The deeper Nathan and Mirko moved into the jungle, the quieter the forest beca. but not the peaceful kind of quiet.
Nathan had spent enough ti hunting inside the Tutorial Realm by now to know what normal sounded like. The Forest was supposed to be noisy. Birds crying overhead. Insects buzzing. Leaves rustling with distant movent.
But now this place had none of that, Only The silence remained.
As though every living thing nearby had either fled from sothing larger or... been eaten by it.
Nathan carefully stepped over a massive root protruding from the ground while activating [Sharp Eyes]. Mana gathered faintly behind his pupils, sharpening the world around him almost instantly.
Broken branches beca clearer, Disturbed vegetation stood out more vividly, Scratches across bark, snapped vines, overturned soil, And most importantly... Footprints, Large ones.
Nathan crouched beside another deep indentation pressed into the dirt. The footprint alone looked wide enough to fit most of his torso.
"its Still fresh..." he muttered quietly.
Mirko landed beside him, her pink nose twitching rapidly. ’Master...’
Nathan didn’t look away from the track. ’Hm?’
’It slls ugly here.’
Nathan snorted faintly.
’Your scent descriptions continue to be extrely informative, Mirko’
Mirko’s ears lowered. ’No seriously. Dangerously ugly.’
Then they continued forward.
Minutes passed, then nearly an hour.
The jungle gradually thickened around them as towering trees blocked more and more sunlight overhead. Massive roots twisted across the forest floor while hanging vines ford natural walls between sections of the terrain.
Then a sound ca.
"Ou ou?"
Nathan froze, the sound had co from above. His eyes imdiately darted upward toward the canopy.
Sitting casually atop a thick branch was a small furry monkey roughly the size of a Small child. Dark fur covered its body while its eyes remained completely abyss black.
A system panel imdiately materialized before Nathan.
[Furry Black Eyed Monkey - 10 Points]
Nathan narrowed his eyes slightly, it was a Weak species. Even weaker than ordinary goblins. But their danger didn’t co from individual strength, It ca from numbers.
These things almost never appeared alone.
Nathan calmly raised his bow.
WHOOSH!
The arrow pierced directly through the monkey’s skull before it could react.
Its body fell from the branch and dissolved into particles of light before it even touched the ground.
[Ding! 10 Points Gained!]
Mirko’s ears twitched.
Nathan slowly lowered his bow while staring deeper into the forest.
"I think we’ve found the boss location."
Mirko stared toward the surrounding canopy nervously.
’Wonderful.’
They carefully advanced through the trees then they stopped and Nathan’s eyes widened slightly.
Ahead of them, the dense forest suddenly opened into a gigantic natural clearing.
Nathan imdiately crouched behind a large rock formation while motioning for Mirko to lower herself too.
Together, they cautiously peeked over the edge. "...Holy shit."
At the center of the clearing rested a gigantic ape, nearly four ters tall. That’s 13 feet in height.
Its black fur looked dense enough to resemble layered armor while scars covered its massive fra from shoulder to abdon. One arm rested lazily against a large boulder while its heavy breathing alone stirred loose leaves around its body.
Even while sleeping, the creature radiated pressure.
[Boss monster, The Berserk Ape - 1000 points]
But Nathan’s attention quickly shifted away from the boss itself because surrounding i were more monkeys.
A lot of monkeys.
Dozens upon dozens of Furry Black Eyed Monkeys occupied nearly every part of the clearing.
So perched atop branches, So rested against rocks, Others sat awake on lookout duty around the outer periter.
This wasn’t rely a monster camp, it was a defensive formation.
Mirko slowly lowered her voice. ’Master...’
Nathan kept analyzing the battlefield silently. ’Hm?’
’Perhaps... we should reconsider our life choices.’
And Honestly? Nathan considered it. The Hobgoblin suddenly felt cute by comparison. This thing was clearly a different league entirely. And those monkey numbers...
But then Nathan’s eyes narrowed.
A Sleeping boss, Stationary target, Clear line of sight. This Was an Opportunity.
He slowly reached into his quiver. "We’re doing it."
Mirko slowly turned toward him, then sighed dramatically. ’That’s just...Excellent.’
