Jake still remembered the day he’d gotten the skill. It was the signature skill of his first proper class and had been damn awesome when he initially got it. He got a bit nostalgic when he remembered bombarding that massive Storm Elemental atop the cloud continent with Hawkie. The orb from that kill had even helped give birth to Sylphie. To say that the skill had been important would be an understatement… which was why it was just a shame to see the sorry state it was in these days.[Arrow of the Ambitious Hunter (Rare)] - The signature skill of the Ambitious Hunter. An arrow to strike down a fated foe in a single shot. Grants the skill to summon a powerful arrow designed to strike down a specific foe. The Hunter must envision his foe and, with great focus, channel all of his desire to slay it to summon the arrow. The arrow summoned deals significantly greater damage to the envisioned target while ineffective on anything else. Damage increased further based on level disparity. Adds a

When Jake said he was good at zoning everything out when he focused on something, he meant he was really good at zoning everything out. Even the notifications he had gained during this time had gone unregistered. Luckily, he hadn’t pissed off this party by missing some crucial messages, as the Fallen King had honored his wish of not contacting him outside of emergencies—something the Unique Lifeform hadn’t found necessary.Still… Jake could see why the Unique Lifeform was a bit unsatisfied when he finally checked his notifications.Opening them up, the first thing he saw was that they had apparently gotten another bonus objective without him even noticing.Bonus Objective Gained: Find a way to unlock the seal obscuring your path into the Dark Descent created by the Dark Witch leading toward the core of the planet.Current Progress: Dark Descent unlocked (0/1)So, this one confirmed the theory that the Dark Witch had indeed gone toward the core and even created a way to get down there.

When it came to rituals, their group only really had two individuals who could be of any use. Dina and Jake both knew quite a bit about rituals and formations, while the other three were just sitting ducks incapable of assisting with anything of substance.At least, not in the beginning. Jake and Dina helped the witch set up the initial parts of the ritual but soon hit an issue that they should honestly have seen coming.“Many of the ingredients I wanted to use are no longer capable of supporting the ritual… We will need some replacements,” the Dark Witch said with a deep frown. “Would it be possible for some of you to perhaps acquire them?”That’s right—there were fetch-quests. That at least gave the Fallen King, Sword Saint, and Sylphie something to do while Jake and Dina worked on the ritual circle with the Dark Witch. Jake had feared this would add a lot of time to this final part of floor forty-one, given the long trek the three of them would have to go on for each item, but luck

Their party of five only ended up staying on the floor for an hour or so more while Dina finished healing the Dark Witch as much as she could. Some of the soul damage would have to heal on its own, but the scalekin was more than elated at just having survived.“I don’t know how I can possibly thank you,” the Dark Witch said, bowing, as they stood in front of the teleporter that would transport them off the floor. “I hope you find fortune on your Path, and if I can ever repay this favor, I will do so.”It was a bit melancholic, hearing her make promises of the future when the five of them knew such promises could never be fulfilled. Making her leave the dungeon with them also wasn’t an option. Chances were that even if the Dark Witch had ever been a true person, she was long dead in the real world, and if she still lived, it was because she had reached godhood… in which case this dungeon image also wouldn’t be able to leave. Not that any of that even mattered, as Nevermore didn’t allow

So… skill selections. It had been a good while since Jake had one, and he would be lying to himself if he claimed he hadn’t been at least a little bit excited. Especially when it was his very first one in C-grade. The fact that he had gotten it while just sitting around, waiting on a flying ship had definitely increased his enjoyment, too.He hadn’t rushed it, though. Usually, Jake wanted to jump right into them, but there was honestly no need to, especially not now that he had reached C-grade. While it was true that there could be some negative consequences to delaying picking a skill—primarily, ending up getting worse options—the opposite was also true. For some factions, it was even pretty normal to delay skill selections until you had practiced a certain technique or magic with the hope of getting a skill.This was also why there wasn’t even a warning about negative consequences for waiting with the skill selection prompt, contrary to evolutions. He also wouldn’t have to delay tha