The Primal Hunter

Jake’s feeling that communication would open up for the Milky Way Galaxy hadn’t been entirely based on his guts. Sure, it had been ninety percent just a feeling, but the reason others had entertained the idea was because it seemed probable with the other aspects of the event taken into account.

Clearly, the system differentiated between galaxies and their performances. Each galaxy did its own event, and as per the system message received before the Prima Guardians arrived on their respective planets, rewards would be given once the final Prima Guardian was slain:

“All rewards from this event shall be given once all Prima Guardians of the Milky Way Galaxy have been slain or at the event’s natural expiration in five years. Rewards are based both on the performance of every individual and the planet’s performance as a whole.”

The wording also made it sound like the event would expire when the final Prima Guardian was slain, and if the event was over, why would communication remain jammed? All-in-all, there had been good reason to believe Jake had been correct.

Anyway… Jake was happy with his newly upgraded arrow and quickly put Eternal Hunger away with its new shiny coat of Protean Arrow goodness. The entire thing was perfectly stable after his success, and Jake wasn’t in a rush to use the arrow, as the coat should remain stable for at least a few years if he put it away and didn’t expose it to environmental mana.

To be clear, it was still only one arrow. The Protean Arrow enhancement would only last for a single shot and then Eternal Hunger would be back to just being Eternal Hunger and no longer an arrow in the eyes of the system. Hopefully, that single attack would be enough to kill most things, and even if it wasn’t, it was sure to deal tremendous damage.

But all good things in time. For now, Jake had some system messages to attend to, and after that, he had to check in with Miranda, talk to Villy, and figure out what had been going on over the last day or so while Jake was busily hyper-focusing on upgrading his Protean Arrow skill.

Opening the system messages he’d received, Jake saw it was a long one and got to reading.

The final Prima Guardian of the Milky Way Galaxy has fallen, and with it, the Exalted Prima’s assessment of your galaxy is complete.

With the event concluded, certain restrictions placed upon the Milky Way Galaxy have been lifted; however, for the duration of the other galaxies of the universe doing their respective events, none can leave the galaxy, and communication within the universe shall remain fully restricted.

Due to their performances in this event, certain individuals have been granted additional rewards based on their contribution to the event and the number of Primas and Prima Guardians they have slain. Additional rewards have been granted to all Administrator Candidates based on their ranking. Due to the performance of the Milky Way Galaxy during the Prima Guardian event, the top five Administrator Candidates have been promoted to Seat of the Exalted Prima Administrators, granting them certain privileges once visiting the Seat of the Exalted Prima. Based on their rankings, their respective authorities differ.

There was a lot to unpack, but it was good to see their galaxy had indeed been the first in the universe to finish their event. Moreover, it seemed that the reward for this wasn’t something tangible but instead what Jake would call a galaxy-wide “buff” of sorts to Records. It should make it easier for everyone to keep getting levels and progressing… it wasn’t all good, though, dependent on where you were coming from.

This only further increased the value of the Milky Way Galaxy. There were already many with machinations on claiming the galaxy, and now they had just been further motivated. Moreover, the Seat of the Exalted Prima in the galaxy had also been improved, meaning claiming the galaxy would likely even help you take control of a World Wonder, something every single top faction would be highly interested in.

Things really weren’t going to end peacefully… but all that was a problem for later. Probably something he would have to think and talk about later that day, but still a little later.

The message also finally confirmed that some level of communication was indeed back on the table, though it was definitely still limited. No one could help other galaxies or contact them until they were done dealing with their own events, and traveling to other universes was also still out of the question. But it did sound like one could talk with those in other universes, and just being able to contact Villy was enough for what was to come, and the continued lockdown was only good for Jake and his plans.

Finally, the message ended with the top five Administrator Candidates being promoted to full-on Administrators, putting them one step closer to claiming the Seat of the Exalted Prima within the Milky Way as their own. Clearly, it was still a competition of who would ultimately claim it, seeing as there were five who got promoted.

As for who got the promotions… well, if it had been right after Jake had slain his first Prima Guardian, it would have been him at the forefront. Back then, he had the top spot, with Ell’Hakan second and what he now knew was the Desolate Child of Loss right beneath him. However, over the last months, things had changed.

