Chapter 47: The Azure Lake's Secret

"Yakuzan! I want to exchange pointers with you again! You are such a strong opponent! Hehe!" With his HP nearing zero, Michu smiled widely at Yakuzan who wasn't faring better. Both of them were exhausted, but Michu's smile seemed as if forcefully attached.

However, who else, other than the worthy opponent, would be able to tell that this was indeed a genuine smile of mutual respect?

Yakuzan closed his eyes, hit the ground with his knee, then looked at the Azure Lake. The past brimmed his eyes, "Huhu." He sighed and hit the lake with his forehead. The whole lake parted and ate both Michu and Yakuzan! They entered the lake's trap under the disbelieving eyes of the whole crowd.

One of the players mindlessly asked the Sword Mistress, "Sword Mistress. Were you aware of it?" His tone was shaky, so the lady just bluntly answered.

"I wasn't." She then retracted her eyes and stood up. At this point, she ended one of her adventures to reminisce about her past. This was the stage for a new player and from what she had seen, Sword Mistress was sure she would see Michu yet again.

It was rare to see a player fighting equally with the named monster whose level was two times higher. A first guess was that Michu was the lucky inheritor of epic class, but unfortunately for Michu, her guild was women-only.

Sword Mistress strutted, passed through the player who nearly fainted after she had answered him, then stopped. Her eyes swept through Sandra who had been pretty anxious here.

"He is pretty loud, isn't he?" The blue-haired beauty asked.

"He is..." Sandra faintly answered.

"If we add his class and brutal honesty, he will gather far more attention in the future. If that's what you are scared of, then I advise you to take a step back. If Yakuzan turned out to be a different monster, then the whole battle would've started differently." For example, another monster would've hacked Michu without waiting for him to speak with his friends.

Sandra tried to hide her face, but nothing was imperceptible before this high-level player, "I am not that kind of person, though." A black robe fell onto Sandra's face. It covered her whole top, "I just said what had to be said. It's up to both of you." A mesmerizing smile flashed on the Sword Mistress' face before she resumed her steps.

The crowd split up to let her go undisturbed, then many men fell while grinning, looking at her from below.

These stupid fellas got a lot of scornful looks from other ladies.

On the other hand, Sandra whispered, "It's the same, Jacob... I am the same in both worlds after all."

-

"What is this place?! Is it me?!" Michu roared while looking at the water statue of himself! The water looked like a gel and had blank eyes! However, faced by the original, the statue flinched and raised its staff.

It then hacked on Michu, but the monke took a few steps back!

"Uhuhu!" Yakuzan explained. He said that you would gain an impressive might by defeating the reflections here. There were many reflections and each had its stages. This place would be normally achieved by players whose meditation brought some results.

However, no one has ever satisfied Azure Lake's conditions. It ended up passing a part of its inheritance to Yakuzan who had been enjoying the great muscles. Either fast or tough, those muscles could puff out with those two attributes!

Yakuzan was limited, though, and just one attribute could be used by him at the time.

"Amazing! So can this place give me the same ability?! I love training and patting my muscles after eating," Michu nodded. Unsurprisingly, Yakuzan shared the same feeling and both of them ended up laughing for a good time.

Thus, Michu had to defeat all reflections here!

[The Azure Lake's Inheritance Quest!]

[Defeat reflections based on your experience and potential.]

[The First Water Reflection. Lv. 10 Michu!]

The quest seemed fairly simple, but Michu soon would face one of the future selves. This reflection would show the true potential of his staff and broaden his view of staff! Tricks and many other styles would flood Michu's mind soon!

But before he began any of the battles, Michu looked at the big monkey boss.

"Thank you for bringing me here! Do you want to become my friend and leave this place with me?" Michu's quest was to find an old monkey so that KongFu's will could materialize. It would summon a partner who would be able to help both of them.

This Azure Lake would soon lose its meaning, so Yakuzan had to make a decision. If he were to stay with his gang after the lake's disappearance, then there was a high chance that all those players would eventually kill him down.

As a named monkey, he would die forever.

And if he respawned by sheer luck, then his memories would be wiped off either way!

"Uh!" It was not a hard decision! Yakuzan nodded and extended his hairy hand.

Michu grinned and shook Yakuzan's hand, then his class quest flashed before his eyes.

[You have found and formed a close relationship with the monkey.]

[The Monkey God's Spiritual Will begins to materialize within Yakuzan's body.]

"Great! You two can speak now! I will begin my training, okay?" Michu asked.

Yakuzan nodded, then sat down cross-legged. The monkey entered deep meditation, following the steps of all players that used to do the same on the surface.

-

"You can't even speak a common language! How dare you refuse me?!" KongFu's voice echoed within Yakuzan's mind. It wasn't a secret that this monkey god was someone akin to delinquent in his prime.

He was the leader who followed his feelings more than common sense. No wonder the Snake Goddess played with him and his son!

KongFu's deal was simple. He would take over Yakuzan's body and bring him to glory! However, how could Yakuzan even accept it? What glory? He would disappear and not even see the glimpse of this glory!

And would it be his glory? Would he work hard for it and feast on his deeds? Yakuzan refused this spiritual will and forced him outside!

