Name: Natasha

Race: Mandrill lvl 9

XP: 310

Size: 70

Type: Beast

Faction: Unaligned

Armor: 0

HP: 72/72

Strength: 5/Speed: 10/Endurance: 7/Magic: 4/Plasticity: 1/Luck 6

Senses: Vision 3, hearing 4, smell 2, taste 1, touch 2

Abilities: Balance 2, omnivorous 2, aposematism 1, innate magic 4

Skills: Bite 1, strike 3, grapple 2, throw 1, climb 2, sneak 3, hide 1, dash 1, dodge 2, block 1, discern weakness 1, mysticism 1, quickstep 1

Spells: Bluster 5 MAX, windfury 4, jetstream 1, cloud step 1

I looked up at the ceiling, letting out a slight sigh as I glanced down at my body, inspecting my previous injuries to make certain that I was fine. Though after maybe thirty more seconds the overlaid visions of the peek into the future started to fade. Which was good, because that was disorienting at best. Like trying to think of one thing with two brains. It was really useful, but I really didn’t want to do that again. Also, a bit disappointed by the results of the fight being the same amount as the centipede. I would be better off just fighting another centipede instead. This guy was way more dangerous.

I stayed on the floor for a good long while before eventually pushing myself back onto my feet. It felt really good to have control of my body again. The numbness was almost worse than the pain. At least with the pain my body would still move where I wanted it to. I wiggled my back leg again. It was the second time it had been injured today. I’ll need to think of some way around that in the future. Well, besides just not getting hurt or healing I mean.

After shuffling around a bit, I searched the area, picking up the empty vial and putting the cork back in it. That could actually be useful. Then I turned my attention to the body of the “king of havoc” to see if there was anything that I actually got from this endeavor to make it more worthwhile. I searched around the body, and beside his gross skeletal face, I did find a ring. Now this could be just a normal ring that you’d sell for money, or it could be magical. Obviously I’m hoping for the latter, as it would make this whole journey at least better than the centipedes.

Picking up the ring, I held it between two fingers, swirling it around appraisingly. Now, I know nothing about jewelry, but I could already tell that this was quite a piece of work. The inside was gold, and the outside looked like it was made of jade in a sort of snake skin pattern. I took the ring and slipped it over my left index finger when a new menu popped up. It looked like an equipment screen from an rpg, with a nondescript representation of me standing in the center, and a number of empty squares surrounding the figure. It looked like maybe eleven in total. An odd number… in both meanings. The only one that was filled was one that had the ring in it. I selected the ring and it popped up a little description.

Ring of envy: Upon killing a creature, heal for 20 hp.

Huh, that was actually a really good ability if I can find weaker enemies to kill. Though it seems like the returns will be diminishing once I reach higher levels. I’m already up to 72, but still, that’s like a third of my health right now. Though, one question is, it heals hp, but does it heal actual wounds? Cause that would be a decent option for that leg problem if so. If not, then it just buys me time. Either way, I’m feeling much better about all of this now. I switched over to the stats tab of the menu again and looked to see what I could spend some points on.

For stats, I feel like 7 is good endurance for now. And 10 for speed is enough, for now at least. Maybe a bit more strength. I glanced over at plasticity and pursed my lips. Plasticity did say magic resistance, which would have been really useful against that numbing mist. But if I’m being realistic, chances are, I won’t be facing a lot of magic users here in this forest at least. So that can probably wait for now. I put the point in strength instead. Next up, abilities.

Now, if I’m being realistic I should probably increase my senses, but really, what I want is to get innate magic to 5, that way I can get thunder missile for one, and for two I want to see if innate magic is maxed just like bluster is. So I put the point in, and lo and behold.

Innate magic 5: A basic ability that allows one the use of 5 magical skills without using the magic talent.

MAX [You cannot progress any abilities, skills or spells past 5 until your next evolution]

I gave a light nod of the head, stroking my beard slightly. I still wonder what it means by next evolution. I suppose that Boris is the only example of a monkey who is any different, so he’s probably the evolved form, but it doesn’t seem like all that much of a difference. Though, it does say “next” evolution, which means there should be more than one. Maybe it’s just a gradual process of change. Though I don’t know what else I might turn into besides just a bigger monkey. Bah, getting off track again.

My attention shifted again to the menu, looking at the skills on display. Quickstep turned out to be really useful, and mysticism gave me some interesting insights on magic and how it works, but I didn’t feel like they needed to be upgraded. On the other hand, I’m about to get thunder missile, so I really should upgrade my throw skill, so it doesn’t become wildly throwing a dangerous weapon in the general direction of the enemy and hope not to destroy too much. So one point in throw, and then open up the new skills menu.

