The large red mantis regarded its eggs for a moment before exiting the large hollowed-out tree. Surrounding it were about a hundred mantises, most of them orange and all of them with razor-sharp blades as their appendages.

The red mantis regarded a deep orange one kneeling at the front as the male spoke. “Mistress, I have returned from the Simivita island... and I believe we should stay clear of it for now.”

“Has the Warlord decided to deal with all invaders personally?” the red mantis asked, knowing that if it was so, she would have to go herself should her forces have any chance. One needed a B-grade to fight another B-grade, after all.

“No... no, there’s something else there. Something has been systematically dismantling the Simivita forces, and from what my scouts and I gathered, it’s an individual. A powerful entity has invaded them,” the scout reported.

“One of the enlightened hunters?” the red mantis wondered, a sense of dread running through her body. She was only a C-grade the last time a Great Culling appeared. Powerful entities had appeared from above and slaughtered every B-grade on the islands, and now she feared something similar was occurring.

The scout looked unsure for a moment, his hesitation more than enough to make the red mantis imagine the worst.

Her senses went to the cave filled with eggs as she steeled herself. “Have the other islands had any response yet?”

“They also seem to have backed off and stopped invading the Simivitas for now,” the scout answered.

“They sense it, too,” the B-grade mantis sighed. “We shall focus on defending our home for now. Recall all invading squads and hunker down until this catastrophe blows over... or toward us.”

--

Jake really thought that the system should include special titles to commemorate when one had killed a certain number of creatures of any given race. Like, an upgradeable Mushroom Slaughterer title or something fun like that. Of course, he knew that the reason there wasn’t one such title was because titles were a manifestation of powerful Records while killing armies of the same creature was a good way to get hit by diminishing returns.

Still, it would have been nice for Jake to know for certain when he had killed his thousandth Simivita without having to go back and count his kill notifications. If a title had been a thing, Jake wouldn’t have accidentally blown past such a momentous milestone without even noticing, and now he was already well beyond that.

Another two months had passed since Jake arrived on the Simivita island, and by now, he was pretty much done cleaning up anything that could get in the way of his final B-grade hunt. He’d also noticed a week ago that all invasions from other islands had more or less stopped... perhaps because Jake also began to hunt down these invading forces. If he hadn’t, they would have gone straight for the civilian apes, after all.

This period of hunting apes had naturally given him plenty of experience, even if none of the fights had been truly challenging.

’DING!’ Class: [Arcane Hunter of Horizon’s Edge] has reached level 306 - Stat points allocated, +50 Free Points

’DING!’ Class: [Arcane Hunter of Horizon’s Edge] has reached level 307 - Stat points allocated, +50 Free Points

’DING!’ Race: [Human (C)] has reached level 310 - Stat points allocated, +45 Free Points

Two levels weren’t anything to complain about, though. However, what mattered more was the progress he had made on the island.

By now, the Warlord had definitely realized what was going on. Jake had refused to fight the B-grade when he was moving around with a big squad, but had instead picked off groups he wasn’t a part of. After the invasions had stopped, the Warlord was still moving around with a large group, but today, things finally changed.

The Warlord had moved out all alone, not a single other ape with him. Jake had hunted down a squad less than a day ago, and the B-grade was moving toward where that had taken place, perhaps to check out their status or perhaps to face off against their killer.

Either way, Jake had decided to face this Warlord head-on. For a moment, Jake considered if he should start the fight with his regular strike from stealth, but decided to change things up a little. He wanted to speak with this Warlord briefly, as a part of him wanted to know who the first B-grade he killed had been.

Jake had already confirmed that there were no other C-grades within hundreds of kilometers as the Warlord grew closer. Tension and anticipation were building and soon Jake heard his prey.

“Hunter! If you hear me, come! It is I you have come for, isn’t it!?” he yelled loudly, the voice of the Warlord echoing through the jungle.

The Warlord was still a good distance away, and a minute later, he repeated the same words, confirming that the Simivita ape didn’t actually know Jake’s location. He was just guessing that Jake was in the vicinity.

He had time to yell once more before he got close enough for Jake to respond while still not revealing himself.

“Finally, you dare approach me without an army,” Jake spoke, projecting his voice while trying to hide its origin.

