Chapter 43

Just like what I had expected, the Tronobo and Pronobo once again came to fetch me the very next day. Though this time, the two monsters brought two Banobos with them and let the two Banobos carry the Hackclaw and Savaga. And based on how the Tronobo and Pronobo chose to carry me themselves, it was all but certain that these monsters were being extra cautious towards me. Of course, it was also possible that these two were just acting out the Gigarillon’s orders, but based on the Gigarillon’s behavior so far, I highly doubt that the Gigarillon would go out of his way to be this extra careful against me. If anything, I could confidently guarantee that the Gigarillon would actually find it more amusing if I had a little freedom to escape. After all, that monster only found me interesting because of my intellect. So, in reality, the Banobo must have been curious as to what I would do in order to escape.

Upon looking at it like that, I couldn’t help but sigh. Well, that fact only makes that monster even more annoying.

Anyway, unlike yesterday, the Banobo and Pronobo didn’t bring us up the Gigantic tree. Instead, it seemed like our destination today was outside. And of course, being that they brought that Savaga and Hackclaw this time, I could easily make a guess on what was about to happen. After all, this situation was awfully the same as to what had happened that day.

Another raid huh?

Upon remembering what happened last time, I couldn’t help but feel tired. And who could blame me? Last time, these ape type monsters used us as bait. To make matters worse, they even threw some stones and boulders while we were busy fighting those ants for them. Honestly, I thought I was a goner that time. It was a huge mess. That’s why if I was given a choice, I didn’t want to do that ever again. The problem was…

Tsk! I had no choice. I thought while grinding my fangs.

Of course, it wasn’t as if there was nothing to gain from it. After all, by continuously fighting like this, I would gain more strength through experience and leveling up. Unfortunately, fighting in such conditions was dangerous even for me. And though it was true that it was also the same when I was fighting by myself, at least at that time, there was an option to escape whenever the situation called for it. But now, because the ape type monsters would be watching from behind, I would have no other choice but to push through and survive. Furthermore, based on the ape type monster’s behavior, I could certainly tell that they were only using us to take the attention of the enemy while they were cutting off their enemies escape routes. Which if not for the fact that I was being used as the bait, was a brilliant strategy for a monster.

Damn it! That Gigarillon is such a pain in the ass!!

***

On that day and the following days after that, the ape type monsters continued to raid the nests of the ant type monsters. Naturally, during those consecutive raids, the ape type monsters worked us to the bone. Fortunately, I actually managed to survive all through that. As a result, I became a level 29 monster and I only needed one more level up before evolving once again.

[Name: (Unnamed)]

[Race: Great Wolf Variant]

[Level: 29]

[Status: Healthy]

[Titles: Awakened One, The RunAway, Predator, Survivor]

[Skills: Blood Soaked Fangs (Rank S), Call of The Moon (Rank A), Night Vision (Rank S), Enhance Smell (Rank S), Enhance Hearing (Rank S), Recovery (Rank S), Detect Malice (Rank S), Sharp Claws (Rank S), Potential Boost (Rank A), Assess (Rank A), Presence of Mind (Rank A), Accelerate (Rank C), Devour (Rank S), Hunt (Rank A), Antibodies (Rank A), Toughness (Rank A), Pain Endurance (Rank A), Stealth (Rank B), Recuperate (Rank A), Detect Life (Rank B), Intimidate (Rank C)]

As another result of all those battles, I also acquired some new skills and even managed to evolve some of my old ones. Well, maybe saying that skills had “evolved” wasn’t accurate. Probably, the right term to use in this case was “combined” instead. And of course, the skill in question was the one called Accelerate.

Obviously, the said skill was the result of the combination of Swiftness and Haste. And upon looking into the effects of Accelerate, I discovered that it inherited the effects of both Swiftness and Haste. Not only that, this new skill also had some additional effects besides the effects it inherited. To be more specific, there were two additional effects. One of them was the ability to accelerate while midair and the other were the ability to temporarily speed up beyond the physiological limitation.

Naturally, I felt a bit skeptical when I saw the first additional effect, because no matter how much I think about it, the effects seemed too plain. But when I finally tested it, I immediately knew that this effect was what I would use the most. To explain the effect, well, it was something like having the ability to maneuver in the air without using any foothold. Of course, it wasn’t to the extent of freely maneuvering into the air. Because based on my test results, I could only change or shift my direction once. In simple terms, it was somewhat similar to having the ability to double jump. And though at first glance this ability sounded so simple, in reality, it was actually extremely useful because it gave me some edge in terms of aerial battle.

Unfortunately, unlike the first effect, the skill’s second effect was a little bit tricky to handle. And while it was true that it was possible to use this effect as an ace in hole, it was still painfully obvious that speeding up beyond one’s physical limitations would have some adverse effects on the body. Most likely, just using this ability once could render me unable to move or even worse. Because of that, I couldn’t use it as often as the first effect so I would instead reserve it in case I had no other choice. Luckily, just like the first effect, it was possible to separate the activation of the skill from the second effect so I didn’t have to worry about suddenly self-destructing.

Then, aside from Accelerate, I also awaken a new skill called Stealth, but this time, this skill was simply an evolved version of my skill Conceal Presence. Though in the case of Stealth, the restriction of staying still in order to hide one’s presence was removed. As a result, I could now freely hide my presence while still moving or even running. But well, it wasn’t as if the skill had no limitation at all. Because even though I could now hide my presence while moving around, that skill would still instantly lose its effects once I activate a buff or an offensive skill. This would also happen once I launched an attack or if I was inflicted by any mental or physical type damage and status conditions so I still had to be careful when using it.

Lastly, the other skills that I acquired were called Detect Life and Intimidate respectively. Though unlike Accelerate and Stealth, these skills weren’t a result of a combination or evolution, instead these skills had manifested naturally after I satisfied the requirements set by this world. And as for their effects; Detect Life was a passive skill that enabled me to detect any living beings within my immediate vicinity, while Intimidate, on the other hand, was a skill that gave me the ability to inflict fear under certain conditions.

Because of all of this, I could confidently say that I was a lot stronger now than when I first came here. And if I managed to reach level 30 and evolve on top of that, then I would finally be an Alpha Class Monster just like my father and his rival the Tempest Wolf. Although for now, I still had no idea what kind of class of alpha monster I would evolve into. Of course, there was a huge chance that I would evolve into a Frost Wolf being that my father was one in the past. But even though that wouldn’t be so bad, I would still prefer if I would be given a choice. After all, my goal was to find my sister, and for that I needed to somehow evolve into a Werewolf, and frankly, I doubt that being a Frost Wolf would help me with that.

Well, life is really unpredictable, so I will just have to adjust depending on the situation. It’s just the same as ever. Natural Selection. And in such cases, only those who can adapt will survive.

While I was organizing my plans for the future, I saw the Tronobo and Pronobo standing in front of my cell. And just like the days before, the ape type monster picked me up and I was brought along with the Hackclaw and Savaga in front of Gigantic tree. Though unlike before, it seemed like the full force of the ape type monsters had assembled here. On top of that, there were also a lot more monster prisoners than before. From what I could tell, these were all the monster prisoners that these ape type monsters were keeping in different locations. And now that all these forces had assembled here, this could only mean one thing.

Looks like these monsters were planning to launch a counter invasion.