Ascension of the Primalist [A Tamer Class, LitRPG]

Jaz's massive warhammer came crashing down on Devus just as he landed before him.

Seth's friend raised his shield just in time, catching the devastating blow head-on. Even so, the sheer force of the impact drove him backward, dropping him to one knee.

Next, an axe and a broadsword flashed toward his exposed neck.

Devus cast a spell to coat his armor in a thick layer of golden light, which thankfully absorbed most of the strike. The remaining force still hurled him backward, sending him tumbling across the rain-soaked grass.

Seth was already moving, heartbeat thundering in his ears.

Beastmaster Rage erupted within him, the fierce energy flooding out of his chest. The surge tore through his aether channels, setting every muscle, bone, and nerve ablaze with savage force.

With a thought, his bow materialized in his grasp. He slipped beneath sword swings and spear thrusts aimed at his head while trying not to break stride. Aether surged through Ravenous Arrow's intricate grooves, and a translucent arrow almost instantly formed in his hand.

Seth loosed the shot.

The projectile tore through the rain in a silvery blur and punched cleanly through the chest of the imperial soldier closest to Devus, who was pushing himself up.

Several attackers recoiled, heads snapping toward Seth as he was closing the distance.

"Use an Escape Scroll, Devus!" Elena shouted from the rear lines, her voice cutting through the din of battle.

Devus let his spear fall into the mud and reached desperately for his Endless Pouch. He never got the chance to find a scroll.

A fresh barrage of imperial attacks came his way, forcing him to abandon the attempt and defend himself instead. Heavy weapons and concussive spells hammered relentlessly against his barrier, thinning away the golden light before shattering the aether layer of his Protecting Belt. His defense couldn't hold against the onslaught.

Blood splashed across the Guardian's silver breastplate from a deep wound, yet he didn't yield.

Meanwhile, Seth fought desperately to reach him. Imperial soldiers repeatedly threw themselves into his path, forcing him to dodge wild swings, shoulder-check one man aside, and slam another backward with his armored forearm. As he forced his way through the encirclement, aether surged through Ravenous Arrow's grooves once again.

Ahead, a thunderous roar exploded from Devus's lungs. The concussive shockwave blasted the surrounding skirmishers off their feet, hurling them backward.

Only Jaz remained standing.

The giant imperial Guardian had planted his boots deep into the ground while slamming the edge of his shield down to weather the blast.

"Die!" Jaz roared.

He raised his warhammer overhead as arcs of lightning crackled across its surface, gathering for the killing blow.

Before the weapon could descend, Seth's arrow hissed through the rain.

It slammed into the barrier surrounding Jaz, shattered the spell in a burst of aether, and snapped the man's head back, stalling his swing.

Seth kept running—his boots tore through the ground as he sprinted between soldiers and drew another arrow. Before Jaz could regain his focus, Seth released again.

An imperial soldier nearby crushed an Instant spell-scroll to summon a barrier in front of the giant Guardian. The layer of aether exploded.

Seth's arrow punched through the hastily cast defense and struck Jaz's breastplate. Though it failed to penetrate the armor, the impact drove the Guardian several steps backward, pulling him away from Devus.

Seth's friend seized the opportunity to continue his retreat.

The Guardian rolled through the mud beneath an incoming longsword and sprang back to his feet. More imperial soldiers surged forward to cut off his escape.

To their dismay, Seth had finally reached them.

He deflected a spear thrust with his guard, then reversed his grip onto the fresh Ravenous Arrow materialized in his hand. In a fluid motion, he spun and drove the translucent projectile into a soldier's neck. The man collapsed, blood spraying across the rain-soaked grass.

Beastmaster Rage fueled Seth's body with might as he lunged at his next targets.

A punch caved in one soldier's sternum, an elbow crushed another's jaw, and another arrow pierced a third man's skull. Imperial soldiers were thrown aside like ragdolls, as though they were nothing more than Copper Wielders. Within seconds, Seth had carved out enough space for Devus to finally breathe.

Jaz roared and charged through the chaos, yet Seth drew and released another Ravenous Arrow.

The imperial Guardian barely managed to raise his shield before the projectile exploded against it, carving a web of deep cracks across its surface and forcing the Guardian back another step.

Behind him, Celess lifted her staff.

Blue flames spiraled around the weapon as blazing aether gathered at its tip. At the same moment, several nearby imperial soldiers crushed Instant spell-scrolls to join the onslaught.

A raging sphere of fire erupted from Celess's staff and screamed through the rain toward Seth and Devus, followed by a storm of wind blades, lightning bolts, and aether blasts.

Just when the barrage was about to reach them, Colossus arrived.