Administrator Candidates promoted to Seat of the Exalted Prima Administrators:

1: Ell’Hakan

2: Jake Thayne

3: Servant of the Holy Church

4: King Iludar

5: Voice of the One

In addition to these five being promoted, all other rewards have been granted accordingly. Other Administrator Candidates have been rewarded and given opportunities for promotion.

Jake didn’t particularly care about the last part, but the five people promoted were definitely of note… especially seeing as Jake had dropped down to the second spot. Actually, the mere fact Jake remained in second place was a testament to the power of the Prima Guardian Earth had faced and the faction Jake had ended up creating. Especially when one also considered the Voice of the One – Kindroth – was on the list.

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Miranda wasn’t on the list because she was essentially an extension of Jake and not a World Leader. Ell’Hakan was there and had the top spot because he was the leader of the biggest coalition, while the Servant of the Holy Church was obviously from the Holy Church. On that note, calling themselves a Servant was obviously just some bullshit PR strategy to appear more humble and something the Holy Church loved doing way too much, which was also why they tended to not use names but only titles, even on places like the Nevermore Leaderboards.

As for King Iludar, Jake remembered Miranda mentioning he was one of the close aides of Ell’Hakan and the leader of a coalition that had joined him and the Holy Church. It wouldn’t be wrong to say he was Ell’Hakan’s Kindroth in that he was someone not directly connected to any of the largest factions of the multiverse but had chosen to align himself with them anyway and had reached his high position due to competence.

Jake didn’t really have much else to say about this list. If he hadn’t been a moron and gotten himself injured, he would likely have been able to take the top spot, as while Ell’Hakan did lead the top alliance in the Milky Way, he did so with many helpers who were bound to also show up on the list of Adminstrator Candidates. Meanwhile, Jake had a lot of people who weren’t candidates, meaning their contributions would mostly be attributed to him. Well, he and Kindroth, based on how the Voice of the One had done pretty damn well and earned himself a promotion.

Seeing Ell’Hakan with his name ranked higher on a list than Jake’s did feel bad, but it wasn’t anything he stressed over. Maybe the other Chosen got better rewards, and he did have an advantage when it came to ultimately claiming the Seat of the Exalted Prima, but if all went well, none of that would soon matter. Besides, it wasn’t as if Jake didn’t get any rewards.

He hadn’t noticed it, primarily because he hadn’t been using the ring, seeing as it hadn’t given any stats before, but now, the Seal of the Exalted Prima Jake had been rewarded after gaining access to the Prima Vessel was no longer just a useless decoration that only allowed teleportation. No, it had been thoroughly upgraded, and it was definitely time for Jake to change out one of his rings… because this was a good one.

[Administrator’s Seal of the Exalted Prima (Mythical)] – Proof that you are an Administrator of the Seat of the Exalted Prima and on your way to laying claim to a World Wonder. This item has been touched by the Exalted Prima, granting it potent abilities of adaption. This allows you to mimic a part of the Exalted Prima Guardian’s powers, giving you adaptable stats. These stats will apply dependent on your situation and your actions. These stats can exceed the stat cap provided by equipment by up to 5% or 2880 stats, whichever is lowest. The Administrator’s Seal of the Exalted Prima grants you ownership of the Prima Vessel on your home planet (Earth) and grants you the ability to teleport to it (limitations apply, cooldown based on the difficulty of the teleport). Wearing this Seal allows you to enter the Seat of the Exalted Prima of the Milky Way Galaxy (requires B-grade). Stat amounts granted by this item scale with level. Enchantments: +14400 Adaptive Stats. Adaptive Stat Amplication. Administrator’s Privileges. Administrator’s Teleportation. As you further your qualifications as an Administrator named by the Exalted Prima, this item can be further upgraded.

Requirements: Soulbound.

Jake very vividly remembered being jealous as hell of the version of this ring granted to everyone else but him after they had slain the Prima Guardian on Earth. He also remembered thinking that surely he would get his own version once the event concluded, and it turns out he had been entirely correct.

The ring back then had granted +10000 Adaptive Stats, and you could only exceed the stat cap by 2500. Jake’s here was clearly better, and what’s more, it would only keep getting better as he kept leveling up. Sure, maybe the others also got an upgrade to their rings, but Jake was more than happy.