Searching through the options again a couple new ones came into view, but mostly what I saw that seemed to actually catch my eye was tumbling. That was certainly not there earlier thinking back to these past couple fights, and the amount I’ve been moving around that could be really useful. If for nothing else than just recovering better from falls. I selected it, and felt the shift in my muscle memory near immediately. I paused, taking a moment to duck forward, tucking my head to the side into a shoulder roll, carrying my momentum to simply land back on my feet again. I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t just fun to do regardless of if it was useful. I could think of a lot of ways to use this, but most importantly, to quickly recover from falls.

Next up was spells, and this one was another easy choice, getting windfury maxed out at 5 was an obvious choice. Jetstream did save my butt back there no doubt, but windfury definitely won me that fight with how many times I stabbed him. Then secondly grabbing the thunder missile. Now, I am very sorely tempted to test it out, and I may be a monkey, but I am no fool. A loud thunder clap in a room that is literally designed to carry acoustics? I’m not going to deafen myself until my next level up, thank you. I will wait until I get back outside and a decent distance away from my fellow monkeys to try and test it out.

Once I was finished with the leveling process, I sat down on the cold stone, taking a long breath in, and back out again, thinking of the many many ways I’ve nearly died so far. Nearly eaten by a lizard, a frog, a centipede, or chopped up by Aragorn-ish, and now spiders, skeletons, and a floating mummy. Maybe after I get evolved then things won’t really be as dangerous for me. Though, then again, I still remember that fight that Boris had with those cats before, so probably not, and especially not when I know that mantis is still out there. That thing still gives me the creeps. Giant bulbous amber colored eyes with those two tiny black specks that pass for pupils.

I wondered before if it was stronger than this guy in here, but having actually fought him, I’m pretty sure the mantis is still stronger. Even if he clearly is definitely still stronger than I am, that mantis would probably kill me in just one blow like it did the spider. I shook my head, dismissing the thought and stood back up, grabbing the torch again and hoisting it up onto my shoulder as I began to ascend the stairs to the door again, slowly walking back into the room filled with pillars. I looked at my torch, not wanting to spend several minutes trying to re-light it again and looked up to the blue flamed candles of the chandelier above. I could just climb on up there and try to light my torch with that instead. It would save me a lot of time.

I walked up to the pillar, bringing the torch along with me, awkwardly clinging it to my chest as I sidled up the pillar. I climbed up slowly to the high ceiling, but about two thirds the way up, I paused, remembering last time I did this, it led to being swarmed by bats. Now, bats aren’t that big a deal, they don’t hurt you, or at least shouldn’t, but they will make climbing hard. So I try to see if I can sneakily climb up without alerting them. Though really after trying for a few minutes it was so painfully slow it wasn’t really worth it. It would be better to just get the drop on them, and try to eliminate them as quickly as I can.

I glanced up, and apparently I would have needed to anyway, they were hanging from the vaulted ribs, so there wasn’t a way to climb further anyways. So I took in a breath slowly, filling my lungs to capacity before aiming my maw directly at the center of the pack, letting out a harsh bluster in one go, the whoosh of wind buffeting against the arches. I watched all the tiny figures of the bats either smash against the roof immediately or be violently thrown away from it.

2 XP 2 XP 2 XP 2 XP 2 XP 2 XP 2 XP 2 XP 2 XP 2 XP 2 XP 2 XP 2 XP 2 XP

The flurry of popups scattered in and out of my vision quickly as the bodies of bats scattered either to the floor or fluttering elsewhere into the room, presumably thinking better than to swarm around me like last time. Now with the way clear, I grasped onto the rib with one hand, then one foot, then both feet. While climbing up while carrying the torch was hard, climbing horizontally was significantly worse. Like trying to lift my whole body with just my fingers. Though eventually I made my way to the center stone where the chandelier hung from. Sliding down the chain, I was happy to take a bit of a break, letting the torch hang loosely as I slid down.

I lowered the torch’s head to the nearest candle for a moment, the blue flame dipping for a second before the head of the torch quickly emblazoned orange again. I stopped for a moment to think about this chandelier, looking at the candles that looked near untouched. Made me wonder if they were just magically infinite, or were respawned every day like all of the monsters. I shrugged slightly at the thought before climbing back up the chain. And where before climbing the ceiling was hard with the torch clung to me, with it hanging out to the side as it was now, it was nigh impossible. I couldn’t cling to it without barbequing myself. I did not think of this. Crap.