The monkey god's disbelieving eyes widened, then his soul flew out Yakuzan. He became a baby monkey that wouldn't look weird with a nipple in its mouth. He tumbled on the ground, then raised his eyes at the towering Yakuzan! "You look down on me? While I was in my prime, I withstood phoenix ladies' flames and rekindled their hearts with my gaze alone!"

[Tidbit: KongFu never got the phoenix lady's affection. All he got was a chilly gaze that he misunderstood.]

"Uhu," As if knowing this trivia, Yakuzan spat near the baby monkey. Behind this soul hid the old and arrogant monkey, so he would gladly spit on KongFu's face. Alas, he missed as KongFu would never allow for more mishaps!

"Fuck it, I am too old for brats like you," In his baby monke soul, KongFu declared. He found out that his materialized form didn't need a vessel and that he could just latch himself to Michu anyway.

The worst was that he looked like an intangible baby soul, so who would take him as Monkey God and listen to him?

"Listen, brat," KongFu returned from the yellow river! He had no responsibilities and nothing held him back! He was like a genuine delinquent and impulsive monkey with just too much strength and wisdom, "You are going to become one of Michu's trusted aides. In the lands connected to the heavens, each race is supported by belief! Don't misunderstand this term, though. It can be either belief, admiration, or any other emotion! Even hate can work!"

Yakuzan replied, "Uhu?"

"I wasn't hated by phoenixes. How could I? Ahhh?" KongFu raised his baby's middle finger! "It's too early for any believers anyway. It's important to set up a foundation, though. You will be the first one to believe in Michu, but all I see is mutual respect." KongFu crossed his arms and looked at Yakuzan.

However, monke returned from his first battle, stopping the analysis.

"Oh, Yakuzan! You did it! I see you two are great friends already! Hehe! KongFu, Nice to meet you! Why are you so small, though? Aren't you Monkey God?" Michu titled his head.

"I am Monkey God. In this form, I am small, but in my prime, I am the most handsome monkey in the world." KongFu freely declared as he raised his chin. He added, "It's just a matter of time before you see my spiritual will resembling the prime form." To the Monkey God's words, Michu nodded a few times.

He thought that something bad had happened and KongFu's will failed to properly materialize, but after speaking with The Monkey God, Michu could see that that was not the case. Could baby monkeys speak in a common language and even this fluently? Of course not, so Michu knew that there was an old monkey behind that soul form.

However, while Michu had been gleefully smiling and enjoying the meeting of these two, KongFu's eyes dilated. He glanced at both Yakuzan and Michu then whispered inwardly, "There is mutual respect between them, so why do I feel like there's a believer-like connection already between them?" Though faint, The Monkey God's senses wouldn't lie to him! Honed by hundreds of years of experience, KongFu also refused to believe that he was mistaken.

Thus, it had to be true! Albeit faint, Michu already began to tread on the path of God's successor!

"Hmm." KongFu leaped, latched himself to Michu's right arm, then looked at the water reflections, "This place is not bad. It will let me see through your flaws and teach you a few tricks. What kind of tricks do you want to learn first?"

"I want to get stronger and learn how to attack and defend with staff at the same time," Michu replied honestly.

"Heh! That's the basics, son." KongFu patted Michu's arm, then class quests began to flood Michu's eyes.

One of them was weird, though.

"What is this... Skirt Lifting Sweep? It sounds wrong."

"Uhu."

"Heh, you two. Where are your dreams?" The old man's perverted side finally got revealed! KongFu shook his head and shrugged, "The strongest bask in the attention. Though you can never get enough of those eyes, at some point, you began to yearn for some more. Embarrassed... Sultry... Angered... Oh, son... Eventually, your staff will move on their own to see and feel more! Women are that great!"

"No, that's wrong." Michu rebuked, "It's already rude to look for too long at a woman, so it's even worse to touch her without permission!"

"Uhu!" Yakuzan nodded in agreement. Though he used to steal his desired items, he also had proper manners! Both of them displayed a righteous side that Monkey God couldn't believe!

Michu said out loud, "I will be The Monkey God that everyone can rely on! My back will be inviolable and my friends will be able to feel safe by looking at it! Together, we will reach out for our dreams! Hehe."

"If wind raises the skirt, then it's unfortunate. But when I do it, I am getting rebuked? Eh, son!" KongFu shook his head, not even wanting to comment on the righteous monke.

However, Michu added, "You will apologize to the phoenix ladies!"

The old pervert blanked, looked to the side, and imagined himself apologizing to those beautiful ladies, "Haha! My return is already heaven-defying! If I return and apologize, then they will think the heavens had chosen me! Haha! I want to see those beauties... all on me! By then, my soul should be in its prime! Haha!" KongFu then choked, "Snake! Where is that snake bitch?!"

"Don't cuss," Michu said. His image of The Monkey God already greatly shifted. Though he never paid attention to that skirt lifting thing in his skill description, Michu could compare KongFu to many old men on the streets that openly commented on passing women and their bodies! They were all old, the same perverts! "I like Yumi, so don't hurt her with your vulgar tongue."

"Vulgar tongue? Sure, I won't hurt her with it," KongFu said, then urged Michu to show off his skills!

Those would be heavily necessary when the real Snake Goddess appeared.