CH 238

Episode 238 – Peak Gorilla

I had only heard Tobias talk about it before. I had never even seen it in the projections, so I really didn’t think I would see it at this moment in time. There were some who even called the Peak Gorilla a hidden boss.

It was a seriously dangerous monster with an overwhelming physique which was capable of unleashing powerful attacks. It also had incredible mobility, and was capable of freely moving about cliff faces and rocky areas. But the most terrifying aspect about the Peak Gorilla was that it had command over the Canyon Monkeys.

On flat ground, the Canyon Monkeys only had a bit more combat power than a Goblin, but they possessed far superior intelligence. In individual battles, simple combat power was the key, but in group battles, intelligence was often more important than combat power.

The Peak Gorilla was a strong fighter and had excellent leadership skills, while the Canyon Monkeys had high intelligence that allowed them to employ all kinds of tactics. In our position, there was no opponent more troublesome to deal with than these.

“Peak Gorilla… This is my first time seeing one.” (Lewin)

“Me too. I really didn’t expect us to encounter one on our party’s first time clearing this layer. This is really unlucky.” (Rosalie)

“That’s true. Here it comes!” (Lewin)

As if it didn’t want to give us any time to discuss, the Peak Gorilla gave a roar and started to bash the ground as it made its way towards us. Since we didn’t know anything about it other than the fact that it existed, we needed to first stick to defense so we could get a feel for its attack patterns and movement patterns. But there was no time for that when we were getting overwhelmed by numbers.

“I’ll take on the Peak Gorilla. Aruna-san and Rosalie-san, could you please deal with the Canyon Monkeys?” (Lewin)

“I can deal with the Canyon Monkeys alone, so Rosalie and Lewin, you two should go on the Peak Gorilla.” (Aruna)

“It’s a pack, you know? It’s going to be hard with just one person!” (Rosalie)

“Otherwise the Peak Gorilla will take command of the Canyon Monkeys. Defeat it as quickly as you can, you two.” (Aruna)

“Let’s both go at once. No holding back.” (Lewin)

“Got it. Here we go!” (Rosalie)

To stay true to my word of not holding back, I kept my eye on the position of the running Peak Gorilla, then tossed a Sticky Bomb at it right off the bat. It would have been nice if it was like the Thrust Buffalo where your victory would be secured as long as you could stop it from moving, but… it wasn’t going to be that easy.

The Peak Gorilla paid no attention to the sticky substance on its legs, and it charged in headfirst, swinging its left arm.

I was slightly occupied with using the Sticky Bomb, so I was a bit late to dodge, but I managed to barely evade the attack with a backstep. I was able to get out of harm’s way, but it was quick on the pursuit.

The Peak Gorilla jumped off the ground and lifted its hands up, did a spin midair to build up power, and slammed into the ground.

I made a split-second judgment that I wouldn’t be able to guard against it with my sword, so I tumbled sideways to avoid it― but my body was jolted by a tremendous tremor.

When I glanced over at the position I had been standing just a moment ago, where the Peak Gorilla had slammed its two fists down, I could see that the ground had been completely gouged out, which spoke volumes about the weight of its fists.

…I suddenly thought back to how I almost tried to guard against that in the midst of a split second decision, a cold sweat ran down my back.

“Please get back on your feet!” (Rosalie)

After seeing me tumble to the side, Rosalie immediately jumped in to take aggro from the Peak Gorilla. She was always on the move, causing the Peak Gorilla to continue attacking, but she never went in too deep.

Rosalie was fighting while making sure not to meet any one of its attacks head-on, but her half-hearted attacks were not doing much damage to it due to the thick, matted hair that covered its entire body. If I joined the fight and the two of us both did some damage, I felt like we would be able to beat it some day, but… the pack of Canyon Monkeys were still on Aruna, so we didn’t have that much time.

I felt vexed when I realized that we would be fine if we didn’t have to worry about time, but this was where I had to play my trump card. With my current skills and the old style brewing stand, I wouldn’t be able to make this potion again, so I really wanted to save this one if it was possible.

From my belt holder, I pulled out a Strength Potion made from an abundance of Dumbbell Weed and drained the contents of the bottle in one go. The awful taste of the Dumbbell Weed went straight from my stomach to my nose, pushing me to the brink of throwing up everything in my stomach, but I desperately held my mouth closed with my hands. Once the intense feeling of wanting to throw up subsided, the changes immediately appeared in my body.

I felt myself grow several times stronger than before. Just like that time in the fight against the Venom Troll, I felt a sense of giddy exhilaration wash over me, and my body began to itch to trade powerful head-on blows with the Peak Gorilla in a passionate onslaught. But I was only thinking about how to restrain myself and defeat it calmly.

Every fiber of muscle in my body felt like it was on fire, but on the contrary, my heart and mind were cold as I thought about how to defeat the Peak Gorilla.

“Rosalie-san. Switch.” (Lewin)

Rosalie was dodging around me as she fought. I stepped forward to replace her, and found myself facing the Peak Gorilla’s bloodshot eyes once again.