The Hunter

### Aliases

Tau
The Hunter
The Protector
The Betrayer
The Coward

### Occupation

Hunter
Protector (formerly)

## Physical description

### Eye color

Ghostly Yellow and Cat-like

The Hunter is the third Boss of Loop Hero, together with his hounds he is tasked to hunt down and destroying any Worlds or Survivors that might have escaped the Lich's Curse.

## Description

*The Hunter prowls the cosmos, looking for his prey. His sharp sight allows him to see and track anything immeasurably far, enough to extinguish a star or two with a single sharp shot. His loyal hounds are always there to eradicate the planets that are not worth the gunpowder. Only something truly extraordinary would force the Hunter to fight in close quarters - something that would interfere with his usual target-practice style of hunt.*

## Abilities and Specifics

####   Pack Sense

Gets fully healed and a 100% increase to damage after the death of an ally.

In chapter 3, gains a +100% damage buff and heals for 30% max HP each time an ally dies.

####   **Hunter's Horn**

Fills the Hound's attack bar by 50% instead of every 2nd attack.

####   **Star Gunpowder**

With every shot, distracts attackers from himself if they have other targets to attack.

## Lore

### **First article:**

*Some people might call me selfish, but hey... I "am" selfish, but I'm also helpful. I keep saving this world not because I love the people, but because they love me. "Thank you, thank you... Always happy to be your idol. See you next cataclysm. Don't miss it! It will be a sight, I promise!" - and so on, you know how it goes. I'm ready to tear out the throat of the biggest baddest beast just to see the admiration in their eyes. That's what I always said - but not every metaphor is destined to become reality... A cosmic leviathan came to devour my planet. It could hardly fit in its mouth. Dumb beast. Oh, yeah, I decided to start a diary. Had no ink handy, sadly, so I had to make do. Shot that useless creature in the throat: it was only a waste of carbon anyway (and my time too). So yeah, you got it right - these words are written in its blood. At least some use for that giant piece of shit.*

### **Second article:**

*The years go by. I don't even remember when I became such a powerful bastard. Getting from one star to another now takes less than a second. Of course, there is the occasional risk of hitting a planetoid (useless piles of frozen feces - one day I'll grind them all into dust). There's no being that could rival me on any inhabited planets in this galaxy. But what can you do? Such is the burden of being phenomenal. There's enough me for everyone. I'll protect all inhabited worlds. I'll have more spare time once my black-hole pups grow up. I'll try reaching the next galaxy then - I bet they need an idol and protector too. But first I have to deal with this advancing void. If someone is behind it, they won't be staying there for long.*

### **Third article:**

*The darkness approaches. What the hell's happening?! Why does no one notice the stars winking out in the skies? Guess I can't protect them from being morons, unlike everything else. Maybe I'm getting paranoid? The hounds have grown since their birth back in... How many aeons ago was it? (Yeah, it's much easier for me to write a rhetorical question in the diary then try to find the actual date.) I shot a few tracer rounds at the impending darkness, and I can tell our meeting is drawing near. Sure, go ahead: my hounds and I are waiting for you. And if I can't handle you - oh, I won't let you get this juicy morsel of the universe anyway. I have enough power to feed every piece of it into the black hole this galaxy orbits. I will survive. I am "the" Hunter. And every threat to this world is my prey.*

