After Devon felt he had fully recovered from the bout of weakness following the amplification of Boost he descended back down into the mountain den. Now that he had found a second viable exit he felt much more confident in taking greater risks.
He mapped out passageways and tunnels that led ever closer to the central den until finally he found a real opening that overlooked the entire space. Something Devon noticed this time around was that fluorescent crystals had formed around the spherical cave, creating an ambient source of light. It was interesting what you started to notice when you weren't forced into pure survival mode.
Just how many of these damn things are in this mountain?
Eve had said she fell down a giant anthill, but Devon was starting to genuinely wonder whether there were more apes in the mountain den than ants in the bug nest.
There were hundreds of the primates. Among their numbers he could see some of the strong ones and even a few elites roaming about, but those weren't what he was after. After a few minutes he finally spotted the ape leader, sitting atop a perch that seemed to be only for him.
The king of the apes, lording over their little world. How funny.
Most of the monkeys seemed to be aimlessly milling about, but here and there Devon saw fights break out. It was almost comical how the apes formed circles around the brawls like high schoolers would back on earth.
What he took particular note of was the fact that the apes seemed to be getting into fights over shiny rocks. As he absorbed that information he got a flashback to the first pair of apes he had fought in the tunnels of the den. If he remembered correctly, they had also been disputing over some shiny bauble.
Devon turned his focus on the ape leader and concentrated on trying to ascertain its strength. Something he'd been slowly realizing was that he was starting to be able to intrinsically grasp how strong an enemy was just by observing them. It wasn't about level, it was about raw power.
When he'd fought the trap spider he had done it instinctively when he was in that state of sublime focus. Again when he was in the memory dungeon he'd been able to tell which curse hunters would be tougher simply by examining them, even though they'd all been level 25. He wasn't sure if this ability was due to his senses simply being sharpened to adapt to his new environment or if it was something else.
Either way, he felt his heart soar when he closely examined the ape leader and realized that despite the level difference, it was only a little stronger than the elites it commanded.
So why is it leveled so high?
A thought occurred to him.
Maybe the leader is able to issue orders to the other apes, and the system considers that an ability worth several levels?
Now that he thought about it, it seemed weird that there would be an ape that had been standing guard at the entrance to the den when none of the apes seemed to take anything besides their shiny stones seriously. Devon somehow doubted they just volunteered for watch duty randomly.
An idea started to come together in Devon's head as he felt like all the mental jigsaw pieces started to fit together.
Task [Gather Intelligence] complete.
Subsequent tasks auto-generated based on intent: [Distraction], [Valley of Death]
Devon internally thanked whoever the kind soul had been who had shoved this profession into the system. Or if it was the system itself that had once been so magnanimous then Devon cursed the world for shoving him into the Infinite Realms in a time period when the system had lost its kindness.
He looked into his inventory, happy that he had decided to keep all of the junk the overseer he'd looted had lying around in their spatial bead. One of the objects among the sea of garbage was a large chunk of what looked to be a silvery metal. The geometry that defined its shape was odd, but Devon didn't care about that right now.
He was sure all of this stuff had some sort of value, but because the system didn't bother labeling them as anything other than what he thought they looked like he had no way of knowing. Better to get immediate use out of an unknown than hoard everything he found in the hopes it would someday prove useful.
They like to fight over those little pieces of metal, so let's see what happens when I toss a big one in the mix.
Devon retreated from his vantage point. If he was going to do this he needed to be exactly sure of his positioning. He crept back through the tunnels, spending perhaps another hour doing more mapping, finding potential spots, and getting kills to recharge his amplification gem.
Eventually he felt he was ready. He sat atop one of the buildings that had been broken long ago and left the innards of what had been the room within exposed. He was positioned behind one of the broken walls so as not to be spotted by the writhing masses down below.
Alright, ape leader. Let's see just how much control over your pack you really have.
Devon took the rock that was about quadruple the size of his fist and threw it out into the open air above the den. The rock plummeted into the center mass of the apes and smashed into the skull of one of the weaker ones, killing it instantly and shattering the stone into four different pieces.
Kill - [Mountain Ape - Level 16] - 13 Talons
The entire den went dead silent in an instant. Devon didn't dare peek his head back over the wall, in case they were searching for where the mysterious projectile had come from. He sat like that in tense silence for roughly ten seconds, tensing his muscles in case he heard the rushing stampede directed towards his hideaway.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Then the cave exploded into a cacophony of angry screeches and roars, and all hell broke loose down below.
Devon looked over the edge to see the fruits of his endeavor, and marveled at just how effective his distraction had been. A brawl that dwarfed every barfight Devon had seen by several orders of magnitude was taking place, and the apes weren't concerned with holding back.
He watched as one of the normal mountain apes picked up one of the shards of the stone and held it aloft with a roar, only for its head to get split in half by the primitive blade of another. That ape then rushed forward to claim the stone and the cycle repeated itself endlessly.
Some of the apes didn't even seem to care about the rocks, instead just fighting the closest ape on pure principle.
The only figure down below that wasn't actively trying to murder its kin was the ape leader, who stood upon its perch and screeched commands at its subjects that went entirely ignored.
Devon summoned one of his javelins from his inventory before hurling it towards the leader. His aim had improved by leaps and bounds with the projectiles, but the leader was at least three dozen meters away from him.
His flying lance pierced the ape leader through a leg, shaking it from its task. It looked around to try and find which of its foolish kin had dared to attack it before it looked up and to the right to see Devon standing openly on the ledge of the ruined building.
