Chapter 44 - 43

Just like what I had expected, the Tronobo and Pronobo once again came to fetch me the very next day. Though this time, the two monsters brought two Banobos with them and let the two Banobos carry the Hackclaw and Savaga. And based on how the Tronobo and Pronobo chose to carry me themselves, it was all but certain that these monsters were being extra cautious towards me. Of course, it was also possible that these two were just acting out the Gigarillon’s orders, but based on the Gigarillon’s behavior so far, I highly doubt that the Gigarillon would go out of his way to be this extra careful against me. If anything, I could confidently guarantee that the Gigarillon would actually find it more amusing if I had a little freedom to escape. After all, that monster only found me interesting because of my intellect. So, in reality, the Banobo must have been curious as to what I would do in order to escape.

Upon looking at it like that, I couldn’t help but sigh. 'Well, that fact only makes that monster even more annoying.'

Anyway, unlike yesterday, the Banobo and Pronobo didn’t bring us up in that Gigantic tree. Instead, it seemed like our destination today was outside. And of course, since they brought that Savaga and Hackclaw this time, I could easily guess what was about to happen. After all, this situation was awfully the same as what had happened last time.

'Another raid huh?'

Upon remembering what happened that time, I couldn’t help but feel tired be discouraged because of what was about to happen. And who could blame me? Last time, these apes used us as bait. To make matters worse, they even threw some stones and boulders while we were busy fighting those ants for them. Honestly, I thought I was a goner at that time. It was a huge mess. That’s why if I was given a choice, I didn’t want to do that ever again. The problem was…

'Tsk! I have no choice.' I thought while grinding my fangs.

Of course, it wasn’t as if there was nothing to gain from it. After all, by continuously fighting like this, I would gain more strength through experience and leveling up. Unfortunately, fighting in such conditions was dangerous even for me. And though it was true that it was also the same when I was fighting by myself, at least at such instance, there was an option to escape whenever the situation called for it. But now, because the apes would be watching from behind, I would have no other choice but to push through and survive. Furthermore, based on the monster’s behavior, I could certainly tell that they were only using us to take the attention of the enemy while they were cutting off their escape routes. Which if not for the fact that I was being used as the bait, was a truly brilliant strategy for a monster.

'Damn it! That Gigarillon is such a pain in the ass!!'

***

On that day and the following days after that, the apes continued to raid the nests of the ant-type monsters. Naturally, during those consecutive raids, the apes worked us to the bone without hesitating to use us as their bait. Fortunately, I actually managed to survive all through that hell. As a result, I became a level twenty-nine monster and I only needed one more level up before evolving once again.

[Name: (Unnamed)]

[Race: Great Wolf Variant]

[Level: 29]

[Status: Healthy]

[Skills: Blood Soaked Fangs (Rank S), Call of The Moon (Rank A), Night Vision (Rank S), Enhance Smell (Rank S), Enhance Hearing (Rank S), Recovery (Rank S), Detect Malice (Rank S), Sharp Claws (Rank S), Potential Boost (Rank A), Assess (Rank A), Presence of Mind (Rank A), Accelerate (Rank C), Devour (Rank S), Hunt (Rank A), Antibodies (Rank A), Toughness (Rank A), Pain Endurance (Rank A), Stealth (Rank B), Recuperate (Rank A), Detect Life (Rank B), Intimidate (Rank C)]

As another result of all those battles, I also acquired some new skills and even managed to evolve some of my old ones. Well, maybe saying that skills had “evolved” wasn’t an accurate description. Probably, the right term to use in this case was “combined” instead of “evolved,” and of course, the skill in question was the one called Accelerate.

Obviously, the said skill was the result of the combination of Swiftness and Haste. And upon looking into the effects of Accelerate, I discovered that it inherited the effects of both of those skills. More than that, this new skill also had some additional effects besides the ones that it inherited. To be more specific, there were two additional effects. One of them was the ability to accelerate while midair and the other one was an ability to temporarily speed up beyond the physiological limitation.

Naturally, I felt a bit skeptical when I saw the first additional effect because no matter how much I think about it, the effects seemed too plain. But when I finally tested it, I immediately knew that this effect was what I would use the most. To explain the effect, well, it was something like having the ability to maneuver in the air without using any foothold. Of course, it wasn’t to the extent of freely maneuvering into the air. Because based on my test results, I could only change or shift my direction once. In simple terms, it was somewhat similar to having the ability to double jump. And though at first glance this ability sounded so simple, in reality, it was actually extremely useful because it gave me some edge in terms of aerial battle.

Unfortunately, unlike the first effect, the skill’s second effect was a little bit tricky to handle. And while it was true that it was possible to use this effect as an ace in the hole, it was still painfully obvious that speeding up beyond one’s physical limitations would have some adverse effects on the body. Most likely, just using this ability once could render me unable to move or even worse. Because of that, I couldn’t use it as often as the first effect so I would instead reserve it in case I had no other choice. Luckily, just like the first effect, it was possible to separate the activation of the skill from the second effect so I didn’t have to worry about suddenly self-destructing.

Then, aside from Accelerate, I also awaken a new skill called Stealth, but this time, this skill was simply an evolved version of my skill Conceal Presence. Though in the case of Stealth, the restriction of staying still to hide one’s presence was removed. As a result, I could now freely hide my presence while still moving or even running. But well, it wasn’t as if the skill had no limitation at all. Because even though I could now hide my presence while moving around, that skill would still instantly lose its effects once I activate a buff or an offensive skill. This would also happen once I launched an attack or if I was inflicted by any mental or physical type damage and status conditions so I still had to be careful when using it.

Lastly, the other skills that I acquired were called Detect Life and Intimidate respectively. Though, unlike Accelerate and Stealth, these skills weren’t a result of either combination or evolution, instead, these skills had manifested naturally after I satisfied the requirements set by this world. And as for their effects; Detect Life was a passive skill that enabled me to detect any living beings within my immediate vicinity, while Intimidate, on the other hand, was a skill that gave me the ability to inflict fear under certain conditions.

Because of all of this, I could confidently say that I was a lot stronger now than when I first came here. And if I managed to reach level 30 and evolve on top of that, then I would finally be an Alpha Class Monster just like my father and his rival the Tempest Wolf. Although for now, I still had no idea what kind of class of alpha monster I would evolve into. Of course, there was a huge chance that I would evolve into a Frost Wolf being that my father was one in the past. But even though that wouldn’t be so bad, I would still prefer if I would be given a choice. After all, my goal was to find my sister, and for that, I needed to somehow evolve into a Werewolf, and frankly, I doubt that being a Frost Wolf would help me with that.

'Well, life is really unpredictable, so I will just have to adjust depending on the situation. It’s just the same as ever. Natural Selection. And in such cases, only those who can adapt will survive.'

'Looks like these monsters are planning to launch a counter-invasion.'