Chapter 155 - Monke Friend's Oath

Of all the things he could say as a reaction to my new form, that single sentence alone proved that he was indeed Drake from Earth.

"I see you haven't changed that much since we last saw each other." I commented playfully while Drake continued to look at me with the same confused gaze, before remembering that this was a world full of Gods that could literally do anything, as long as they still had their power.

"Ha! It'll take more than a few life and death experiences to crack this nutjob!" Drake laughed out loud when he regained his bearings. I chuckled along with him due to the admittedly, funny joke. "I'm still gunning for a family, but hell, life in this world is a bitch. By the way, how the hell did they send you here? Did you die too?"

At that morbid conclusion, I nodded in affirmation, Drake looking at me with a pitying gaze, but then recalled how I lived my life back on Earth, before he sighed.

"Well, at least you're away from that hellhole and toxic lifestyle." I sighed in agreement that my past life was indeed a very toxic lifestyle. One I wouldn't be able to escape due to the lengths my parents went just to manipulate me into grooming me to be their perfect son. "How did you die anyway? Last time I saw you, you were a loner."

"Apparently, some douchebag decided it was fun to stab me in the gut, in front of the school, no less. Hell, he was even a fellow student." I snarled, and Drake looked at me with disbelief.

"For real? A student killed you? In front of the whole student body?" Drake asked with wide eyes, which I confirmed with a nod. "Holy shit. Your past life sucks."

"On that, we can both agree." I grinned as I looked at the cave behind me. "Besides, look at me now. Sure, I'm a fucking gorilla, albeit a modified one, but damn it if I ain't happy with my current lifestyle."

Drake approached me, which caused the primates to tense, before I gestured for them to stand down and give us some space.

"Oh yeah, about that. How's your Dungeon?" Drake approached me without hesitation, probably happy that his friend that most of the time gave him the cold-shoulder was now open to open friendship. "I've been to other Dungeons, so trust me when I say I can rate the strength of yours."

"Hmm…" I hummed while I pondered in thought. 'Should I tell him? He may be my friend, but in this world, there's not telling what would happen.'

I narrowed my gaze at him, and he noticed. As a result, he sighed and nipped the problem in the bud.

"Look, Jionni. I may have changed a bit, but my core still hasn't changed." I still wasn't convinced by his reasoning, and he let out a groan. "Alright, fine! If that's how you're playing, then I'm raising the stakes!"

Drake fished out something from his satchel, which turned to be some kind of book. I looked at the suspicious book with guarded eyes. The rest of the primates were raising their guards, just in case something happened.

"Now, where was that… No, not that… Definitely not that… Goddamn it Polina, why the fuck would you put a ritual about BDSM in this book?" As he flipped page after page after page, his muttering continued to drone on and on, a habit he developed back in his past life.

That was also the reason why he only had a small circle of friends. Only a handful would endure his incessant muttering spree when he gets too into things. That said, since I didn't care about his mutterings or anything, he felt inclined to befriend me, even if I always gave him the cold-shoulder.

"No, not this either… For fuck's sake, what's with the r-18 rituals in this book…? Aha! Found it!" With a shout, he looked at me with nervous, but determined eyes. The primates were ready to lunge due to his sudden shout, but I was able to command the primates to stand down. "Jionni. I somewhat know you, and you somewhat know me, and because of that, I'm sure that you also know what a magical oath is."

"… Is it a binding oath that has dire consequences if broken?" I asked, and he nodded.

"To show you that I really won't mean any harm to you, or your Dungeon, I'm willing to take a Magical Oath that would knock me into a coma for a month if I ever do something beyond reason against your Dungeon, and in connection, you." He said, and I tilted my head.

"Wasn't it supposed to end it with death? What's with the breaking of the cliché trope here?" I jokingly said, while Drake laughed out loud.

"There's no magical oath that would result in death if broken. At most, it's only a month-long coma." He stopped chuckling and shrugged. "Anyway, you state your terms, and I'll agree to them. Just please make it specific, otherwise, I risk going into a coma."

"… Very well. I'll trust you on this, due to the fact that we were friends in the past, even if it wasn't a close one." He laughed once more before a giant magic circle appeared beneath our feet. "So, how do we do this?"

"Easy, just state your terms, and I'll agree, and magic will do the rest." He gave me a grin, and I couldn't help but chuckle at the gall Drake had for putting himself in danger just so I could trust him.

"Hmm… Let's see…" I mulled over the conditions in my head. What's the most obvious one… Harm to me and the Dungeon, of course… Aha, I got it. "Firstly, you shall not intentionally harm any resident and mobs in my Dungeon, unless it was in self-defense. In the case of invaders, you can go ham on them, unless I say no. Secondly, Drake must not move past the second floor, unless given permission to do so. Lastly, Drake must help out in my Dungeon, whether it be in social relations, manual labor, or even just helping in general. Failure to do so every week will result in the breaking of the oath."

"And I, Drake, wielder of Drakhan's Gauntlets, give my oath that none of these shall come to pass, or may the magic all around Praeccathae shut down my brain and render me a vegetable for a month." The magic circle glowed brighter and brighter, until an explosion of light covered our surroundings before everything went back to normal. "And that's it. Oath done, and can you please tell me how your Dungeon is now? Pretty please? I'll admit it, I'm sort of a Dungeon nut, because you wouldn't believe how some Dungeons compare to others."

His machinegun blabbering went in my one ear, and came into my brain as an incomprehensible jargon. That's how fast he's talking right now.

"Whoa, time out there, Drake. Your habits are showing." I said, and Drake stopped for a second, before blushing slightly due to embarrassment.

"… I thought I had gotten rid of that in this world." He muttered. "Turns out, just meeting one of my friends from back home revived that part of me."

I smiled, and put out my hand. He looked at it for a second, before he grabbed it and shook it.

"Glad to have you on board, Drake."

"Glad to be here, Jionni." We released hands, and I turned around, walking inside my Dungeon with the primates in tow. "Come on, I'll give you the tour."

Drake laughed and excitedly followed me like a puppy. At the sight, I had no choice but to laugh softly.

'I guess, maybe this time, I won't be a cold-shoulder asshole. Maybe this time, we can be close, if not, best friends.' I smiled as I entered my Dungeon once again, this time with a reincarnate with me.

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~ Third Person POV ~

"Ma'am! The heretic was seen passing near Kazanpan." A soldier submissively spoke towards a female knight, who was busy torturing some demi-humans within their cages. The screams of pain and howls of anguish from male, female, young, and old, all of them demi-humans, echoed throughout the area, the sun a witness to the horrifying deed.

"Is that so? Then, it won't be long before that scum is caught, and brought between our Lord's judgment." The female knight drew a blade, before letting it pierce a demi-human child, who was not even in her double-digits, through the chest, after having her subjected to torture so inhumane.

The demi-human was a rat-kin, and the method the female knight chose to torture the poor, innocent child, was making a real rat burrow into her stomach.

Needless to say, the child was long dead due to shock alone.

At the sight, the female knight scowled, before glancing around the area where a few more demi-humans lay, either dead, or barely alive.

"Kill them all, and tie them to our horses. May these sinners find redemption in their suffering at our divine hands." The female knight chanted a prayer towards the dead demi-humans, which she had a hand at killing.

Right after that, the soldiers, whether willingly or not, was never known, tied the corpses to the horses' saddle so they could drag them across the ground during their travel.

"All done? Then let's get going.. That heretic is going to pay for the trouble he's been giving."