## Dialogs

**1st Encounter:**

* **The Hunter:** *Know your place, dog!*
* **Hero:** *Not the most polite greeting I've ever heard.*
* **The** **Hunter:** *Oh! Apologies. I wasn't talking to you. My loyal hounds like to fool around sometimes. Keeping discipline is important.*
* **Hunter's Hounds:** *W O O F*
* **The** **Hunter:** *And as for you, my little hero...*
* **The** **Hunter:** *Know your place, dog!*
* **Hero:** *Who the hell are you?*
* **The** **Hunter:** *Oh! Well, let's see. Sometimes the need arises to kill the whole herd in the pen, But not without a reason, of course. And as you start the culling, a couple of bulls break the fence and run off into the forest.*
* **The** **Hunter:** *But that won't do. Every one of them has to die. That's the whole point, you see.*
* **The** **Hunter:** *And that is where the hunter comes in. To track down every rebellious bull and shoot it dead.*
* **The** **Hunter:** *So don't even talk politeness to me, my little hero. Not only do you avoid the universal annihilation, but also resist this magnificent undertaking - how's that polite?*
* **Hero:** *I've heard enough of this kind of talk.*
* **The** **Hunter:** *...I beg your pardon?*
* **Hero:** *All of you seem to have some wonderful and profound reason to participate in this cataclysm.*
* **Hero:** *And you all ignore the fact that we all want to keep on living.*
* **Hero:** *It stinks to be exterminated, you know.*
* **The** **Hunter:** *Frankly speaking, I don't give a damn. I just enjoy the hunt.*
* **The** **Hunter:** *And now, if you'll excuse me, I will feed the remnants of your world to my hounds.*
* **The** **Hunter:** *They'll eat it all in one bite. As if their stomachs were black holes, ha-ha.*
* **Hero:** *I hope your hunting skills are as bad as your jokes.*
* **The** **Hunter:** *Not that it matters. The joke will get you very soon. SIC 'EM!*
* **The** **Hunter's Hounds:** *W O O F !*

**1st Kill:**

* **The** **Hunter:** *Ha-ha-ha. Oh, what fun! Such a shame: cornered by my own game. And killed.*
* **Hero:** *Now tell me everything you know.*
* **The** **Hunter:** *Oh please, you don't really think now's the moment I acknowledge your power and tell you all I know out of sheer respect, do you? I'm dying here, you know. Not a great time for revelations. And besides...*
* **The** **Hunter:** *You killed my hounds, you bastard.*
* **Hero:** *You think I feel good about that? Don't confuse your motivation with mine.*
* **Hero:** *I hope you don't have this annoying habit of coming back to life unharmed, do you?*
* **The** **Hunter:** *As I lay here dying, a new body has already been made for me in the heart of the greatest black hole.*
* **The** **Hunter:** *So yes. I will be back. Don't think I'm that easy. My hunt shall continue. And there's no place in the universe where I wouldn't track you down.*
* **Hero:** *You don't have to make things so complicated. I'm not going anywhere. And I'm not going to hide.*
* **Hero:** *I actually feel better, knowing you'll be wasting your time on me instead of destroying other worlds.*
* **The** **Hunter:** *I hear the sound of the horn, and the barking of my loyal hounds... A new hunt begins...*
* **The** **Hunter:** *A new hunt...!*
* **Hero:** *These guys are a real nuisance. They give me hope though. They wouldn't waste their time on me unless I was a real threat to their goal.*

**2nd Encounter:**

* **The** **Hunter:** *Well, well, well... What do we have here.*
* **Hunter's Hounds:** *W O O F !*
* **The** **Hunter:** *What a clever dog. That's right. It's a small, naive,, and incredibly dumb hero who's dying to get a bullet in his skull.*
* **The** **Hunter:** *And this bullet has been waiting for too long already.*
* **Hero:** *Yeah, yeah. Touché.*
* **Hero:** *Tell me: is it true that God is the one destroying this world? One very persistent zealot told me that absurd story earlier, and I'd like to hear your version.*
* **The** **Hunter:** *Ha! She really said something like that? Zealots have to be wrong and believe in their own fables, though. Or they wouldn't be zealots, right?*
* **Hero:** *So you're saying that it's not true, then? I knew it.*
* **The** **Hunter:** *Well, she's right in a way. Tell me - do you think it's possible for a God to die?*
* **Hero:** *...What?! You don't mean...!*
* **The** **Hunter:** *It's a rhetorical question. I don't know. In the end, turns out it's both possible and not. And, well, you can see what became of it. Just don't think he's dying right now together with His own creation.*
* **The** **Hunter:** *He's quite conscious, rational, almighty, and just. You know, as a God should be. He's just not the god He used to be.*
* **Hero:** *So God is dead, and not dead? How can that be? And why did He allow this cataclysm to happen if He's still rational.*
* **The** **Hunter:** *That's a good question. Shall we discuss it properly?*
* **The** **Hunter:** *Oh no, sorry, we won't. I'm still here to kill you, remember? Don't mistake my manners for a friendly chat. Now, what does a hunter say before his hound tears out someone's throat?*
* **Hunter's Hounds:** *GR-R-R-R !*
* **The** **Hunter:** *SIC 'EM!*
* **Hunter's Hounds:** *W O O F !*

