Chương 48: Destined One

Joe sneezed. Instinctively, he reached for his shoulder to scratch Veda, then remembered she was no longer there. She was currently fused with his mind inside the body of the monkey they now inhabited: the body of the destined one. Upon entering the inner area of the Inheritance Gate, he, Veda, and Gao encountered a monkey seated at a desk. The monkey calmly explained what they had to do to pass the Inheritance test.

It was straightforward enough: Joe was tasked with taking over the body of the destined one, who would journey across the land to collect the six relics of Sun Wukong and gain recognition as the new Monkey King. Each relic was guarded by a demi-god he'd have to fight to claim them. Because the number of participants was odd, Veda had been forced to join him inside the monkey's body. She could only offer advice and observe from within, something she made sure to complain about constantly.

"This body smells," Veda grumbled for the tenth time. Joe sighed.

"Stop breathing, then. This isn't even real, anyway. We're not actually here, so if you don't breathe, you won't smell anything."

"Shush boy. I can complain all I want," she retorted, somehow conveying a smug tone through their psychic bond. She'd started calling him 'boy' ever since they entered this body a few days ago, and it was already beginning to wear thin. Joe ground his teeth. He was starting to regret not letting her join Gao in the fox body instead. She had her own tasks to complete, after all. He felt Veda chuckling within. She was doing it on purpose. Joe shook his head and forced the irritation away.

"Anyway, we need to gather more information in this village of Ratmen. One of the guards we knocked out mentioned something about ringing three bells." He dashed through the forest, eyes sharp, the staff firm in his hands. Despite everything, he couldn't deny the body of the destined one was impressive. It was strong, agile, and fluid in motion. Fighting had come almost naturally, and with the quarterstaff in hand, he truly felt in his element, even if the body was hairy and somewhat smelly.

They stealthily entered the village at nightfall and began searching for clues that would lead them to the first relic. After interrogating several Ratmen, they located the first bell and rang it. A deafening gong echoed through the village and into the surrounding valley, waking every inhabitant. When the guards rushed to the bell, they found nothing but a pile of unconscious Ratmen, each sporting a large bump on the head. Not a single monkey could be seen anywhere in the night.

Two days later, Joe crouched just outside the second bell location, observing the area.

"What is that?" Veda asked. Joe narrowed his eyes at the figure she was referring to. It was a large, burly man with a head nearly three times the size of his body. Joe couldn't help but wonder how the man managed to stay upright with that oversized skull.

"He's some kind of monk," Joe muttered.

"You can tell by the robes."

"He is the weirdest-looking human I have ever seen," Veda replied flatly.

"I'm not sure he's even human. His head is far too big and monstrous."

"How are we going to ring the bell without him noticing?" she asked.

"I don't think we can," Joe said, glancing around the clearing.

"I think we will have to fight him." They had already neutralized the surrounding Ratmen without drawing attention, but it was clear this monk wasn't just guarding the bell by chance. After watching for some time, it became obvious that he was waiting for them.

"Any advice?" Joe asked. Hoping for some words of wisdom before charging in. Veda responded simply.

"Don't get squashed by his head." With a resigned sigh, Joe stepped into the clearing before the bell. Veda's warning turned out to be an accurate prediction of how the fight would go. The monk launched his attacks by slamming his massive head toward Joe, each impact shaking the ground with a thunderous boom. Joe rolled and dodged, narrowly avoiding being flattened. He swung his quarterstaff into the side of the monk's head. The blow rang out like a gong.

The head was made of some kind of heavy metal; it must have weighed a ton. Joe barely avoided a spinning kick as the monk twisted and lashed out with surprising agility.

"Up!" Veda suggested. Joe used the staff to propel himself into the air, momentarily disappearing from the monk's sight. It created the perfect opening. A second later, he came crashing down, slamming the quarterstaff onto the back of the hunched-over monk as it leaned forward. The blow knocked the creature off balance, sending it tumbling to the side of the bell. Joe dashed around, positioning the bell between them to block its view.

"Pots!" Veda called out. Joe darted to his right, swiping his staff at a pile of clay pots stacked against the wall. The shards flew through the air, smashing against the monk's oversized head and exploding into fragments. The broken pieces scattered across the ground in a jagged mess. As the monk climbed to its feet, it spotted Joe standing defiantly before it.

