I became a childhood friend of the middle boss. - chapter 21

Episode  21

The jungle was thick with greenery.

The leaves and branches grew so densely that they blocked out the sunlight, making the interior darker the deeper I went.

‘I need to be prepared for an ambush.’

To adapt to the darkness, I enhanced my physical abilities with the mana in my body while running through the jungle, adjusting the distribution of my mana to focus on my vision.

My eyesight improved significantly.

Having quickly adapted to the darkness, I peered into the shadows.

It was then that I was ambushed.

Swish!

Crack!

Electricity coursed down my spine.

My instinct to escape kicked in.

I immediately hit the brakes with my front paws and spun my body around.

It was a close call.

Boom!

A boulder fell in the direction I had been running just moments before.

The boulder, larger than my fist, created a dent in the ground.

If I had reacted any slower, my head would have been smashed by that rock.

‘This is really dangerous.’

I turned my head toward the direction the boulder had fallen.

At that moment, I sensed the presence of monsters that had been secretly following me since I entered the jungle.

Kiki! Wukiki!

Hiding in the darkness of the jungle, the ape-like monsters were perched in the trees, their eyes glinting.

As soon as I recognized their presence, a message appeared before me.

You have encountered a monster.

[Pocket Ape (Rank 01) x 7]

The Pocket Ape was a monster that carried throwable tools in its belly pouch and attacked by throwing them.

I recalled their information.

‘There are many of them, but they won’t be difficult.’

In the game, once these monsters had thrown all their tools, their attack power significantly decreased.

From that point on, they were just aggressive monkeys.

The information I learned from the Shin-Geom clan wasn’t much different.

Thus,

Kiki! Wukiki! Kiki!

I didn’t curse the terrain disadvantage of them being in the trees.

Instead, I relied on my instinct to dodge their relentless attacks.

‘Dodging isn’t hard.’

Their attacks were fast but predictable.

With the help of my evasion instinct and my familiarity with the darkness, they posed no threat to me.

Feeling bold, I thought, once they ran out of things to throw, they would realize they were weakened and try to flee.

In the game, monsters occasionally ran away during battles, so it wouldn’t be surprising if they did the same here in reality.

Wukiki?

I couldn’t let that happen.

It wouldn’t be easy to chase down the agile creatures that were good at climbing trees.

It was beyond my current capability.

So, while dodging their attacks, I counterattacked when I had the chance.

Clang!

If I could feel it, I could hit it.

I struck the rock with my scabbard as soon as I sensed their attack with my evasion instinct.

‘This might work!’

After a few successful strikes, I began to get the hang of it.

I infused the mana in my body into the scabbard and launched the boulder high into the air.

──!

The boulder flew back in the direction it had come from, creating a cracking sound as it soared.

Wukiki!?

Thud!

There was a pocket ape right in its path.

The monster, unaware of what was happening, was hit by the boulder and fell to the ground below.

Crack!

Kreeeak…

I heard something break.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem to die.

But that was fine.

The one that fell to the ground could be captured at any time.

‘Oh, so this is how it’s done?’

Recalling the sensations from earlier, I struck another boulder.

Kiki!?

…Crack!

This time, I hit again.

Another one fell to the ground.

It didn’t make a sound, so it seemed to have died instantly.

Anyway, like that.

“Home run.”

They say even monkeys fall from trees.

I witnessed not one but seven monkeys falling from the trees in a spectacular scene.

After that, what happened was

Kii… Kiiing….

“See? You should have learned to change your pitches.”

I ended the lives of the monsters buried in the ground like the boulders they had thrown at me.

They couldn’t resist as my blade pierced their hearts.

‘It wasn’t too hard, but I did expend some mana.’

There wasn’t time to extract mana stones.

The hunters hiding nearby would take care of that for me.

I absorbed the mana blending into the atmosphere to recover my own.

Then I checked the time.

02:26:11

About 34 minutes had passed.

Considering the distance left to the Spirit King’s lake, I would likely expend even more stamina.

‘Can I kill them in this state?’

I was skeptical.

Even if the Spirit King was weakened, I couldn’t underestimate a Rank 3 monster.

‘I need to conserve as much stamina and mana as possible to reach the lake, huh?’

At that moment, I saw something rolling out of the monster’s pouch.

It was a red fruit that looked like an apple.

“This is….”

I recognized this fruit.

It wasn’t from what I learned in the clan; I knew it because I had seen all the endings of this game in my previous life.

[Fruit of Vitality]

◆ Consumable Classification

―Fruit

<0xEE> Detailed Description

A fruit favored by Pocket Apes, also used as a potion ingredient.

