73 We meet again

In the forest just outside Dragonsoar City.

Countless screams could be heard inside the forest while multiple figures wearing light armor could be seen running towards a direction. Each and every one of them were bloodied while some of them even had serious injuries. In the middle of them all, there was a young woman also running, while her face showed intense grief and sadness as well as a tinge of fury.

"Young Mistress, go on ahead first! We'll try to stall them for a bit to buy you time while we catch up later!" The bloodied middle-aged man said to the young woman beside him. His face showed firm determination, while he sternly looked around to the others. Like the middle-aged man, the others also showed a determined expression, as if they steeled themselves for their deaths.

"NO! I don't allow it! Just run along with me! We'll reach the end of the forest sooner or later! No one's going to die anymore!" The woman shook her head while he sternly looked at the middle-aged man.

"But-"

"No buts, Uncle! No one's dying here anymore! We'll get out of this alive, alright?!" The woman seemed to be ordering the others, but her tone also had a bit of pleading.

*Sigh*

"If that's what you say so. But if worst comes to worst, we'll stall for you!"

The middle-aged man said. Before the woman could even reply, the middle-aged man immediately help up his shield to the back of a young man near them, deflecting what seem to be a wooden spear.

"Damn it!" Seeing this, the woman couldn't help but feel even more despair. She hoped to prevent any more deaths, but it seems like those fellows still haven't given up on their chase. She and the others could only run towards a direction in hopes of getting out of the forest.

****

"Ah, fresh sunlight!"

Zeke, who just got out of the underground mausoleum, set up a campfire while he brought out his leftover beast meat from his inventory. Since his inventory prevented any spoilage, all the meat inside were still fresh and hot as though it was just killed. Zeke then roasted some to eat.

Initially, he wanted to immediately find the Baleful Earth Primate to test his strength but he decided to postpone it for a bit. When he saw the sky, Zeke couldn't help but rest for a bit first. Besides, while exiting, he also got quite a bit of quests, so his plan would need to be postponed first.

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Situational Quest "Weapon"

Find a suitable weapon to use.

Condition:

-Must be of high quality and is fit for the user's current strength.

Difficulty: C+

Reward: 1000xp

Skill Tome x2 (Random)

*Optional Rewards (if any) based on performance*

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'Suitable weapon?'

Of course, weapons are still only external items. Although it could indeed boost a person's combat prowess, it still depends on the person wielding it. If the person is incompetent, then what's the use of the weapon's sharpness?

This was just like a comparison between the strong and the weak. A strong person wielding a weak weapon could still single-handedly beat a weak person wielding a strong weapon. No matter what kind of external item is it, it was still dependent on its user's capabilities.

Right now, Zeke was in the category of strong people wielding a weak weapon. Up till now, he had only used common and ordinary weapons. Even so, he still managed to defeat something like the Kingly Serpent or the Undying Lion. It could only be attributed to Zeke's own powers. If he was already strong without a suitable weapon, then how much more could he be if were to have one?

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Situational Progressive Quest "Sheer Power"

Achieve 10,000 or more stat points in Strength, Agility, and Endurance.

Condition:

-Must be 10,000 or more.

Difficulty: B-

Reward: 10000xp

Passive Skill x2

*Optional Rewards (if any) based on performance*

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This was another quest that Zeke had received when he was in the process of absorbing the second pill's contents. Zeke didn't have any opinion about it since he felt like he would still strive for it even without the quest telling him. He could only brush it off in the back of his head since he's short of time right now.

There was also one notification that Zeke felt greatly pleased about.

[Your body and senses have improved. [Five Senses] evolved into [Enhanced Five Senses] 0.0%]

Along with the increase in strength of Zeke's whole body, his five senses are also included. This, in turn, made Zeke's senses be even more powerful and sensitive. If, from before, Zeke could only hear from quite a few meters, then he could now easily hear from tens or even a hundred meters away from him. Also, based on the notification, since it was still 0.0% right now, perhaps he could still improve it in the future, making his senses even more powerful?

