As Elias and the dead chuckler fell to the ground, the rest of the group froze. For a brief moment, everything was silent.
Then, as if they were possessed by the vengeful spirit of their dead friend, they burst into action. Over a dozen of them, every single one already holding a rock, arced their arms back.
Elias barely had time to get up before the first stone came hurtling toward him. He threw himself to the side, just barely making the stone miss his shoulder.
More followed—a literal storm of projectiles raining from every direction.
He raised his metal arms to shield his face, but the rest of his body was exposed. One clipped his right thigh, sending a jolt of pain up his leg. Another hit him square in the stomach—thankfully, going straight through him.
But he couldn’t afford to slow down.
‘Fuck it!’
He forcefully pushed himself off the ground and threw caution to the wind. Mana flared beneath his feet, launching him forward like a cannonball. If he couldn't dodge the storm, he'd tear straight through it.
Several rocks hit all over his body, riddling him with bloody holes—but he pushed on.
At last, he reached the nearest primate and swung a punch straight at its face. Surprisingly, it didn’t react in time and its skull caved in with a sickening crunch, blood and brain matter splattering across his mace-hands.
|Ding! You have killed [Chuckler (I) – Level 86]|
Before the body even hit the ground, he was already turning to the next.
The number of wounds was piling up, but he didn’t care—he couldn’t.
With a sharp breath, he charged forward, arm already pulled back for the next strike.
CRACK
Before he could, a stone hit his spine. Pain exploded through him and he collapsed backward like a puppet with its strings cut.
His vision blurred, darkness threatening to take over.
Above him, he vaguely saw the accursed monkeys still in the trees—hop down and surround him.
HEH HEH HEH
Their laughter rang in his ears. For a moment, he thought he understood it—cruel amusement, or maybe triumph, maybe even just pure mockery?
He wasn’t sure. These were animals, after all.
Yet somehow, not knowing enraged him more than the thought of losing.
He groaned in pain—but it slowly twisted into a rage-filled growl. It was low and primal, embodying everything he’d endured up to this point.
From the moment he woke up in that nebula, to that phoenix throwing him into the void layers, and even having to be saved by a goddess from forever drifting in the void—being spared from assured madness in the process—everything had been out of his control.
He felt helpless. Weak.
‘No more.’
His fingers twitched, clawing at the dirt as he forced his body to move. Pain screamed through him, but he latched onto his fury instead. If they wanted to laugh, he’d make them choke on it.
Then, as if his regeneration skill had answered his rage, his shattered spine snapped back into place. A jolt tore through him—sharp, electric—before sensation flooded back into his limbs.
He shot upright, shocking the laughing primates. He felt light. Powerful. Alive.
Not wasting any time, he lunged at the closest victim.
The chuckler barely had any time to react before his fist caved its chest in. With a spin, Elias hurled the limp body into the nearest group, knocking them down into a mess of thrashing limbs and screeches.
|Ding! You have killed [Chuckler (I) – Level 89]|
He didn’t stop.
A rock whizzed past his head. Another clipped his ear, warm blood trickling down his neck. He ignored it all. Even the one that pierced his left lung.
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The pain only fueled him now, sharpening his focus.
A chuckler leaped at him from the side, a relatively small uprooted tree in its hands. He barely had time to register the absurdity before it swung. He threw himself backward, the massive trunk missing his face by inches.
The tree smashed into the ground where he'd just stood, sending dirt and shattered roots flying.
Wasting no time, he surged forward, aiming straight for its exposed ribs. The chuckler snarled and tried to raise its makeshift club again, but he was faster.
He ducked low, driving his mace-hand into its side with bone-crushing force. A sharp crack echoed through the battlefield as ribs shattered. The creature wheezed, its grip on the tree loosening.
Not letting up, he raised his other fist over his head and brought it down on its head, sealing its fate.
|Ding! You have killed [Tribe Leader Chuckler (I) – Level 114]|
The beast crumpled onto the ground; its skull caved in like a shattered melon. Blood and bone fragments splattered across his face, but he didn’t care.
He looked at the remaining chucklers and saw them hesitating. Their laughter—so full of arrogance and mockery before—were now uncertain and filled with a hint of fear.
Elias grinned; breath ragged. “Not so funny now, huh?”
Then just as he was about to continue, a shriek sounded out from the back of the group. A slender, less muscular primate walked closer.
It walked with a grace that was clearly beyond what its kin could manage. The fur covering its body also wasn’t completely brown—it had white streaks all over that made it look almost…
‘Crap.’
