Ascension of the Primalist [A Tamer Class, LitRPG]

Focusing his consciousness inward, Seth turned his attention to his Well, meticulously examining the five groove networks within it with his newly enhanced awareness. Three were relatively small, their patterns simple and quite familiar to him, having sent aether into them countless of times in the past months: Identify, Haste, and Dark Shocking Strike.

The other two, however—Link and Share—were on an entirely different level. Their labyrinthine grooves were impossibly complex, with thousands upon thousands of lines weaving and intertwining to create mesmerizing structures. These weren't mere Iron or even Silver spells. Unlike the others, these two had no singular pathway; aether could travel through countless channels to reach its goal, each twisting and branching into infinite possibilities.

Seth focused on Link. The spell had been carved in his Well for months, always present, yet distant and indistinct, like a shadow just out of reach, but not anymore. Thanks to his breakthrough, he could now sense aether trickling through its grooves—a subtle, continuous flow that seemed perfectly balanced. It wasn’t depleting his Well’s reserves at all, as if the spell was self-sustaining.

From the intricate patterns, he could now feel and see two distinctive connections tethered to his core, one of them extending like a bridge to Nightmare's Well. Seth immediately stretched his awareness further, and for the first time he saw the direwolf's grooves with full clarity.

The less-sophisticated one, with about half the lines and turns of the others, was undoubtedly Shadow Bite, Nightmare’s sole Iron spell. The complexity of the remaining three left no doubt in Seth’s mind—both Link and Share were way higher than Silver Tier.

Seth frowned. Aren’t Revelations supposed to be spells from our current Tier?

Opening his red eyes, Nightmare lifted his head and turned to Seth. 'What’re you doing?'

'I'm Iron,' Seth said with a broad smile, showing his attributes and subclass to the direwolf through their bond.

'Beastmaster, huh?' Nightmare mumbled. 'That’s absurd. You are not my master.'

Seth chuckled. 'Oh, come on. Tamer wouldn't have been any better—no respectable beast wants to be considered tamed.'

'Or have a master,' Nightmare huffed.

Laughing, Seth ruffled the fur on the direwolf’s head. 'Can't you just be happy for me? For us? I got a freaking subclass and a Revelation, Nightmare!'

'Yeah, yeah, I’m happy. Now find a new necklace to hide that subclass, or else I can't be your partner anymore. '

'And how exactly am I supposed to pay for another concealment artifact?'

'Not my problem,' Nightmare answered, raising his muzzle proudly. 'That's my final offer. Take it or leave it.'

Seth rolled his eyes and pushed the direwolf, knowing all too well he wasn't serious. Leaning against the rock behind, Seth then moved back his focus inward, projecting his consciousness into his Well. It was time to figure out what the new spell could do. As he examined Share’s fresh grooves, he noticed a continuous flow of aether inside of it and a faint thread connecting the spell to his core. Could it work like Link?Did I need a direct connection to Nightmare’s Well for something to occur?

Intrigued, Seth took hold of the string with his mind and dragged it, following Link’s connection. As the thread entered Nightmare’s Well, it was immediately drawn to the grooves of the direwolf’s spells, as if pulled by an unseen force. Then, it struck Seth.

Will it let me use one of his spells? he thought as he hesitated for a moment.

Both Shadow Step and Illusionary Emptiness were powerful and could be incredibly useful in the future. But the latter one specifically… it could bring a massive advantage into rescuing the man from the Fishlords’ village. Unlike Professor Reat’s pocket watch, the spell wouldn’t have a time limit, and its low aether cost would allow him pretty much to vanish whenever he wanted.

But what if this choice is permanent? What if I can’t switch the spell later? This decision could change my way of fighting, and my Path, forever.

"Damn it," Seth muttered under his breath. A man’s life was on the line—this wasn’t the time to hesitate. Shoving doubt aside, he immediately sent an image of both groove networks to Nightmare. 'Which one is Illusionary Emptiness?'

'The one on the left,' the direwolf answered.

'Thanks.'

With caution, Seth guided the string toward the center of the spell, and as it attached itself, a shift rippled through his body. Share’s intricate maze of grooves began transforming: some sections faded, becoming almost imperceptible, while others deepened and solidified, taking prominence in Seth’s Well. The change happened so rapidly that he could barely keep up, and within seconds, a perfect replica of Illusionary Emptiness had formed inside his body.

A massive grin spread across his face, and without wasting a moment, Seth channeled aether into the freshly carved trenches, his focus razor-sharp to avoid any mistakes. Nearly a minute later, his body blurred, fading almost entirely from the physical world.

"Hell yeah!" Seth exclaimed, turning to Nightmare. 'Thanks for the spell, Nightmare!'

The direwolf snorted. 'Not sure how I feel about that.'

'You know it’s great! Think about how effectively we can hunt now!'

Phasing out of Illusionary Emptiness, Seth focused on the direwolf’s Well and tried pulling on the mysterious thread to see if he could move it to another spell, but the thing refused to budge. Shit.

'Thanks be to the direwolf god,' the direwolf mumbled with a sigh of relief.

'Maybe it has a cooldown,' Seth teased, messing up all his partner’s black fur. 'Or maybe later I’ll be able to copy two spells.'

Nightmare immediately sprang on his paws and moved away. 'Not Shadow Step. Please, anything but that. That one is mine!'

Seth burst into laughter, shaking his head at the direwolf's obvious displeasure over sharing his new baby. 'Danger Sense and Shadow Bite are useless for me. So, I won’t have any other choi—'

'Thenlet's find a new beast for Link!' Nightmare exclaimed. 'That way you can steal one of its spells instead of mine!'

'It's called Share, not Steal,' Seth answered, still chuckling as he glanced inwardly at the new thread going from his Link to his core. 'And we’ll see if we find any good candidate out there.'

'Fine,' Nightmare grumbled, padding back to his initial spot.

With a faint smile, Seth shifted his focus to the next task on his list and began rummaging through his leather bag before pulling out his Endless Pouch. He’d been waiting for this for almost two weeks. Finally, he could use it.

Grabbing a beaststone, he channeled aether into the purple sack when suddenly, he sensed something inside—six corked potions floated in the pocket domain alongside a piece of parchment. Using the method he’d learned in class, Seth reached inside and, channeling aether, drew one of the vials into his hand along with the piece of parchment before casting Identify.