**2nd Kill:**

* **The** **Hunter:** How? You can get lucky once, but twice...
* **Hero:** *Well, you know, everybody has their limits.*
* **The** **Hunter:** *Shut up! I devour universes whole! Why can't I do it now?*
* **The** **Hunter:** *...*
* **The** **Hunter:** *Are you connected to Him? Is it His influence that won't allow me to purge you from existence?*
* **Hero:** *That sounds familiar. A dead sorcerer with a halo told me something like that.*
* **The** **Hunter:** *I see. The old man got it right away. Well, that's expected from the old Omicron.*
* **Hero:** *Tell me. What is this connection? What does it mean?*
* **The** **Hunter:** *Know this: you're not immortal. Death will find you! My bullet, someone else's magic or weapon, old age - something will get you! You have a chance. But you won't get to use it. Never.*
* **The** **Hunter:** *There's no outcome in which you'll succeed! And even if there is...*
* **The** **Hunter:** *I must kill you! Or everything I've done will be in vain! And everyone I've killed would not be game, but just victims of my cowardice.*
* **Hero:** *Then you should hurry before it's too late. When all this is over, you won't be able to help your master anymore.*

**3rd Encounter:**

* **The** **Hunter:** *The hunt begins! Sic 'em!*
* **Hunter's Hounds:** *W O O F !*

**3rd Kill:**

* **Hero:** *It's just a waste of time.*
* **The** **Hunter:** *The new hunt is coming. I've already got your scent.*

**Skipping the Crusader in Chapter 4:**

By playing cards fast enough in Chapter 4, the Hunter can arrive before the player reaches the Crusader.

* **The Hunter:** *Hah! Seems the zealot avoided her fate this time! Ah well...*
* **The Hunter:** *The hunt begins! Sic 'em!*

## Resources You Get

* Time Shard
* Orb of Immortality

## Trivia

* Since the emptiness started to devour the universe, for eons he had been in constant battles against the darkness, in order to be an idol and to save the world, to which he was the sworn protector. When he closely faced the darkness, however, he learned it is Omega, the very god who created the world. He then had to choose between becoming the prey or remaining a hunter and turn his back on his people. Terrified of being against God, he turned his world into a black hole himself under the orders of Omega and joined his side.

* He is acquainted with the Lich and the Priestess. He calls the Lich "the old Omicron" and highly values his knowledge and sharp judgment. On the other hand, he dismisses the Priestess's faith in Omega, saying "zealots believe in their own fables".

* Unlike the Priestess, he somehow knows God as the Allfather died at some point in the history and was reincarnated as the Alldeath (see the Defiler for the event). It is not clear how he gained this knowledge but possibly through his ability to communicate with outer spaces (see Hunter's Hound).

* Like all the other major NPCs, his personal name is based on a Greek letter, in this case Tau (as Alpha and Omega, Omicron the Lich, Sigma the Priestess, and Yota (Iota)).

Overworld view of the Hunter, after summoningThe Hunter appearsMiracles of Strength

Deceiver • Blinch • TheRandom • Finlal
 Other