Ascension of the Primalist [A Tamer Class, LitRPG]

Seth rose to his feet, tossing the fish bones in his hands aside, and glanced at Nightmare, who lay beside him. He didn’t need their bond to know the direwolf was still mad at him—fish was clearly not the meal the wolf had dreamt of after starving in the cave for several days.

Once they had confirmed the Inferno Bear was no longer nearby, finding food had become their top priority. And between roaming the woods for an hour to locate a prey or sending a Shocking Strike into the river and scooping up dead fish, the choice had been simple.

'Ready to go?' Seth asked, scanning their surroundings

'Yeah,' Nightmare grumbled, standing up and turning away from him.

'Oh, come on,' Seth said with a weary sigh. 'You can hunt on your own to eat something else while I go see Marcus.'

'No, it's fine.'

Seth rolled his eyes and followed the direwolf as he dashed away. Together, they tore through the forest, their agile forms weaving around the large oaks and dense bushes. The wind whipped past them, scattering leaves and twigs in their wake.

As the trees blurred past, Seth weighed his pouch and the contents of his pockets. Between all the beaststones he had collected and the Domain Flower, he was sitting on a small fortune. Easily enough coin to help someone awaken soon enough.

His thoughts then shifted to the awakening laws—specifically the restriction that allowed a Wielder to awaken only one person per year. The crown claimed it was for safety, to prevent societal collapse and other non-sense, but Seth was convinced that was just another lie.

It was fear. Pure and simple. If Wielders could awaken anyone they wanted without limits, merchants or rebels could amass an army of people tired of the current regime in weeks and revolt against the king or a House in a few years. It was just another way to keep the population weak and manageable.

One person a year... Seth thought.

He knew exactly who he would help first. Since Mael wasn't seventeen yet, the obvious choice was Renwal. He would awaken him, on top of getting the Healing Prism for his left arm. Lucius had taken that away from him; Seth was going to help him get it back.

Emerging from the forest, Seth moved Nightmare into his necklace and strode toward Sunatown’s distant wooden walls. The moment he neared the eastern gate, a strange sense of unease churned in his gut; his eyes darted around in search of Rick, the kid who took himself for a watchman, but he was nowhere in sight.

Something’s wrong.

Seth stepped through the gate and was immediately struck by the cacophony of panicked voices. The distant shouts, muffled at first, grew louder and more frantic as he quickened his pace toward their source—the marketplace. A lump rose in his throat. What’s causing such chaos?

Meanwhile, Nightmare stirred within the necklace. 'Should I come out?'

'No, not for now,' Seth answered. 'But be ready. I’m not sure what’s going on.'

Rounding the last corner, he finally arrived at the town’s central fountain—his fingers clenched into tight fists. Three men were standing in front of Renwal's smithy while Sunatown's citizens were cowering in fear around them, averting their gaze. In the middle of the crowd, Mael lay on the ground, blood dripping from his chin and hands clutching his face. Wooden splints still strapped to his injured left arm, Renwal was swinging punches with his right fist at the largest assailant but each blow was effortlessly deflected.

A half a head taller than the blacksmith, the man was at least six feet tall with broad shoulders and a thick brown beard. His modest tunic and brown trousers contrasted with the beautifully crafted sword sheathed at his belt, the sky crystal embedded in its hilt gleaming in the sunlight. His two associates behind were also well-built and armed—one with a woodcutting axe and the other with two daggers—but unlike him, their weapons didn’t seem enchanted.

Seth immediately cast Identify on them.