’I was beginning to fear my Master had developed survival instincts.’
Nathan ignored that. Instead, he quietly pulled an arrow free and activated [Focus Shot].
Mana imdiately began condensing around the projectile, The air subtly vibrated.
Nathan steadied his breathing, Thirty seconds. Not more. Not less.
Thirty seconds would provide enough destructive force without instantly destroying his mana reserves.
Anything longer and he risked entering a raid boss fight already half exhausted.
Five seconds passed, The arrow began faintly glowing. Ten seconds, mana thickened visibly around the shaft. Fifteen seconds, Nathan’s fingers started trembling slightly from pressure. Twenty seconds, the surrounding air began distorting. Twenty-five seconds, The arrowhead humd violently.
Mirko watched beside him with growing nervousness.
Then thirty seconds, Nathan activated [Sharp Eyes].
The world sharpened instantly: Distance, Trajectory, Wind resistance, Breathing rhythm, Target positioning. Everything aligned.
Nathan aid directly for the Berserk Ape’s eye socket. Then he released the arrow.
BOOOOOOM!!
The charged arrow exploded through the jungle like a miniature cannon blast.
The Berserk Ape’s eyes snapped open but it was too late. Or at least that should’ve been the case.
Nathan’s pupils suddenly contracted.
Three monkeys.
Three monkeys had dropped from the surrounding branches at the last possible second. And intercepted the shot.
The charged arrow obliterated their bodies instantly but it still continued onward.
KRAAAAAASH!!
The projectile slamd violently into the Berserk Ape’s shoulder instead of its skull.
Blood exploded outward.
The sheer force launched the gigantic creature backward through multiple trees as the entire clearing shook violently from the impact.
Nathan’s eyes widened. "...They body-blocked it?"
The entire monkey camp erupted instantly, Screeches exploded from every direction. Monkeys flooded into motion throughout the clearing.
But what happened next made Nathan’s expression slowly change.
The Berserk Ape didn’t charge imdiately.
No, It stood up, Bleeding, Enraged and Thinking. Then the giant beast raised one enormous arm, The monkey swarm instantly quieted.
Nathan felt a small chill crawl down his spine. "...You’re kidding."
The ape slowly pointed directly toward his position and every black-eyed monkey turned simultaneously towards Nathan and Mirko.
Dozens of empty abyss-black eyes locked onto them at once. Mirko slowly looked upward. ’Master.’
Nathan quietly nocked another arrow. ’Yeah?’
’We may have made a tactical error.’
Then the entire monkey army charged.
Dark shapes dropped from branches overhead while ground units rushed through vegetation. Several monkeys imdiately peeled toward side routes, attempting flanks instead of blindly charging forward.
Nathan’s eyes widened slightly.
"Fucking hell! Mirko!"
’ON IT!’
She launched instantly using [Quick Reflex].
Her tiny body blurred across the battlefield.
Nathan activated [Sharp Eyes].
Movent patterns imdiately sharpened.
Nathan fired.
WHOOSH!, One monkey dropped from a branch.
WHOOSH!, A second collapsed from a clean headshot.
[Ding! 10 Points Gained!]
[Ding! 10 Points Gained!]
But the swarm didn’t slow, if anything it adapted.
Three monkeys suddenly shifted behind tree trunks for cover while another group climbed higher into the canopy.
Nathan’s eyes widened. "WHAT THE...!"
Sharp stones suddenly rained downward, Nathan rolled sideways instantly.
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
Stone fragnts exploded across the ground beside him.
Monkey bombardnt, of fucking course.
From deeper within the clearing, the Berserk Ape beat its chest thunderously.
The monkey swarm intensified imdiately.
Mirko smashed headfirst into a charging monkey.
BAM!
[Headbutt] activated.
The creature crashed violently into two others behind it.
Nathan imdiately capitalized.
WHOOSH!
WHOOSH!
Two clean headshots, two dissolving corpses.
[Ding! XP Gained!]
[Ding! Level Up!]
Fresh mana surged through Nathan’s body.
Level 7.
But he barely had ti to process it.
Because suddenly the ground shook violently beneath him. Nathan looked upward, the Berserk Ape had arrived.
And clutched inside its massive hands was an entire uprooted tree.
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