Ascension of the Primalist [A Tamer Class, LitRPG]

As the first light of dawn painted the Desert of Misery's sky with gold and red streaks, Seth readied himself. Tightening the straps of his combat gauntlets, he could feel his heart pounding like a drum in his chest. For the past ten minutes, haunting visions of all the captives getting slaughtered by the Lancer Fishlord a month and a half ago kept surging vividly in his mind.

'Stop being so tense,' Nightmare said beside him. 'Things will be different this time. We’re stronger now.'

'I know,' Seth replied, drawing deep, steadying breaths to calm his nerves before taking off into a run toward the colossal stronghold that loomed on the horizon.

With all of Toren's devices, he believed he could prevent any casualties—and, if everything went as planned, they’d be out of the Rift in only another hour or two. That meant he’d only miss a day of classes, and Elena wouldn’t be even more mad at him.

'Nope,' the direwolf said, reading his thoughts. 'We are hunting in here for the whole week.'

'What if I fail my midterms because of that?'

'Then the Direwolf God will have finally answered my prayers.'

Seth stifled a chuckle as he slowly neared the fortress’ weathered metal walls, dashing from shadow to shadow without using any spells. Upon reaching the imposing structure, he moved Nightmare into the necklace, then activated Illusionary Emptiness and blended seamlessly with the surroundings.

He had switched Share’s bridge from Shadow Step earlier, meaning he couldn’t teleport out of danger anymore. He’d have to be careful.

Staying low, Seth made his way to the gate and retrieved a small, intricate metallic cube—one of Toren's devices—from his pouch. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the thing out and sent it skittering next to the Detecting Pillar within the fortress.

Instantly, the ward's hazy aether above the ground instantly vanished, clearing the path. Heart thudding against his ribcage, Seth stepped inside, bracing himself, ready for the blaring alarm to ring out.

But it didn’t.

Hugging the fortress' inner wall, he found a set of narrow stairs and climbed them silently. Upon reaching the top of the ramparts, he froze mid-step, holding his breath while two Gnolls passed in front of him. They were so close he could smell their putrid breath, yet they didn’t see him.

Being brainless Warriors with awful aether-sensing abilities clearly has its downsides, he thought.

Seth's eyes locked onto his target to the left: one of the giant arcane cannons. After waiting for the two hyena-like humanoid beasts to walk away, he crept closer.

In the shadow of the large piece of artillery, Seth carefully reached into his pouch and pulled out a tin orb not much larger than his fist: a Detonating Bomb. With a delicate touch, he placed the orb next to the cannon’s base and channeled a thin stream of aether inside. The sphere then came to life, and its surface flickered before displaying a glowing red '100.’

Just a little under two minutes.

Seth retreated swiftly, descending the stairs in a blur before slipping back into the stronghold’s labyrinthine streets. He moved in silence and navigated through the maze of towering, makeshift dwellings that stretched skyward, nearly bumping into a few clueless Gnolls along the way.

The moment he reached the wide-open area at the center of the fortress, the bomb went off. The explosion was deafening; fragments of the arcane cannon and metal shards flew in all directions with a thunderous roar. The ground trembled, and all the makeshift buildings nearby shook violently. Gnolls from every corner rushed toward the blast, their cries and howls turning the place into absolute chaos.

But much to Seth's dismay, two figures remained steadfast near the captives: the Artificer Gnoll and next to it, a new co-leader.

This newcomer stood out with an aura of command, its armor heavier and more imposing than any of its kin. Thick metal plates wrapped its torso and thighs, and it held in its hands a large, well-worn shield and a double-headed axe.

Unlike its frenzied, restless predecessor, this Gnoll seemed to be far calmer, its calculating gaze sweeping over the area. Trying to lure that beast out of the stronghold would be completely pointless; even if it took the bait, it wouldn't have the speed to follow him away from all the other Gnolls.

It replaced the Gnoll Barbarian with a fucking Guardian, Seth thought to himself, narrowing his eyes. 'I take out the brain while you go for that thing,' he then said to Nightmare.

'Understood,' the direwolf answered, standing up in the necklace.

Seth edged closer while gradually infusing aether into Phantom Punch's grooves. Then, with a burst of speed, he dashed forward. Almost simultaneously, Nightmare sprung out of the teardrop necklace; both Gnolls spun around, eyes flaring in surprise—the Guardian one instinctively raised its shield and ax to face the direwolf, while the Artificer turned to flee.

Before it had even taken three steps, Seth had caught up to it. Dropping the veil of Illusionary Emptiness, Seth swung his fist, and the colossal, teal, skeletal arm surged into existence. His gauntlet along with the ghostly spell crashed into Artificer Gnoll's chest, shattering its sternum and ribcage. A loud crack echoed out, and the beast spewed a mouthful of blood before collapsing lifelessly to the ground.

It worked.

The Guardian Gnoll snarled and pivoted toward Seth, yet before it could charge at him, a shadow struck it and black tendrils spread around its body. The hyena-like beast howled in pain, thrashing violently in a fruitless attempt to tear the spell apart before Nightmare pounced, sinking his canines into its upper arm and corroding its flesh with Shadow Bite. Seth seized the occasion to cast Intermediate Identify on the new foe.

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