Chapter 86 - 81

After waking him up and doing my best to explain the plan to the ape, the two of us traveled to the north side of the forest following the direction that the Tempest Wolf had left behind. On our way, we came across some native monsters who seemed to be trying to run away from the monster parade that was approaching from behind.

'Poor things…' In my perspective, I realized that the appearance of the monster parade didn’t really change anything for these guys. After all, even if this incident didn’t happen, these guys would just end up as food for the wolves instead of dying at the hands of the invaders. Of course, it would be a different story if the wolves leave this forest before that happened. But judging from how the Tempest Wolf described his original plan, it was clear that he had intended to take his time so these guys would then be sacrificed during all of that. In short, it was just a question of when for these guys because their fate has already been sealed from the very start.

'Survival of the fittest, huh? Their predicament really mirrors that phrase oh so well…'

Making full use of the ape’s ability to travel from tree to tree, I had him scout the path from above whilst I followed his directions from behind. With this, we wouldn’t mistakenly enter our target spot thus avoiding the possibility of being whisked away by those teleportation traps. Furthermore, this should also increase our chance of detecting any ambush and prepare for it in advance. On top of that, I also had my sensory skill active all the while so we had both basically covered our blind spots.

With all of that preparation in place, the two of us raced through the forest without holding back. And since we prioritized speed more than anything else, we didn’t even bother to hide our presence as we traveled northward. As a result, our unsuppressed aura freely leaked out, and it effectively acted as a deterrent that prevents the native monsters from hindering our path. Although because they were already too busy running for their lives, I’d say that only a true and utter imbecile would be dumb enough to do that.

“The strong rules and survives, while the weak were either subjugated or preyed upon.” A voice inside my head proclaimed as I watched the native monster making way for us. “Looks like that phrase is true not only in both worlds but also for both monsters and humans.”

'Heh. I get what you mean, but I bet a lot of people will disagree. You should know that, right?' I snorted in response.

“Well, as you have already known, I don’t blame anyone for believing that. It’s not that obvious after all.” The voice calmly replied.

'Strength was just replaced with authority, influence, and riches. Ain’t that, right?'

“Exactly. And based on what I had seen so far, this world shouldn’t be any better. In fact, it might be even worse.” The voice expressed with a sigh.

'I wouldn’t be so sure. We have yet to see the way of life of the people of this world after all.' I said in self-assurance.

At that, an amused voice replied. “I see, so despite knowing the truth, you’re still trying to cling into hope and denial. Is this the influence of that other personality? I must say, this is quite fascinating. Especially considering what that personality was.”

Upon hearing that voice’s speculation, I found myself unable to respond. Because as much as I didn’t want to admit it, I would just be lying to myself if I refute any of that. As a matter of fact, this was the very reason why I wanted to affirm myself and find my own path. It wasn’t so much as honoring the wish and regret of that other one, but more so to retrace and find an answer through all of that. Though of course, I couldn’t exactly escape their influence so I have to keep my thoughts and emotions in check all the time.

'Well, I don’t expect anyone to understand in the first place.' I finally replied.

“Heh… Understanding through personal experience, huh? That’s quite a clever way to put it.”

As the conversation inside my head came to an end, I noticed that something was amiss in my surroundings. At the same time, I also saw the ape coming to an abrupt halt as if he had sensed the same thing. Because of this, my suspicion had turned into certainty, and I also stopped in my tracks.

To be more specific, I realized through my sensory skill that’s some native monsters nearby had started vanishing seemingly into thin air. 'That’s weird…' In retrospect, this scenario wouldn’t be that odd if the native monsters had just moved away far from the range of my skill. The problem was, their presence had somehow vanished without even moving from their spot. Furthermore, the position of those who had vanished was coincidentally near the trajectory of our path.

'Monsters don’t just die in groups like that. So, considering the position that they were in before they die, this is most likely a setup for a surprise attack.' I concluded as I prepare for a fight.

No sooner than that, I felt as if I had been engulfed in the darkness of the night. When I looked around, I noticed that everything and anything around me had turned into a jumbled mess. The solid ground, for example, had some erratic surge just like a raging sea. Then, the already weird-shaped trees that should have been rooted on the ground were now dancing around as if they were in some sort of party. And lastly, the supposedly numerous crystals from above had somehow turned into countless disgusting eyeballs that were all chaotically looking around.

At that moment, I couldn’t even react. And it wasn’t as if all my senses had been dulled. In fact, I actually felt the opposite because my senses were all in overdrive. The problem was, I couldn’t differentiate between every piece of information, as if I hadn’t known how to do that from the start.

Fortunately, I was saved when a mysterious soothing sensation calmed my mind. In the next instant, the incomprehensible reality around me shattered like a glass, as both my intelligence and senses came back. But just a split second after that, I saw something huge and black swooping down on my left, and it landed with a bang.

*BOOOM!*

That thing’s fist created an implosion as it slammed into the ground. Amidst all of that, I also saw another black but thin silhouette leaping away to dodge. But without wasting any time, the huge black thing followed suit and launched another attack.

'Damn it! I knew it was that Underclaw again!' For some reason, it seemed like the effect of its skill really got me this time. 'Looks like it has become powerful enough to delay the effects of Presence of Mind.' To be honest, if that ape didn’t interfere at the right time; I would probably be dead right now. It was in complete contrast to our first encounter where his skill had been ineffective against mine.

'Is this the result of being weakened?' I wondered as I watched the ape and the Underclaw exchange a flurry of blows and dodge around. And though I hadn’t yet informed him about the rotting effect of the Underclaw’s scythe, it seemed like the ape had already noticed it because he was avoiding any contact.

'That’s some sharp instinct right there.' I couldn’t help but utter in praise. But as I said that inside, I noticed something very wrong with their fight. 'Wait, why is he having a hard time?'

If I wasn’t mistaken, last time I saw that Underclaw, its level was still lower than mine. So, of course, by that logic alone, I concluded that the ape would far outclass the Underclaw when they fight. Because as much as I hated to admit it, I still haven’t reached that rank. And it was not only in terms of pure power alone but was also in sheer experience in combat. In other words, this was supposed to be an easy match for that ape given that I almost won on my encounter against the Underclaw last time. But as it was now, the Underclaw had not only proven me wrong, but its growth had also turned all my knowledge and speculations around.

'How is this possible? Is that ape also weakened or something?' I thought as I watched the Underclaw danced his way out of every attack. 'Beside me, the ape, and three alphas. There shouldn’t be any other monsters here that he could kill to raise his level that far.'

Even if I factored in the fact that the ape had been weakened, it still wouldn’t make sense how the Underclaw was able to fight him like that. After all, I had seen the ape been wounded and weakened before, and yet he was still able to fight the Anties King at that time. And as far as I could tell, the Underclaw’s level and strength back then weren’t even comparable to that ant. In short, even after he was weakened, the ape should still be able to take care of that Underclaw by himself. At least that was how it was supposed to play out.

'Looks like I have to join the fight.' At first, I had planned to sit back, relax, and watch as the ape demolished that monster. But now, it seemed like I had to fight despite all these damn restrictions in my skill, as well as this accursed debuff.

'But before that…' At that, I used Assess on the Underclaw out of sheer curiosity. But then, a notification popped up.

[Assess blocked]

'… Seriously?'