"Damn, monkey!" It shouted before charging, only to yelp in pain and falter as its feet crunched down on the sharp shards. Its footing gave way entirely as ceramic splinters stabbed into the soles of its feet.

"Told you it was stupid," Veda cheered triumphantly.

"Spank it!" Joe enjoyed having Veda guide him through these more challenging battles. Her sense for combat was honestly better than his, and she liked to think up quirky ideas mid-battle to keep the opponent on its feet. Or, in this case, off its feet. He swept his staff into the monk's knees, toppling it again. The heavy head slammed into the ground with a dull thud. He knew it wouldn't cause any real damage, but with the monk grounded and its view blocked, Joe had a critical advantage.

He quickly moved into a blind spot and began thrusting the staff forward in rapid succession, testing for weak points. Somewhere on that oversized body, there had to be a vulnerability. Another thing Veda had picked up after a few battles was that every enemy had a weak spot, just like in a video game. Joe's mind flashed back to a game he once played, where the main character was a woman who fought angels using her hair as a weapon.

"Dodge left." Joe moved, dodging just in time to avoid a sudden gust of wind summoned by the monk. It blasted through the spot he'd just vacated. As he glided past, he cracked the staff into the monk's exposed armpit, drawing a pained yell from the towering figure.

"That's it, the weak spot, focus your attacks!" Veda called out. Joe followed up with a flurry of strikes aimed at the armpits as the monk struggled to its feet. A health bar appeared above the man's head, revealing they'd already whittled it down by a third. With the weak spot located, the rest of the battle became more of a drawn-out grind than a challenge. The monk had a massive health pool but couldn't keep up once Joe locked onto its vulnerability.

When the monk finally collapsed, he dropped a set of green beads. Joe picked them up and examined them, discovering they were a curio, an item that, once equipped, enhanced critical hit chance.

"This is, without a doubt, a game," Joe muttered, chuckling as he walked over to ring the second bell. The instant the deep gong echoed through the valley, he turned and sprinted.

"Run, monkey!" Veda called gleefully in his mind. She was clearly enjoying herself. Three more days passed before they reached the final bell, a small house perched atop a still, ankle-deep lake. Joe stared across the rippling water. There was no cover, no way to sneak up, and no sign of movement from within.

"I sense someone inside," Veda said softly. Joe nodded. He could feel it too, another presence, calm and still but unmistakably waiting. He'd learned by now that stealth was only useful for gathering information. Once they reached a bell's location, a fight was always waiting.

"Let's do this, shall we?" Joe said as he stepped forward. The lake rippled beneath his feet as he walked, staff in hand. As he drew near, the door to the house slammed open, and out stepped a snake man. He wore the robes of a monk and carried a giant spear, eyes locked on Joe with venomous intent. Joe readied his staff and approached cautiously. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"He is controlling the water, be careful," Veda warned as she noticed the strange patterns forming around them. Joe's eyes darted, struggling to track the shifting surface all around him.

"I'm gonna blitz him; this area is horrible," Joe said, activating one of the destined one's skills. Cloud Step cast a clone at his current position and cloaked his real body in invisible clouds, allowing him to sneak behind the snake man undetected. He charged his staff with momentum and slammed it hard into the snake man's tail from behind. The boss howled in fury as the clone vanished and whirled around to face him.

"You sneaky monkey!" It snarled, sliding forward with a snap of its tail.

"Duck," Veda said calmly. Joe reacted with lightning-fast reflexes, leaping back and ducking his head just as a powerful spray of water blasted toward him. He narrowly avoided the torrent. With Veda's support, it really was like having eyes in the back of his head. His staff blurred through the air as he unleashed a flurry of thrusts at the boss's scaly body. He couldn't use his personal skills in the body of the destined one, but all his real-world training kicked in.

His practiced hands moved with deadly precision, his quarterstaffmanship honed to near perfection. The snake man roared and slammed its tail down, summoning a wall of water to crash up and around it. Joe stepped back, watching as the boss vanished within the swirling veil.

"I think he merged with the water," Veda observed.

"He'll probably strike from below, stay sharp." Joe stood still, staff raised. Just as she predicted, the snake man surged up from beneath him, fangs bared. Joe twisted, avoiding the strike, and slammed his staff into the now-visible body of the boss. It screeched and fell back into the water, melting away again into the ripples. Joe began circling, scanning the water for any sign of movement. The boss emerged again, this time at range, and summoned a giant spear of water.