Really, looking at the ring, it really was overpowered. Giving effectively 14400 stats was kind of close to half of the total stat points Jake could get from items, and one had to remember Jake had stupid high stats in the first place due to all his titles and the Malefic Viper Legacy skills being cheats.

Regarding the stats that the mythical item granted, it wasn’t hard to see where the numbers came from. 2880 was clearly from the fact he was level 288 in his race level, and 14400 was just half of that times a hundred. When put in perspective, it made it feel like the ring gave Jake an extra ten stats whenever he leveled up due to the ability to go above the stat cap, with the total stats granted by the ring increasing by fifty every time he gained a level. With how high Jake’s stat gain was, that did mean the ring with proportionally grow weaker with time, but the mere fact it scaled at all was huge. Plus, it said he had a chance to upgrade it further in the future, so he could totally see its scaling get re-adjusted later on.

As for all the other things the ring did… well, that was probably a big part of why it jumped to being mythical and not legendary, though the ability to scale and upgrade was already a pretty damn impressive ability. Granting the ability to teleport using the Seal was just the icing on the cake, not the mention the final part that, to many, was perhaps the most important:

It allowed him access to the Seat of the Exalted Prima in the Milky Way Galaxy… once he reached B-grade, that is. So still a way to go in that department, but at least this did seem to confirm that the fight for the Seat would continue in B-grade. Or, of course, one could also see it as it beginning right now, as every newly promoted Administrator had just been told they had until B-grade to get rid of any competition for the World Wonder.

Anyway, Jake naturally put on the new ring and discarded an old ring he bought even before Nevermore. Losing 1000 Perception, 200 Wisdom, and 200 Intelligence for 14400 Adaptive Stats definitely wasn’t a bad trade, and Jake instantly felt the connection with the ring and even his ability to teleport to the Prima Vessel.

Before, he had been already wearing the ring, but due to equipment limitations, he hadn’t been wearing, wearing the ring in the eyes of the system. Now, he was, and it felt pretty damn good. He tried testing it a bit as the others had done back when they got their own inferior versions of the ring, and it felt odd to actively have his stats amplified based on his actions. Summoning an orb of arcane mana, Jake felt his Willpower and Wisdom be amplified by the ring, and when he tried to make the orb more destructive, Intelligence also got boosted. Focusing a bit more on control with it, Perception even got improved.

Definitely an awesome damn ring, Jake concluded, happy with it. He also dove a bit into the teleportation feature of the ring to get a feel for how good it was. He had expected it to maybe work within the entire galaxy, but when he scanned the innate ability, he was surprised.

It was good… really fucking good. Jake wasn’t entirely sure, but he got the feeling that the teleportation would likely even work as an extra escape method of sorts in certain circumstances. It was powerful and high in conceptual complexity, which should make it capable of piercing many kinds of seals and formations. He didn’t think it would allow for teleportation between universes, but if combined with some extra help, then maybe…

Not that any of that was super important right now.

With his new ring on his finger, Jake considered what to do now. He had the option of contacting Miranda and getting an update on things from her, but he could also just reach out to Villy right away. He felt his connection with the god be more open now, but there were definitely still some restrictions on it, and he was pretty damn certain that while he should be capable of contacting the god, Villy couldn’t contact Jake. Moreover, Jake couldn’t just casually reach out but had to meditate and actively work on contacting the god.

This also meant Villy couldn’t watch his livestream of Jake’s actions. Probably for the best, as Jake would definitely have noticed even while hyper-focusing if someone was suddenly peeking at him, and that minor distraction could have been disastrous.

Seeing as contacting the god wouldn’t be an instant thing, he decided to reach out to Miranda first. Jake went over to the phone installed by Arnold and used it to call Miranda in her office. Instantly, it was picked up, but not by Miranda. Instead, Jake heard Lillian’s voice, and she sounded pretty damn stressed while speaking, not even giving Jake any time to get a word out.

“You’re finally done? Good, get your ass over here now… shit has hit the fan, and we’re not the only ones who’ve been plotting.”

Jake took a moment and saw he’d been hung up on. Lillian had definitely sounded like she was in a rush, and Jake didn’t delay as he quickly made his way up to the lodge and toward Miranda’s office, muttering to himself on the way.

“Probably a good thing I called there first…”

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