The Warlord stopped dead in his tracks as he looked around, trying to locate where Jake was speaking from for a moment before yelling again.

“You have hunted down my kin long enough. This is not my first time playing this game with you hunters, though you have proven yourself the most persistent and difficult to deal with I’ve encountered thus far,” the Warlord said, clearly full of confidence.

“That’s high praise,” Jake said, intent on also making himself the last hunter this Warlord would ever encounter. As he spoke, he was moving around, trying to get himself in a suitable position for when it was time to strike.

“It is. It shall take us many years to recover from the damage you have done. But we will recover. We always do. I come here today, facing you with the Ancestors at my back, carrying the will of my tribe on my shoulders. Say, hunter, what do you have besides the ability to hide like a coward?” the Warlord said, proving himself quite a talker.

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“I have only myself and full confidence in my own power and belief,” Jake responded, trying to return the same energy as the ape.

The Warlord kept glancing around himself, clearly expecting an attack to arrive at any point. His expression had slightly changed, though, as the Warlord looked even more confident now.

“A lone hunter, I see. Perhaps that is also why you wished to face me in single combat. Very well, the two of us shall duel, and upon my victory, I shall offer you to the One Beneath,”

he spoke, Jake realizing that he had kind of just confirmed he was on his own, though, in his defense, he assumed the Warlord already knew. Then again, all the Warlord had to go on were reports, and it was entirely possible the apes who had fled the battle just hadn’t seen anyone else that Jake was with.

What they had for certain seen was his level and the fact he was C-grade, which wasn’t anything Jake had tried to hide. Quite the opposite. He was more than happy to make his foe overconfident, believing Jake was weaker than he truly was.

“Your willingness to face me alone does show some courage. To enter the domain of another and seek to battle above your own station is not something many dare to do.”

By now, Jake had positioned himself well with a clear path for his arrow to fly while still remaining around a kilometer away. He had considered striking from directly above, but Jake believed that would be too predictable, and besides, he wanted the battle to take place within the jungle rather than simply flying through the air. Also, he got a quick glance at the Warlord while moving, which also allowed him to get a quick Identify off.

[Grand Simivita Warlord – lvl ???]

Seeing those three question marks got Jake pumped, and feeling the aura of the B-grade, the difference between a C-grade and a B-grade was truly stark.

“I fought several of your Chieftains. They all battled with honor and fell with their heads held high,” Jake commented as he began charging his Arcane Powershot, ready to get the battle started.

“Hopefully, so will you,” the Warlord said as he stood ready as if he knew an attack would be coming soon.

The Warlord looked a lot like the Chieftain Jake had fought before, except this ape was slightly larger, standing at around three and a half meters with its back slightly arched. The ape wore no armor but had a large twin-edged axe seemingly made entirely of wood. Tattoo-like symbols covered the greenish fur of the B-grade, and Jake knew that power was hidden in those markings as he fully expected the Warlord to unleash spirit magic just like all the Chieftains had been capable of. His base assumption had always been that a Warlord was just an evolved Chieftain, and so far, that seemed accurate enough.

Jake felt the strain on his arm, and he knew it was time. Opening his eyes wide, Jake breathed out as he let go of the string, and the Arcane Powershot exploded forward. It ever-so-slightly curved around a large tree and went straight for the Warlord, who stood on a large stone within a small clearing.

The B-grade stood there passively as the arrow closed in, still concealed by Jake’s stealth skill. Jake had already nocked another arrow as his opening blow arrived and slammed into the Chieftain.

An attack that was fully capable of slaying peak C-grades in a single blow pierced into the Warlord... as something odd happened. It went into the Warlord, right as it looked as if his body split in two. A ghostly version of the Warlord was blasted back with an arrow embedded in it, Jake’s attack harmlessly phasing through the real body of the Warlord as it had seemingly also entered some odd spirit realm.

A moment later, the arcane arrow exploded, this explosion remaining very much real as it swept over the Warlord, who had already turned his head to look in Jake’s direction. “Found you!”

With a single step, the B-grade exploded into motion as Jake felt the ground slightly shake from this mere movement. Releasing his arrow, Jake instantly moved afterward by jumping into the air right as the Warlord swung its axe.