After a few minutes of eating, Zeke set off in a direction. Zeke was about to randomly pick a direction to go off to before hearing a deafening roar. The roar kept getting louder and louder for Zeke, signifying that the one roaring was getting nearer. Zeke furrowed his brows and sensed the environment around him before shifting his gaze to a hulking figure rushing towards him.

A few seconds later, a towering figure appeared in front of Zeke. It was a hulking two and a half meter black gorilla with black spikes protruding in its back. Its crimson red eyes were staring directly at Zeke as if it remembered its prey that escaped back then. Soon, the red eyes emitted a red glow as the gorilla showed a furious and angry expression.

The gorilla clearly remembered the small human in front of it, and just thinking about how this puny human escaped from its clutches makes it furious as well as indignant. It had met and hunted quite a few humans before, and none of these humans managed to survive. All of them were beaten to death by the gorilla but somehow, this small human who didn't seem all that powerful managed to escape its senses for a short period of time. Of course, this 'short period of time' was already long for a human like Zeke but to this gorilla, it was nothing but a speck.

To Zeke's surprise, it was actually that same big fella he met back then that forced him to escape underground. It was the Baleful Earth Primate, an existence akin to the King of its species.

At first, Zeke initially planned on getting even with this guy but since he missed the sunlight as well as the forest's atmosphere, he decided to just throw it off and count it as a fortuitous encounter. In fact, Zeke was slightly grateful to this gorilla for chasing him since without the pressure, he wouldn't even have the chance of finding Z's tomb. Since it was like that, Zeke easily trashed the idea of revenge. However, it was unexpected for him to encounter this same gorilla who even looked like it was the one who wanted to fight. If it's like that, then Zeke didn't mind to at least get even with this beast.

Both the gorilla and Zeke eyed each other. Just a moment later, A huge fist suddenly charged towards Zeke, and with it contained immense power. Zeke clearly sensed how powerful it is but instead of dodging, he replied with a fist of its own.

BOOM!

A deafening noise resounded as if two metals clashing with each other. Zeke took a step back while the gorilla managed to hold its ground. However, instead of feeling happy, the gorilla couldn't help but be stunned when it felt Zeke's punch. It found it unbelievable that a small human, much smaller than the strong fighters he hunted before, could exert power almost if not equal to its own.

In its whole life, it hadn't met such a strong opponent yet. Usually, when fighting against other beasts inside the forest, the gorilla always overwhelmed its opponent with its herculean strength, while his also high speed made up for a strong combining point. With overwhelming strength and a barrage of attacks, what beast could even withstand such attack?

However, the human in front of it actually managed to match its strength in a straightforward punch. It couldn't possibly imagine how a human, which he thought of as the weakest 'beast', could exert such strength. Nevertheless, it didn't have the luxury of time to process this as Zeke suddenly lunged with the same punch.

Instead of lunging, it was better to call it teleporting as Zeke instantly teleported directly in front of the gorilla. He had activated Jaguar Step to instantly propel himself towards the Gorilla. The momentum also added to his punch so when the gorilla received it, it felt like it crashed on a hard steel as it staggered two steps backward. It was overwhelmed with shock as it didn't process how the punch suddenly got stronger than the first one.

'This Jaguar Step is very suitable for adding power to my attacks.'

Zeke also realized it. The moment he executed it, he felt like a cannonball getting shot from his previous position. The impact was increased by so much so the force received by the gorilla was a lot more than the first one where he didn't have the propelling force of Jaguar Step.

The gorilla, seeing as it got forced back, looked at Zeke. It discerned that since Zeke managed to increase its power, it must've been because of enhancements of mana. It expected that Zeke would have a sliver of exhaustion in his face but contrary to his expectations, Zeke still looked calm. Besides calmness, Zeke was also inwardly celebrating due to his monstrous power.

