “In fact, I will have to contact him soon using one of my skills, and you are more than free to come along. I can even relay a message.”
"Really?" the snake asked with glee. "I would love to!"
She was almost swaying with happiness as she sat there, and it bought Miranda enough time to get the others off the barge and into a mansion-like building that did not look like it should be able to float. Once they were all gone, Miranda and the Alabaster Snake headed towards another large, unoccupied building for Miranda to finally get back to Jake.
And probably have an incredibly long conversation with an overly enthusiastic, highly erratic, and extremely dangerous C-grade snake.
While waiting for Miranda to get back to him, hopefully having reached the mangrove forest safely and met up with the albino snake, Jake decided to have some fun.
One of the things Jake liked the most about new skills was the honeymoon period. He remembered when he had just gotten One Step Mile or Arrow of the Ambitious Hunter, and the fun time he’d had experimenting and using the skills for the first time, truly pushing them to their limits.
Relentless Hunt, as Jake had chosen to shorten yet another overly long skill name to, was a skill he naturally also looked forward to having fun with. There was much to figure out, and Jake went in with glee as he stood before a large bear. A large bear breathing fire. Oh, and there was lava coming out of its mouth at all times, and even some running down its hide.
Finally, it was about the size of a warehouse.
[Emberdust Magmabear – lvl ???]
Jake estimated it to be around level 210, and it was probably the strongest C-grade he’d faced so far in pure power—though he had a feeling he was facing a good matchup. Observing it from afar, he saw it bathe in a volcano and then soak in the sunlight for a few minutes before eating some metal out of a mountain. Not a single creature dared get close. Sandy had told him that something good was hidden within the lava of the volcano, and the worm acted all coy like it was doing him a favor, while Jake knew Sandy just wanted whatever was in that damn lava.
Now, while this was undoubtedly a fight, it was also a journey of exploration. A chance for Jake to see what he was truly capable of. An opportunity to fully explore his new skill and learn its limitations and when it was best used.
The massive beast looked like it could give him just that opportunity.
Jake engaged it from afar with a fully charged Arcane Powershot, blasting a hole in its body right off the bat. The blood that came out was thick and burned like lava, but the Hemotoxin Jake had poisoned the arrow with infected it nevertheless. His Sense of the Malefic Viper also made him aware the poison worked as intended, proving it was truly a being of flesh and blood despite its appearance.