Joe dashed forward, trying to stop it from finishing the attack, but he was a second too late. The spear launched, striking him in the side. He clenched his jaw as the projectile pierced clean through, blood pouring from the wound. Staggering upright, he dodged just in time to avoid the next blow, but the boss lunged with another watery spear. Joe couldn't escape it fully. It scraped across his leg, tearing a gash and sending blood splattering across the lake.

Gritting his teeth, he activated Cloud Step, disappearing again. As the clone distracted the boss, he fumbled for his healing flask, took a long swig, and felt immediate relief as the pain dulled and his health bar climbed.

"Move right." He ducked and shifted right, narrowly avoiding two water spikes that shot toward him. Closing in on the boss, his quarterstaff blurred in motion, shifting fluidly between offence and defence. The snake man's tail lashed toward him, and Joe dodged, his eyes catching a suspicious glow at the tip.

"What's that light on its tail?" he asked, circling away and weaving through the splashes and incoming spear strikes.

"Good eye, that looks like a weak spot," Veda replied. Joe leapt up to avoid a thrust, then angled his descent toward the tail. But it whipped away at blinding speed.

"Shit, we need to slow it down. I can't catch it when it moves like that."

"Head toward the left corner," Veda said quickly.

"Over where those roots are sticking out of the water." Joe spotted the tangled roots cluster and began to shift the fight in that direction, staying fluid in his movement to avoid drawing attention to his change in positioning. As it turned out, there was no need, the boss remained singularly focused on killing the destined one, matching his every movement with relentless aggression.

"Die monkey!" the boss yelled as it vanished into the water once more. Joe sprinted to the roots and perched on the thickest one, staff at the ready. Just three seconds later, the boss surged upward from below. Joe activated Cloud Step the instant it broke the surface, narrowly avoiding the strike. As it emerged, the roots caught around its lower body, tangling half of its tail and slowing it down. Joe pounced. He launched a forceful thrust, one of the destined one's core techniques.

The staff shot forward at incredible speed and cracked directly into the glowing tip of the tail. The boss let out a piercing scream as its health bar plummeted by half. It thrashed, trying to retreat into the water again, but its tail remained caught. Joe battered the boss with blow after blow, keeping it off-balance. With a final pair of strikes aimed at the tail, the snake man slumped to the ground, unconscious. Victory.

"Well done," Veda said.

"But before you go ringing that bell… we have a visitor on the far shore." Joe turned, scanning the treeline, and spotted a familiar red-furred figure peeking out from behind a tree. It was Gao.

"I need your help," Gao said as they stood together on the porch of the house in the middle of the lake.

"Sure, what do you need help with?" Joe asked.

"I'm stuck and can't progress my quest." He looked down at the little fox beside him, trying to suppress the urge to pet the cute furry little thing. Gao had definitely drawn the short straw, while he got to control the powerful body of the destined one, she was stuck in the form of an ordinary-looking fox.

"What is your quest? So far, ours has been to ring these three bells to gain access to the mountain in the distance, where supposedly the first relic is," Joe said, nodding toward the distant peak.

"Oh. I, too, need to access the mountain," Gao replied.

"Are you also looking for the relic?" Veda asked. Joe nearly jumped out of his skin. His body had spoken in Veda's familiar voice. Hearing it out loud was shocking and unexpected. He'd only ever heard that voice in his head before.

"Veda?" Gao blinked in confusion.

"Yes. I just figured out how to make this monkey speak," Veda replied cheerfully.

"Anytime you hear this voice, it's me speaking," she added with a grin. Gao eyed them sceptically.

"That felt pretty weird," Joe muttered.

"Oh shush, I've had to deal with you speaking all this time; now it's your turn," Veda said smugly.

"So, what is your quest, Gao?"

"It's a puzzle," Gao said, slowly warming up to the odd conversation.

"I think it's located at the top of the mountain. But the entrance is locked." Joe knew she was talking about the gatehouse at the mountain's base.

"One moment," he said, stepping back into the house. A moment later, a deep gong rang through the forest as he slammed the final bell. Joe emerged from the house again.

"It should be open now." Gao nodded in thanks.

"Seeing as we're all heading to the same place, let's travel together from now on," Veda suggested.