The giant scorpion unleashed Explosive Bastion to meet the attacks head-on. The two forces collided in a explosion, scattering fire, lightning, and compressed wind in every direction.

At the same moment, Nightmare burst from the shadows. Dark aether billowed from his maw as he activated Gloom Fangs, ripping through the throat of the nearest soldier before the man could react.

Desert Aegis' area of effect now encompassed Devus and Seth, boosting their Toughness significantly. Arrows and spells that now struck them barely inflicted any serious injuries.

Crossing his gauntlets, Seth stopped two broadswords aimed at the Devus with a deafening metallic impact before pushing the assailants back.

With a thought, he summoned Lumi from the teardrop necklace.

The luminous otter glanced at Seth, then at the Imperial soldiers surrounding them, before finally turning toward Devus. She hesitated, then darted to the wounded Guardian.

A blue radiance blossomed around her as she cast her spell. Light washed over Devus's body, knitting together the wound across his torso and healing the worst of his injuries.

"Fall back to Elena's position!" Seth shouted over the deafening chaos.

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"What about you?" Devus grunted, raising his battered shield to deflect another overhead strike.

"I'm going to crush them."

Seth charged straight at Jaz and the cluster of imperial soldiers around the man.

Teal aether surged from his gauntlets to form the skeletal arms of Armored Phantom Fists, while Beastmaster Rage still thundered through his chest and flooded his body alongs with Seth's core. The primal power of the latter demanded blood. It urged him to slaughter everyone before him and tear them apart.

Jaz answered with a grin.

The giant Guardian barreled forward like an avalanche, dense aether gathering around his plate armor as every of his steps shook the ground.

Seth met him head-on and punched at the man's shield.

A deafening shockwave erupted from the collision, throwing nearby soldiers off balance while cannon shells continued to explode around them.

Seth followed up by driving his fist into the side of Jaz's head. A shimmering layer sprang into existence around the Guardian, conjured by one of the soldiers nearby. It shattered under the anti-barrier effect of Seth's Undead spell.

The impact launched Jaz clean off his feet, hurling him across the muddy battlefield before he crashed into the ground.

Behind, Devus continued retreating beneath the protection of Colossus, the healing of Lumi, and the support of Nightmare, while the doppelganger created by Twin Mirages pounced upon the nearest Imperial soldiers.

Seth shifted his attention back to Jaz. Several soldiers had gathered in front of the Guardian, weapons raised in a desperate attempt to protect him. Seth stepped forward, his boots sinking into the mud as he crossed into the field of the Stabilizer Obelisk right next to Celess.

The woman was staring at him in terror—as if he were a bloodthirsty monster.

She wasn't wrong.

Not taking his eyes off her, Seth reached into his Endless Pouch and withdrew one of the Instant spell-scrolls he had taken from Morsh's corpse.

He activated it without giving them a chance to react.

Shadows exploded from the piece of parchment, and darkness swallowed the surroundings in a suffocating sphere of black, yet Seth moved through the gloom as though it were broad daylight.

Ignoring Jaz, he charged straight for Celess.

The nearby Imperial guards sensed his murderous intent and desperately threw themselves into his path. It didn't matter. Seth slipped effortlessly between their panicked attacks and counted with heavy punches, each of them caving in a breastplate or crushing a ribcage.

Death was inevitable. With the Strength boost of Beastmaster Rage and Armored Phantom Fists, Seth's blows were unstoppable. None of the soldiers could hope to withstand them.

Celess gritted her teeth and slammed the butt of her staff into the muddy ground, blue flames erupting beneath her feet.

A raging inferno spread outward in every direction and engulfed the battlefield around her. The fierce fire consumed friend and foe alike, washing over nearby Imperial soldiers and leaving them screaming as blue flames clung to their armor.

She was willing to sacrifice her own men if it meant stopping Seth. Yet it was all for nothing.

The moment the wall of fire reached him, Seth cast Shadow Step and vanished. He reappeared beside Celess, fist flying toward her jaw.

A translucent barrier flashed into existence around her, yet it shattered, failing to slow the blow in the slightest.

A savage smile spread across Seth's face as his knuckles closed in on her once-so-proud face.

Then a blinding light surged from the pendant around the woman's neck.

Seth barely had time to react before something crashed into his chest. The impact ripped him off his feet and hurled him backward through the mud.

A towering construct of pale stone now stood in front of Celess. Its body was carved from interlocking slabs of granite with blue veins that pulsed through the cracks like molten aether. Its jagged shoulders, each larger than a man's head, supported arms thick as Seth, while a red crystal glowed within its chest.

Seth cast Intermediate Identify on the newcomer.