So I slid myself back down to the chandelier, pressing my heels to the metal and pulling the chain with my free hand. With much more effort than it ever took in the cartoons, I eventually got it swinging back and forth, getting the arch going so that I can hopefully, in theory, jump off at the peak of the swing and slide down a pillar. It took me all of a full minute to get it really swinging enough for me to leap free, almost falling short of the nearest pillars, my chest bounced off the stone with a pained thud. I let out a wheeze but slid down gradually to the floor, torch in hand and still lit.

I wanted to feel accomplished in that moment, but really all I felt was the tightness of my chest. I gave it a few pats as I took in a labored breath, making my way towards the door. This time however, I remembered it blowing out my torch, so I held the torch out behind the door, away from the opening as I opened it. I stepped out into the tunnel again, torch held out in front of me as I took my sweet time walking out of the tunnel, past the quarried stone walls as I made my way up to the next door, and seeing it already open, which was a bit rude of me I will say. This time I made sure to close it behind me as I made my way back through the cave, seeing the piles of spiders mushed against the walls as I passed.

Then the last stretch of tunnel, coming around the bend again until I saw the blindingly bright exit, like a pure white sphere to my eyes that have been acclimated to the dark. As I got closer though, the view of the jungle came back into perspective. The yellow leaves shaded the ground as I exited, taking in the smell of fresh and wood. I then looked to my torch, which I’d so painstakingly worked to get lit, knowing I’d need to intentionally douse it this time. One quick breath in and back out, directed towards the tip where the flames were in fact snuffed.

I sauntered out into the open again, a sudden appreciation for how beautiful this scenery actually is, though that may just be the afterglow of a life or death struggle. Coming up to the place where I’d collected the resin, I saw the leaf overflowing with resin and set the torch down beside it. The weight lifted from my shoulder and left me with empty hands finally. I was able to walk around unburdened again. I stretched my shoulder, flexing my fingers before searching around the base of the trees to find a stray kipple to bite into. I casually nibbled at it as I slipped further and further from the cave, coming far enough out that I could be sure I wouldn’t bother anybody else. I took the core of the kipple, making sure it was done for, and tossed it forwards. Though this time I threw it with one sharp breath out, focusing on my new spell.

KRACK-THOOOOM

The air rippled away as the clap of thunder sounded from my palm. Now I was thinking this would be just a powerful wind booming through the air, but now I recognize the sound of a sonic boom as a white ring of air rushed away from my hand. Now I doubt that I was in fact throwing a fruit at the speed of sound, so more than likely it is just the spell that does it, but it does quite clearly leave an impact. The kipple core was nearly ripped apart from the speed alone, but once it impacted the tree, it became a fine mist, pulverized against the wood, leaving bark splintered and showering down.

Now, I don’t have numbers on just how much damage any of my attacks do, but this one was no doubt the strongest attack I have. Just with all the drawbacks of making stealth impossible, needing to be able to aim my throw, and I only get one shot every ten seconds. Still, on the chance that it does hit, it’s a much better single attack than the knife is. Plus, it seems pretty intimidating too. I’d be scared if a monkey threw a rock at me and it broke the sound barrier.

I kind of wanted to test it out on something, like one of those beetles to see if it could punch through the shell, but if it doesn’t then whatever pebble or something I do throw needs to go somewhere, and a high speed ricochet would be terrifying. Still, it’s an option I have now, and a maxed out innate magic trait. Which is nice. Though after all of the fighting I’ve done for the past… I’m going to guess an hour? Maybe? I’m looking forward to just being lazy for a little bit. I feel like I’ve at least earned a break for a bit. I’m just going to sit down with my fellow monkeys, eat some fruit, and ruminate.

I started to head back to the troupe, as at this point I nearly have the path memorized so it doesn’t take very long to arrive. When I do, I see all the other monkeys gathered around the area in little clusters, with Boris sat at the base of the tree at the center of the clearing, his favorite spot. I looked around for another kipple first, popping it into my mouth as I circled around the clearing, taking up a spot to sit. I looked around at the other mandril around me, and wondered what it is they actually do all day. I don’t ever see them go anywhere, and I can’t imagine they just sit around all day. Maybe I should spend a couple hours hanging around them just to see if there’s anything about being a monkey that I’m missing out on.

And for that matter, I really should also figure more on the basis of long term plans. As of now I’ve been sort of jumping from one short term goal to the next, which is fine and all, but I really should figure something out about a general idea for what I’m going to do for the rest of my little monkey life besides constant fighting for survival. I mean, there’s obviously more to life than just that. Maybe I should get a skill that lets me craft stuff so I know how to build a house or something. That would be nice. I would really like to learn to read too. Well, I can read, but not the local language.