◆ Effect

restores 50 HP upon consumption.

That was indeed the fruit I knew.

‘Now that I think about it, you could find this fruit near places where these monsters appeared with high probability in the game.’

There were also blue fruits.

As I thought about that, I decided.

“I need to do some farming.”

I made up my mind.

Then I rummaged through the pocket ape’s belly to see if there were any other fruits.

After gathering the fruits

“As long as I don’t extract the mana stones, the corpses shouldn’t disappear. It’s a bit cruel, but I have to do this.”

Rustle.

I stripped the monsters of their pouches.

Their pouches were elastic and easy to hold the fruits.

“Monsters are living beings too. I’m sorry.”

I felt guilty, but what could I do?

I had to prioritize my own survival.

I gathered the corpses in one place and wrote large letters in blood on each of their chests.

[Don’t take the mana stones away].

“I hope they understand this.”

If hunters came to extract the mana stones, the pouches I obtained would disappear.

If that happened, the fruits inside would tumble out.

So I took precautions.

‘If this were a game, the monsters would die and leave behind loot, so I wouldn’t have thought to use the pouches like this.’

Of course, the Pocket Apes sometimes dropped their pouches as loot.

But I couldn’t assume that a pouch would always drop, so I had no choice but to take this approach.

“I’m sorry. I’ll make good use of your pouches.”

The corpses leaned against the trees.

Some had their eyes half-open, some were closed, and some had their heads smashed.

I offered a silent prayer for the souls of those monsters and left the area.

‘I’ll head toward the Spirit King’s lake while looking for any fruits that catch my eye along the way.’

Or I could look for more monkeys.

Biting into a Fruit of Vitality, I decided to leap from branch to branch.

Meanwhile, on the cliff above.

People were leisurely watching the evaluation match while being served by attendants.

It was a stark contrast to the life-and-death battles the children were fighting in the jungle.

Of course, the parents of the children participating in the evaluation match were different.

They couldn’t take their eyes off the screen.

“What if they’re dead?”

“They defended well with their internal mana just before. They might feel a bit dizzy, but they’re not dead.”

“Even if the monsters are weakened, isn’t it useless if the Apes move in packs?”

Twenty minutes had passed since the evaluation match began.

By then, most participants had entered the jungle and confronted the monsters.

The Rank 1 monsters, Pocket Apes, were attacking the participants who were caught off guard.

Even those who had already experienced real battles and achieved some success in the Suwang-ryu were inevitably flustered in front of the trials of the yellow gate.

However, there were still a few participants who stood out despite the situation.

“There are unnecessary movements, but they’re responding quite wisely.”

“No matter how fast the monsters’ attacks are, if there are obstacles to protect their bodies, it won’t be a problem.”

The genius of the Shin-Geom clan, Do Seung-woo.

He raised his shield to block the attacks and hid behind nearby rocks or trees to protect himself.

Then, when the monsters’ attacks stopped, he launched a counterattack.

“You’re skilled at wall walking.”

“My son learns quickly. I taught him just recently.”

The head of the Shin-Geom clan, Do Yeo-ik.

He praised his son’s skills.

At that moment, Do Seung-woo’s father, Do Beom-jun, beamed with pride.

“Seung-woo lost in the sparring because he was careless against Gyeon-woo.”

He was in the midst of boasting about his son to those around him.

“Wow.”

People’s gazes shifted to the screen showing Do Si-eun.

A beam of light was rising.

No, it was a blue lightning bolt.

Wall Thunder.

< Suwang-ryu Attack Style Form 5 >

Lightning Flower, Do Si-eun.

She took a stance while aiming at the pocket apes jumping around in the trees.

Immediately after, Do Si-eun vanished, leaving only a trail of light behind.

Wukiki!?

Her movements were graceful, incomparable to Do Seung-woo’s footwork.

Do Si-eun swiftly climbed the trees in an instant, leaving a trail of light.

And then…

Lion’s Assault.

Four consecutive strikes.

She moved like lightning, slicing through the Pocket Apes.

People couldn’t help but admire her, enveloped in blue lightning.

“That’s Wall Thunder! No doubt about it.”

Do Yeo-ik couldn’t contain his admiration.

Even if the beam wasn’t thick yet, Do Si-eun was generating wall thunder.

He burst into laughter.

But that laughter didn’t last long.

“Both Seung-woo and Si-eun have improved significantly.”

“All thanks to the Head.”

“Si-eun will be pleased to hear that.”

“But I’m also worried. They’re still at the entrance of the jungle.”

“….”

Do Yeo-ik stroked his beard.