Before he met with the Baleful Earth Primate, Zeke didn't know how much stronger he got from his trip. Now that a seemingly invincible beast to him back then was getting beaten by him in just a few punches, He had understood how much he had grown. Safe to say, his strength must've increased by two folds or even higher.

The gorilla then punched the earth beneath him while a huge earthquake resounded. Then, spikes made of earth appeared while the cluster of spikes moved towards Zeke's position.

Since the gorilla lost to the competition of strength, it decided to compete with Zeke using its own innate ability. Since it was Earth-attributed, it could manipulate the ground and launch attacks just by sending its thought to the ground.

Seeing this, Zeke immediately jumped backward as he cast [Earth Wall] in front of him, blocking the incoming spikes. Then, as if sensing the gorilla's intentions, he ran towards the gorilla while multiple fireballs gradually manifested in his both sides.

Unlike before, Zeke's basic spells were now much more powerful now that he's a peak Tier 2. The fireball contained much more mana while its destructive radius also increased by quite a lot. It was a beginner Tier 1 Spell that had the full power of a Tier 2. When the fireballs finished forming, Zeke immediately willed it to charge towards the Gorilla while manipulating the outside mana to propel the fireball, increasing its flight speed.

The gorilla didn't expect the fireballs to be so fast that it was too late to block all of it. The wall of earth that it conjured managed to block almost all of the fireballs but two of them managed to break through it, hitting the gorilla's body. It didn't expect the power of the fireball as it burned its body hair down. Immediately putting out the fire, it didn't notice Zeke who was madly charging while holding a sword coated with a frosty aura and electric sparks while faint specks of lightning gathered around his feet.

By the time the gorilla noticed, Zeke was already just a few meters. Zeke jumped before getting hit by a spike while his sword glowed with white with snow flakes and electric sparks surrounding it. He then vertically swiped it towards the gorilla who was conjuring a wall of earth in front of it.

Although it successfully conjured the wall of earth in front, Zeke's [Flash fo Lightning] 1st move and [Chilly Aura] managed to slash through the wall, hitting the gorilla. The gorilla then got pushed far back due to the overwhelming strength and power within the sword strike that a gashing wound was left on its chest. Blood trickled down but the gorilla's ferocious aura still didn't back down. With a seemingly determined expression, it looked at Zeke as its eyes glowed red.

Zeke, sensing the sudden change of the gorilla, got tense. His mana had been emptied by one fourth due to the immense mana cost of [Flash of Lightning]'s first move coupled with [Chilly Aura]. He couldn't afford to lose more so he immediately triggered his Dragon bloodline. His aura then warped into an overwhelming and vast one, making it feel like a sovereign's aura. Zeke's gaze also changed into that of a serious and cold one. With a sword in one hand and ramrod straight back, he looked just like a very young sovereign ruling the world.

This time, Zeke completely erupted the overwhelming aura of the Lesser Golden Dragon, which also triggered his title, [Ruler of Dragons]. This made his aura feel very terrifying as well as awe-inspiring. He then formed black fireballs around him as he casually looked at the gorilla. However, the scene next shocked Zeke.

The gorilla, sensing the sudden change of aura, went stiff as a board before suddenly kneeling down while lowering his head towards Zeke. This action was very dangerous in the middle of a battle as it exposes the neck of the figure but the gorilla didn't seem to care. Besides the feeling of overwhelming defeat, there was also a tinge of fear, awe, respect, and ... happiness.

The scene baffled Zeke to no end. However, he still didn't dare drop his guard as he considered the possibility that it was bluffing to get him to lower his guard.

"What are you doing?"

Zeke tried to converse. He was indeed confused as to why the gorilla suddenly knelt. Just now, it was still willing to fight as if it was ready to die, but now it was defenseless while kneeling. He found it impossible for such a sudden and quick change. Could it be it couldn't bear the thought of dying yet, hence it begs for mercy?