Chương 39: Wild Monkey Chase

Woosh. I drop to the floor, barely avoiding a spike of ice the size of my arm. I roll onto my feet and quickly duck behind a wall. These damn monsters, they just never stop. Glancing out, I see a lumbering form sitting in one of the few standing trees. It looks like a monkey, and the system agrees with me. [Trickster Monkey - Level 34] Its level is actually kinda low, as I've pushed farther in, seeing them below thirty five has become rare. But I don't like its name, trickster just sounds like a not fun time.

Gripping my hammer tightly, I jump out from behind cover. Dovey dives in towards the monkey, and the spell it was forming gets disrupted. At the last moment, he pulls away–so as to avoid damaging himself. But it is too late for the monkey, as I have reached the bottom of the tree. Jumping up, I channel as much energy as I can into my hammer. Just as my hammer seems to catch it off guard, the monkey disappears. Crack, my hammer obliterates the branch, sending razor sharp splinters flying everywhere, like my face.

Quickly pulling out the splinters, I look around to find the monkey. But, it finds me first as a column of fire descends on the point where I am standing. My entire body is scorched for the briefest second before I dodge out of the pillar. But by the goddess, does it hurt. It takes every ounce of my willpower to focus on smothering the flames that cling to my clothes. Then I pop a healing potion, just in time to dodge several ice projectiles flying towards me.

Tracing the path, I find the monkey in the second story of a nearby building. The damn thing set a trap for me, lured me in, and then escaped. What a little trickster. I won't let it get the best of me again. It is a simple monster, after all. I may only be me, but there is no way it is more clever than myself. I dive into the building and find the stairs, flying up them seven at a time. When I reach the second floor, I spot the monkey right away.

Thankfully the people of this new world dislike internal walls with a fiery passion. The monkey ducks under a table, and I swing my hammer, smashing right through it. But I only catch a bit of its tail. With a yelp, the monkey rockets away and towards the stairs. It does feel kind of silly as I chase the monkey up the stairs. Like seriously, what has my life come to? I am fighting world ending threats, and one just so happens to come in the form of a small monkey.

If my lungs weren't still burning from the fire earlier, I would laugh. Speaking of fire, I race up the stairs. But just as I am about to step onto the fourth floor, I notice some markings on the floor. I force myself to stop far too abruptly, just before my foot touches it. The mana radiating off it is definitely giving feelings of not a good time. This damn monkey… Careful to not activate the trap, I leap over and find the monkey inside a large empty room. Empty aside from a single cozy looking chair.

Oh, and the monkey happens to be sitting in it, looking like some scary bandit lord. It looks shocked to see me alive, and rapidly tries to move away. But before it can leap, my hammer comes down with an Anvil Strike fueled by every shred of my annoyance.

'Ding', you have slain [Trickster Monkey - Level 34]. I don't get any experience from it. As I have undergone quite a few levels as of late. I pull up a quick summary, just to see how much has changed in the past week or so. Magic Smith is level 36. Spirit Mage is level 35. Luma is level 32. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Dovey is level 37. For some reason, I haven't gotten a new skill in a while.

I know there isn't a set frequency or whatever, but it is still odd. Though something tells me that I might just be in store for some really cool ones. I collapse against a nearby wall and just take a small break. Monsters probably can't sense me inside this building, which is a strategy I have had to resort to all too often. Dovey has noticed something strange from his aerial perspective. Monsters seem to naturally head to my location. From his theory, it doesn't seem like they are sensing me.

More like they are following some instinct. An instinct that seems to be turning me into a giant piece of monster bait. Damn that goddess. Guess all this hero stuff is too cool to not have some tradeoffs. The fame is one, but I guess that something about my presence attracts monsters somehow. I am certain that I will only discover more as I continue living in this world, too. It is hard to believe I have been fighting for almost a week straight. Sure, I did manage to get some sleep here and there.

But my body honestly does not feel like it needs much anymore. The same with food. I guess it does make sense though, it would be damn near impossible to eat enough food with all the crazy stuff I am doing. I can still eat and sleep if I want to though. Which is nice, as I don't think I would want to give those up entirely. My sampling of this world's culture has been a bit restrained thus far, but I bet they have lots of tasty treats. Sighing, I get up.

With my resources replenished, I have no excuses to slack off. Taking a glance at the projection of the city, I can see that most things are going well. About half of the sixth ring has been taken back. Plus, the stronger people have started pushing into the fifth ring, though only just barely. I am at a level where I could probably fight in the fifth ring. Though it would be quite risky, and dangerous. It would help me level faster.

There is no way I can get that high during this incursion, I would be shocked if I could hit level fifty before the truly strong finish clearing it out. But still, a few more levels would be nice. I find a hole in the wall, and glance down at the ground. Now, the normal thing to do would be to take the stairs down. But, this world is not normal. So, I Plane Step right towards the ground. After regaining awareness after such a long teleport, I pull out my hammer again.

As if sensing my challenge, I hear a growl come from a nearby alleyway. Just perfect. Not being an idiot, I run into a more open space. Meaning the monster is forced to reveal itself. [Lesser wolf - Level 37] Another wolf, huh? They seem to be a very common monster, which does make sense. Though I had hoped there would be a bit more exotic types. You know, like dragons and stuff. Still, if it is a wolf slayer I must become, then that is what I will do.

— After slaying the wolf, I start moving in towards the fifth ring. Thankfully, the area has already been cleared of most monsters. Thanks to the higher leveled people moving through, of course. They have been helpful in leaving just a few behind, so it has been nice to not be entirely overwhelmed. But, I think it is about time for me to join the front lines. Well, maybe not the actual front lines, more like the second lines perhaps. I bet the experience is way better up there, but I am also not that suicidal.

I'll leave the worst stuff to the truly insane, for now. I come upon the massive wall that divides the two rings, and with barely any effort, Plane Step over it. The walls and rings have something to do with how the system mediates the growth of cities, I think. Some do opt for more freeform construction, but I get the sense that most will follow a similar pattern. Tearing down old walls is also a lot of work, so I guess most just leave them up as the city expands.

Makes it more defensive, if this incursion is anything to go by. As I stand on top of the wall, I am almost blown back down as a giant cannon next to me fires. The entire wall is lined with them, cannons capable of blasting entire buildings apart, and boy are they doing just that. Slaying tons of monsters in the process too, of course. Sadly, while the city's defenses have helped contain the monsters a bit, they won't do the entire job for us.

As I glance out over this bit of the fifth ring, I watch at least twenty bolts of lightning hit the ground. Each one spawning a brand new horde of monsters. I don't dally too long, and after letting Dovey scout out a bit, I step down into the fifth ring. The air feels quite different on this side, the air is certainly more mana dense. From all the higher level being's cores leaking it out constantly, for sure. Still, this is nothing compared to Claire's. Perhaps one day I will be able to exude such an aura as well.

That would be cool, and maybe it would keep most of the masses away from me. Only the most desperate and shameless would dare approach me. That is an idea for the future. For now, I need to find even more monsters, and slay them. Damn, this whole system thing really is a grind. But in a fun sort of way, one in which every kill makes me just that much stronger.