A greenish-blue crescent wave of spirit energy swept across the jungle, phasing through the trees as if they weren’t even there. Jake observed as all the bark where the crescent wave had passed through began to blacken and crack, as if all life had been drained from it, and Jake knew that getting hit by such an attack wouldn’t be a pleasant experience.

Right then, the arrow Jake had shot before dodging also arrived, but the Warlord dodged to the side right as the arrow exploded beside him. With an angry roar, the explosive arcane mana was dispersed as the Warlord also launched himself into the air, giving chase.

Jake released a Rain of Arrows down upon the charging B-grade, who summoned a large spirit ape that encompassed his entire body and blocked the dozen arrows aimed at him.

Stepping down, Jake teleported out of the way as he spun around and shot another arrow that the Warlord didn’t react to properly in time, as he was hit in the side of his arm. The arrowhead barely penetrated through his thick hide, and the ape quickly moved to rip out the arrow as Jake instead made it explode, infuriating the B-grade further.

The Warlord raised a hand as mana began condensing around him. Jake was ready to dodge as he suddenly felt the energy in the atmosphere change. A wave of spirit energy washed over him and the entire jungle a moment later, making it look as if a faint fog covered everything, and his vision turned a slight light blue.

“You do not merely fight me... but the entire tribe that you have made an enemy of,” the Warlord said as his aura also began to increase in intensity.

Right then, Jake also felt movements of energy through his sphere. The ghostly fog began to gather in four different places, taking the shape of apes, each wielding a unique weapon. Their entire bodies were ghostly and see-through, but Jake knew that getting hit by those weapons would feel very real, and Identify also confirmed they were real... summoned, but real.

[Simivita Ancestral Spearmaster – lvl ??? - Summon]

[Simivita Ancestral Swordmaster – lvl ??? - Summon]

[Simivita Ancestral Hammermaster – lvl ??? - Summon]

[Simivita Ancestral Axemaster – lvl ??? - Summon]

All four of them gave off the auras of B-grades, but their actual power level was more akin to a peak C-grade. Jake estimated each of them to be roughly as powerful as a Chieftain, though as they began to move, their diversity in techniques seemed quite limited.

They attacked him using their weapons in an attempt to encircle Jake, with the Warlord not far behind as he propelled himself forward with spirit energy surrounding him. Jake escaped the encirclement quickly as the four summons gave chase, and within moments, it became clear that these Ancestral spirits could only fight using pure physical prowess, which also explained why no shamans had been summoned.

Dodging attacks from five enemies at once proved a lot more difficult, as soon, the B-grade Warlord was upon him. Jake felt a slight sense of pressure being this close to the B-grade as the axe descended toward him, radiating power.

With a blast of arcane energy, Jake managed to retreat out of range of the axe swing that tore through the air, and before Jake even had time to stop his own momentum, the Warlord interrupted his own attack mid-swing as the axe was thrown toward Jake.

Desperately swaying to the side, Jake failed to fully avoid the axe’s aura as he was cut in the side, making him grimace in pain. Seeing an opportunity, the Warlord let out a battle cry that seemingly empowered the four summoned warriors as they all began to glow, and their speed increased.

Seeing the spirits close in, Jake’s eyes narrowed.

Let’s try that.

His eyes opened wide as his aura and Pride were fully unleashed, pushing back the spirit fog around Jake. At the same time, he also attacked the four spirits at once using Pride, but found the ability mostly useless as these summons didn’t have souls. What they instead were were magical constructs, and as he kept making distance, countermeasure ideas began to appear in Jake's mind.

With the fog around Jake temporarily dispelled, the spirits still backed off, and the Warlord also hesitated a moment, giving Jake a chance to land a quick potshot to his chest, making the B-grade fly back a little.

“You hunters always have so many tricks,” the Warlord scoffed as a wave of spirit energy wrapped around Jake’s arrow right as it exploded, suppressing the destructive energies. "I see no reason to delay this any more than it needs to... so prepare yourself."

The aura of the B-grade spiked even more as spirit energy revolved around him as the Warlord boosted himself further.

Jake didn’t respond as the fog began to close in once more, despite spending a lot of energy to keep it at bay. The B-grade and his summons were clearly in a superior position to the eyes of an outside observer, and as Jake saw their approach, he had just one thought…

He’s weaker than I thought he would be.