Devon could see the eyes of the ape leader change from an enraged but controlled fury to a complete and utter frenzy as it spotted him. It screamed at its cohort, trying to get any of them to follow it to kill this most detestable foe, but none of them listened. None of them could even hear its screeches over their own.
So the leader abandoned its kin and charged recklessly at Devon, yanking the javelin embedded in its leg out like it was nothing more than a nuisance.
Devon backed up away from the ledge while the leader climbed up, positioning himself near the doorway that led to his carefully planned route. Once the leader vaulted the ledge the chase began.
Devon led the stupid ape through all the twisting tunnels of its own den before he finally emerged in the brisk outside air. The crazed ape leader came charging right out into the open area of the forest canyon, completely disregarding the fact that it had been lured right where Devon wanted it.
As it came through Devon shoved the massive stone he had lifted off the exit back over the stairs, sealing off the tunnels. He wasn't sure if the ape leader's frenzied cries had attracted any of its kin to rally behind it, but if they had then he figured this should buy him enough time to settle things.
Task [Distraction] complete.
Devon threw himself backward to avoid the ape leader's wild attack with the stone quarterstaff it carried. He had to recalculate how strong he assumed the beast was, as he was barely able to move out of the way as the stone pole swished past him, almost catching his shirt.
He landed on his feet and pulled his spear out of his inventory as the ape once again charged him.
The ape led its assault with a stab that was so fast Devon barely even registered it, only moving his head on the instinct that something was coming. He tried to jab forward with his spear, but the ape whipped its still extended quarterstaff to the side, smashing it into the side of Devon's head, sending him sprawling.
Activate magic; Adrenaline!
Devon felt his perception of time slow ever so slightly as he got back to his feet. His vision became sharp and focused, though the edges dimmed as he tunnel visioned on the ape leader.
Activate skill; Bone Breaker. Activate skill; Quickstab. Activate magic; Lightning Imbuement.
A majority of Devon's mana was drained away in an instant, but that was all the time Devon wanted to spend on this fight. A thunderclap echoed through the canyon as Lightning Imbuement took effect. It was one of the spell's more interesting effects, though completely useless.
The ape leader once again rushed toward him, stabbing forward with its quarterstaff.
Stone quarterstaff skidded off wooden spear as Devon parried the thrust to the side before stepping in close and ramming the butt of his spear directly into the ape's face.
The ape leader recoiled from the impact of Bone Breaker, blood shooting out of its demolished nose. Devon twisted his spear around as the ape was too stunned to react, its body twitching from convulsions caused by Lightning Imbuement.
With a single Quickstab Devon pierced straight through the ape's chest, his spear carrying enough momentum to reach clear through the body and stick out the other side of the ape. Devon let out a breath he had held, and his muscles started to release some of the tension the encounter had built up.
But the ape wasn't done. Even with its chest impaled and its body twitching from the constant shocks of Lightning Imbuement it reached a free hand forward and grabbed on tightly to Devon's forearm. Devon winced as it felt like his bone was breaking under the immense grip strength of the ape leader.
He tried to pull away and pull his spear out, but the ape had other plans. It kicked a leg forward, knocking Devon's uneven footing out from beneath him as it yanked his arm around. The ape leader pulled his helpless body along in a half crescent before flinging Devon towards one of the canyon walls.
The impact of his head against the solid stone wall caused Devon to black out for a moment, and he opened his eyes to find himself lying on the ground at the base of the canyon wall beneath a small overhang of bramble and other plants that jutted out from the sheer wall of the canyon. He got to his feet unsteadily as he pulled his backup intermediate spear out of his tile, and the ape pulled his first spear out of its chest and snapped it in two as a show of defiance.
The ape roared at him with everything it had, and Devon felt the challenge within it. He felt the excitement of an extreme challenge once again stir within his soul, and in his mind he saw them both on the line between life and death, dancing.
Yes, it's coming back to me now. Come, you stupid ape! I'll take everything you can dish out and pierce straight through this situation! Activate Amplification Gem! Activate skill; Quickstab!
Devon lowered himself into position, preparing to meet his opponent head on and pierce its head with an amplified Quickstab so fast the ape wouldn't even know how it had died. The ape lowered itself into a similar position, and Devon noted with wonder that the haze of frenzy had cleared from its eyes, and he saw the same resolution he felt staring back at him.
Even through the veil of Adrenaline, Devon felt like time slowed to a crawl as they watched each other with the gazes of hawks, each waiting to see which would make the first move. Each ready to explode forward like arrows released from strings under too much pressure.
And then it all came crashing down.
A maw that was a full meter in size clamped down mercilessly over the torso of the ape leader, and Devon saw the ape's legs give a final twitch as the massive teeth of that maw severed its spinal cord.
The mental image of the dance along the edge shattered like a mirror and fell apart in Devon's mind as he bore witness to the end of his hope. As the shards of the mirror fell away Devon saw a glimpse beyond the line, at something that lurked beyond the edge of infinity.
He saw Death, and in that moment it took the form of a dinosaur.
Plot [Monkey Business] failed.
Assisted Kill - [Mountain Ape Leader - Level 43] - 159 Talons
[Level up. Level 27 obtained.]
The lord of the mountain whipped around and threw the ape leader's corpse into the wall of the canyon beside Devon, and the impact shattered the stone foundations for a dozen meters in every direction.
The undisputed lord raised its head up into the sky and let out a roar so complete it burst both of Devon's eardrums, and its cry made the message clear.
There would be no victor besides the King on top of this mountain.