"I agree. This body is weak," Gao replied, glancing down at her paws.

"Hop on our shoulder, and let's go. It will take a few days to reach the foot of the mountain, and besides, I really want to feel your fur," Veda added. Joe almost chuckled as Gao gracefully leapt up onto his shoulder.

"Who controls the body? That fight was very impressive," Gao asked as she draped herself over Joe's shoulder, mimicking Veda's usual perch.

"Joe does all the fighting," Veda replied.

"He's the muscle, I'm the brains. Now, Joe, stroke her, I want to feel the fur."

"Yes, Ma'am," Joe said with a grin, obliging. Surprisingly, Gao didn't seem to mind. In fact, he could've sworn he saw a hint of a smile on her fox face. As they made their way toward the mountain that housed the relic, Veda handled most of the conversation. She was in her element now, chatting away with their new travel companion.

"The boy here, then let me die," Veda said, dramatically recounting their tale. Much to Joe's dismay, she was telling Gao the full story of how they met, including their journey across India and her unfortunate demise. Joe wanted to hang his head in shame, but to his surprise, Veda's retelling wasn't painful to listen to. In fact, it almost felt like she was doing it partially for his benefit, her perspective, softened by time and a touch of mischief.

"I'm sure he tried his best to protect you," Gao said gently.

"Yes, I did," Joe chimed in.

"But he still failed. And then, when I was reborn, he left me all alone in India for months," Veda added with her most sorrowful tone.

"I didn't even know you were alive," Joe muttered defensively.

"Shush, who's telling the story?" Veda interrupted, taking over the destined one's voice again.

"As I was saying, after my rebirth, that was when I met the darling Esha. I don't know what I would have done without her." Joe tuned out briefly as a swarm of strange, fat little goblins with spears came flying at them. He dispatched them quickly and kept jogging.

"You've met Esha?" Veda asked as they continued.

"Yes, she helped me a lot when I was stuck at my bottleneck," Gao replied.

"She truly is a darling. When she returned from that event, she always talked about you," Veda said warmly. Joe noticed Gao's expression shift slightly while Veda spoke. Something about Esha's name had struck a chord.

"What did she say?" Gao asked tentatively.

"Only good things. She was very impressed by your skills and the way you handled yourself in battle," Veda replied. Gao gave a small nod, her fox face softening into a hint of a smile at the compliment.

"It was unfortunate I wasn't able to attend. I would've taught you the same footwork I drilled into dear Esha. It would suit you better than the basic footwork the boy here taught you all."

"Hey!" Joe protested in mock outrage as he vaulted over a small lake, flipped onto a tree branch, and then swung across uneven terrain before returning to a run.

"He tries his best, so we don't blame him," Veda teased, and Joe could practically feel her mentally patting him on the head.

"I am extremely grateful for both the footwork and the sword," Gao said, giving a respectful nod to both of them.

"Oh, he gave you a sword. You'll have to show it to me when all this is over," Veda said.

"Certainly."

"And are there any single women in your city? The boy here is dying…" Joe focused on his surroundings as the two continued chatting, swapping stories from the last six months. He appreciated the chatter, except when Veda was clearly making jabs at him. But it did make the long journey a lot more bearable. It took them almost a week to reach the foot of the mountain, where a massive open doorway led to a staircase winding upward.

Far above, they could already see archers and guards stationed along the mountainside, ready to ambush any who dared climb.

"I'll stick to the brush and follow along your trail," Gao said.

"Got it. I'll charge in and whack everything in sight!" Joe replied, grinning from ear to ear. This was the part he enjoyed.

"Time to find the first relic." Gao and Veda sighed in perfect unison. Three hours later, they crouched behind a stone pillar near the summit's archway. Just beyond it stood a massive black bear, twice the size of anything Joe had seen before, waiting patiently before a stone altar.

"Any sign of it?" Veda asked.

"No, it should be somewhere around the altar behind the bear," Gao replied.

"All yours, boy," Veda said. Joe stepped out with a cocky swagger, passing beneath the archway into the summit clearing. The bear rose on its hind legs and began a long-winded monologue about being out of sight and out of mind. Joe raised a hand mid-speech.

"Just fight me, bear man."

"You vile monkey! How dare you interrupt me!" The bear roared as the battle began… Twenty minutes later, the destined one sat upon Black Bear Guai's dead body, the first of six relics in his hand.