Oh, or learn to read latin, because apparently some people can also understand that here. Which, again, someone else was brought to this world, but as a human instead of a monkey. Which hardly seems fair to me. Of all the things you could become, not only rolling a human again, but ending up as someone influential enough to start up your own religion and not be immediately ostracized by whatever local religions they have. I can’t say that I’m not a little bit jealous of that sort of start.

Makes me wonder if there was something that was a deciding factor to how you get turned into something. Maybe they were made human just because they were a better person than me? Like Hinduism rules? Be good in one life and be reincarnated into a wealthy family the next. I guess I wasn’t a great person myself. I didn’t do much with my life after all. I was a few trips to the store shy of being a shut in. Always introverted, keeping to myself, not many friends and none of them close. I could have given more to charity, or volunteered at a soup kitchen instead of staying home every night to watch whatever new shows are coming out. Though I never hurt anybody, at least that I know of. But hey, I am a monkey and not a bug so it could be worse.

I laid flat on my back as I looked up at the yellow canopy above, light streaming down into the clearing. I suppose there’s no sense in actually trying to logic the answer to these sorts of questions without any context. After all, for all I know, being a monkey is some sort of divine reward from the god of fruit for eating a thousand bananas in my life. Though I imagine whatever that other human figured out well enough that he was able to get people of an entirely different world to adopt his religion either means he knows something I don’t or he’s just really charismatic. Both are possibilities. Though I tend towards the former, given he could probably read in a minimum of three languages now.

Also wait. This world didn’t have a bible before he got here. Did he get reborn here in this world and remember and rewrite the entire bible, in latin? Or were there mistakes or generalizations? Maybe there was some sort of skill for that or something. Also, how do you convince people someone died for their sins in an entirely different world to the one you are in? Well actually no, that would be pretty easy, it would be no different than convincing people that Zeus had a fight with Poseidon on Olympus. Though still, you’d need to be pretty darn charismatic for that.

I’m getting off topic again. I need to focus on actual long term goals. What is it that I actually want to accomplish here in this life that I do have? Besides just not dying. I raised my head slightly, looking around at the other monkeys and how they clustered together. I suppose family is the one thing I actually have now. It’s an odd family, but it’s something at least. If I’m going to focus on anything, it should probably be that. But what can I do that would actually help the other monkeys? I mean, like I said, I could build a house, have a place to keep everybody safe, but then what?

My mind ticked over a few possibilities that I’d been just floating noncommittally. Just seeing if anything stuck in my head as something worth doing. Maybe I could become like some sort of monkey Mosus, trying to lead them? I don’t exactly have any leadership skills though, and never really did. Not in this life or the previous. Though if my previous assumptions are right, maybe I should have been. After all, frankly who cares if I am a bad leader? I am leading monkeys. A bad human leader is still Alexander the great compared to the best monkey leader ever. What am I gonna lose by trying? The respect of my fellow monkey?

I shrugged, looking up at Boris as he chewed on what looked like some sort of root. The only question I have now is how do you lead a bunch of monkeys anyways? I know being a monkey Mosus isn’t going to be easy, but I do at least need somewhere to start from. I can’t just ook and pound my fist expecting them to salute and start marching off to war. I could try just seeing how they communicate with each other first, see what I can learn from them before I start trying to give out orders. Heck, maybe if I can teach them some things then they’ll just naturally start listening.

I know monkeys have a penchant for learning so if I can teach them something useful, it might be a way of getting my foot in the door. But what is simple enough for a monkey to learn, and useful enough to make a difference? I suppose food is always the right answer when it comes to animals. I could show them something about cooking. Maybe if I gather up enough foods and try a few things out to see what works then I can figure out something that tastes nice. After all, I’ve got nothing but free time. Plus, even if that doesn’t work, I’ll still have good food for myself. So it’s a win-win really.

I sat up, shaking myself off a bit, a twig falling out of my hair as I did. I’m going to need another bath at some point too. I wonder if I can convince the other monkeys to enjoy bathing too, like those Japanese hot spring monkeys. Though that is hot water so I can see why that happened naturally. Getting them to bathe in cold water might be harder. Still, I wish I had learned how to make soap before getting pulled here. Maybe the people in town have soap, but even if they do, they probably make it inside or something, so stealing the secret to soap making seems a far off and lofty goal.

For now I’ll just focus on learning the secrets of monkey communication. One cannot lead monkey until one first learns to speak monkey. So I look around for a bit before spotting the familiar beard of Lao Tzu, and walked over to sit beside him.