Chapter 66 - 62

While doing our best to conceal our presence, the ape who was carrying me moved from tree to tree with such nimble movements that it was hard to believe that his body was in fact riddled with injuries. 'Seriously, how tough is this guy?' I couldn’t help but ask.

Fortunately, it seemed like our pursuers didn’t expect that we would travel from above trees so they didn’t even bother looking up. 'But man, what the heck is that Lightning Wolf doing here anyway? From what I can remember, this area isn’t a part of his territory…' I wondered while looking down.

According to my memories, it seemed like there was an unwritten agreement between the alphas to remain inside their territory. Of course, I didn’t know the full details of it, but if my guess was right, the agreement was done to minimize the confrontation between the four alphas. After all, when two or more alphas clashed, their powers would inevitably cause some damage to their surroundings, and the forest wasn’t an exemption into that. Furthermore, it was not only unfair but also devastating for the hunting groups of other packs if they met an enemy alpha during a hunt. That, I could testify in person because of my bitter memories inside.

'It might have something to do with the reason why the Tempest Wolf launched a full-blown assault that time.'

Under normal circ.u.mstances, there shouldn’t be any reason for the Tempest Wolf to leave his territory and launch an all-out war. And even though it was true that our pack and the Tempest Wolf were hostile against one another, I still couldn’t see the logical reason as to why the Tempest Wolf had done such drastic action at that time. Because in truth, when I set aside those emotions and gazed at it from an objective standpoint, a plan that involved leaving his territory unprotected just to set an ambush was full of holes and risk. The most obvious one was, of course, the risk of letting his territory be attacked while he was gone fighting in a war.

'From what I have seen so far, every single alpha class monster that I encountered in this place has a high degree of intelligence and self-awareness.' With that in mind, I glanced at the Gigarillon who now seemed to be searching for something. 'Of course, that includes the apes’ subordinates; the Tronobo and Pronobo. So, given all of that, the Tempest Wolf at that time should also be aware of all that risk.'

In the midst of trying to figure out the intentions and motives behind the Tempest Wolf’s action in the past, the Gigarillon who was carrying me like a bag decided to jump down. And upon making a swift and silent landing on the ground, the ape moved deeper into the woods until we reached some ruins hidden behind some tall grass and trees.

'This is…' With my eyes open wide, I stared at the ruins while feeling a wide array of emotions from deep inside my heart. And probably because I was being taken over by those powerful sentiments, all the memories and thoughts that were hidden within my soul had begun to surface once again.

'… So, all of them are really dead, huh…?'

Before I even knew it, I just found myself howling out in anguish without holding back. “RAAAAAAAHHHH!!” Fueled by those emotions, I twist my body around in an attempt to escape from the grasp of the ape. Then with bloodshot eyes, I even tried to bite the monster’s arm when it refused to let me go. But before I could sink my fangs, I felt a jolt of pain on my head and everything turned black.

***

“What a disaster.” A voice said in an exasperated tone.

“Seriously, with all of that thing about being different, you still let yourself be taken over like that?” Then with a hint of disappointment, exhaustion, and uncertainty, the voice continued. “Like, what is even the point of your existence if you can’t serve your purpose? Sigh, what a weird way of fixing things…”

Inside that void, there were two dominating thoughts and emotions. One was coming from that voice; and well, it felt both cold and indifferent, while at the same time excluding an impregnable vibe. In contrast to that, the other one that had been silent up to now felt fiery and passionate, but for some unknown reason, it had this soft and delicate aura.

“…”

After that, the abyss turned completely silent. But as confusing as it was, there was still this ripple effect splashing on that sea of darkness, and from what I could tell, it seemed like it originated from those two in the same way that a rock could produce one when it was thrown into a lake. And while I was drowning in that, my consciousness was also being flooded by the memories of my two past lives. It was as if those waves were downloading all of that information directly into my cognizance.

Losing my sense of time, I found myself lost and alone in that plane of existence. And in that dimension, I stopped feeling pain, p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e, joy, misery, hope, despair, fear, terror, everything; they were all gone. Snuffed out. Or even erased. It was, in a word, surreal…

Fortunately, before I was able to submerge myself deeper into that void, my consciousness was hit by a surge of powerful thunder, shaking my whole existence up until its core. At the same time, all the forgotten emotions that I had burst within my soul, giving my consciousness just enough jolt to pull myself out of that abyss.

***

“Guh!” I woke up with a gasp. And upon opening my eyes, the first sensation I felt was a desperate need for air. “Huff… Huff… Huff…” More than that, I also noticed that my body felt incredibly heavy even though I had already taken a rest.

While moving my eyes around and trying to get a feel of my body, I couldn’t help but think; 'good thing I did not wake up in pain just like last time…' I felt relieved with all my heart. 'But seriously, how long was I out?' With that question in mind, I gazed at my notifications.

[Level up.]

[Level up.]

[Level up.]

[Level up.]

[After resting for 4 hours, you have slightly recovered.]

'Four hours, huh?' From the way things looked, it seemed like reaching a full recovery would take more than just rest. And if my guess was right, this might have been the result of all the acc.u.mulated injuries and beatings that my body had gone through.

But setting that aside from now, there was at least some good news being displayed in my notification. 'I leveled up five times in a row?' At that, I recalled all my battles inside the ants’ domain, and that was when I realized the reason for these level-ups. 'Oh! That Anties King!!'

If I remembered it right, the Anties King was around level forty-seven during the last time that I used Assess on the monster. And since I made some contributions to the fight as well as with the monster’s defeat, of course, it would be natural to level up in succession given the gap between the monster’s level and mine. I mean, my level was only around thirty-four at that time.

Upon coming to that conclusion, I opened up my Status Screen.

[Level: 39]

[Status:]

[Titles: Awakened One, The RunAway, Predator, Survivor]

[Skills: Fangs of Void (Rank D), Call of The Moon (Rank S), Sixth Sense (Rank D), Recovery (Rank S), Dismantling Claws (Rank D), Potential Boost (Rank S), Assess (Rank S), Presence of Mind (Rank S), Accelerate (Rank B), Gorge (Rank D), Antibodies (Rank S), Toughness (Rank S), Pain Endurance (Rank S), Stealth (Rank C), Recuperate (Rank S), Intimidate (Rank B), Magical Resistance (Rank D), Berserk (Rank D), Rally (Rank D), Authority (Rank D), Shadow Manipulation (Rank C)]

'Level thirty-nine…'

Based on my experiences so far, it has been pretty clear that I should be able to evolve every time my level hits a multiple of ten. But then, all of it was based on the knowledge that I gathered before my accession into a Ruling Class monster. And the truth was, I still had no idea what that really entailed. So, of course, I could only make some rough assumptions but that might just lead me into an inevitable disaster. After all, there were too many unknown truths and variables in this world and I had not the slightest clue on how it all would affect my progress in the future.

'… I should probably put this in the back of my mind for now…' I decided with a sigh.

It was only then; when I let go of all my questions, that I noticed the missing presence of the Gigarillon. 'Hmmm? Where’d that ape go?' I tilted my head in wonder.