He was happy about his grandchildren’s skills but was also calmly assessing the situation.

“If they waste time against the monsters and exhaust their stamina and mana, it will be difficult for them to fight the Spirit King later. I’m worried if the kids are even considering stamina distribution.”

“If it’s Seung-woo, he’ll do well.”

“I hope so.”

Do Yeo-ik trailed off.

The Pocket Apes were just one of the monsters that appeared in the jungle.

Stronger and more troublesome monsters would appear in the future.

Were his grandchildren considering that and managing their stamina?

He felt a strong urge to directly ask his grandchildren on the screen.

‘Well, I guess I’ll find out in due time.’

With time, answers would come.

Do Yeo-ik concluded that and turned his attention to the skills of his other grandchildren.

Just then…

Clang!

“What was that sound?”

It sounded like a baseball bat hitting a ball.

Do Yeo-ik searched for the source of the sound on the screen.

It showed Do Gyeon-woo.

Clang!

…Crack!

“….”

Do Gyeon-woo was deflecting the boulders thrown by the Pocket Apes with his scabbard.

The boulders he struck accurately intercepted the monsters in the trees.

They plummeted to the ground.

“What is he doing right now?”

“….”

Do Yeo-ik couldn’t comprehend the situation and asked the others.

But no one could answer.

[Home run.]

The voice of Do Gyeon-woo echoed from the screen, showing his perspective.

The clan members’ faces twisted grotesquely upon hearing that sound.

“….”

They couldn’t believe their eyes.

Once could be a coincidence.

But Do Gyeon-woo was now realizing that coincidence multiple times.

If there were several overlapping coincidences, it was undoubtedly a necessity.

He was targeting the monsters in the trees with his own skill.

“Ha…”

Accepting the situation up to that point, Do Yeo-ik couldn’t help but sigh in amazement.

It was a sigh of good meaning.

“He has a good instinct.”

Even in the dark and with the attacks being so fast that they were hard to see, Do Gyeon-woo dodged effortlessly and counterattacked accurately.

Do Yeo-ik’s eyes sparkled brightly.

“L-Lord, Seung-woo is facing a new monster.”

“Let’s watch Gyeon-woo for now.”

“….”

“Seung-woo will do well without needing to see.”

Do Yeo-ik cut off Do Beom-jun’s words and continued to watch Do Gyeon-woo.

At that moment, those in the observation area realized where the head’s interest lay.

It wasn’t in Do Si-eun or Do Seung-woo.

It was in Do Gyeon-woo.

“Let’s all watch together. Let’s see what that child will show us.”

“….”

Do Yeo-ik’s shoulders trembled.

Around that time, Do Gyeon-woo was showcasing his antics of stripping the pouches from the Pocket Apes.

“In my opinion, it seems Gyeon-woo isn’t interested in the evaluation match. Is he really doing this right now?”

“Beom-jun.”

“Yes, Head!”

“Can’t you see the child’s intentions right now?”

“….”

“Look at the fruit Gyeon-woo is holding.”

Do Gyeon-woo was biting into a red fruit.

Do Beom-jun was so taken aback that he let out a hollow laugh.

Only then did he realize why Do Yeo-ik was interested in Do Gyeon-woo.

It was because Do Gyeon-woo was foolish.

“How can he eat a fruit without knowing what it is? He’s such a reckless child. Doesn’t he know that touching something he hasn’t properly examined can be dangerous? … How on earth is Sang-jun educating him?”

“Is your eye just for decoration?”

“….”

“Or do you lack a brain? Are you saying Gyeon-woo doesn’t know what he’s eating?”

“That is….”

After receiving Do Yeo-ik’s scolding, Do Beom-jun snapped to attention.

Only then did he realize the identity of the fruit Do Gyeon-woo was eating.

“Fruit of Vitality.”

“He didn’t hesitate to eat the fruit. It seems Sang-jun taught him well.”

“I didn’t teach him; Gyeon-woo did.”

“No need to be modest. If it wasn’t you, who else would have taught him?”

“….”

“And it seems you didn’t just teach him about the Fruit of Vitality, did you?”

Do Beom-jun’s face crumpled.

Do Sang-jun wore a sullen expression.

Do Yeo-ik ignored their reactions and smiled.

[Found it.]

“He found the Fruit of Vitality too.”

“….”

On the screen, Do Gyeon-woo was picking a blue fruit hanging from a tree.

As before, Do Gyeon-woo brought the fruit to his mouth without any confirmation process.

“Did he immediately think of the fruit’s existence upon seeing the Pocket Apes? Even hunters often overlook such things, but he’s responding quite well to the situation.”