Chapter 154 - Monke Meets Old Friend

It's a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming… On days like these, gorillas like me…

Should not be shouting murder at their surrogate daughter.

"I CALL HAX! HAX I TELL YA! HAAAXX!!!" I roared out loud from within the confines of the gaming house. Domino, who was sitting on a couch next to me, was giving me a smug grin, her hand waving the controller she was currently holding.

"Papa… Noob…" If I wasn't pissed earlier, I was now. I was this close to punching the huge TV screen just in front of us, as well as flushing the console down the toilet.

"How!? How do you keep on beating me every single time!?" I yelled out at Domino, who still gave me her signature smug grin, even if it wasn't that much of a look because of her normally expressionless face.

"Skills… Grind first noob…" She shrugged and I couldn't help but plop down to my seat, feeling the anger within me burst out, before cooling down into a simmer.

'That's it… No matter how useless it is, I'm getting a [Professional Gaming] skillbook from the Dungeon Market.' For my life, I swore. I'm getting back at my daughter, even if I have to cheat.

"One more round… Papa…?" Domino asked, and I was tempted to say no, but her puppy eyes made me reconsider my decision.

"… Alright. Just one more." I grabbed the controller, which I punted all across the room, surprisingly still intact despite the heavy beating it had received from my grip and punting, and plopped back on my couch.

We were currently playing a fighting game, one where characters had brutal finishers they could do to the opponent if they were able to beat him. That being said, the game did an excellent job with its gore, even if it was completely unrealistic in its execution.

I mean, come on. You got stabbed through the head, and more importantly, your brain, with the damn blade potruding out the other side. How the hell are you still groaning and feeling pain?

Now in the character selection screen, I picked the character I was completely in love with. He started out as a meme, and then was petitioned to have the developer include him in the game. It didn't make the cut, as the devs said 'Dead meme' and was flushed down the drain.

Only for the devs to revive the meme by making him a cameo in the fighting game's movie, during the intro where one of the fan-favorites does some moves, only to be yoinked by the neck without much effort.

Yep, the meme lives!

The was just about to start, with the loading screen finished and the characters making their own intros, only for me to be alerted by an incoming call from one of my primates. I paused the game and placed the controller back on the table while Domino gave me a pouting look, annoyed that her time with me was cut short due to an emergency.

"Yes? Gong…? What's the matter?" I saw Gong, who I realized was currently in the entrance with a bunch of other gorillas, chimpanzees, mandrills, and our newest addition, orangutans.

Imagine my surprise when after the Dungeon Games, three more primate species were available to me. They were the orangutans, bonobos, and baboons.

Yep, the orange-furred primate, the matriarchal, dwarfish chimpanzee, and the bright-red butt primate that loves stealing lion cubs.

I have no idea how to incorporate them into our current line-up, which was pretty good in my opinion, but hey, more diversity equals better versatility.

Plus, those bonobos could be trained to be like ninjas, what with their small stature and darker fur. Actually, let's go with that.

The orangutans, however, were like discount gorillas, but in terms of versatility, they have the gorillas beat. They can be trained like guerilla fighters that take advantage of a forest biome, since they're better at swinging in the trees.

The less said about baboons, the better. Those bright-red butt primates are weaker than my chimpanzees, but hey, they have claws, and are better than humans. Plus, they were able to combat lions, even if most of them died, so yeah.

"Boss, human in entrance. Asking for hotel service." Gong said, and my thoughts came to a halt.

"… Excuse me, could you repeat that last part?" I inquired, my face awash in a tidal wave of emotions as I processed what the human had said to Gong.

"Human asking for hotel service." I stayed silent for a few moments, before I looked Gong in the face with the most serious look I could ever muster.

"I'll be there in a few minutes. In the meantime, tell the human to wait." I commanded, and Gong nodded in acceptance. I cut off the transmission and looked at Domino, who was still doing her best to pout at me. "Sorry about this Domino, but some emergency came up."

Domino pouted harder, but understood the gravity of the situation. This human, whoever he was, was brave enough to stride into the entrance of my Dungeon, and ask for hotel service for whatever reason.

I would call the human an idiot, or even someone who was screwed by the Gods (since evolution doesn't exist here), but for some reason, my gut-feeling was telling me to be wary about the mysterious human waiting outside my Dungeon.

Exiting the game house, I made a Master's Path that led directly to the exit of my Dungeon. Instead of taking a relaxing walk, I opted for a jog, since I would like to nip this problem in the bud early.

[]

[]

[]

A few minutes of silent jogging later, I was now at the top of the stairs that were generated by my Dungeon in the Master's Path, and was fully equipped to deal with the human that was brave or foolish enough to stride right in front of my Dungeon.

Moments later, I exited the Master's Path, only to come across the two portals in the form of arches leading to the Dungeons of either Catalina, and Oshurkova.

I'm still waiting for the first trade in a few days. Good thing I have the Earth products right in my inventory.

Some DP well spent, in my opinion.

Ignoring those two portals for the moment, I headed towards the entrance, where Gong and a company of primates were waiting for me, all decked out in gear made by the blacksmiths.

Those days in the time-dilation realm were worth it to compete in the Dungeon Games, where I could die at anytime to other Dungeon Masters. Luckily, I was able to join a group, ensuring my protection.

"Gong, has the human behaved?" I asked the leader of the group of primates, who in turn nodded while he turned his head back to the direction of the exit.

"Human behave. No hostile movements." Gong replied. I gave him a nod and quickly decked myself out in the most threatening armor I had in my inventory.

The Armor of the Primates was still the armor I used when I wanted to do fear tactics. Its design was probably made with fear of enemies in mind, probably, because otherwise, I see no use for the protruding spikes.

Now done with my preparations, I grabbed my Monke Staff and stood at the ready, ready for any kind of surprise the human might give me.

I strolled forward, the company of primates following me without a hint of hesitation, adding to the intimidating view. Once out of the exit, I saw the clearing that still looked the same as ever, and the human who was wearing a robe that covered his face.

"Well, for some reason, I kinda predicted that." The human in the robes sounded young, but not young like a teenager. Probably a young adult. "Damn… You look like some kind of samurai from the Edo period."

"… A transmigrate, then." I sighed as the human in the robe gave out a laugh.

"Yep. We are everywhere." The human joked, and I was inclined to laugh, but I had an image to uphold, so I stared at the robed human with the most serious face I could give him.

"So, what do you want? If you're knocking on my cavestep, then you probably have some kind of business with me." I said, and he gave me a nod, before he lowered his hood down, showing me a face I didn't think was possible I would see again. "… Drake…? Is that you?"

The human froze and looked at me with wide eyes. His natural brown hair was matted with dust and grime, causing it to look darker than it usually was. His bluish-green eyes that once held a mischievous light now looked dimmer than before. His face, the face most girls would either give a glance or outright ignore, was now covered in scars and looked mature.

But there was no mistaking it; this human, this man, was the classmate I had back on Earth who had died in an accident.

At least that's what they say happened.

"… Who are you?" Drake's previous happy-go-lucky attitude vanished in favor of a deadly persona.

"… Well, that's my bad." I rubbed the back of my head, removing the helmet I donned and holding it in my arms. "You might not recognize me now, but we were friends before. You called me Jionni."

Everything was silent, before the deadly aura surrounding Drake vanished and something more comical took its place.

"… Dafuq? Why the hell are you a hairy ape?"