Ascension of the Primalist [A Tamer Class, LitRPG]

Seth's heart pounded in his chest as he weaved between trees and stones, a Stone-Scaled Sloth hot on his heels. The beast’s massive claws tore through the ground with each thunderous step, and Seth could almost feel its hot breath on his neck—its hungry growls were closing in.

"Low mobility, my ass!" Seth shouted before focusing on his bond. 'Nightmare, where are you? I could use some help!'

'Right behind it.'

Nightmare appeared from thin air behind the massive sloth, his tenebrous form blending with its shadow. With a swift, fierce bite, the direwolf sank his teeth into the creature’s thigh, black smoke eating through its brown, jagged scales.

The sloth howled in fury, swiping its large glowing claws at Nightmare, but the direwolf vanished back into his Illusionary Emptiness just in time. Undeterred, the giant beast slashed and bucked the forest’s floor, desperately trying to strike Nightmare even if he was practically invisible.

Seizing the opportunity, Seth drew out his crimson bow and nocked one of his enchanted arrows—normal ones wouldn’t even scratch that giant boulder-like creature. He focused and channeled aether from his Well into the arrow, following the grooves of Shocking Strike. As his fingers pulled the bowstring, a purple glow flickered to life around the arrowhead and, almost instantly, transformed into crackling arcs of lightning.

With a deep breath, Seth steadied his aim and released the arrow. It whizzed toward the beast, but just as it was about to hit, the sloth’s scales darkened and gleamed, rebuffing the projectile in a shower of sparks.

'Shit!' Seth cursed through Link’s bond. 'Obsidian Armor again!'

'Power Shot would have been better,' Nightmare mocked him, nimbly dodging another swipe of the beast's Ripping Claws.

'Oh, come on,' Seth huffed. 'Just give me some spots to aim for.'

Nightmare’s crimson eyes softly glowed, scanning the massive creature for any weakness. As the sloth charged again, the direwolf leapt out of the way and then landed a Shadow Bite on its flank. Seth immediately drew another arrow, channeling the lightning spell once more.

The moment the sloth slashed and missed Nightmare, a small patch of corroded scales came into view, and Seth immediately fired. The arrow struck true and plunged into the beast’s flesh with a loud sizzle, lightning surging through its body a split-second later.

The sloth bellowed in pain and spun around, its huge claw slicing toward Seth. But before it could even take a step toward him, Nightmare pounced, tearing off another dozen of its tough scales and leaving the beast even more exposed.

It swiped wildly to retaliate, but more of Seth’s arrows ripped through the air, sending dozens of tiny bolts soaring through its massive body. The sloth screeched—a startling sound for a body so large—and stumbled backwards, struggling to stand when suddenly Nightmare leapt at its neck and knocked it down. Ripping and tearing, the direwolf ended the Stone-Scaled Sloth's life barely a few seconds later.

'This is our last high-Toughness-beasts’ contract,' Seth muttered, stepping over the corpse to retrieve his arrows and harvest the beaststone. 'Not using any potions is great, but those sloths are a real pain in the ass to kill.'

Marcus had brewed Seth six new Healing Potions with the tulips he had bought previously, yet they hadn't used a single one over the past two weeks.

'And their stones are trash,' Nightmare added as Seth began slicing open the corpse.

At first, the Tenebrous Direwolf had insisted on eating one stone for every two sloths they’d slain, but he had quickly changed his mind. Due to their host's strong defense, they mainly increased Toughness—and Nightmare had little interest in making that his highest attribute. Since then, he had become selective, choosing only those with high Strength, Agility, or Arcane Power to follow his Path, where offense was everything one needed.

Seth finally pulled the hazel beaststone out and Identified it out of habit.