With a hunch as to what it was and a belly full of trepidation, he used [Identify] on it.
[Matriarch Chuckler (II) – Level ???]
Cold sweat began to drip from his forehead when the air shifted. The other monkeys backed away, leaving only Elias and the Matriarch standing apart.
Then it bared its fangs and smiled.
It sent a cold shiver down his spine.
He could feel it—the intelligence behind that smile. It was no ordinary beast.
And as if to prove what he was thinking, he felt something prod at his mind.
|Ding! A mind bridge is attempting to connect to you!|
|Ding! [True Immortal’s Concealment] has blocked the attempt from Matriarch Desippe!|
|Ding! Will you accept?|
|Yes/No|
He stared blankly at the notification in front of him. His instincts screamed at him to refuse, to keep this much more powerful creature out of his mind. But he hesitated.
Information was power. And right now, he was as powerful as a newborn baby in this world.
His eyes lingered on the prompt. What would happen if he refused? He wouldn’t die, of course. But dealing with a Tier Two being made things more complicated.
It would definitely have a Law Shard of its own. And if it was anything that could imprison him effectively… he would be in trouble.
He glanced back at the Matriarch and saw it still smiling at him—a glint of interest in its eyes. It wasn’t just watching him; it was evaluating him. Testing his response.
A tense silence hung in the air. The previously aggressive chucklers were looking intently at him—not with hostility, but with interest.
He grit his teeth. His body was still battered and riddled with holes, yet the pain had already somewhat lessened. His regeneration was working, but he knew he wasn’t in any shape to keep fighting—especially not with something at Tier Two.
Another pulse brushed against his mind, gentler this time, like a hand knocking on a door instead of trying to force it open.
|Ding! Matriarch Desippe has sent a message: “Speak with me.”|
He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Why was she so persistent? What did she stand to gain from talking with him? Why didn’t she just crush him when she was over a hundred levels more powerful than him?
He didn’t know the answers to those questions, but he did know one thing—she needed him. And if there was one thing he had learned in life, it was that people treated you well for as long as they needed you.
With that thought, he exhaled slowly. He knew what he had to do.
He accepted.
The moment he did, a strange sensation washed over him. It didn’t feel like his entire soul was being laid bare for the Matriarch to see—thankfully. It wasn’t intrusive at all.
The connection felt like a thin string connecting his mind to hers. It was fragile—to the point that he felt like he could terminate immediately if he wanted to.
“Ah. Good, you’ve accepted.”
A… somewhat refined voice rang in his mind. It sounded surprisingly normal. He didn’t know what he expected exactly. Old? Young? Ancient and wise? Anything that wasn’t just like talking to a normal human woman.
“I haven’t seen a human in quite a long time.” She narrowed her eyes. “The last time was when I was still an infant… and most of my tribe was slaughtered by one.”
Elias tensed and was about to try to appease her when she calmly raised her palm.
“You need not worry. I know you are different from them.” She paused and eyed his wounds. “So different, in fact, that you are still alive despite all of that.”
He didn’t relax, but he let out a slow breath, his mind racing. The way she spoke—measured, almost… amused—unnerved him more than if she’d been openly hostile.
‘There are probably more of them up there…’ He thought as he glanced up at the trees. Confidence like this against someone who they couldn’t kill was… unnatural, after all.
Then he glanced back at the Matriarch. ‘Or maybe she’s just that strong.’
“How many of you are there?” He asked, keeping his voice steady.
The Matriarch tilted her head slightly, her eyes gleaming with something unreadable. “Enough.”
He scoffed. “I dunno. I was doing a pretty good job so far.” He pointed at the dead tribe leader. “I even killed your leader.”
The chucklers stirred at that, some gripping the dirt, their claws twitching. A few bared their teeth. But the Matriarch?
HEH HEH HEH
For the first time, she let out a chuckle—the same eerie, mocking laugh as the others. It sent a chill down his spine.
Then, just as abruptly, she stopped—the surrounding chucklers following suit. “Perhaps.” Her gaze flicked over the bodies, her eyes gleaming with something unreadable. “You are strong, yes. But strength alone… won’t save you here.”
He met her gaze, his expression unreadable. “Then what will?”
The Matriarch studied him, tilting her head, as if considering her next words carefully. Then, her lips curled back in a slow, deliberate smile, fangs glinting.
“Cleverness.”
And just like that, he knew—this wasn’t just a meeting.
This was a negotiation.